Jon over at Happy Mundane consistently locates those hidden gems, often from his many trips to Kmart, Target, Macy's, Michael's, and beyond. This is one man obsessed with shopping and decorating, but even more so with scoring a budget find. I think Jon is that guy friend we all need to have, the one with impeccable taste who is not afraid to hunt for bargains because he doesn't need expensive things to feel like some hip hot shot. Jon recognizes that some really great finds exist that don't require going in debt for. Of course, he has expensive taste and craves the finer things just like the rest of us, but he's careful to show balance, one of many traits that I really respect about this talented man.

Here are a few cool things that Jon wrote about recently that I fell in love with, the first being this Anthropologie-like plastic cuckoo clock for only $15 at Walmart. Don't like black? Slap some primer on it and paint it your favorite color. How hard is that?

And this crazy cool bookcase. Looks like a DIY project if you happen to have two spare coffee tables, or you can simply purchase this one for around $525 from Umbra. This is great for a hallway, a nice solution to your standard console table. It has some definite 'tude going on.

And finally, Lauren Saunders, whom I'm seeing everywhere lately. And her tactile pillows appeal to me because they remind me of a landscape painting - a canyon or the colors of desert sand, they have a very western America look - like I can see these in Western Interiors magazine in some gorgeous mountain home in Boulder. I love the two shown below on Lauren's lap, and the other two on that modern blue sofa.

Now back to making Jon blush. Jon lives in the O.C. (not the show, the county) and since most of us don't, we have to buddy with him solely through the entries on his blog, Happy Mundane. This is why I love the internet, we have so many opportunities to mingle with creative + stylish people without leaving our desk. I remember years ago when all I had was my circle of friends, family, or a few (bad) magazines and mediocre books to look to for inspiration. Nowadays, with a bevy of design blogs and delicious magazines (both print and online), one never needs to suffer a design rut. There is so much out there to learn from and so many pools of inspiration to tap into.

(images from sources mentioned above)