let's talk tampons. no, really.

when molly hayward approached me about cora,her product, (and yes they are indeed tampons), i thought...hmmm, seems strange right? why on earth would i feature tampons on a design blog? but there's (obviously) more to the story, (though tampons ARE a definite design in a sense). so yes, molly's product line, cora, is about tampons, but it's also about helping to bring about "a better future for all women in every part of the world." but i'm getting to that, the AMAZING cause behind cora soon...

cora tampons are 100% certified organic (read more about why that is SO important here). women purchase and use over 10,000 tampons in their lifetime. wow. so there's that. and because of that giant number we should want the best for our bodies right? and yes, as you can see from the images above, cora's branding is fabulous, they come to your door looking like this, beautifully packaged in clean, modern ways to carry (aka, very creatively hide) and use your tampons. so that's pretty cool.

BUT, why i took on this post is because of THE CAUSE. molly has traveled extensively, and through her research concludes that approximately 100 million girls/women lack access to adequate menstrual products around the globe. um, 100 million woman. wow. products that you and i reach for in a split second, without thought. we can do better than that right? well molly is.

read more about molly's cause, through her cora product line here, it's about the every day struggle of women from different cultures, religions & countries and about why this is so important. for every month's supply of cora tampons that you purchase, AND LISTEN UP, this is the amazing part, cora donates one month's supply to women in need. women in countries where just talking about a period is embarrassing or unheard of. so they don't. and then in turn, they are not taking care of themselves. so tell your friends, your co-workers, your family! guys, tell your wives, your sisters, your mothers! women and men reading this blog, help cora support all the women they can.

BONUS!: for the next 30 days, cora is offering avant garde design readers $5.00 of your first purchase. simply enter the code CORA5ROBIN at checkout!
enjoy!

in full disclosure, i received product for this post but all opinions are my own.

orderly. it's what i need today.

the uber orderly loft, located in philadelphia and featured on loft life is just what the doctor ordered today, at least for me...

my wednesday is starting off a little scattered, a little emotional, a little all over the place (my own doing by the way ;). and so, this space, so light, so orderly and completely set and in place is what i'm drawn to today, what i'm drawing from today. how about you? how is your day beginning? enjoy!

a new friend. and i'm back...

hi friends! i want to thank you for your patience while i was on break from my blog. my dad became sick very suddenly at the beginning of may and passed away as a result. it was, needless to say, a shock for my family and for me personally, the loss of my best friend. my father was born and raised in tennessee. i spent the month of may there taking care of him and while there on a drive, i made an unexpected new friend.

this big guy came right up to me as i stopped my car and wouldn't go to anyone else around taking photos. he is beautiful and i literally wanted to pick him up, throw him over my shoulder an take him home with me. animals are amazing. for a little while, this guy took my mind off of everything negative going on in my life, my father's illness, all of my worries and made me smile and hope for good things to come.

every time i touched him or played with is blonde hairs, he would take his left front leg and put it forward and dig it into the ground. then he'd just look at me. i wonder where he is today and what he's doing. and if he remembers our little conversation. so, i'm back, and here to stay for a while. i'm looking forward to getting back to posts about design and a sense of normality. whatever that is ;)

friday fun.

the 1st thing i want to share this fun friday is a do~it~myself (or now, a do~it~yourself) baby shower project. i must admit, i did get the soft, au natural idea from a cup of jo's blog. i just simply went outside on a recent beautiful day, took photos of the sky, picked the one i like best and voila! i had it blown up by uprinting (and i have to say they were great! & reasonable!), headed to ikea for the frame (which came matted already!) and bing, bam, boom, a gift for a baby~to~be for a friend of mine. i was hoping that placing a sun~shiny sky right there in the nursery would provide a sense of hope and positivity for the baby to look to. promise. anything goes sort of view. what do you think? i'm in love with it and now want one for my own!


2nd fun thing this friday...i woke to a big male turkey in my yard this week. he was absolutely gorgeous (and friendly!), but my (female) cat steven (i know...i named her before i knew she was a female for sure) didn't think the turkey was so sweet. she crouched, stalked the turkey but in the end, realized that the turkey was bigger and would win ;)


so there you have it, my friday fun to share. what are your plans this weekend? ah, i'm in my last week/weekend of classwork before a much needed break! oh and let's add in that today i had a route canal on one of my teeth, ah, i'd rather go through labor again, or not. wait. yes, i would. did i say that out loud? ;) seriously not fun. so now, enjoying a glass of red wine (redemption) and watching the red sox. wherever you are, whatever you do this weekend, enjoy!

have a sweet day my sweets!

