Field your own phone calls from friends in Cameron’s house from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off – it’s on the market for $2.3 million. (But as a friend asked, “Have they fixed the garage?”) See more at Casa Sugar. (Photo via Retro Thing.)

Need a new party trick? Check out these super cool magnet tricks at Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories.

Dream about far off lands while resting your head on these Cushy Continent Pillows from Uncommon Goods via Happy Mundane.

Enjoy great photos with fantastic fonts from artist Shaun Sundholm. Spotted over at Swiss Miss.

I’d love to take this amazing Box Floral Kite to the park on a breezy summer day. Check it out at Cath Kidston.

Got an abundance of reusable totes? Check out one idea for making use of your bag bounty at NOTCOT.

I don’t like bacon, but it smells heavenly. I have a similar relationship with sofa beds. That is to say, I love the idea, but the ones I’ve seen have been too big for a small guest room and insanely time-consuming to pull out for visitors. Oh — and fiendishly uncomfortable, ensuring that Aunt Jane tosses and turns to avoid the bar cleverly positioned to hit the middle of her back. One solution could be the Capitola Convertible Chaise Sofa. I love the vaguely Jetsons look to it, and isn’t it cute the way it just pulls out and “clicks” into place? But would it be comfortable for reading or sleeping, or is it a member of the lumpy futon family? –Bay A.

Having a birthday while on vacation? Just want to keep some romance handy? Try the five-minute candle pack from Fred Flare. This match book-size pack contains ten tiny candles for all your five-minute celebration needs. The super-cute packs come in sets of four: yellow, pink, green, and blue. Get them for $8 right here.

P.S. Fred’s got a blog, too!

As you know, we normally jump up and down for any of Jonathan Adler’s creations, but we have to admit that his new banana bud vase is giving us pause. It’s definitely cheeky and fun, but for nearly $50? Even with all the potential phallic jokes, we’re just not buying it. It’s the kind of thing you can imagine unwrapping for your birthday and going: “Oh, look, a banana bud vase. Just what I’ve always wanted!” What about you? Would you go ape for this vase or slip it under the rug?

As anyone who has gone to a baby shower knows, having a kid requires a great deal of gear that you only really need for a short amount of time. All in all, we’ve been pretty happy with our choices — from our Dwell bedding to our Wal-Mart crib. But the one thing that I regret is not buying an organic mattress for our baby. We always hear about how important it is to buy quality mattresses for our own beds, so it makes sense that it is just as crucial for little ones — and they sleep A LOT. Still, it’s hard to find stores that sell organic mattresses — I’ve really only seen them online and in very high end stores. And they are pricey. At the end of the day, the baby will sleep well regardless. But when I read about mattressses like this one at Kolcraft, I wish we had splurged. It not only sounds incredibly comfy, but safe: It’s resistant to bacteria, odors, liquids, and stains, as well as bacteria, allergens, dust mites, and mildew. The price is just over $300, which isn’t too bad if you figure that babies sleep about 13 hours day and you’d use it for about three years. But that said, Isadora is almost 16 months old now. I’m guessing we’ll just live with the extremely non-organic Sealy mattress another year and half… right? — Angela M.

Reader Lisa Grober writes:

I’m hoping that you can help me find a sewing pattern for an IKEA TULLSTA Slipcover. I think the IKEA options are dreadful, and I’m not in love with any from Bemz since I’d like to avoid the skirt if at all possible. I’m excited to start this project. I’m just thinking it would be a lot less labor intensive if I had a pattern. I’m sure someone out there has one… Thanks.

Well, Lisa, we checked around, and it seems you’re not the first to ask this question — there’s a similar question with just one response at Yahoo. Casa Sugar had a very inspiring example of a DIYer who gave her own TULLSTA chair a terrific facelift — that’s the result in the above photo. It’s not exactly a pattern, but you can get the details of how she did it here.

What about you, readers? Any suggestions for Lisa?

When I have people over for dinner, I like to set out a plate of cheese and crackers with olives and other nibbly things — lots of little finger food for everyone to snack on before the main event. But lately I’ve started serving just one thing: lemon-oregano shrimp. It’s about as fast to make as opening a box of crackers, goes well with a cocktail or beer, and seems a bit more surprising than the usual pre-dinner fare I put out. It’s an especially good idea to make this when shrimp are on sale — I usually buy a pound of pre-peeled shrimp for every two to four people. You could peel and de-vein the shrimp yourself, but that’s a little more labor-intensive, especially when people are on their way over. I’d rather spend that time having a drink. –Lisa C. Click for the recipe! (more…)

There’s nothing I enjoy more on a warm night than sipping on a refreshing drink like this one. It’s just a mix of sparkling water, elderflower syrup (or cordial) and a generous splash of rhubarb bitters. You can make your own elderflower cordial, but I get mine for a great price at IKEA in the food department (it’s called fladersaft). The rhubarb bitters are by Fee Brothers, and are actually one of the few bitters out there that aren’t alcohol-based. It’s great for kids and adults alike, but I think it’s also quite tasty if you switch the soda out for a crisp prosecco or dry sparkling wine. –Megan B.

If there’s one thing we’ve learned about bath time with Isadora, it’s to expect lots of giggles and a few tears. I still haven’t quite figured out how to rinse shampoo out of her hair without making her cry — though of course we are using all-natural, no-tears bath products. One potential disaster we have been able to avoid: Having her bang her head on the faucet, which is in the middle of our tub — right where she loves to sit. She’s just tall enough (or short enough) to fit underneath it nicely, but the slightest movement would cause a bump. I’ve lived the scenario a dozen times in my head! I’ve seen a lot of cutsie faucet covers, but this one, the Skip Hop Moby, $ 13 at fawnandforest.com, spoke to the ocean lover in me. It fits on perfectly, and even allows for the pull up tab for the shower. While I was at it, I also got us a Skip Hop Tubby, $20, to contain her growing collection of toys. I admit it’s not exactly chic decor, but at least it matches our color scheme! — Angela M.

As you probably know, we have two big, hairy dogs, plus two long-haired cats. Add that to a house with hardwood floors, and you’ve got some serious fur tumbleweeds. I was happy to discover that the FURminator, which I finally broke down and purchased earlier this year, isn’t just hype — two good brushings of our dogs, and we noticed a dramatic drop in the amount of hair we vacuumed up that week. So I’m excited to see the new products that FURminator has out now. The FURminator deShedding Tool now comes with a “FURejector” button which quickly cleans the removed hair from the tool. Before we purchased the original FURminator, we had a shedding tool with a similar feature, and it is a LOT easier to groom your pet when you can just click a button for the shed fur to drop off the tool. Then there’s the bathing devices: the TubNub Bathing Brush with rubber “nubs” that help remove dirt and loose hair and to massage shampoo into your pet’s coat, and a lightweight microfiber towel. Our one-year-old mastiff Dahlia is a sworn enemy of bath time, so these products could make things a bit more pleasant for her (and us). Get the dirt (heh) on all the new FURminator deShedding Tools here. –Mary T.