Sure, we get a lot of emails about paint colors, hardware finishes and even questions about Disney World here and there. But we also get a decent number of questions about is the fonts we use here on the blog. Being a graphic designer by trade, I am a total font addict! With hundreds of fonts on my computer, there are a handful of them that I constantly find myself going back to. The best part? They’re FREE! Who doesn’t love free?! So, without further ado, here’s a collection of 20 of my favorite fonts:

1. St Marie  2. Champagne & Limousines  3. Lavanderia  4. Museo Slab 500
5. Mailart Rubberstamp  6. Code Light  7. Marcelle  8. Simply Glamorous
9. Scribblebox  10. Peach Sundress  11. Blanch  12. Villa Didot  13. American Typewriter
14. Bready  15. Walkway Semibold  16. Airplane  17. Print Clearly  18. Sail
19. Matilde  20. Petie Boy

So, how about you? What’s your go-to font? If you have a favorite, share the link in the comments section! I’m always looking for more to add to the collection. : )

** Some of the fonts listed ask for a donation of $5 or more. However, if you type in “0″, then click “download”, you can still download the font for FREE for personal use. If you plan on using them on your monetized blog or something like an Etsy store, make sure you read all of the guidelines before doing so.

**Installing Fonts: If you need help installing fonts, here’s a great (and easy!) tutorial on how to install fonts on a Mac: here. Just in case anyone needs a PC version, check out this tutorial: here. There’s a bunch of different ways to install fonts on a Mac, but here’s how I do it: Download the fonts to your desktop, open Font Book, click File, Add Fonts, then select the files you just downloaded to your desktop, and click Open. Then, your fonts should be downloaded! If they aren’t showing up in Word or other programs, try restarting the program(s).

While in LA, we went to the seriously coolest store ever: Tini. I first came across their website over a year and a half ago because I was looking for a large light-up marquee letter. Ever since, I made a point of checking out their online inventory now and then. It’s ever-changing, and they have the most interesting things – not your ordinary antique store. Needless to say, Tini easily made it to my list of must-do things while here in the City of Angels.

Celebs like Jessica Alba, Seth Rogen (Greg’s doppelgänger), Ryan Gosling (whom I got the sheer pleasure of seeing in Beverly Hills later in the afternoon!), Mandy Moore, Justin Long, and Olivia Wilde have all been known to shop here. Set designers for Mad Men, Heroes and a bunch of HGTV shows have also purchased pieces from this place.

Tini stands for “This is not Ikea”. And let me tell you, this place is definitely not Ikea! It’s filled to the brim with one-of-a-kind vintage and antique pieces and reclaimed furniture that will make any interior designer/enthusiast swoon. I totally imagine Emily Henderson going crazy in this place!

Before you set foot in the store itself, the sidewalk is filled with a bunch of goodies. Like the egg chair Abram wanted to take back to the apartment. I pulled for him but Mom said no.

I loved this industrial floor lamp! It would look really cool in pretty much any type of room, but I imagine it looking particularly good in a living room or reading corner.

This little guy had me at hello, but he was about 40 pounds. Too heavy for my suitcase.

To give you an idea of the lay of the land, here’s a shot of the front door from the steps at the back of the store. (This is just one third of the store!) As you can see, it’s full of everything from charming to crazy. Also, notice the brass letters above the door. After you’re done shopping, as you’re walking out the door, they finally tell you what Tini really means. Sneaky!

Right when you walk in, in the middle of the store is a pool table filled with neat objects like a traffic light lamp, a vintage toy car, old suitcases, street signs, and vintage magazines. By the way, I love how they used a vintage pool table as a display table, but you can buy it for $2,950.

The gas station number four reminds me of the number 7 I bought a few months ago, but with the colors reversed (it’s a red 7 on a cream background). I just haven’t figured out where to put it yet! For some reason, I also love the goofy looking man-with-flowers chalkboard on the right. Obviously, it wouldn’t fit at our house, but I bet it would look really cool in a quirky loft apartment somewhere. Any takers?

Oh, the frames! The chalkboards I could make with these guys…

I completely fell in love with this desk! It looks like it belongs right on the set of The Dick Van Dyke Show!

