City. Living. Buys - Reusable Drink Bottles

So Concord in Massachusetts has become the first city to officially ban disposable plastic water bottles in order to help our environment and encourage reduced waste and more sustainable living. This is a huge step in the right direction to reduce the total amount of packaging we are currently using (speakers come in a box, with two separate boxes inside with more packaging inside that). Though if you are like me the idea of choosing permanent water bottle and forking out between $12 - 35 for it, is somewhat intimidating (or at least it is for poor students that want their water bottle to match their outfits like I do). So I made a little collage of some cool water bottles to help you find the perfect one! 

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Now although none of these water bottles are particularly new to the market, they each have their own unique feature which makes them well worth your consideration. My personal favourite is the Eau Good water bottle (number 1), which has a replaceable charcoal filter and sleek but quirky design features. The only draw back of this bottle is that it recommends a long period of time e.g. overnight to thoroughly filter tap water. The bottle is designed by black+blum and their other stuff (hello pot plant bbq) is definitely worth checking out! The bobble bottles (4) work based on a similar charcoal filter as well and the vapur sports bottle (5) is flexible and thus can fold up when not in use. 

So what do you think? Are you going to make the switch to reusable bottles? 

City. Living. Buys - Urban Exploration Tool Kit

Morning Everyone! Welcome to the first City. Living. Buys of 2013 (and the second ever, ahem). Today I wanted to make a City. Living. Buys focused more around an idea than just a single product that I want - I can only show you so many different types of maps! So todays idea is that of Urban Exploration, which is basically taking a camera and exploring the abandoned and hidden urban structures within your city - as safely as possible of course. Urban exploration has been a popular hobby for a while, but recently I noticed a rise in the number of my friends liking the "Abandoned Brisbane" urban exploration page on Facebook (click here) and it increasingly started coming up in conversation. 

So I thought before I give urban exploration a go (I am still hesitant due to its dangerous and sometimes illegal nature) I needed to make a list of my tool kit to take with me, so here it is - my first ever collage too!

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Now the slingshot is a bit of a joke because it is a super big no no to damage/take anything from where you are exploring BUT hellaslingshots are just super cool and I think everyone should indulge their inner Huckleberry Finn occasionally. But an excellent camera to document your adventure, a backpack to carry your stuff, good shoes and a bike to travel on are all necessities if you are in for some urban exploration. Personally I am still questioning whether it is a good idea, I would love to see more of the city but I am put off by the dangers and might stick to geocaching for now. What do you think, anyone have any opinions on the hobby?   

City. Living. Buys - Herb Lester

As today is currently boxing day, a day renowned for shopping, I have decided it is the perfect time to introduce my first regular posting series - City. Living. Buys. Each Wednesday I am going to aim (this is kind of like an early new years resolution) to create a post featuring a city/living themed item I am coveting, or generally have seen elsewhere and think is too awesome to go unmentioned here. As an avid blog reader, and beginning blog owner, this kind of post where I get to discover cool new things that are out there are always one of my favourites. Also it would be super awesome if you guys wanted to comment with some things you think I should know about at the same time! 

But after all that, today I want to talk about these amazing city guides/maps produced for the Herb Lester Associates store (click here). Their about me states that they "publish guides for tourists and locals: witty, pretty, curious and opinionated" - what could have me more hooked then that? (besides the fact I am a complete sucker for a map) 

Herb Lester New York City Guides - 13 pounds for 4

Each individual guide focuses on a different aspect of a cities personality, or presents a different way of exploring a city. Not only do they provide a functional and unique purpose they are also very attractive to look at. My personal favourites include the New York City collection and the Copenhagen map - but that might just be because they are the next places on my list to visit! Let me know what your personal favourite is!

Copenhagen map with guide - 4 pounds

Shipping Container, Container?

In order to keep this blog true to my own interests, I decided not to limit myself to just the outwards design of a city or building but also the design of elements within these spaces and everyday household objects. Now I am the first to admit that I love anything with a novelty design, I am just a complete sucker for it. As soon as I saw these porcelain shipping containers by David Ballou I knew I had to have a set.

Not only are these adorable, they are also functional, providing plenty of space to store things such as pens which litter my desk in abundance. They are also only $30, which suits my student price range and makes me think about going back and getting the orange and grey as well as blue and white. I also think they would make great gifts and although at December 21st I am a bit too late to put together a gift guide, these bad boys would definitely be featured! 

They can be purchased at Area Aware or through Amazon by clicking here.