Take, take, take... pictures

I heart lomography. Lomo-what? You can find a longer explanation here, but lomography basically refers to the use of various photographic effects, such as fisheye, color saturation, and multiple exposures in the same frame, resulting in dreamy and surreal shots. (I'm the proud owner of a Colorsplash camera, which bathed my Italian vacation in blue and gold highlights. Bellissimo!)

Apparently, Jack and Meg White also heart lomography:

[The White Stripes: Fashion plates and shutterflies]

The duo lent their names and telltale colorschemes to two custom lomographic cameras: the "Meg Diana+" and the "Jack Holga." Both models are known for their swirly lo-fi images and color and contrast saturation and each camera includes a red-and-white peppermint filter — for sweeter pictures, obviously.

[Hipsters on film. The "Meg Diana+" camera, $180.]

I'm absolutely craving these kitschy cameras. If you want to be the sharpest sharpshooter on the block, grab yours today — only 3,000 of each camera were made.

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Off the cuff

Nothing says "I can tell time and look fabulous" like an oversized, in-your-face watch cuff. Over the past few years, I've been amassing these chunky, menswear timepieces -- they are stylish statements when a stretchy Timex just won't do.

Some inspiration:

[Johnny Depp, hip cat and wearer of leather cuffs.]

I recently saw an ad for Nixon watches in Nylon, and was instantly smitten by the surf-and-snowboard apparel company's "Tribella" watch: a black, angular plastic bangle with inlaid triangle face. And it just so happens that when I hopped on Nixon's website, I wanted almost every watch I saw. Here are a few of my favorites:

["Kinky," $100-$130; I love the tan band with the right-now purple face. Don't know if I'd call this watch kinky, but it certainly tickles my fancy.]

["Skyline," $75; This unique watch has a nautical flair and the crisp blue and white color scheme is definitely sophisticated.]

["Trixie," $90; Serious hardware with a touch of glam.]

Now, pretty please ask me what time it is so I can show off my new purchases.

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The green, green glass of home

Finally, I know what's happening with all of the wine bottles that I've been recycling (and trust me, there have been plenty). Artecnica has introduced a line called tranSglass designed by Emma Woffenden and Tord Boontje. It's great to see the original shape and color of the bottles cleverly reshaped into candleholders. They've also designed them as vases and tumbler sets.

Wisconsin-based Green Glass Co. is recycling Mexican beer bottles and turning them into tumbler sets. Not as arty as the Artecnica goods, but still charming in its own South-of-the-Border fashion.

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Now, why didn't I think of this?

While everyone from Spike Lee to Lindsay Lohan is yakking away on their uber-chic, $500 iPhones, the rest of us peons can only drool. No matter, I've found an equally stylish -- yet refreshingly affordable -- solution to my shopping dilemma:

Or, we could all just wait for Apple's latest must-have gadget to come down in price. Le sigh. Why does my super passé cell suddenly make me think of Zack Morris from "Saved by the Bell"?

Source

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Mod-tastic!

I'm a bit crazy when it comes to buying greeting cards. I can never resist picking up cards I like, but when it comes time to send a birthday greeting, I usually get lazy and e-mail a singing squirrel instead. I may have a hard time sending out these cards because they're like miniature works of art.

These are embroidered cards from a California company called Townsend Sakai. I'm particularly fond of the Nelson lamps and the Eames chair rendered in thread. Joanne Rossman in Roslindale Village sells Townsend Sakai cards. I'm not sure if she has these particular cards, but maybe of you ask nicely...

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Pimp my Shuffle

Just a little eye candy for you this afternoon. There's a German company called Xexoo selling iPod Shuffles coated in 18 carat gold. Other iPod models are available in gold, but the shuffle is the least expensive of the bunch at nearly $20,000. I think these would be a hit in a New Jersey gym, I'm not so sure how well it would go over at my neighborhood health club.

Source: Web Squirrel

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You thought Algebra was hard?

Try selecting a lunch bag for your kid these days.

Lands' End devoted a whopping 10 pages to the lunch bag in this month's catalog.

There are bags with initials stamped on them. You prefer a full name? No problem. There are butterfly motifs, as well as baseballs, footballs, horses and cats.

There's the roll-top lunch sack style, which looks just like a paper bag except its canvas like.

There's the hot-stuff style, to accommodate soup (like any mom is packing that these days).

The choices roll on.

It's almost rather stressful. Is the cat motif too babyish for a second grader? The soccer emblem too cliche? Are these bags too big, in light of the obesity epidemic?

My computer won't allow me to display these bags for you but you can check them out online at landsend.com:

Meanwhile, Children's Place has bags too:

I like this at Target:

Online, LillianVernon.com has cute ones:

All of this selection and it's only July 20. Better move fast.

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Happy Sad

Of all the lousy timing. I just watched "Fast Food Nation" and decided (once again) that I would go cold turkey from Filet-O-Fish and McNuggets. But tomorrow McDonald's begins a run of Hello Kitty Happy Meals (with cool Kitty prizes). I'm not above ordering fast food for cool product tie-ins. In the fall of 1993 I gained 7 pounds eating at Burger King to collect the entire series of $1.99 "Nightmare Before Christmas" watches. And it was worth every pound.

I'm most looking forward to the Hello Kitty "style kit" and the "back-to-school kit." Yes, I'm a big girl. Get over it.

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Get Smart

I have a story in today's Style & Arts section about the Smart, the tiny two-seater that is finally coming to the United States next year. You can test drive them this weekend in Harvard Square in front of the Border Cafe as part of the Smart USA roadshow. The event runs from noon to 8 p.m. both days.

I had an opportunity to drive a Smart yesterday, which for me was more exciting than Christmas, my birthday, or the day Martha Stewart was released from jail.

First, the answer to the question you're dying to ask: Yes, I felt perfectly safe. I drove on the Mass Pike, Storrow Drive, and the Expressway. I had the top down, the wind in my hair, and the admiration of my fellow motorists.

The best part about driving the Smart is the looks from bystanders. I lost count of the number of thumbs up I received from people on the sidewalks of the Back Bay. I might as well have been a shirtless Matthew McConaughey given all the looks and smiles I was getting in the South End.

Shamelessly, I kept driving around the city because I loved seeing people's reactions to the 106-inch Smart's German design. In Harvard Square, a pair of cute young ladies gave an approving wink, and a cab driver asked how many cylinders (the answer is three), and when he can get one (winter, 2008). My favorite reaction was a pair of greasy (and, let's face it, scary) dudes who were giggling at the Smart like a couple of school girls at a Hillary Duff movie.

Sadly, I had to return the car. With it went my new-found popularity.

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