All quiet on the western coast

I'm back from a short trip and want to talk about bottles. Bottles and cans. I really like this NaturAqua bottle, as it looks like an old-fashioned water tower.



NaturAqua is a Coke product, and while I was looking for a picture I came across this rather pretty Fresca can. I don't think Fresca used to look like this, did it?

Square colored cuff

I used to have this thing about a certain Lego piece. It was from the town set, and I knew it only by the intriguing moniker of 'square colored light.' Only later did I realize that they were supposed to be things like tail lamps or traffic signal lights. I thought of them more like jewels. Well, you know I'd love this. Even though I don't have any linkable shirts.

Via Fixed Gear Finds. It reminds me that I haven't been Etsyside recently.

Yep, yep #2

I saw this phone today and it appealed to me, with its 'futuristic in 1983' vibe. I always go for the keypad that looks like a rotary dial but isn't, and I'm not always happy -- it's pretty hard to zip through a number on those things, and they don't whirr. Still, they look cute.

I didn't even see this before

I blogged Melissa and Doug but never saw these very cool (Spanish) blocks. Look at the detailing around the letter. Lovely!

Buckle up

I've never actually been a fan of those seatbelt bags until now. I really like this backpack version. Maybe it's this funky lavender color (I refuse, refuse, to use the name in the drop-down menu), or maybe it's the fact that it's a backpack and I need a backpack. But anyway, I like it. (They're selling it as a diaper pack but I am not sure why.)

Fancypants

I've always liked the Treo, mostly because it looks like an imaginary futuristic handheld device I had when I was a kid.

Well, now I really like it, because it comes in orange. (Sorry, copper.) Yeah, yeah, features...whatever. It's orange!

Swiss army covet

Oh, hello, I really covet this pen. Not only does it look like candy, always a great thing, it's a Swiss Army Knife pen! This is a way to combine my girly seven-year-old self with my geeky traveller self. Let's not forget, it's pressurized like the space pen. I want the pink one! Via OhGizmo!

Oh, those Russians...

Holy macaroni, this is cool. It's a giant keyboard made out of stone. I don't know what more to say, other than if I ever have a garden, I want something this kind of silly in it. Via English Russia.

I am too old for these?

I got a new phone recently, and while it's definitely a good phone, it's certainly not beautiful.

The phones I really like, though, are the kid phones. The only thing holding me back is the lack of a keypad. Could make actually, um, phoning kind of hard.

There's one cute little buggy one called the Migo, although I do worry that they mean 'Me Go' and that's just lame. I like the color and the way it looks like it's about to extrude little legs and waddle away.

The Firefly is more of the 'space alien pill' style of item, but is still pretty appealing. It looks like it's clear, in the style of those old Swatch watches. I love when you can see the works.




This is an unnamed South Korean phone -- actually, I think this might be the i-Kids one, which doesn't work or something like that. I didn't do much research. It's not quite as cute but it still has a breakfast-cereal-toy appeal.

Don't drink this

How incredible is this bottle? In fact, all the Method packaging is pretty stellar. I love the clean look, made more jolly by the cartoony lines. It's supposed to be good stuff, too. Wouldn't a row of these in different colors look great on a shelf?

Snail's pace

Via red.house, info about a concept vacuum that doubles as a kid's toy. This is seriously cool, and also seriously cute. I mean, look at it! Move over, Roomba...

Everyone needs something like this

I never thought I'd be blogging a site called Fashionable Canes, but here I am.

Backstory: I've always had a thing about crystal doorknobs. I even have a nascent crystal doorknob collection. And recently I hurt my knee. Put these two together and...Doorknob Cane! (I don't actually need a cane, but I might have, so, you know...) This is definitely an item that appeals to my inner seven-year-old.

Plat de jour

Melissa and Doug toys are pretty cute. I find something almost ridiculously entertaining about wooden soup. Wooden soup!

Capsela

One of my favorite childhood toys was Capsela, which I'm happy to see is alive and well, and even developing.

It was a series of plastic spheres that attached. Some had gears, some had axles, and one bit had a battery. Basically you could design little machines. And the capsules were so neat looking! None of this fake-o robot Technix stuff, or whatever that Lego offshoot is called. (I love Lego, but only the simple kind.)

I always assumed they were Scandinavian -- a logical guess, right? Well, Wikipedia tells me they were made by Mitsubishi Pencil Co of Japan. There's even a fan site! And you can still buy it.

Capsule

If you happen to be in San Francisco, check out the Capsule design fair. It's Sunday, October 22, 2006, from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm on Octavia at Hayes. Should be fun.

Dr Teeth

Recently I was rather in urgent need of a toothbrush. Someone, naming no names, thought my green and white one would make a fun toy with which to clean the floor. Hmm. Anyway, I happened to be at Trader Joe's, where they carry one type of toothbrush, called Preserve. As that was what they had, I bought it.

In general, I love the froofy and ridiculous overdesign of modern toothbrushes (half the time they look like running shoes or spaceships), so I looked at this one with some trepidation. But in fact it's fantastic. Not only does the simple form make for elegance, it is weirdly comfortable to use. I thought all toothbrushes were the same, but apparently not! This one is made of recycled plastic, too.

Eh

All the designy parents are excited about the new Starck Maclaren, but I just have to say 'eh'. It doesn't look too interesting and the handles just look so spindly. I'll stick with the trusty turquoise Volo.

Great blog

Here's a great blog I just found, called mod*mom (got to add it to my roll).