I’m completely smitten with the work of Buenos Aires based illustrator Sol Linero. A girl after my own heart, two of her favorite subjects are her pets and tea! How could I not be in love? Believe me, if I could draw, you would see a whole bunch of adorable illustrations of teacups, and Miles, and Miles sitting in teacups… Maybe it’s best that I can’t draw more than a stick figure. Anyhow, check out a few of my favorite illustrations by Sol.

To view more of Sol’s work, check out her flickr page, website, and etsy shop!

Over the weekend I came across these incredible Ojos de Dios by artist Jay Mohler. I remember making these from yarn and popsicle sticks, back in elementary school, while learning about Mexican history. I’ve encountered quite a few on road trips to Arizona and in museums here and there, but none as beautiful as the one’s below. I would love to have one for my apartment. What a beautifully stunning art piece!

You can find more of Jay’s work here and here.

Today’s Friday I’m In Llama is a MUST have item (for me at least)! I’ve been on the lookout lately for a cool llama tee to lounge around in this summer and, to my delight, LAMA blog reader Jamie Stitzel recommended I check out the adorable llama tees over at Maryink. Jamie and I actually went to high school together (way back in the late 90′s), so it was also great to hear from an old friend. Thanks Jamie! Unfortunately, the llama tees are sold out at the moment but I’m determined to get my hands on one anyway.

So what do you guys think? Boyish and boxy grey or figure hugging blue? Thanks again Jamie for the tip! I’m always looking for Friday llamas so if you have any to pass along, feel free to shoot me an email at info@lamadesigns.com. Happy Friday everyone! Have the best weekend!

I’ve decided to sneak out for a couple of hours this afternoon to check out Toy Story 3! What’s the point of being your own boss when you don’t take advantage of the perks every so once in a while, right? With Pixar in mind last night, I was thrilled to stumble upon these incredible movie posters based on the movie Up which, incidentally, largely took place in Venezuela! It’s not very often that animated characters travel to South America. I think the last time I saw this was when Donald Duck traveled throughout Latin America in The Three Caballeros (a childhood favorite of mine that I highly recommend). I hope you love these awesome posters as I do. I would kill for a print of this first one!

Artwork by Eric Tan. Images taken from here.

Early this morning, my good friend Kate decided grab a box of baked goods from Tartine, and to head over to LAMA HQ to catch the USA vs. Algeria game with me. Kate just returned from the World Cup madness in South Africa and brought back a Vuvuzela for me! I’ll do my best to refrain from blasting it at 6:30 am throughout the rest of World Cup, but I’m jazzed to have a little piece of World Cup 2010 here in my home.

So what exactly is a vuvuzela? Here’s a little bit of info I found on Pinterest via (one of my favorite Pinterest pals, Jane Wang)…

A vuvuzela is “a stadium horn commonly blown at South African Football Matches. Often made of plastic and approximately 1m long it emits a loud monotone B flat. ( A less disharmonious sound can be produced by blowing it like a trombone, dropping the corners of the mouth as in the letter “m” and blowing through the lips to make them vibrate.)” Basically, if you’ve been watching World Cup, it’s the swarm of killer bee- like sound you are hearing on your speakers.

I just wanted to say a BIG CONGRATULATIONS to the US World Cup team for their major victory over Algeria this morning. It’s been a tough and controversial road for team USA, but they have rolled with the punches (and jersey pulling, tripping, bad calls, elbows to the face, etc.) and have come out on the other side ready for round 2. Go USA!! By the way, did anyone catch June’s Vanity Fair cover?

Whoa! Remind me again, why isn’t soccer popular in the US? Hm. Viva World Cup and hot soccer men!

Lately I can’t stop thinking about how badly I want to hop on a plane and head out to some exotic destination. Preferably someplace with white sandy beaches and piña coladas in coconut cups. Just a quiet place where I can sit uninterrupted all day and catch up on the growing library of books I’m dying to read.

High on my summer reading list are the fantastic titles below from Chronicle Books, one of my favorite publishing houses around. Chronicle has an excellent collection of art and design books that I would love to own, but there is nothing I love more than a great biography. Here are a few I can’t wait to pull out my reading glasses for:

I Will Never Forget You, by historian Salomon Grimberg, tells the story of the relationship and collaboration between photographer Nickolas Muray and artist Frida Kahlo. Through their mutual love for art and each other, together Nickolas Muray and Frida Kahlo created some of the most iconic portraits of all time.

Dan Eldon: The Art of Life, by Jennifer New, is the story of a photojournalist who was killed at the age of 22 on assignment in Somalia. Though he lived a short life, Dan Eldon has left behind “a lifetime of adventures that continue to inspire.” His life is an “example of a life lived for art, and art experienced as life.”

Finally, the story of a woman who has always peaked my interest, Edie: Girl on Fire by Melissa Painter and David Weisman, is the real story of model Edie Sedgwick. Best known as Andy Warhol’s Factory “it” girl and Bob Dylan’s muse, Girl on Fire is “a rebuttal to Hollywood’s highly fictionalized Factory Girl.” Good thing, it was a terrible movie.

I’m always on the lookout for great books so if you have any suggestions, please let me know! Happy Summer reading!

*top image taken from here.

A few weeks back, I was delighted to find a small package in my mailbox from my wonderful graphic designer and friend Hijiri K. Shepherd. To my delight, she sent me the cutest llama cell phone charm she found on a recent trip to Japan, along with one of her fantastic letterpress “Hello” cards. It was an incredibly thoughtful gift! Thanks so much Hijiri! My little llama enjoys sitting pretty on my desk every day.

I also want to congratulate Hijiri on being featured in a very cool new book entitled “Impressive – Printmaking, Letterpress, and Graphic Design.”

Hijiri’s amazing work, including her VERY popular Live What You Love print, can be found on page 96. Here’s a sneak peek taken from her blog..

Congratulations Hijiri! It’s such an honor to work with you. Impressive indeed!

Casa Chaucha is a very cool home decor blog that features the homes of some of Argentina’s most creative designers, artists, photographers, and other young professionals. It’s a great place to get a glimpse into the unique homes of creative folks living in another part of the world. Scrolling through post after post, I noticed just how popular it is for Argentinean designers to use, what I like to call fiesta flags, to decorate their homes. I’m loving the way cotton fiesta flags add a punch of color and pattern to the homes below. What a fun, simple, and inexpensive way to decorate!

Want to try out this fun look in your happy home? Check out the selection of Fiesta Flags available over at LAMA.

*all images taken from Casa Chaucha

Some of the best memories I have are from the time I spent in Ecuador. It’s certainly a place close to my heart. I was so excited to recently come across these gorgeous photos taken by Ecuadorian photographer Julia. I think they paint a wonderful picture of Ecuador’s diverse landscape. I can’t wait to go back someday.

To check out more of Julia’s amazing photography, visit her flickr site here.

Indie Fixx author Jen Wallace decided to take a little vacation from her computer and honored me with an invitation to be a guest blogger for her. Cool! Naturally I decided to combine two of my favorite things, South America and interior design, for today’s guest post. Head over to Indie Fixx to check out my post “From Argentina with Color,” which features a collection of colorful photos from the homes of Argentina’s coolest independent designers.

Be sure to stop by tomorrow (oops, by tomorrow I meant Wednesday) when I share more of my favorite photos from Casa Chaucha. Thanks again Jen! I had a great time blogging on Indie Fixx!