I’ve been a little busy lately. A new baby and energetic toddler have kept me up at night and away from my keyboard. I still make time to check my favorite blogs though and Oh Happy Day just happens to be one of them. With a new look, Jordan is giving away a trip to Paris for two and I hope we win! How wonderful to spend some time traveling Europe and let the Grandparents change a few diapers while we’re away.

Put typography on anything and I’m sold. This watering can keeps me thinking about spring – even though it’s a cold and rainy Tuesday.

I know this is from last year’s green Chicago River, but I just think it’s great advertising for the Shamrock Shake. Hope you have a wonderful St. Patty’s Day ~

I’ve been spending more time reading other blogs lately than tending to my own. These are my regulars:

Swiss Miss, Design Mom, Seesaw, Oh So Beautiful Paper, Design*Sponge, Oh Happy Day, Twig & Thistle, Eat Drink Chic, Beast Pieces, Bloesem Kids, OhDeeDoh.

I love this new IFC series called Portlandia. If you’re from Madison, you’ll find it hilarious too. Fred Armisen is great and my favorite episodes are “Ordering the Chicken” and “I dream of the 90s”. Watch excerpts here.

Thinking of going to school? Whether you’re 17 or 70, Wisconsin has a great number of programs for creative folks. Too many to list in fact, but this site lists WI colleges and universities offering design degrees. I love Jordan Ferney’s “Advice to Myself for a Creative Career“.

(image by f2images)

Have you heard of Itizen? It’s an online service that captures the unique stories of things. It’s a site that provides a way to tell, share, and follow the “life stories” of unique and meaningful objects. Users place Itizen TRACKit Tags on anything that has an intriguing story. Alphanumeric and QR codes on the tags connect the physical objects to their user-generated online stories that are co-authored by the people who make them, the people who own them, or anyone connected to them. Makers and sellers of interesting things can talk about their products—how they made it and from where it came. Buyers drawn to one-of-a-kind objects can access information on what makes the items unique. Givers can enhance the meaningfulness of the things they give. If items are sold, gifted, or otherwise passed on, the stories go with them. As a result, these stories give context and meaning to the things around us, and make the objects themselves more interesting and potentially more valuable. Itizen’s services can support the growing number of micro-businesses such as artisans and independent retailers who sell handmade, vintage, or other unique products. What a cool idea! Check it out at itizen.com.