Whenever I see something like this, I can’t help but wonder, “Why didn’t anyone think of this before?”

Designed by Harc Lee, found at Apartment Therapy Unplugged. Genius.

I have an obsession with books and everything books-related.

So it came to no surprise when I let out an audible gasp to see this picture:

Designed by Dutch artist Job Koelewijn, the Infinity Bookcase symbolizes the infinite power of books and learning.

I want to move all the furniture out of our condo so I can move this baby in now.

Via Neatorama.

I *heart* this Digital/Analog Clock, debuted at Tokyo Design Week 08. What a sexy blend of the old and the new!

Via Gizmodo.

Earlier this week, I read about the TwitSig mug. Using the TwitSig website, you create your own Twitter image, upload it to Zazzle, and viola! You get your own Twitter mug!

(image from the TwitSig Zazzle page)

I immediately knew that I needed to get a mug for J, who is one of the most avid users of Twitter I know. In other words, a total Twitter whore.

However, when I tried using the TwitSig site, I wasn’t too impressed by the graphics. Here’s what you get when you plug in my Twitter account:

I wasn’t thrilled about the image resolution either, and I know what DPI is key when printing on items.

So I did what anyone who is Photoshop-saavy would do and created my own:

I chose one of our favorite quotes from one of our favorite movies, Zoolander.

12:07pm alludes to “our” number, 127 (my bday is 12/7 and his is 1/27). I couldn’t do 12:70 because that doesn’t exist…..but at the time, I had a momentary brain fart and completely forgot that I
could’ve chosen 01:27 instead. Doh!

And, April 18 2008 was our wedding day.

I also made sure to include the URL of his Twitter page.

Another advantage of creating my own design was that I wanted to keep the present a complete surprise, and I wouldn’t have been able to do that with TwitSig – I would’ve had to ask him to Twit exactly what I wanted on the mug.

I received the mug in the mail this morning and I couldn’t be more happy. J was ecstatic – he knew I was working on “a surprise” but he had no idea what it was. He was very, very happy about the mug.

When J was a little kid, his parents bought him a pair of ivory chopsticks that were engraved with his name. Twenty-plus years later, they are still his favorite pair of chopsticks:

When J’s parents came to the states for our wedding, they brought me a gift from Hong Kong: my own pair of ivory chopsticks, engraved with my Korean name written in Chinese…bought from the same store where they had gotten J’s chopsticks!

I joked that I will forever think of baby elephants being slaughtered as I use these chopsticks, but I really appreciated the gesture and the thoughtfulness that went into the gift.

Here they are, side by side. Notice how much darker J’s chopsticks are – they have browned with age. Mine are pointed, because J’s parents heard that Koreans prefer their chopsticks skinnier/more pointed than the Chinese (which is true).

Why an entire post about chopsticks? Because we may need to add some more to our collection…

Behold, lightsaber chopsticks!

Via Gizmodo.