This is gonna be a big, BIG year for my family. Me, I’m newly engaged and planning a wedding (more on that later). But the real big news comes from my sister who is going to have a baby! We don’t know the sex just yet, but I’m already finding impossibly cute unisex clothes and toys that I’m dying to buy for “it.” One of these Manny & Simon animal rockers is high on the list. They’re made of 100% post-industrial recycled wood residuals and painted with non-toxic and ultra low odor paint. These little guys come with a hefty price tag, but every kid needs an Aunt to spoil him or her rotten, right?! — Erica P.

I love these bird paintings in the Etsy shop of Italian artist DIMDì — just $25 for an original 10″x8″ watercolor of a robin or bluebird. While her birds are what set my heart aflutter, she also has paintings of animals and sea life and will even create custom animal portraits. — Sarah L.

I love the Internet. I am planning to redo our bedroom and was thinking about this Liberty of London for Target spread — but it’s already sold out, of course! So I Googled “modern bedspread” and had a “How have I been missing out on this?” moment. Inmod Design Studio has 62 different duvet designs that range from organic to geometric and can be customized with three types of material and more colors than I can possibly add up. They’re a little bit pricier than you’d pay at Target, but hey — they’re custom! So far I am really loving the “Love” hands (which I was pretty boring with and just customized in a preview with black stitching on white — you can make the hands two different colors) and the “Lava” circles design. I’m going to keep playing around with them and will update you on my progress — which you can follow along with at Facebook if you so desire. All I ask is that you don’t tell my husband that Inmod has a monkey design. — Mary T.

(Even if it was Gerard Butler?)

We were so excited to see Gerard Butler’s Manhattan bachelor pad in Architectural Digest — that is, until we saw it. What a mess of browns! The wood, marble, and brick on the floor, the cabinets, the backsplash — how many shades of one color can a person squeeze into one room? Okay, I guess we can give a few points for recycling the floor into cabinets. And it’s probably not Gerard’s fault that they styled the photo with a carefully placed pair of Cons in front of the fridge and pretentious blue Fedora next to the exploding fruit bowl. To us, it looks like the man who lives there would wear waaaaay too much cologne. And he definitely doesn’t know how to cook. If a guy brought us home to this, we’d look for the exit, fast.

What about you. Would you sleep with a man whose kitchen looked like this?

See more photos at architecturaldigest.com

Around here, we love a good contest, and while our Liberty of London giveaway has ended (Congrats, Kate Logsdon Mitchell!), our pals over at Rejuvenation are satisfying our penchant for prizes with a competition of their own. They just launched their second annual “Make Your Home Your Own” contest, and asking their customers and the greater design community to share their stories of successful room remodels. And what’s more? Our very own Mary T. is one of their esteemed judges! Click to see how you can win — prizes include a $1,000 gift certificate! (more…)

1) What’s on your holiday table? Deliciousness. Simone Rene says: “This year is the 1st year ever that we will have brunch instead of huge family meal [for Easter]. On Sunday before church there will be coffee and warm cinnamon buns coated with dried fruits and nuts and that lovely white icing…. brunch will include baked eggs, layered mushrooms, tomatoes and chicken sausage accompanied by toasted French bread and a banana and 3 berry salad with plain yogurt…I hope I don’t have leg of lamb withdrawal.” With all that food? Doubtful! What did you eat?

2) Smart pet doors are worth it. Kimberj says: “We had one (’til the kitties passed away) and it was great. We have very nosy squirrels, chipmunks, and raccoons so it was well worth it. My mother-in-law had new drapes and sheers shredded by an errant chipmunk the day after she put them up.” See the SureFlap Cat Flap.

3) You can lead a kid to a healthy lunch — but will s/he eat it? DJ says: “In the past three years, parents banded together and found a company that provides healthy, organic lunches, with a heavy emphasis on vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and low fat dairy. Although not as cheap as a school lunch of yore, they are healthy and well-prepared and pretty affordable for what is involved. …However, there is a hitch. You would not believe how much many of the kids complain about the healthy food not being salty or sugary enough!” Fed up with school lunches?

