Hidden Bed, a company in New Zealand has the license for this great bed that smoothly pulls down over your desk to accommodate that extra person, or it would be a handy option for a studio apartment or dorm room. I saw them at the mall and had a go at transforming it…..super light and easy to change, plus you can even leave your glass of water without a spill and your laptop open.  You could also use the desk as a play area….set up with the train-set in a childs room.

There is an option of king single or double and you also have five different finish options – from white to jarrah laminate, plus extra shelving.  The cost for a king single is NZ$4000.00 while the Double is NZ$4400.00; that includes mattress, installation and GST.  Take a look at their website right here.

My yoga bag is really old and doesn’t really fit my black mat, but instead of a replacement I’ve ended up with a string around it.  Up until now it’s been fine, but I would like to carry straps and notes and other bits all together.  After a look around, the Prana Carry All is it for me, the colour won’t show dust or dirt when you put your bag down in public places, and it has room to carry more than your mat. Get it here for US$70 (about NZ$90), plus shipping.

We have had seven birthday parties in a row – each weekend another little boy or girl turns 6 and so we have been wrapping quite a few presents.  The sellotape seems to have disappeared and as I am always wrapping at the last minute, we have ended up using duraseal (for covering school books)……I know, bad huh.  Over at Blossom Creations, they have a great range of rice paper tape among many other household goodies from your desk to your kitchen.  This is the tape I would much prefer to use, the patterns are yet another way to personalise your gift.  These cost only AUD$5 a roll or you can purchase in a set.   Go take a look right here.

This picture inspired my post this afternoon.  I stumbled into Bloesem kids and found delightful wallpaper on the back of the closet. Usually the very beautiful wallpapers cost loads, so this is a brilliant way to use a little bit and not go bankrupt.  Stores often have left over rolls or off-cuts and sell them cheaply, so it’s worth checking.   The wallpaper on the back of this Ikea shelf is by Boras Tapeter in Sweden, called Linne 3308.  Sim Wallcoverings in Auckland may stock it, or they could order it in for you. Go get your DIY gloves on and get papering – it makes such a difference to a dull area.

I love this website, though I don’t get to browse it often.   UrbanBaby is based in Sydney, Australia and has the hippist things for babies and kids. My favourite item would have to be the Crazy Wolf.  Designed in France, he comes with a doll, a mobile, a hen, a pig and a frying pan – that he EATS up!  You can unzip his tummy to get them all out.  What a great ode to Little Red Riding Hood. It measures 35cm x 30cm, and the tummy toys from 7cm to 15cm.  He costs AUD$64.95 plus shipping.   Go see him at their store or buy online.

In a few weeks it’s Master neary 6′s birthday and I have been thinking about a rainbow cake.  They look cool, and kids seem to get a kick out of seeing the inside when it comes time to ‘cut the cake’.  These pics I used from Omnomicon because they rule!

TO BEGIN:

Make your own plain cake mixture (not chocolate – or just leave out the cocoa in a choc cake recipe)

Then split up the mixture evenly into cups, for as many colours as you have.  The better and healthier gel colours, get here or here, though a generous amount of food colouring works well too.  (And if you don’t like the food colouring, then this cake’s not for you.)  Mix colour in well.

With your cake tin ready and greased, pour the mixture from one cup straight into the middle on the cake pan (don’t smear it around or flatten it out.

Continue pouring the contents of each cup on top of each colour.

Now bake it – at whatever your cake recipe says to.

Once done, ice how you like, though all over icing works best so the kids don’t know how cool the cake is!

If you prefer cupcakes, do the same into the cup-cake pan.  Otherwise, below are a couple of other places for recipes:

Omnomicon

Tastespotting

Water colour is beautiful.  I have tried my hand at watercolor before with a disastrous outcome, so I stick with acrylic.  While bouncing around on Etsy I popped up on this shop. Irene is an Italian artist and she has a large and gorgeous assortment of watercolour creatures to choose from.  They would make a great collection for a sewing room, or a child’s bedroom.  Each piece is about NZ$35, plus NZ$8 shipping.  Go take a look right here.

We have a bunch of boat sheds on the Orakei basin looking rather dilapidated and in need of a good spruce up, so when I spied these over at Inhabitat, I thought they would be a fantastic replacement.

The Crib prefab can be used anywhere – from your backyard, to a spot on the water to house the boat and chill-out upstairs. It’s inspired by the traditional American architecture of corn cribs, a common farm building used to store and dry corn. The smallest is 175 sq feet upstairs with an ideal garage style front opening (for those water views). Then there’s the additional 125 sq feet of exterior deck space. The larger of the two has 250 sq ft upstairs!. Of course, it’s only in the US, which would make these super exey to ship out and there are no prices on the website. And I should not forget to add, the Orakei boatsheds are privately owned – so perhaps the owners are happy with them just as they are.

Last weekend, I took Mum and Dad up to Matakana Markets outside Auckland so we could eat some great food and enjoy the crisp cool morning outdoors.  While we wandered around, Miss 15mths steered me into the shop Red Letter Day.  No, she is not a stationery nut – she saw a large poster of a camel and wanted to go and say ‘baa’ (like a sheep)…hehe.

