A friend of mine tipped me off to Greener Grass Design. When I first saw the name, I assumed it would be all environmentally friendly items. After looking over the site, it seems the "green" reference is more akin to the grass being greener. This fresh online store is filled with all sorts of design goodness.

Greener Grass Design is run by two friends in Houston, TX, "Out of Houston's shortcomings, pollution, suburban sprawl, beige strip malls, bland landscape, comes the desire to filter beauty out of the muck and mundane." And filter beauty they do. They offer a vast menu of items, everything from furniture and textiles to clothes and bags. They have one of the biggest selections of cat furniture and toys that I've seen (I recently got a cat, so I'm on the lookout!).

The Ceramics Program of the Office for the Arts at Harvard will present its annual Spring Show and Sale May 17th – 20th at the Ceramics Program building in Allston.

Long recognized as featuring the best and most varied selection of excellent hand-made ceramics in the Northeast, the Ceramics Program's Spring Show and Sale will feature functional and sculptural work by more than fifty potters and sculptors.

On opening night, Thursday, May 17th, 3 ­­- 8 pm, free wine cups made by the exhibitors will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. I can only imagine how cool these cups will be. The Show and Sale continues Friday through Sunday, May 18 th – 20th , 10 am - 7 pm.

Next weekend, I'll be heading down to NYC to check out the International Contemporary Furniture Fair. Fellow blogger Scrappy Girl has been gracious enough to offer me her sofa (you may be surprised to hear that, though glamorous, blogging is not a "big money fast" venture). Rest assured, I will be taking boat loads of photos to share with you. In the run up to ICFF, I will be looking at some of the things that will be taking place.

For the third year, modern marketplace "designboom will host a group exhibition of international design professionals from around the world." Designers from North and South America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East will be in attendance. You will have a chance not only to see some great avant-garde international works, you'll also have to chance to meet and talk to the designers themselves. Even better, you can buy design souvenirs™ and limited edition pieces directly from the designers themselves.

Two of my favorites are the Cassette Wallet (above) by Marcella Foschi (Italy) and the Booh Salt & Pepper Shakers (right) by Aleverson Ecker, Henrique J. Serbena and R. Luiz Pellanda Jr. of Holaria Cerâmica Contemporânea (brazil).

Kristen Mucci, online editor for This Old House's blog, The Hardware Aisle, is in Las Vegas for the annual Kitchen/Bath Industry Show & Conference.

K/BIS features the newest and coolest advanced in kitchen and bath design, from Kohler's new do-it-all DTV shower (pictured), to green news, like the U.S. government's creation of the WaterSense label. Similar to Energy Star, the label will be affixed to appliances that follow reduced water-usage requirements.

Kristen, thanks for your updates from Las Vegas, and thank you to TOH's Andrea Ford for letting me know about it!

I know at some point this summer you're going to want to get out of the city. Traffic heading to the cape will be as insane as usual, so don't bother. Instead, head north, to New Hampshire. Check out Portsmouth. Then head up Rt. 16 to Rochester. There you can meet Susan, an artist, owner of artstream gallery/art school/design studio, and founder/editor of art espirit, her blog.

"The blog is directed by my whims, musings,word of the day and new art finds. Truly one of a kind made by loving hands of artists."

What else can I say?