1. A Makeover That Gives Me Hope: I just love how this office on Apartment Therapy went from frumpy to super chic. With just a few moves it was completely transformed from ’80s ucko to something that looks kinda like a kate spade photoshoot set styled by Mrs. Lilien. Plus, we sell that super-chic Ghost Chair.

image via Apartment Therapy

2. Interviews with Architects: Love this! Thank you so much to the awesome ArchDaily for the tipoff about this, it’s really fun the way it’s been put together. My favorite cliche question? “Less or More?” I was shocked that the more won out over less in a landslide victory!:

Between February and August of this year, Luca Farinelli met with some 20 architects, critics, and historians and presented them with an identical sequence of questions, recording each meeting on video. Conversations with Emilio Ambasz, Peter Eisenman, Steven Holl, Bjarke Ingels, and Thom Mayne can be found in Log 23.

3. Be Aware of the Upcoming Venice Beach Modern Home Tour: If you live in Venice Beach, or if like me, you’re a Californication fan who is annoyed that they never seem to shoot there this season, head to this tour coming up on February 18 of 9 fabulous homes. We hope to share more about this tour in the future.

4. Speaking of quintessential L.A.: I hate to say “I’m swooning” due to overuse, but literally, this Sofia Coppola-directed ad for Marni at H&M gave me goosebumps. I’m not sure if it was the commercial (I love her eye), Bryan Ferry taking me back to the thought of some 8th grade crush, or being able to score some Marni somewhere outside of Jeffrey, at a reasonable price. Thank you for the tipoff, Refinery 29.

5. Oh just click on this. You won’t be sorry.

image via decor8‘s (partial) blogroll

Hey All! I’m still trying to get organized, all over the place. In this case, on the web. I’ve been HORRIBLE about keeping up with my favorite blogs lately. How do you do it without becoming overwhelmed? I used some sort of reader for awhile but then I had so many hundreds of posts I had yet to read that I abandoned it; I can’t even remember which on it was!

Often I’ll just head to a favorite blog and catch up on a month’s worth of posts when I have some free time. This is not a great system though, because then I’ll forget the names of some of the blogs I love. The reader always helped me remember.

Please help me out and let me know how you keep organized and up to date with your blog reading in the comments section, and if possible, leave a link. Thanks!

1. New Rue! I especially loved the great photographs of the minis, which made me miss my dollhouse terribly. Fabulous spaces and photography are waiting for you in the January/February Rue.

image by  John Stoffer via Rue

2. Blu Dot picked not once, but twice in The Thursday NYTimes “Shopping With” section. Author Arthur Phillips rounded up writing desks for them this weekend and picked out The Cant Desk:

and The Stash Desk:

I was also strangely fascinated by the house tours of the former homes of Mexican drug dealers who had been caught. The last image of a drug dealer house south of the border I had in my head was the incredible spread from Romancing the Stone.

3. Loving Style List’s Home Improvement Projects That Cost Under $10. Yeah, we already knew all of these, but it’s really nice to have 14 of them gathered in one well-written place.

4. Finally, I love seeing the way celebs live. Since Cribs never seems to be on anymore, I’m extra thankful to Casa Sugar for keeping track of movie star moving (why do they move like every year? I never really realized that until Larry David mocked the phenomenon by moving every year on Curb Your Enthusiasm). Here’s Rose McGowan’s new pad in Hollywood:

(SIDE NOTE: I could swear this house was on that Bravo show with those annoying guys who sell million dollar real estate. Some total tool with a Lambo or a Ferrari or Doc’s DeLorean or something was thinking about buying the house and then bottomed out on this driveway which killed the deal, no? Maybe not.)

5. Also in celeb real estate news, you can check out Steven Tyler’s new digs over at WSJ.com. I am biting my tongue and not working in some lame line that incorporates Aerosmith lyrics. Steven is still tied with Lil’ Jon as my most striking celebrity sighting ever.

1. Magic Bus in Mexico City: It’s not just the fact that it’s been yarnbombed, but also the patterns and colors that make it part Partridge Family/part Harajuku. I spied this on Pinterest via Casapinka.

