Design*Sponge is almost consistently the first site I go to in my newsreader; Grace is such a fantastic resource, gracious writer and all-around sweetheart…that’s why we hope she gets everything on her wishlist this season:

Painting by Clare Grill: I’m way too broke to even think about investing in art right now, but if I had a grand to spare (or if someone who loves me did) I would totally ask for/buy one of Clare’s incredible geological paintings. I love the way she plays with colors like hot pink against neutrals — any one of her pieces would look fantastic above my couch. One day…

Kitchen Aid Mixer in Pistachio: Because when I’m not running D*S, I’m fantasizing about tracking down Ina Garten (The Barefoot Contessa) and becoming her protege. I’m sure that will never happen, but a girl can dream.

An Ernst Benz Watch: Ok, this isn’t for me, but my significant other. He’s wants one of these so, so badly and I wish I had the extra 3k to get him one. So if we’re talking dream gifts, I’d love to be handed one of these so I can pass it on to him. I’m not sure if they’re worth the 3k but they do have a pretty nifty transparent back so you can watch all the inner workings in action!

If a constantly revolving door of roommates has left you with anything positive, it's probably the large variety of leftover liquor lingering around your kitchen area. While that sounds like a blessing in disguise, your lack of bartending know-how may be your own worst enemy. If you're wondering how you can turn those bottles of créme de menthe, tequila, and apricot liqueur into a savory concoction for Cocktail Hour look no further than Esquire’s Drinks Database. Just punch in the ingredients you have on hand and voila; the Drinks database will provide you with a list of libations that you can gear up to guzzle in no time.

A few artists jumped out at me this weekend at Art Basel down in Miami — one of them I had to mention was Atsushi Kaga. Born in Japan, and schooled at the National College of Art in Dublin (weird, right?), Kaga’s work is devilishly intriguing. He had about 15 or 20 pieces, represented by Mother’s Tankstation (a small Irish gallery) available for sale — and into the third day as I was deliberating buying one, a collector-like looking woman walked in and bought the entire show of oil and acrylics with the snap of her fingers, as well as a few drawings. I’d keep your eyes peeled for more of Kaga’s work in the near future; my guess is he’s going to come onto the scene in a big way, and very soon. One more picture after the jump…

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While I'm rather indifferent to the works of say, Italian Baroque period composers, I really like waffles of the Belgian variety and it would be pretty safe to say I simply adore all things Dutch, like splitting restaurant bills. When I'm not avoiding paying a hefty sum for pancakes, I'm admiring those nifty Netherlanders knack for churning out wonderfully designed, forward-thinking products.

Thanks to a project by Josh’s brother and Dutch design addict (also conveniently a M.I.C.A student), with I Love Dutch Design, there's no need to trek to Rotterdam to get my fix of deft Dutch craftsmanship. User-generated content accumulates the works of the most influential and talented Dutch creative thinkers and designers and puts them in one Centraal Station. That means that you, too, can get involved — all you need to do is click the link. It's like Amsterdam on the Internet, but without the red light district. And all that other stuff. Congrats Micah!

After browsing through Black Maria, the L.A. gallery dedicated to non-mainstream art, visitors commonly asked if there was anything “hiding in the back room.” Thankfully, this question was in reference to art, not drugs or slave children, and after hearing the same quiet plea for some time, the gallery owners decided to do something about it. In June 2007, Under The Table opened its doors to the public, offering a wide selection of artist-made goodies, hard to find zines, unusual books and comics, prints, clothing, vinyl toys, and seasonal oddities. Initially inspired by the art showing at Black Maria, Under the Table generally features the contributions of the current exhibiting artist, extending the gallery’s belief that art should be affordable and approachable in equal measure. Under The Table’s website is still in its construction stages, but here’s hoping that the completed site includes an online store — that  type of goodness needs to be shared with the world.

The most asked/texted/emailed question of the past week has naturally been, ‘So, what was Necker Island like?,’ followed by the obvious, ‘So, OMG, did you meet Richard Branson?’ The answer to the first question is surprisingly simple. Necker Island was like heaven on earth and is easily one of the most insane lifestyles I’ve ever been privy to. Sailing, snorkeling, wake boarding, kite boarding, tennis (pro on staff), gourmet food — the island had it all. One afternoon lunch was served not at the pool, but in the pool, two ice-filled kayaks floated around one of the pools covered in sushi; the only way to eat it was, well, dive in.

I did manage to spend some time one on one with the man himself, and have nothing but great things to say. He was authentic, fun, and an incredibly gracious host — even when he did try to push me off the sailboat. The story of his original acquisition of the island is a great one, buying it for basically chump change when he was 24. Originally the island was covered in cactus and infested with snakes. 30 years later, they’ve planted more than 200,000 trees, and created an eco-paradise.

It’s $46,000 per night for up to 28 guests (you have to rent out the whole island at once), and a minimum of 5 nights is required. If you need this kind of privacy and throw money around by the million, I guess the cost is worth it. And to those who wont stop asking, yes, my stay was pretty much exactly like the cribs episode.

I’d share more pictures, but I’m forever sworn to secrecy…

Back in October, I raved about Whale Hunt, the latest project from Jonathan Harris, friend and JS regular. Finally, the project is online and is a must see for anyone interested in the art of story telling. If you missed it when we posted earlier, the whale hunt is a project in which Harris went up to Alaska, shooting photos at 5-minute intervals and faster when his heart rate sped up as he witnessed a traditional whale hunt (a 1000 year old ritual). The photos are incredible, but what’s even more amazing is the organization of the content. Seriously, go spend some time on The Whale Hunt and read his beautiful statement about the project. Congratulations Jonathan!

If you don’t know about COLOURlovers yet, get thee to this site. If you’re already in the know, then you’re aware of just what an amazing resource the site has become over the last few years. And what more would you expect from a site that’s dedicated to something as diverse and wonderful as colour (that’s “color” for those of us on this side of the pond). To date, they’ve gathered over 45,000 members who have collected more than 650,000 colours and 231,000 palettes.

In celebration of this success, and in the interest of keeping things fresh, COLOURlovers recently released version III of their wonderful site. The newest version features a “pattern” selection, to work alongside their palettes and colors, as well as a full colour redesign of the site itself. And, just as a fun comparison, when Josh wrote about COLOURlovers over 2 years ago, the top palette was Summer of 1970 and the top colour was Heatland. Those honors now go to Stockholm Syndrome (shown) and Cosmic.

We maintain around here that (most) best things in life are preceded by the word “free”, beer being one of those things. Free Beer is actually the name of the concept behind Danish art collective Superflex’s exhibit at Sao Paulo’s Galeria Vermelho, which builds upon the idea that more is merrier. Instead of guarding the secret formula behind a tasty beer as the majority of breweries are apt to create, Superflex are sharing the recipe with the world so everyone can have a drunken good time. As an individual you can follow the recipe, add your own little magic and sell the resulting alcohol, but the only rule you have to adhere is that you need to publish your recipe so that others can produce it themselves if they want. Sound familiar? It’s called Creative Commons. The current, fourth incarnation of Free Beer is a result of a partnership between Superflex and Cervejaria Germania, a Brazilian brewery, and has been tweaked slightly in order to suit the Brazilians’ taste. You can buy a can or keg of the frothy stuff at the gallery after playing all the humorously crafted games Superflex have set up, which teach lessons about distribution, licenses, working together and competing in the marketplace. The exhibit runs until December 22nd.