ac and i are headed off to cape may for the long weekend so i’ll see you on tuesday with new sneak peeks and some great new finds. until then, i hope you all have a wonderful labor day weekend- see you tuesday! ps: below is a summary of this week’s highlights and above are some great new designs from happysthlm in sweden.

[ps: and an early happy birthday to my mom! xoxo]

• diy wednesdays: candy box
• new before and afters: rosemary’s chair, jess’ radio table
• design dilemma: canopy bed help
• anne’s australian regional roundup: sydney part one and part two
• new sneak peeks: audrey romano and joslyn taylor (+grain edit via leah and nursery peek via cookie)
• my must have of the week: oddhero typography posters!
• hable construction shop tour
• new paper-goods: poppies for grace wedding stationery, egg press 2009 calendar, nantaka joy file folders (gorgeous),
• modern architecture: kithaus brooklyn and fiona winzar architects
• misc. new: anna joyce artwork, angela adams pillows, up in the air somewhere ceramics, ikat bowls at anthropologie, table linens from manor 12, prints from luludee

julia rothman has just introduced several new cards over at the hello lucky! website. my favorite is the green “you’re going places” design, but you can choose from three new styles right here ($4.50 each). thanks, julia!

i’d like to curl up and take a nap in this bed…right now sounds like a good time. blissliving home saville duvet set- $225 at pillows and throws.com

vintage, reupholstered and found goods from kanibal home….

jennifer hill is one of the coolest girls i know and i’m loving her new “places i have never been” print. the rome, italy print reminds me of my first trip to rome with my family and eating delicious gelato every chance i could get. it also reminds me of our in the kitchen with editor, kristina of 3 layer cake, who calls rome her home. click here to check out and purchase jennifer’s new prints ($40-$65).

yesterday i decided to treat myself to a few hours off and hopped on the subway to go visit one of my favorite shops in manhattan: hable construction. i’m not a big manhattan shopper most of the time (i tend to stick to brooklyn and web shops) but hable is an indulgence i make a few times a year for special occasions or days when i need a little pick-me-up. yesterday amy was in the shop and she was kind enough to let me hang out and snap pictures of all of my favorite aspects of the shop. in addition to all the gorgeous hable patterns, the shop has a fantastic selection of vintage and antique goods ranging from jewelry to tableware. i also loved the beautiful hand-carved wooden birds (made from the burned roots of ponderosa pines) by artist cleve lewis- each one had its own personality and for only $14-$17 a piece they’d be a fun little summer gift for friends throwing a house party or backyard bbq.

in addition to lovely home goods, hable always inspires me to think about decorating in different ways. the shop is full of tiny, expertly curated collections of odds and ends and always makes me want to suddenly take up horseshoe or cowbell collecting. i loved the wall of horseshoes and then saw the hable fabric-covered horseshoes for sale in the back- it was tough not to walk out of the store with one of those.

i did let myself indulge a bit and i walked out with a storage container in deep purple shades (for my closet reorganization i have planned) and one of the beautiful handmade shell-pincushions tucked away in a red display cabinet. these little hand-sewn beauties are made by a woman in texas and each one is a tiny work of art. i don’t sew so i decided to use my shell as a special display/holder for my engagement ring. now it feels like it finally has someplace special enough to rest each night.

you can visit the hable store at 117 perry street (between hudson and greenwich) in manhattan’s west village, or visit them online right here. if you’re in the nyc area i really suggest stopping by- this shop is definitely one of my top three favorite shops in the whole city and it’s a real treat to visit- you feel like you’re stopping into the apartment of a super cool friend who’s got a great eye for arranging. thanks to amy and jen for letting me stop by and take photos!

if you’d like to see the rest of my photos from yesterday’s hable trip click here for the full slide show on flickr.

our house has become a study in orange these days so i seem to be gravitating towards anything within that color family. hence, i’m really liking this letterpressed flower print from lulu dee at etsy. choose from several patterns right here for $25 each.

d*s reader jess in austin sent along this great radio table before and after. jess explained that she found this piece on the side of the road and picked it up. then she grabbed a $5 can of mis-matched lime green paint from home depot and repainted the piece for a new look. the radio instead still works so now jess has an updated piece of furniture that only cost her $5. great work, jess!