some of the cooler living walls murals in atlanta are downtown. the size and scale of these projects was only possible on such large buildings. i will start off my downtown coverage with this great alligator mural. you can find it at the corner of mitchell & forsyth on the side of the old star hotel. i’m not sure when the star hotel was functioning, but it lists rates of 50-75 cents a room. wow!

the mural is by roa, a street artist from ghent, belgium. his black & white depictions of animals can be seen on the sides of decrepit buildings all over the world. roa’s alligator in atlanta is awesome, especially how its tail follows the old fire escape. it’s really cool he painted such a big mural here in town! be sure to visit his blog for lots of other works.

check out our previous coverage of living walls atlanta and also a great google map of the 2011 living walls murals.

– ryan

living walls: roa

201 mitchell street southwest
atlanta, ga 30303

we heart a-frame homes and holden beach, nc! on our recent holden adventure, we went on an outing to find the various a-frames on the island for a future beach getaway.

in the end we found one that was really amazing at the north end of the island, although it didn’t appear to be a rental. it was super cute with great nautical decor, and it was right on the beach! the other few we found weren’t anything to write home about. they had potential, but weren’t really our style.

– ryan & gub

check out the amazing sneaker coloring book by designers henrik klingel & daniel jarosch of pknts! it’s fun for both adults and children!

– ryan & gub

here is another great living walls mural in the old fourth ward area of atlanta. it’s by street artist know hope, who hails from tel aviv, israel. it’s actually super close to the gaia & nanook and jaz murals on edgewood ave.

know hope’s artwork is really amazing, i’m excited he did such a cool mural in atlanta! he works in various media; from cardboard cutouts & lanterns to painted murals and 3d installation pieces, all of which have a recurring black & white character with a red heart.

check out more know hope artwork here & here or some “making-of” coverage here & here. or visit this website for an interview from a few years ago.

you can also order a self-published book of “drawings, writings, photographs and other side-seen moments” called bound by ties directly from know hope for $35. hurry though, he only printed a 1,000.

check out our previous coverage of living walls atlanta and also a great google map of the 2011 living walls murals.

– ryan

living walls: know hope

451 edgewood ave
atlanta, ga 30312

before there was rei and bass pro, there was l.l. bean. it was the go to place for all things outdoor/hiking/camping/fishing/etc, and everything had a lifetime guarantee. it’s still around, but it’s mostly an online/catalogue company with a handful of actual stores in the new england area.

during our maine adventures, we often visit the ginormous flagship l.l. bean in freeport. in fact, ryan has been visiting this store with his family since he was a little boy; his mom love’s their canvas bags.

there’s lots to do and see in the massive 100 year old flagship l.l. bean. from aquariums with live fish and running streams to a cafe & coffee shop, you can find yourself wandering the store for awhile. it’s also open 24 hours 365 days a year, so there’s plenty of time to squeeze a visit into your trip. and even though rei and bass pro have spoiled some of the novelty, it’s still quite an impressive place!

by the way, the l.l. bean kids department was super fun! they had lots of great books, including local maine selections, and an amazing faux-forest where the kids could run around. we loved the design of leaf mobiles hanging above the tree stumps in this room.

– ryan & gub

flagship l.l. bean

95 main street
freeport, me 04032
877-755-2326

when traveling in maine, you should save at least an afternoon to visit downtown freeport, the adorable little town filled with great shops and restaurants! most of the businesses are in renovated historic buildings, ie. abercrombie is in the super old library, so everything still has that old-timey new england feel. freeport is also home to the flagship l.l. bean store and other boutique shops like the abacus gallery, where we found lots of great treasures!

– ryan & gub

abacus gallery

36 main street
freeport, me 04032
207-865-6620

i never thought i’d cave in and buy a novelty usb drive. that is until i saw one made out of real wood at office depot and totally needed it. i felt pretty dorky sifting through to find the one with the best wood grain, but i have to say it was worth it! what’s so wrong with wanting a little style in your jump drive?

– ryan

the latest living walls mural in atlanta is also one of my favorites. this gem just went up in east atlanta village at the end of april by ukrainian street artist interesni kazki. it’s actually right across the street from the sopo bicycle co-op mural we wrote about yesterday. i really like kazki’s surreal style, it has hints of bosch or even dali. visit his website to see some other amazing murals he’s done around the world!

check out our previous coverage of living walls atlanta and also a great google map of the 2011 living walls murals.

– ryan

living walls: interesni kazki

470 flat shoals ave se
atlanta, ga 30316

here is a living walls mural in east atlanta village on the back of the sopo bicycle co-op. it’s by new nyc-based street artist lny, who has done some great murals all over the country.

check out our previous coverage of living walls work here and also this great google map of the 2011 living walls murals.

– ryan

living walls: lny

465 flat shoals ave se
atlanta, ga 30316

there are talks of closing the candler park golf course, which is the historical nine-hole public course a mile and a half from our house. it’s nice having an inexpensive ($10 for adults & free for kids), laid back (no collars required) option for playing golf, it would be a shame to see it close. here is a petition where you can show your support.

– ryan

candler park golf course

585 candler park drive ne
atlanta, ga 30307
404-371-1260