Have a voyeuristic itch to scratch? We do — peeking into homes far more luxe than ours is both a pleasure and tease. Happily, we found a new source on line for some mighty swanky kitchens. Over at epicurious.com, they’ve posted a few video tours of some famous kitchens of people we’d love to have dinner with (especially if they were cooking). Our favorite is Isaac Mizhari, who gushes about all of his kitchen accessories, including bowls from Target, a chic (Alessi?) bread box and his espresso machine. Click here to hang with Isaac and see more.

Bright ideas we gathered from your comments.

1) Microfiber is a good choice for people with cats. Pencils let us know that while her Sleepytime Rocker is a big hit with the cat, cleaning it isn’t a big issue: “Can’t wait to rock a baby in it, but so far the cat really is enjoying it — and her abundant Maine Coon fur doesn’t stick to the microfiber upholstery.” See where else we clicked last week.

2) You can find toothbrushes that not only are colorful and recycled, they look like they’ll fit in most holders! Inez weighed in on the toothbrush storage post with a link to these toothbrushes by Alan Stuart. Too cool.

3) We’re not the only ones who can’t leave Target with just one thing. Okay — we pretty much knew that already, but we did recognize ourselves in Becky’s comment: “I’m off to Target with the intention of spending $10, but I know I won’t leave until my cart is full. I’ll wind up with an array of unrelated items, like milk, a Jovavitch-Hawk skirt that makes me look really fat, a ‘fiendish’ platinum soduku book, some slutty looking shoes I’ll never end up wearing, some men’s pajama pants, a funny garden gnome, cat litter, a Victoria Hagan mirror, a Converse shirt I am way too old to get away with, a DVD, toilet paper, and a pink garden hose!” Thank you, readers, for always making us laugh. And check out that $10 hot pink garden hose here.

4) There are a lot of earth-friendly cat litters out there. (That sometimes dogs love a little too much, too). Susan Y says, “I used World’s Best, Swheat Scoop, Feline Pine, and right now I’m testing the litter called ‘Space’ which they sell at Trader Joe’s. World’s Best and Swheat Scoop were good, but I have a dog that LOVED to eat the litter. I’m still unsure about Space because they are made of full silica pellets, so they don’t have dust, but I’m not sure how biodegradable they are. Anyone have info?” See the Feline Fresh post here.

5) Some husbands have really interesting hobbies. Quite a few readers were excited by Angela’s family foray into beekeeping, and some of you have wanted to try it out yourselves. But only mod*mom had this to say: “I would freak out with all those bees. My husband is a falconer + it took a long time for me to like having a bird on my glove. I’m not as relaxed as he is.” Click to learn more about Angela and Chad’s new beekeeping venture.

Urban Flea alerted us to the existence of her blog (And complimented us — does this mean we’re suckers for compliments? Ummmm, maybe…?) so we checked it out. We like the weekly contest idea — this week it’s all about bookshelves.

The delightful Not Martha alerted us to some very cool new RuMe reusable shopping bags from Delight.com. (She had a giveaway, too, but unless you are reading this post before 8 a.m. Pacific time, you may have missed it.)

Remember that zebra-print rug that KTG hated? Well…here’s where to get one.

Lifehacker has some easy ways to go green with your computer — this is a big one for the laptop-addicted such as ourselves.

We liked the Sarah Jane Three Bears art as seen at Poppytalk — note that the cool rocker mentioned by one of our readers is proclaimed “just right.”

Via blogazar (another cool blog we just noticed) we admired this extremely great retro-style art from ISO50.

Another recent find is feeling stitchy — an offshoot of the Flickr Embroidery Group. We like any site that links to Jenny Hart.

Old meets new at the hands of Etsy seller Mudpuppy (aka Denver, Colorado ceramist Michael McDowell), who takes vintage fine china and refires it with modern abstract designs. See all of the offerings (such as the Baby Head Planters, $25 each, which simultaneously fascinate me and freak me out) in Mudpuppy’s Etsy shop. –Leah H.

See more of Leah’s great finds on her blog, More Ways to Waste Time.

We can’t imagine having a party these days without sending out electronic invites. But the designs at the traditional sites do leave something to be desired. That’s where pingg.com comes in. Their gallery of images are so vibrant, they’ll pop in any in-box. Best of all, you can upload your own image and customize the invitation to reflect your own creative ideas; you can send the invites via cell phone, email, Facebook or even on a personalized web page. We’re so inspired, we may have to throw a party soon just to use this site. Memorial day cookout, anyone? Like any good e-vite site, Pingg allows you to manage your invites and keep track of responses. Click here to visit pingg.com.

Bright ideas we gathered from your comments.

1. Biodegradable cutlery is not a myth. Says reader Alison: “Here in Portland, the wonderful local/natural grocery chain New Seasons uses the “Spudware - cutlery made from potatoes” for folks who want utensils for takeout food.” Click here to see more discoveries in Blogwatch.

2. Trendy decorating can be dangerous. Our post off What Decorating Trend Are You Sick Of? has caused a healthy debate. Birds, decals, blue/brown … there are lots of things you are ready to file away in the basement. One writer Becky, points out that blogs themselves contribute to the constant shifting of opinions. She wrote: “I think blogs have sped up the design trends coming in and going out to warp mode. We’re all always looking for the next thing and we get satisfaction on a daily basis.” Click here to read more and join in the discussion.

