For an itty-itty pick-me-up, check out these mini photo frames from JuJups:

These picture frames are fun, colorful, customizable, inexpensive, and you can stash them anywhere for a little lift during the bleak days of winter.

Artist John Doherty makes art that’s just a little bit fishy. He spends his summers on Cape Cod, where he finds his inspiration on the end of a hook. For real. He catches a fish, covers it in paint, creates a print, washes the dish, and then fillets it for his dinner. Because the fish in his prints are a record of actual fish, no two are alike.

This style of rubbing is known as Gyotaku, an ancient Japanese art form originally created as a practical way to make an accurate, lifelike record of various fish species. Only later did it become a respected art form.

Doherty has painted about thirty different New England species (including octopi, squid, eels, crabs and sand dollars) and brings his studio tools with him when visiting other coastal locales around the globe.

All are giclee prints on GD Premium Archival matte paper, and all hover around $100-$200 in price so you can mix and match anywhere in your home that could do with a splash of color.

Is it just me, or are some parts of Nathan Thomas’ winning townhouse for Top Design: Season 2 decidedly mundane? You can find snapshots of some of the bits I like below, but the living area with its Jaxon Home sofa and the bedroom with its Hampton bed are so boring.

I love, love, love the klismos chairs from Nadeau Imports and the fact that the table in the second picture is from Pier 1 Imports (accessible!). Thomas’s style is visually interesting without being too busy — though what we can see in the second pic is admittedly cutting it close. And how about that wallpaper from Astek Wallcoverings? Wow!

If you watched Top Design: Season 2, what did you think?

I only stumbled upon Auto NYC (a mini department store in the city’s meatpacking district) recently, and then only by accident. It’s amazing how things change when you haven’t been seriously back to a certain locale in years. Luckily, getting a wee bit lost was fortuitous, as resting one’s weary legs among jewelry, bedding, furniture, books, art, and other lovely things is no hardship at all.

Three objects I found myself drawn to were a solar system mobile completely hand crocheted from alpaca yarn; a sleeping pig (complete with pillow) embellished with a colonial scene with the French, British and American flags; and custom Russian Matrioska nesting dolls made to look like your family by illustrator Trisha Krauss. While Auto NYC does sell slightly more… practical items for the home, I’m more apt to buy practical things at, say, Target and fun things at the wonderful little shops I happen upon in my adventures.

Last year on this most romantic (or most un-romantic, depending on who you are) of days, I featured furniture for the broken-hearted. This Valentine’s day, I’m feeling a little more upbeat and a little more optimistic, perhaps due to the little one on the way, so I shall present you with a quintet of quirky gifts for the home from Kikkerland.

While it’s certainly no gaudy heart-shaped box of inferior chocolates, a tin of heart-shaped paperclips is a lot less fattening. Ditto for the heart hot water bottle cozy, which will at the very least keep some part of your anatomy warm. The cupid’s arrow scroll holder will either get you a kiss or a restraining order, depending on your message. You might also say it with heart-shaped magnets or perhaps even combs, though I’m not sure what exactly you’d be saying… Get organized! Brush your hair! I love you!

Romantic? Not quite. But if you’re dating someone and you’re still in “I like you a lot and don’t want to scare you off” territory, you could do worse.

For those with 500 EUR to spend and a penchant for low art, allow me to present a quatro of vases and urns from LEGARAGE PIERREBLANC.

I can only imagine that the appeal of these vases lies in the juxtaposition between the “I’m an 80-year-old Italian immigrant” aesthetic and the heavy metal designs. Personally, when it comes to combinations of the banal and the bizarre, I’d much rather outfit my home with gun replicas done in beautiful ceramics.

This is very much what my living room looks like at any one time, except the cats in my living room are real. While I do love my pets, I’ll be the first one to admit that cats in silhouette are cleaner, quieter, and easier to care for than the 3-D variety. These, from AllPosters, are made of paper (not vinyl) and backed with low tack adhesive allowing ease of repositioning decals without damaging paint. At $33, you can enjoy the visual joys of pet ownership until you get bored, then you can toss them in the trash without guilt. Plus, no feeding required.

What’s better than practical, stylish decor for kids’ rooms? How about practical, stylish decor that will grow with them? The Elfa wall mounted shelving system is infinitely replicable if you don’t feel like spending your money at the Container Store. In fact, I’m guessing you could replicate the whole set-up shown here for a lot less money by going to your local hardware store for the necessary supplies (hint, hint).

Adjustable shelves means that tiny tots can use the lowest shelf as a desk, which can then be raised to become a workstation for teenagers and those unfortunate adult children still living at home. Elfa shelving is honestly not much to look at in its unaltered form, but there’s no reason you shouldn’t get your craft on and paint the whole works to match your existing decor.