Weekend Reading 3.16.25

This is the first weekend I’ve been home in a month! I was away the past three weekends, first we visited my daughter in Santa Barbara, next we ran away on a 4 day trip to Kauai, and then we drove up north to visit our son at his university. Finally, a weekend to enjoy being at home! I can feel spring in the air, we had a few days of sunshine and the trees are beginning to bud, but there is still rain in the forecast.

I’ve been at my law firm for five months now, I’ve learned so much,...

Unique puzzle cuts inspired by nature

Nervous System’s wooden jigsaw puzzles feature unique nature-inspired piece shapes. Learn more about our cut styles below: Dendrite, Amoeba, Maze, Wave, Coral and Matrix. Each style is generated by software we created to mimic the way patterns form in nature. Instead of drawing the puzzle cuts by hand, we grow them using math and science.

The puzzle’s pieces grow into each other, interlocking with shapes similar to dendritic crystals or ice formations. We introduced the Dendrite cut in 2012 with our Radial Puzzle series.

Dendrite grows interlocking shapes through a simulation of dendritic solidification,...

Séguy’s Papillons: a series of wooden butterfly puzzles

https://player.twitch.tv/?video=2385486527

Today we are launching three new wooden puzzles bursting with butterflies! These puzzles feature the artwork of Emile-Allain Séguy, a French artist known for his intricate Art Nouveau and Art Deco illustrations of insects. I’ve long been a fan of Séguy’s artwork (we have two of his insect prints hanging in our home) and felt they would make excellent jigsaw puzzles. We’re showcasing four of our unique nature inspired puzzle cuts in this series: Coral, Maze, Matrix, and Wave. Each puzzle has a shaped border, vibrant UV printed colors printed directly on wood, and many butterfly and moth shaped puzzle...

Casa Açucena: A Floating Sanctuary in Brazil’s Atlantic Rainforest

Some homes command attention; others whisper their presence, seamlessly blending into their surroundings. Casa Açucena, designed by Tetro Arquitetura, does both. It stands as a bold, architectural gesture, yet moves with such respect for its environment that it feels as though it has always belonged.

Perched within the dense, emerald embrace of Brazil’s Atlantic Rainforest, the residence hovers above the forest floor on slender, black steel pillars, leaving the land beneath it untouched. The house takes its name from the açucena flower, a rare and delicate species that thrives in wild environments. Much like its namesake, this home feels like a...

Romanticize Your Home

Happy Valentine’s Day all! The sun just popped out after a week of storms and it’s a beautiful day. It’s still so cold, and on winter days I like to work from home sipping my coffee by morning light as I work on my laptop.

There’s a a lot of chatter online romanticizing one’s life, and I agree with that when it means cherishing the little things and making your life a reflection of what’s important to you. We can have a love affair with not just our lives but our homes too!

If scrolling through social media makes you tired of...

The Kissaten Bar: Lisbon’s New Sonic Sanctuary

Lisbon’s electric cultural landscape just got a new sonic playground: The Kissaten Bar. Nestled in the heart of the city, this meticulously curated listening bar is a love letter to the golden era of Japanese jazz cafés, where vinyl is king, cocktails are symphonic, and the atmosphere is nothing short of cinematic.

Step inside and you’re immediately enveloped in a dimly lit sanctuary of sound. The interiors channel a subdued mid-century aesthetic, dark wood, velvety banquettes, and just the right amount of warm glow. But the true masterpiece? The sound system. A shrine to high-fidelity audio, the custom-built setup ensures that...

Weekend Reading 2.9.25

Hello all and Happy February to you. I’m at home today watching the Superbowl and catching up on some little projects around the house. Now that the nest is empty, it’s quiet and clean but still has those cozy touches and that feeling of comfort.

I’ve been lighting a favorite candle in the evening and keeping warm in our cozy study with the electric fireplace that gives me just the right amount of heat and ambiance. It’s my favorite room in winter. I hope you’re staying cozy too, spring will be here soon.

Favorite links from the week:

This home has...

Mediterranean Modern in Austin: A Masterclass in Effortless Luxury

Some homes don’t just exist; they command. They don’t whisper for attention, they take it. This Spanish-inspired sanctuary in Austin does exactly that, blending old-world Mediterranean romance with a modernity so seamless, it feels like it was always meant to be.

Designed with an acute understanding of space, light, and restraint, this home is a rare feat, a structure that respects tradition without being trapped by it. The arched doorways, the warm, textural plaster walls, the hand-hewn wood beams, they all pay homage to the classic Spanish aesthetic, but the interpretation is sharper, cleaner, undeniably contemporary. This isn’t a replica of...

Weekend Reading 1.26.25

Cold January greetings! We’ve had a week of blue skies but it’s been oh so cold here in Northern California! I saw pictures this week showing snowfall in Florida, woah! My brother and his family in Savannah had snow as well, so they tied a huge inflatable tube to the back of the minivan and went tubing down the street, the photos were so funny. The forecast shows rain this weekend, and being the pluviophile that I am I can’t wait to crack the window and fall asleep to the sound.

I’m excited to start traveling again in a few months....

Weekend Reading 1.19.25

Hello friends, happy weekend to you. It’s been a few weeks…. what a somber start to the year reading about all the fires near LA, we have friends and family down there and the stories are tragic. We had our own catastrophic wildfires in Northern California back in 2017 and now watching these recent fires in the Pacific Palisades is heartbreaking.

My son left for college this week, so I’m adjusting to his absence. He’s the baby. He took the fall semester off to get some work experience and postponed his college admission because he didn’t feel ready. I’m proud of...