Something a little happier and lighter today. Oh, what it would be to live with such gloriously patterned floors! Alice Bernardo is the proprietress of the very lovely and engaging Portuguese blog: Noussnouss. She is also the brains and brawn behind Saber Fazer, a multidimensional project that seeks to create a narrative for time-honored Portuguese methods of fabrication, on both an artisanal and a semi-industrial scale. She highlights such things as basket making, shoe making, weaving, spinning, needlework, etc. The bicycle baskets are my personal favorites. Alice says she “likes beautiful things and wants to know how stuff is made.” Don’t want to argue with that. These photos are hers.

Paintings of steak by Vincent Kohler. Never would have found these if not for the always interesting blog over at Present & Correct. Saw some other paintings of wood by the same artist, and then promptly jumped down the rabbit hole.

Few things make me happier than getting “real” mail. So, when Neal, at Present & Correct (one of my favorite blogs and shops!), told me to expect something in the post, I got very excited thinking about what it could possibly be. But then Sandy came and went, and we both assumed that the package became a minor casualty of the storm. Not so fast. I went to my mailbox the other day and found a nice big envelope with these splendid French paper rulers inside. I think the pop out French curve is what makes them so marvelous. Thanks!!

If you have a few hours to spare, I might suggest a little trip over to Sheaff Ephemera. The site is the brainchild of one Richard D. Sheaff. Collector extraordinaire. These figural cameos don’t need much explaining. If you’d like to see more, and there are MORE, go here.

ca. 1888. A handwritten note on the back of the photo says, “Aunt Velma, she never married.” Everything about this image taps into my fear of female pattern baldness. Courtesy of my friend Kay who delights in all things odd. She found the image here. As an aside, when I was in grade school and high school we used to compete against Bucksport, Maine in certain sporting events. And, while I know this is a generalization, I remember those girls as not always being so nice. That said, I bet Aunt Velma is a peach.