How to make candy canes!

OK, I am a nerd and this is really cool!

Hello blackbird, hello starling...

So, I will admit that I never knew until now that a starling is a kind of bird. I thought it either had to do with, well, stars, or was a pretty made-up poetic word. But, alas, it's a bird. And one whose flocks make pretty pictures.

These are photos of starling flocks flying through the sky in Rome, preparing to roost for the night, creating beautiful shapes in the sky. Oh, and leaving a lot of bird poop behind.

I'm thinking it might be cool to frame some of these as a group (minus the car photo) in a single collage frame.

http://www.gaia-photos.com/italy-european-starlings-in-rome/

Would you pay $10 million for a book...

...of birds?

When it's the original Audubon "Birds of America" book and it's 2 feet by 3 feet, well, apparently you would.

From LATimes.com:

Naturalist John James Audubon's "Birds of America" sold at auction in London on Tuesday for $10 million, making it the world's most expensive book. The book, which was sold by the auction house Sotheby's, was purchased by an anonymous telephone bidder.

"Birds of America" is oversize -- more than 3 feet tall and 2 feet wide -- with 435 illustrations. When first published in 1827, the images were printed in black and white and then hand-colored by specialists.

The combination of accuracy and artistry make Audubon's work unique. The first plate alone -- of a wild turkey -- could fetch $200,000. The Associated Press reports:

Because each picture is so valuable, there have been fears the volume will be broken up and sold as separate works of art. However, experts believe that's unlikely. The tome is probably more valuable intact. And collectors hold Audubon in such reverence that the notion of ripping apart a perfect copy would be akin to sacrilege.

"Audubon's 'Birds' holds a special place in the rare book market," said Heather O'Donnell, a specialist with Bauman Rare Books in New York. "The book is a major original contribution to the study of natural history in the New World."

A much smaller, low-resolution -- but entirely free -- version of "Birds of America" is on view on the Audubon website.

-- Carolyn Kellogg

Look at how gorgeous that flamingo is! I'd love to have that print on my wall.

Black and Gold

So I just discovered the glamourai (I don't know where I've been), and I'm loving it (especially her amazing cropped hair), and just this week there was a feature on her lovely Brooklyn apartment over at Apartment Therapy. I am dying over the black, white, and metallic color palette and unique objets d'art, though admittedly some of the pieces are a little bit too 80s glam for me. But in small doses, it's got a great art deco feel, and I love the glam gold touches. Check out the whole post here.

Stealing from the boys...

...to dress up the girls!

I am obsessed with this before/after project I just found on DesignSponge. Eric has a worn, blue wood cabinet from his old apartments, and it doesn't really fit in our apartment together, so it's been sitting in the garage for the past year and a half. I was nearly ready to get rid of it, because it is really beat up, and is five feet tall with only one shelf inside (what the hell can you keep in there?), and Eric didn't really seem to care much about it anymore—plus, honestly, I wasn't really sure how to reinvent it.

But now I am definitely holding on to it, so I can someday repaint it white, add some more shelves and hooks, and turn it into an adorable mini wardrobe! It will be perfect in the girly room I hope to have one day, where I can have my sewing table, a wardrobe, a tufted ottoman, and this, which will be perfect for jewelry, accessories, and shoes. Yes, I might paint the walls pink...

Now, just don't tell Eric I'm going to steal his cabinet!