2. Five Hotels Across the Room with Stunning Interiors: A feature from The Wall Street Journal that will make you want to go to there.

photo by Beatrice Amagat for The Wall Street Journal

3. Happy 5th Birthday Making It Lovely! I had no idea I had posted about you within about a week of your launch, but I do remember Nicole’s work catching my eye via all of those fabulous images she posted on Flickr! It’s been wonderful to watch her home, business and family grow over the past five years. Congratulations!

4. Middle of the country fights “flyover” derision; small cities grow and flourish: GOOD mag has a great article about how small cities that a lot of planes may happen to fly over are improving, growing and spreading the word about what they have to offer.

PET PEEVE ALERT: As someone who spent her formative years in Cincinnati Ohio, I don’t like the term “flyover state.” In fact, the kind of people who say it are the ones I hope don’t land anywhere near me anyway. You can keep your insane  rents and stinky cabs, your hideous traffic and your earthquakes thank you very much. Those of us under the flightpath know what great places these smaller cities can be.

5. Oh Pinterest, you are a danger. On a more positive note, I’ve been trying my hand at pinning, repinning and liking too much this week; I even let it distract me from watching The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills the other night. We’re just starting to dip our toes into Pinterest over here, so Pinners, let us know how to follow you in the comments section.  Here’s our Pinterest action.

What caught your eye on the web this week? Let us know in the comments section!

Have you been meaning to catch up on your design reading but just haven’t had the time? The lucky thing is, now you can figure out which books from 2011 lived up to the hype and which ones you should take a pass on. As for the best design books of 2011, here are ten that I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend from interior designers, shop owners, magazine editors, bloggers and trendsetters, in no particular order.

1. Decorate by Holly Becker: The top blogger, along with co-author Joanna Copestick, has come up with 1,000 design ideas. That’s right, 1,000, for every room in your home.

2. Black and White (and a bit in between) by Celerie Kemble: Kemble breaks out of her Palm Beach roots here. She has collected the most stylish uses of black and white rooms around. She’s one of my favorite design writers – insightful, intelligent and she doesn’t take it all too seriously.

3. The Perfectly Imperfect Home by Deborah Needleman: The founding editor of Dominio and current editor of the Wall Street Journal’s magazine has compiled a charming tome of design advice, accompanied by wonderful illustrations by Virginia Johnson.

4. Undecorate by Christiane Lemieux: While it’s not the opposite of Decorate, this book is about loosening up and the beauty of casual comfort. By the way, Christiane is the founder of DwellStudio.

5. Katie Ridder Rooms by Heather Smith MacIsaac: I love that Ridder has her own distinct style that really cannot be categorized. It’s fresh and feel-good.

6. Big Easy Style by Bryan Batt: This is a more personal pick, because I love this actor, who played Sal on Mad Men, and I love almost everything about New Orleans, a city that’s unique and special in so many ways, including its architecture.

7. The Happy Home Project by Jean Nayar: I love not only that this book provides a guideline for making your home healthier and thus your life happier, but also that Nayar digs deep into everything she’s doing, whether it’s learning about how to be greener or how to achieve Wabi-sabi.

8. Patina Style by Brooke and Steve Gianetti: Perhaps you recognize Brooke from her popular blog, Velvet and Linen. It’s so much fun to finally have her and her husband Steve’s style all wrapped up in a beautiful hardcover book!

9. Alexander Girard by Todd Oldham and Kiera Coffee: I’m so glad that Todd Oldham has gotten into books. This book as well as his giant Charley Harper book that came out a few years ago are must-haves for graphic design aficionados.

10. Summers in France by Kathryn M. Ireland: Kathryn Ireland is one of those people you wish you were friends with.  With this book, you get to take a vicarious visit to her beautiful home in France and pretend you are friends with her.

What were some of your favorite reads in 2011? Please share with us in the comments section. I’ll be sharing whatever I pick up in 2012 as I go along this year. Happy Reading!