4) Magic Garden gnomes are good travelers. Chris pointed out a benefit of the Magic Garden plant marker gnomes that we hadn’t thought of. He says: “These don’t have quite the magic of a full blown garden gnome, but they are cheaper and easier to mail around the world.” See them here.

5) Streamlined works for any era. Betsey Sherman says of Spark Modern Fires: “We’ve been looking and looking for a very small vent-free fireplace for the original faux fireplace alcove in the living room of our 1928 house. We can’t figure out why a house from this era would be built without a fireplace (but with a spot for one). Even though Spark’s fires are modern, they’re so streamlined they could work even in our old house.”

Salvaged cardboard pendant light by Graypants

Craft’s got these adorable printable bunny face cupcake wrappers to turn your mundane carrot cakes into something festive — but you still have to make your own ears.

Over at Instructables, we found this geek-chic, IKEA-hacked R2D2 lamp. Now if it helped us take down the Death Star, that’d be something else!

We’ve featured the salvaged cardboard lamps from Seattle’s Graypants before. This week, Design*Sponge paid their fun and fabulous Capitol Hill live/work space a little visit.

We are busting out the rollers after spying this vintage 1960s Dupont exterior housepaint brochure at RetroRenovation. The period-perfect color schemes are an inspiration we really needed!

DIY pot racks for every small space situation, at Apartment Therapy. We’re particularly keen on the vintage ladder pot rack.

CasaSugar shows us their must haves for April. We are in love with those umbrellas, even if they are a bit steep.

If you haven’t got the time or energy for a big spring clean, Shelterpop’s got 10 ways to freshen your home for Spring right now.

Go collecting with Jonathan Adler and Simon Doonan at the InsideSource. Those two are tastemakers indeed, and collect very interesting stuff, like horological collage, which are made from old watch parts. They also, interestingly enough, collect vintage pieces by Adler himself!

Ever-creative (and freshly home from Paris) Megan over at NotMartha has outdone herself with these breathtakingly cool homemade chocolate kinder eggs. Who knew she was such an authority on chocolate, along with everything else she can do?

Hidden Eloise is offering 8″ x 11″ art prints for $9.99 and all postcards at half price.

Some great favorites on sale at Jonathan Adler, including bold, graphic Okura dishes and even an embroidered pillow or two.

A fun sale at GSelect: spot a striped Easter egg and get special savings on surprise items.

More good stuff on sale at Design Public from Fatboy, Not Neutral, OFFI and more.

I love this mint julep spoon from Canadian artist Anneke von Bommel. Her spoons are incredibly beautiful, handcrafted works of art that look like family heirlooms. She combs antique shops and yard sales for abandoned vintage cutlery and then repurposes the pieces with new, precious materials. Anneke’s Absinthe Spoon and gold-plated Lover’s spoon are also stunning (albeit not “everyday” pieces). — Katie D.

This week is a big food holiday for many of us, whether we’re celebrating Passover or Easter. I’m actually ashamed to admit I’ve really dropped the ball these last few years, skipping a large Easter dinner entirely and opting for an easy brunch out with friends. This Sunday, however, will be spent in grand style: enjoying both roasted rack of lamb AND roasted chicken with leeks, smashed potatoes, homemade brioche and super-fresh asparagus. Thankfully, I am not the one preparing such a large repast, but merely bringing either Dorie Greenspan’s Amaretti Torte or this Gianduja Bete noir. But I know our readers are expert holiday entertainers, and there have got to be some fantastic spreads happening out there. Whether it’s brisket and potato kugel, spiral-sliced honey ham and scalloped potatoes, or something completely different, I’d love to know what’s being served at your feast. — Megan B.

Photo via The Bitten Word (a blog, incidentally, we love)