50 & 50 Project

50 States, 50 Designers – each one creates an illustration around their state’s motto.  See the gallery here.  More are posted every day.

My favourite is the one for Florida designed by Two Arms Inc, above.  Sidenote – who knew that was Florida’s state motto?  I guess they couldn’t find an original one, so they copied the motto for the entire country.

[via DesignWorkLife]

Mildred Pierce

On Wednesday I wrote about how much I loved Downton Abbey, and now that it’s over, there’s another TV miniseries I’m quite looking forward to – Mildred Pierce on HBO.  (sidenote – don’t you love how TV miniseries are better than movies now?)

Mildred Pierce will air in March, and it stars Kate Winslett, Guy Pearce, and Evan Rachel Wood.  It’s directed and co-written by Todd Haynes (who made the the Bob Dylan film I’m Not There and the Julianne Moore period drama Far From Heaven).  For more info, watch the Behind-the-Scenes clip I’ve posted above.

Downton Abbey

Have you heard about Downton Abbey, the 7-part British television miniseries?  It aired on ITV in England back in the fall, and was just broadcast on PBS’s Masterpiece Theatre in January (where it was cut differently, and pieced together into 4 parts).

I haven’t loved a drama so much in a long time – TV or movie.  I couldn’t get enough of Downton Abbey.  The writing is so good – the characters have so much depth.  That’s thanks to Sir Julian Fellowes, who also wrote the fantastic film Gosford Park.

If you missed the show when it aired, don’t worry – the DVD is now available.  Look for it at the video store, or buy it online here.  Trust me – it’s well worth it.

And, if you can’t get enough of the show and want to know more, check out the mini-website that PBS put together for the show.  There are Q and A’s, cast chats, and more info about the real-life location where Downton Abbey was shot.

Finally, it has been confirmed that a second season is coming.  From Downton Abbey’s Wikipedia entry:

The second series will be composed of eight episodes. Filming begins in March 2011. The second series will air from Autumn 2011, and will be followed by a Christmas special later in the year.

Michelle Dockery, Dame Maggie Smith, Brendan Coyle, Rob James-Collier and Dan Stevens have all signed up for the second series.

CAN. NOT. WAIT.

Australian Beach House

It’s chilly willy and there’s some snow on the ground here in Toronto, so when I saw this posting on Desire to Inspire, I was overwhelmed with real estate envy.  This beach house in Noosa Sound, Queensland (Australia) has such a gorgeous blend of modern design with beach-house casual coziness.

If you have an extra 5 million, it can be yours… here’s the real estate listing.