Tini also had a pretty hefty collection of suitcases. These could be used for so many things, but I love the idea of stacking a few up and using them as a nightstand. It would add a lot of personality and charm to a modern room.

Way back in the back of the store (actually, I think it’s where they clean/repair items), there was this set of wooden crates. Aren’t they awesome!? Yet another thing I wanted to snatch up, but it wouldn’t fit in my suitcase!

If we had a game room, there would be a pinball coffee table. For sure! (That’s an amazing idea! –Greg) I also loved the marquee letter sitting on the sofa, and the barstools stacked up in the top middle of the photo.

If I had a friend named Oprah, I would buy this vintage letter for her. But I don’t, and they didn’t have an A or a B, so I refrained from snatching it up.

If you looked up, you’d find rows and rows of light fixtures (I’m telling you, they have everything!). I particularly loved the red barn-style pendant lights.

More marquee letters! Ever since I saw that episode of Picker Sisters where they turned an old marquee sign into an art piece, I’ve wanted to get my hands on one. I’ve been on the lookout for a B or an arrow, but so far, no luck.

I’ve always been a fan of industrial accents, and now that we have a house to decorate, I’m constantly on the lookout for random industrial boxes, bins, shelves and such that can be used for something else. Tini had an entire section of old metal boxes that would be prefect for just about anything.

How crazy awesome would these chairs look reupholstered?!

More letters! These guys were about four feet tall and said “Yo”. Yet another thing that would look awesome in a quirky loft!

Now can you see why I fell in love with this place?! It’s modern, vintage, crazy, and unexpected, all rolled up in a whole bunch of awesome.  Have any favorite pieces?

For more information about Tini, visit their website here. A lot of the items mention in this post are available on their online store here. Warning! It’s so awesome, you’ll be browsing for hours! If you live in the LA area, you can check it out in person at 515 S. Fairfax Ave, in Los Angeles, 90036.

1. Flashpoint – I recently found this show on Netflix, and Ash and I are hooked. While I’m as much a fan of SWAT team action as the next guy, it’s not really the episode plots that keep me coming back (though they are very good, as well). I don’t say this much, but I’m really a big fan of pretty much every character on this show, and the interactions they have in a high-stress environment like a SWAT team make the show worth watching. Apparently the 2012-2013 season is the last one, but since the writing staff and producers know what’s coming, I hope that they will ramp up the action and the drama for the final episodes. If you haven’t been keeping up with this underrated show, you can catch the first four seasons on Netflix.

2. TC Electronic Polytune - My brother-in-law has one of these, and it has to be one of the coolest guitar accessories out there. Rather than tuning each string individually, you just strum all of the strings at once, and the Polytune shows a real-time display of which strings need to be tuned up or down. It’s crazy awesome, and it makes the typically annoying tuning process insanely fast. If you’re an electric guitarist, or know someone who is, bust out $100 and go grab one of these. This is the next thing on my guitar gear must-have list.

3. Fireworks Season – For those of us in the US of A, tomorrow is Independence Day and fireworks are a big part of that celebration. When I was a kid, I used to love setting off Roman candles and bottle rockets while running around with sparklers. Now that I live in a neighborhood, I generally try to keep the noise levels down, but we’re lucky enough to be able to see a bit of the fireworks displays from downtown Richmond from our patio. While I didn’t use safety equipment when setting off fireworks as a kid, I’ve become a bit wiser now that I’m older. If you’re going to set off fireworks this 4th of July, please, at the very least, use gloves and eye protection while you’re setting off your display. Honestly, there’s no reason not to wear them! You’re safer, and plus it adds to the atmosphere if you look like a mad scientist while setting off colorful explosives! Happy Independence Day, everybody! Image from here.

