I’ll say it right now: weddings are starting to grow on me. I’ve never really had a thing for them—probably because all I’ve attended have been cliche and kitschy. It’s the design and photography that I’ve seen in recent years that have slowly dragged me over to the dark side. I’ve come to respect wedding planning and realize how much of an art-form it really is.

What has really gotten me lately is the work of Jose Villa, a wedding photographer from southern California. While scrolling through one of my favorite blogs (decor8), I was smacked in the face by some of the most beautiful scenes ever captured on film. I’ve slapped a few (okay, more than a few) of my favorite shots on here for the rest of the world to drool over.

Oh, yeah. Here we go. I saved the best (er, my favorite) for last. You can add me to the list of people who have written about this adorable couple. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if they had the most blogged about wedding of all time. I’m serious—after doing a bit of research on Jose, most results ended in a display of his photos of Chelsea and Tec’s wedding. But, there’s nothing wrong with that!

Kudos to the happy couple for having great style and personality—and for showcasing it in their wedding. The yellow shoes, striped socks, and colorful two-seater are super cute and quirky.

These last two photos were taken on the day before their wedding, I believe—a series of cute little engagement shots.

I’m seeing more and more unique weddings and loving it. Anything far from the usual makes me smile. So, keep them coming, lovebirds.

PS: Thanks Holly! You’re to blame for the hours spent looking at these photographs. Haha, it’s not a bad thing though—it was time well spent!

I hope everyone remembers Mika—you know, the guy with who topped charts with songs like Grace Kelly and Relax, Take It Easy in 2007. Well, if for some odd reason you don’t recall such a person, it’s about time you experience his music.

Here, have a listen to his upcoming single, We Are Golden, and let the euphoric choir put you into a musical coma.

I can’t think of any adjective to describe this song with other than EPIC. It’s got it all—Mika singing in falsetto, loud guitars, screaming choirs—the whole shebang. My favorite part of the entire song is the last chorus, specifically at the 2:56 mark. If you make it past that segment and haven’t experienced chills down your spine, something might just be wrong with you.

Download: Mika - We Are Golden (mp3)

Found these photos by Daniel Hertzell at Desire To Inspire and fell in love.

It seems as if he might be a photographer for Ikea. The red kitchen photo has been used in their catalogs and website, and the white/birch kitchen seems to be made of all Ikea items. Love it!

Expect a lot of posts about this wonder-woman. Her new album, Ellipse, drops August 24/25 and the closer we get, a little more is known.

Today, the opening track and lead single off Ellipse made its public debut on KCRW today and has now made its way onto blogs and the like. I’m in love. That’s all I can say.

If you’re an Immi fan, and haven’t heard this, I highly suggest you get your ass in gear and hitting play. Think Speak For Yourself mixed with Frou Frou and a whole new organic sound. If you have no idea who I’m talking about, I suggest you take a look at what she’s done. It’s really quite remarkable how almost all the work for her music (writing, recording, producing, mastering, etc) is done by literally no one but herself. Anywho, on to the track…

Download Imogen Heap - First Train Home (mp3)

The future’s looking quite crystal clear in Oslo, Norway. The architectural future, that is. What we have here are a few renderings of an office building trio designed by architects C.F.Møller and Norwegian practice Kristin Jarmund Arkitekter.

The project, known as “crystal clear,” consists of a series of glass cubes stacked in a demostration of sustainable design (a concept which plays a major role in the project’s blueprints).

From Inhabitat, ‘ The towers will be replacing a former post office just next to the Central Station, and will contribute to the city’s plan to transform its town and port into a contemporary and lively waterfront. Together the three buildings total approximately 90,000 m² of offices, commercial space and possibly housing. Oslo is the cultural, scientific, economic, and governmental center of Norway, and the aesthetic sophistication and integrity of this project serves to reflect the importance of this modern city. ‘

Read a little more about this project at Inhabitat. While you’re there, snoop around. They’ve got a lot of really great articles on smart and sustainable design.

Nothing here but a few delicious and recent Anthroplogie windows that I’m in love with. The photos all belong to their respective owners. Click on the images to be taken to their original sources.

I’m not exactly sure how Anthropologie comes up with their designs, but from what I’ve seen, it seems like perhaps corporate might choose a specific color scheme, idea/concept, or material for each season/display period and then the individual display coordinators create installations of their interpretation. If anyone knows how it all works, let me know—I’ve been curious for years! :D

These cardboard and paper ( ? ) honeycomb shapes are absolutely gorgeous. I would love to have these in my bedroom for summer. They’re simple, bright, and glowing.

I’m so glad I found this third photo on the Anthro facebook page. I saw this display at the store in Towson, MD a few weeks ago but didn’t even think to take a picture. The windows that border the stores front and sides were filled with these drapes of color. Different hues and shades of blue, green, yellow, and purple fabric fabric pieces were tied together to create weeping willow-like shapes all hung staggered and in layers.

When I first scrolled by this photo, I went “huh” and then realized the installation was made up of hundreds of bear honey bottles. The beautiful beam of strings shooting from the tree stump up and down to the bottles look like a stream of light rays which compliment the chandelier-like glimmer of the bottles themselves. Let’s just hope none of these fall—that could be a sticky mess!

I’m constantly on the lookout for beautiful displays (and not just from Anthro). If you know of any, please send them my way! I could look at this stuff for hours on end.

Wow, am I really writing an entry reminiscing about some of the discontinued Ikea duvet covers? It seems I am.

I’m not losing faith in Ikea, believe me. They continue to pop out delicious things for the home and I continue to drool. I’m just not in love with most of their recently released textiles—specifically their duvet covers.

Other than the black and white one on the far left (which I suppose I could live with), I can barely even tolerate looking at these for more than a few seconds. I don’t know what’s going on with the one on the far right. Perhaps it was targeted towards people who sleep naked but are self-conscious about it? The tackiness  of it all makes my eyes burn and a part of me dies inside when I wonder how something so foul could come from Ikea.

I miss the old patterns, like the one above, with snow flakes. Tell me this one isn’t perfect for cuddling up in bed on a snow day.

I miss the bright and colorful patterns of the Bibbi line. The flowers (above) and the finger-print-like swirls (both Bibbi’s) are my favorite in addition to the red and white drip design and black and white pinwheels (both names slip my mind at the moment).

Maybe I’m just falling behind the times, but all I know is I’m not falling for all these beige/boring duvets. I thought Ikea’s thinking was “be brave, not beige.” What do you think?

I’m not sure why I never posted this. I think it might’ve been because I hadn’t finished getting pictures together for this post. I’m tired of seeing it sit in my drafts folder, so here it is. I’ll edit it later to add the missing photos.

I Am Not Robot — You are so magnetic, you pick up all the pins — I was definitely shocked a little when hearing this song. It’s not as robotic sounding as I had imagined. Rather, Marina’s operatic vocals are mixed with piano, strings, and a few twinkles and a minimal synth beat resulting in a beautifully mixed song. As the song starts, I’m reminded a bit of Regina Spektor, but as the track progresses it definitely takes on a sound of its own.

I Am Not Robot (The Aspirins For My Children Remix) — Better to be hated, than loved loved loved for what you’re not — All I can say is that this is a really nicely done remix. The song’s original mood is retained but livened up a bit with added synths and beats. This version brings on a surreal sound without overproduction.