Well, I fell head over heels for the Cavallini & Co products, (of which there were many) – among a lot of other lovely writing accessories.  Flora, fauna and geographic notebooks…box sets of divine stamps…flashcards and even decorative wrap – that you just couldn’t use because it’s too beautiful.  You can buy from Red Letter’s website, though really it is worth a drive to Matakana for the food, and the bunch of specialty shops tucked around the market area.

This necklace really appeals to me being a Yoga Teacher, but would I wear it?….probably not much.  It would make a great gift for a Chiropractor though!  Made by using 3D data of an actual spine, it measures about 10cm long and you can choose it in either brass or silver.  You can purchase it from the Japanese site right here for NZ$440 (brass) or NZ$740 (silver) and the company ships internationally.

Now we are living in a place that has a key for about five different doors, the Stat Keys would make it alot easier to tell them apart. There are three styles of keys….one has a graphic engraved on it, the other two are metal cut designs, either round or rectangular. They cost from NZ$13-$19 each and the company ships internationally.

Oye Modern is an Australian, online jewellery shop filled with groovy, funky pieces.  There are so many I love, but if I had to choose a favourite it would be the measuring tape ‘I Heart’ necklace.  Right now, they have a competition on that finishes August 15, so go get something cool and take a picture of your beautiful self;  best bit, they ship worldwide and their pieces start at about NZ$80.

AT posted a while back about designing and printing on different mediums, and it’s not all that expensive. Often I have wanted to take a great image and put in on a plate, or a handtowel, but never got around to investigating further.  Below is a list of places where you can make it happen…..so what are you waiting for!

1. Spoonflower – design your own fabric
2. Teeny Tile – custom print tiles
3. The Wallpaper Maker – print your own designs on wallpaper
4. Ponoko – laser cut materials like felt, plastic and wood
5. Absorbent, Ink – screen printing onto glasses, coasters and handtowels plus more

After the bodywash container broke yesterday, I had to find an alternative to store it.  And this is it.  The Penguin Multi-Purpose pump can be used anywhere and for almost anything.  One in the bathroom, the kitchen and laundry will make it look like I had a plan in my interior aesthetics, when in fact it all just fell in my lap!  It has a half litre (500ml) capacity and the best part is the easy view window….(it drives me crazy when they run out and I don’t know about it).  Available in Blue, Green, Red, Black or Nickel, they cost NZ$20 each.  The bad part is the ridiculously crazy overseas shipping prices, and it doesn’t say that they even ship to NZ or Australia, so make sure you have a friend in the US to post them on.

Auckland has hills, many many hills, and after coughing up a lung riding up a hill to get Master 6 from school (his scooter in the front basket) with Miss 1 on the back and drinks all round, I was exhausted. I have a slightly rusty ladies bike from Giant, which is great on the flat, but oh so heavy on the hills.

So I decided I wanted the lightest bike possible for the school run, and went searching. Unfortunately, Mr Bohaute had to burst my bubble and give me a price guide on carbon fibre, which means it’s never going to happen…..but oh my, why haven’t they put this bike into production.

The Momo Design City Bike is gorgeous – made of titanium and carbon, the City Bike features a belt-driven Nexus 8 speed drivetrain, and received a silver designation in the Eurobike Awards 2007.  No price, but we know it would be ridiculous. Bummer… I think city bikes should be the lightest, and nice and cheap, considering we are hauling around so much gear.

Always at this time of the year, I go looking for options for heating your home – (in fact as I write, it’s supposed to drop to ZERO degrees tonight) ARGH!

Radiators now are becoming part of your decor and like this option, a piece of art.  This wall hung radiator is called ‘Splash’ and was designed by Chritian Ghion for Runtal.  It has a cool ripple effect across the front and looks fantastic in this bathroom.  Would like the whole ensemble thanks!

The colours of this house caught my eye today.  I really like the modern charcoal panels with a rich coloured wood.  I think it softens a hard, modern design.  And who wouldn’t love a bright orange door!  To see more of this place, take a look at Shed’s website.

via [Inhabitat]

These cases are stunning; they remind me of hot-wire work in our woodwork class when I was a teenager.

Grove is the Portland company behind them and each case is made from bamboo, laser-cut and hand-finished, so no two are the same. Costing NZ$125, they ship worldwide.  The cases are made for iPhones only and you can get the old and new shape. My favourite would have to be Birdland.

It’s Mr Bohaute’s birthday next month so I am looking around for a gift.  As he’s quite a – ahem, shall we say, ‘computer enthusiast’, I thought these would be fun.   Designed by Ravi Ratan, they hold 2GB each and can be engraved with up to 8 characters, available in gunmetal and gold finishes.

However, I am wondering if he will laugh as to the ridiculously small memory they have.  Hmmm, perhaps I have already talked myself out of them…..cool though!  Oh yeah, and they are only NZ$281.00 per pair…ouch!  Probably could get about 32GB or more on a regular flashdrive for the same price.

What a great idea this is.  The water meter lets you know how much water is used in the yard, or just cleaning the car.

It is a spray nozzle with an integrated water meter and has 4 spray settings.  The ‘Save a Drop’ Hoze Nozzle can be purchased right here for NZ$33 plus shipping.  The only problem is I am not sure if it fits our hose thread.  Perhaps worth an email to them to check.