3. We’re jealous of Mary T. and others who live in Seattle and could attend the Lab at Velocity Art & Design. As Tula says: “Do I need to move Seattle? I am craving this Lab series!” Click here to read more about this super cool event.

4. There’s more than one way to make Angela M.’s Turkey Meat Loaf. Miranda “made this recipe with chicken and fresh sauteed spinach.” Yum. Click here for this classic dish.

5. Succulents are the perfect plants for those of us without green thumbs. BussBuss weighs in and says: “I’ve gotten into succulents lately because they’re low maintenance and i like their clean modern look as well, but they are perfect for those of us who tend to kill everything else.” Best of all, you can buy them eBay. Click here to see how.

More collections! Homegrown & the Bug shares a link in this post to the Flickr group Creative Collections. This image by ninainvorm caught our eye, which led us to another design-fabulous blog worth checking out. (Those are Nina’s ceramic designs above.)

Check out the Watershed Outdoor Furniture Set at Freshome. Is it just us, or do these look better leaning? (Which is probably the point.)

Stumbled across hula seventy this week, and really enjoyed this list of “37 things to do before I turn 38.” (Also enjoyed her list of what she has hanging on this wall.)

This is a slightly old post, but has anyone tried this biodegradable cutlery made from potatoes? Pretty cool idea.

Decorno declared this “Status Anxiety Week” and asked readers the hard questions on salary, social ambitions, real estate, and indulgences. (Actually, they’re kind of fun to answer.)

Speaking of Decorno, she also posted about this story in the New York Times about a couple who bought a huge, falling-down house in Akron, Ohio and spent the next 12 years renovating it — and they’re still not done. It’s beautiful, though.

Coconut & Lime shared a recipe for fennel risotto, then followed it up with ideas on how to use up leftover risotto which, if possible, look even tastier.

Your assignment: Go photograph your collections, post them at Creative Collections, then let us know about it so we can feature them here.

Have a great weekend!

Some people like to renovate a house to be ultra-authentic to its time period, right down to the kitchen fixtures. Others just want to bring back a little of the faded glory (like those great 1950s tiled bathrooms that a lot of people love to tear out). Both types will find something to love at Retro Renovation, “a place for your postwar ’40s, ’50s and ’60s-style kitchens, bathrooms and mid-century modern home aesthetic.” I stumbled on the site while kicking around ideas for the floor of our very tiny kitchen — our cabinets and countertops are original to 1947, but the floor is a distinctive (or would that be NON-distinctive?) 1980s beige. We ended up purchasing a retro-style tile by Mannington that’s not too far off from this selection of retro flooring. Our kitchen won’t be anywhere cool as Pam’s (amazing) Kitchen, above, but it will be a little cooler for having found this site. –Mary T.

Bright ideas we gathered from your comments.

1. You have very strong opinions about what’s “in” and “out” in design. We asked what trend you’re tired of seeing, and the responses ranged from vehement hatred for vessel sinks to bristling that anyone would try to dictate what’s in or out. For the record, we weren’t dictating; we just wanted to hear what you have to say. We agree that the most important thing to do is follow your heart. (Also, Mary T. has a deer skull above her fireplace currently — and several people said they were sick of that!)

KTG said it best: “Design is about making your home, and a lot of people try to make a living making things you want instead of the things you already have.” KTG also supplied the funniest comment of the thread, so allow us to share that as well: “I’ve not seen it in real life, but seeing at least one zebra skin on the floor per shelter magazine for years is getting on my nerves. I’m not anti-hides-and-antlers per se, but I think it’s the same zebra; they bring it to the shoot and just throw it on the floor when the room is ‘missing something.’” Add your opinion.

2. Enzo Mari’s La Mela apple print is available for less money and free shipping. You found the La Mela print for reader Payton, and even better, bussbuss found it for $250 with free shipping at nova68. See the print in Sarah Jessica Parker’s kitchen here.

3. Why oohdeedoh is called ohdeedoh. Way back in December, chez shoes wanted to know why Apartment Therapy’s ohdeedoh is called ohdeedoh. Rebeccajean_w has the answer: “I read it in an article in ‘Cookie’ magazine yesterday. It’s apparently the first thing the young daughter of the Apartment Therapy co-founders ever said that remotely resembled an actual word.”

4. LA’s Brewery Art Walk is worth a visit. Peggy of Design FormuLA supplied a link to her post on LA’s Brewery Art Walk, and it was fun to check out. We particularly like the work of Kelly Reemstem and her mini paintings of classic chairs. See where else we clicked last week.

5. Cribs from Target? Opinions vary. Angela wondered if she’d missed the boat by buying a crib before Target’s DwellStudio line appeared. Most commentors reassured her that she wasn’t missing out, and in fact one reader who got the Target crib didn’t keep it. “It’s made by StorkKraft in China — it’s awful, flimsy, and I returned it,” says Renee. See the post or learn more about DwellStudio.

Loving the house transformations at Cottage Living — readers send in a photo, Cottage Living ups the curb appeal with a little photo magic.

Flipping out over Jason Limón’s art at BlueFlip, as seen at Leah’s place.

Smiling at this photo at swissmiss — that’s how to make friends and influence people.

Nodding enthusiastically at Sprig’s optimistic list of good news about the environment.

Drooling over yet more wallpaper — this time atomic age-style at Bradbury & Bradbury via Boing Boing.

Discovering mirrormirror, the online home of Paola Thomas, UK-to-Seattle transplant and proprietor of the MirrorMirror shop.

Wondering where you’ve been clicking this week.