yeah for days like this! happy days, sweet, thoughtful, tasty, pretty, how come we don't have days like this every day? we need to change that right? ;) happy valentine's day friends! i thought today i'd try to feature some images from some of my favorite blogs with love & candy names. see what i've found...

the sweetest of presentations. how completely tempting! via candy castle.
bits of romance, greens paired with pretty pots, hints of reds, pinks, soft & hot. via bolig magasinet.

pretty plated valentine's desserts. hope you are enjoying something like this today! via love & pine.
surely a day to cover your favorite space in flowers no? via dewllings.
just because, via design love fest.
oh to walk barefoot on this pretty in pink rug, or to be embraced by this hot but soft red chair. oh, i'd be so happy! via bolaget.
how super sweet is this pink leather bow cuff? simply adorable. via twenty thirty forty.
have you already been treated this morning? have you eaten something sweet for breakfast? oh you should! ;) i've put together pretty little bagged treats for my loves and feel like treating myself to my favorite sticky bun from my favorite bakery in boston today, flour. the best place in the city to grab something delish on the go or to sit and savor! so you know what? i'm going to! how about that! enjoy your day, enjoy your loves!

getting ready to wrap ideas.

so! my last night of final exams and papers for this semester was well, last night. i am giddy beyond words about having a short break and have only really today, begun to get immersed in the christmas spirit. to treat myself yesterday (and to kind of give myself a pat on the back for finishing alot of work), i began wrapping. today i will hunker in (it has been snowing and snowing!) and wrap some more! i wanted to share a few christmas gift wrapping ideas that while poking around, i thought were really just great...

cutting out your own creative snow~flakes, what a fab idea! you could pick from an amazing amount of the many beautiful papers out there today, like going with this bright and cheery orange, to mix it up a bit! via the happy home.

super imaginitive, evoking exotic travel, or perhaps tickets to somewhere are inside? oh~so~clever! via design sponge.
this look had me at the tags! don't you just think this is pure genius? via design sponge.
treehugger suggests eco-friendly ways to wrap. i love the abstract, hap~hazardly way this gift was put together. really fun!
doilies! so pretty! enough said. via the room remix.
one of my favorite mediums to work with is paper. i'm a sucker for paper boutiques, with gobs of wonderful hand~made papers, the kind you just don't see anywhere else. i love the use of these tags too! via the design files.
while glitz and glam have their place during the holidays, so too do natural bits of green. i adore adding tid~bits of natural greens to top your presents. via unicorn boutique.
how easy and how sweet? you could grab bunches of these little pom~poms from your local craft store and voila! instant cutie~pie wrap! via unicorn boutique.
i think this deep red letterpressed winterberry design is simply gorgeous! via the style files.
have you wrapped your presents yet? have you come up with other amazingly creative ideas? if so, please share! sometimes it doesn't take alot of effort to deviate from the norm, the typical and add your own sort of mark on wrapping, making the recipient feel just a little bit more special than they already do. enjoy!

newsworthy wall treatment. a clever thursday find.

running around again today with my class project, but wanted to share this oh~so~clever~wall~treatment~find! have a look...


"using an age-old technology of upcycling old newspapers, 100% real newsprint strips are handwoven on a loom and then paperbacked to make newsworthy suitable for the wall. a wonderful, tactile alternative to an expected grasscloth."

newsworthy, is made from 70% upcycled newspaper strips and 30% nylon weitzner, a fab new find in wall treatments offers this amazing very "green" product for the not only design conscious but environmentally conscious as well. you can even order customized color palettes, totally fabulous! it's drying out (at least for the day) in my area, i'm loving it! enjoy...

kicking off the week with a monday morning {give-away!}

i love promoting eco-friendly products and i love promoting great, inventive companies contributing to your design world and designers needs. umbra provides for both of those desires and so today, to kick start the work week, umbra and avant garde design are offering an eco-friendly give-away. part of their boomba bath line, umbra is offering this exquisite bamboo waste can, bamboo soap dish and bamboo tooth brush holder, all in natural...naturally.


ok everyone, the retail value of these beauties is approx. $65.00 so i'm thinking it's a pretty darn great {eco-friendly by the way} give away!

it's pretty simple, take a visit to umbra's eclectic, affordable, contemporary site, check out anything from umbra's wallpaper line to frames to unique furniture pieces and do tell about something you could REALLY use or see in any of your spaces, residential or commercial. that's it. the winner will be picked at random this coming friday, so hurry over to umbra, you won't be disappointed, (did i mention their affordability?).

one more note about umbra: they've launched a design contest, with a prize of a $5,000 shopping spree!, ah, that's alot of product my friends :) here are the specifics:




so enjoy this give-away this fine monday morning, enjoy umbra, good luck and may the luckiest eco-friendly winner, win this friday :)