4. Logitech Wireless Performance Mouse MX - Being both a professional programmer and all-around computer geek, I get a lot of mileage out of mice. Over the last several weeks, I’ve realized how important a good mouse is to being happy and productive while you’re at your computer. For the last two or three years, I’ve been using the touchpad on my laptop at work, but I had to do some pretty funky finger acrobatics to make certain things happen. Recently, I switched back to my old Logitech MX Revolution (the newest iteration is pictured here), and the difference is night and day. My hands feel generally better at the end of the day, and there are no weird bugs (like the touchpad not recognizing your fingers because it’s too warm, for example) or unnatural finger positions required while you’re trying to work. Just make sure you get a mouse that actually fits your hand and grip style. (If you only use your fingertips to control your mouse, or you’ve got small hands you’ll probably want something smaller. If you use the palm of your hand on your mouse or you’ve got larger hands, the mouse pictured here is great!) I’m sure some day soon touch devices will be the standard, but until then, if you use a computer every day for extended periods, do your hands a favor and get a mouse that suits you!

5. Gator Double-Guitar Gig Bag - Despite having bought mine over 10 years ago, I still consider this one of my best music-related investments. They say you should never gig without a backup, and being a strong believer in Murphy’s Law myself, I always try to obey that rule. But sometimes you just don’t want to mess around with two bulky hard cases, and you only take one. Then, the one time you don’t have a backup, while you’re busting out the baddest riff ever known to mankind, you break all six strings. Now, rather than being ultra cool and whipping out your second guitar, you’re stuck offstage restringing your guitar while the rest of the band flounders. That is why you never, ever gig without a backup, and having two guitars in a single bag that slings over your shoulder gives you absolutely no excuse!

1. Disneyland – Like I mentioned in this post, while I was in LA, this Disney World fanatic made sure to visit Disneyland while on the West Coast. In short, I loved it! Since we only had one day set aside for Disney-mania, we decided to keep things classic and visit Disneyland Park – though California Adventure looks pretty awesome and Greg and I are definitely planning to go there when we go to LA in January. A lot of people have asked how I like Disneyland vs. Disney World. Well, here’s the short answer… Obviously Disneyland is much smaller and more compact than Disney World but that doesn’t mean it’s not smothered with Disney “Magicness” – and that’s what I love so much about Disney as a whole. Plus, it’s so neat to think that this was the original vision of Walt Disney. He walked the streets and had an apartment above the fire station (where they still have a lamp in the window). Overall, different, still full of Disney magic with some added history.

2. Evian Mineral Water Spray – Before you laugh and say, “It’s just water in a can!”, it’s not and this stuff really works! I used it a lot while I was in California and now I’m kinda hooked. It rehydrates your skin and can even revive your makeup throughout the day when you’re in a dry climate. It’s super refreshing on hot days and removes perspiration and soothes and rehydrates sun-burned skin. Don’t even get me started on sunburns. One day I was in the sun for a long time and I had on a V-neck shirt. Well, I didn’t realize it at the time but the V was a little off-center so I looked like an uneven lobster for almost 5 days. With Virginia being so humid, I don’t really foresee it being a product I will use much here at home, but it’s definitely something I loved using while in California.

3. Singin’ in the Rain 60th Anniversary Edition on Blu-Ray – One of my favorite movies of all time is coming out on Blu-Ray — finally! We’ve pre-ordered a copy and will be waiting patiently until the 17th – with umbrellas in hand. Remember in the beginning of the movie when Debbie Reynolds drives Gene Kelly home and when they get there she sings, “Here we are, Sunset and Camden!” While I was in LA, every single time I saw a Sunset Blvd or Camden Drive sign, I’d sing “Here we are, Sunset and Camden!”. By the end of my trip, my brother would say, “We know, we know, Sunset and Camden!”. Oh, siblings!

4. Instagram – I think I have an obsession. But who doesn’t?! Well, Greg really isn’t on the Instagram train let but I’m Instagramming it up in full swing. If you don’t follow us yet, our username is 7thHouseBlog. I’ve been going a little extra Instagram crazy lately because I’m working on a special “Instagram project” I’ll be sharing with you guys within the next few weeks – with a giveaway to boot!

5. Pinkberry - Sound warning on the link, for those of you at work! I had my first Pinkberry experience while in LA and it was delish! My favorite concoction was the peanut butter yogurt with strawberries and chocolate crunch. I wish I could have brought some home on the plane! The closest one to us is a few hours away (at Tysons Corner), but I’m going to try to hold out until we go to Cali in January. It’s a mental thing.

Do you have any favorites this month? A new restaurant, paint color, place to visit or lip gloss? We’re all ears!