happykatie :: katie rocks out the interwebs

More MOO happiness - keychain card holders!

The moo.com MiniCard holder from Moo Cru on Vimeo.

For once waiting an incredibly long time for a beer paid off.  At SXSWi 2008 I caught the tail end of the People Powered Party and managed to snag a MOO MiniCard Holder while standing, standing, standing, standing in line trying to get a bartender's attention.

Completely worth it, although I had no idea I can attach it to my keychain too until watching the nifty video above.  I just re-ordered more MOO cards so the holder won't be lonely.  Say it with me now, cool free stuff = good for everyone.

Mimobot of my heart

One Love Mimobot, originally uploaded by courtneyp.

At SXSW this weekend, the uber-lovely Mimoco-ites had a booth at the sxswi trade show displaying their various Mimobot USB pals.

I've been a longtime fan (see 2005 post here) and was excited to get a peek at some newer Mimobots and meet the brains behind the extremely functional cuteness.

The Mimoco gang was quite nice, looking beyond my excited flailings to see a true advocate for the Mimobot world domination movement.  In then end, they sent me off with a Mimobot USB Flash drive, protohoodie, vinyl toy and stickers (2 of which are already gracing my latest Moleskine and iBook cover) and a whole lot of love.

If you're a Mimobot junkie as well, be sure to post your pics to the spanking new Mimobots will take over the world Flickr group.  Mad props to the Mimoco gang (especially Scott and Evan for taking the time to care and connect)!

Hybrid-licious

Because the world wasn't beautiful enough already - I give you the Vespa Hybrid.

Delightful Tord - the latest Hkatie fave

I'm semi-obsessing over Tord Boontje (the uber-fab Dutch designer who is now being featured at more affordable prices in our beloved Target). 

Specifically I'm dying to get my dinner on some of his Tord multi-color dishware as they would match so very well to our old-skool Sundance Franciscan Ware dishes.

Tord, of course, has a bazillion other drool-worthy items on the market:  dainty vase covers, paper lamps, Until Dawn curtains.  *sigh*  But no one seems to love Tord as much as this newly tattooed girl does.

What are you wearing this winter?

So the budget is just not there, but I really need a new winter coat this year.  My Harold's pea coat (ever the nice soft gray standby) will continue on, but man am I looking ratty otherwise.

I like this Liz Clairborne quilted coat (always such a huge fan of those knee-length numbers) as an everyday item and desparately want this Puma Pique jacket for more casual outings.

What are you wearing this year?  Staying warm is good, even if it is in a semi-balmy Houston winter.

Dalek Supersampler Space Monkey Happy Pink

Super fast post, but super cool news - there is now a Lomo Dalek edition Supersampler package for sale.  Love the happy pinkness, space monkey graphics and cool Urbanize book included.  Very hip.  Very space monkey.

Pretty shiny things for your personal adornment

Every girl needs a few glittery baubles to accent the sparkle in her eyes and the shimmer in her smile.  Or maybe it's just that ladies have racoon tendencies and get easily absorbed by shiny things??

Regardless, here are a couple of *affordable* handmade jewelry boutiques that you really should frequent: (note: This also goes for any handsome boyfriends that I know who are just dying to buy their loving moms-to-be something simple, yet significant. </hint> )

• We Dream in Color - Designer Jade Gedeon lives what appears to be a charmed life raised in Trinidad, creating jewelry and living it up in Australia.  *sigh*  I also stalk her on Flickr where she regularly posts pieces of Lomo-esque goodness.
  
  So get something pretty sent home and check out this amazing vintage crystal and brass necklace, hammered brass Olympia necklace or the Lucite pendant.  There is nothing on this Web site that would not look amazing on you.
  
  
• My Precious Studio - Tattoos and religious imagery are major creative drivers for designer Tere Hernandez-Bonet.  I really dig all the flaming sacred heart necklaces, sweet angel wings and the funky red epoxy resin milagro heart pieces as well.   

Really cool combos of pretty, funky, unique and artistic - I love creative jewelry artists who aren't afraid to be different.  One day, I'd also like to be in touch with Tere about some custom pieces - she's just seriously that damn cool.

Tags:  we dream in color | Jade Gedeon | My Precious Studio | Tere Hernandez-Bonet

Wall stickers make white paint less traumatic

We adore our little 100-year old house, but the landlord says NO to painting the walls and this is a sad thing.  The lack of color is devastating to me, although we probably more than make up for it with our velvet orange couch, Tibetan prayer flags and various rainbow-spectrumed wall furnishings.

With tiny happykiddo on the way in late August, we're cleaning out, changing up and moving around everything to prepare for our girl.  This means new wall art pronto.  PRONTO!!

Solution 1:  Cool, funky Blik wall decals.  I like the Blik Heads, but feel weird about having other peoples' silhouettes on my walls.  I think we'll just make our own - to create a sort of shadow family gallery.  I'm still a ginormous fan of the robots and Flock designs though.

Solution2:  Wall Words is another cool option for adding a little oomph to your rooms.  Neat phrases (or create your own) with cool fonts - great for word junkies like me.  Gives a whole new meaning to 'if these walls could speak'.  So many choices, so few walls.

Tags:  wall decals | Blik | Wall Words | happykiddo

Wearable mini-food remains hilarious

I'm pretty sure I saw something like this on Fred Flare ages ago, but scented mini-food jewelry is still one of the funniest things ever.

However, I feel that this mini-food jewelry business is another American rip-off of the tres bizarre Asian food characters that have been around for ages. 

I'm okay with this, but it is important that I mention in this mini-food post the fact that To-Fu Mates toys are still one of the weirdest things that I have ever seen people buy, ever.  Yet I would still probably buy them because hey, I eat tofu so why not play with it too?

But then again, this comes from the happykatie who dreams of the most beautiful day when she has extra income to seriously beef up her non-existent vinyl toy collection.

Tags: Fred Flare | tofuhead | mini food jewelry | vinyl toys

Sketchel me this

Sketchels is an incredible art project gathering some of the coolest alternative artists around to make, yes, BAGS!  As a serious bag lover myself, I find this combination of art and satchel tremendously appealing.

Round1 of the Sketchels art series roped in 230 artists to submit a few designs that were then created into one-of-a-kind bags for sale at $150.  Yeah, $150.  They also sell books of the collected work for $20, which is slightly more manageable (although not nearly as wear-able unless you are super crafty).

Check out their online gallery or hey, submit your stuff here for Round2 if you're feeling particularly Sketchel-riffic today.