My father is notoriously difficult to buy gifts for because he always buys everything he wants immediately and then there's nothing left for birthdays, holidays, or special occasions. For Father's Day, he asked for tickets to a concert he wants to attend next weekend. I bought them the other day, so I'm all set ahead of schedule, but if you're still looking for the perfect gift for your father, father figure, husband (I am), or another great dad in your life, consider getting him a Man Crate. With a sense of humor and a masculine sensibility — a brass-knuckle meat tenderizer, supplies for increasing levels of zombie threat, and a Chuck Rodent club cover are par for the course (no pun intended) — the Man Crates fulfill a wide range of interests and tastes. More than two dozen crates are pre-arranged or you can request a custom gift. Each set comes with a crowbar so your man can pry open his own gift which comes adorned with "no bows, ribbons, or fluff."
Two or three years ago, instead of a work shirt or video game (my husband's usual requests), I bought him a bacon-related gift pack from another vendor and it was very well-received. Personalized gifts are always much better than something you might buy any other day of the year because they show much more thought as to who someone really is and what they like. If your guy is a first-timer, the Tactical Baby Bag (top) offers a survival guide and other smart supplies for added energy during the sleepless nights (note: this comes with the tactical bag, not a crate). Which ones suits your guy/dad? A few of these would work for my husband, but I think he is the retro gamer all the way.
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If you're like me, you spend nearly every lunch at your desk, trying not to get crumbs in your keyboard or condiments on your papers. It can be costly to buy your lunch every day as most of us did in Manhattan. When I was pregnant, I was very good about bringing my lunch and extra snacks from home. Now that I'm working at an office part-time, I don't want to spend the money to buy lunch or the time to go out in search of it. So I bring my lunch and sometimes my breakfast. For the last couple months, I've been happily using Island Picnic's insulated organic lunch bag set. It's a four piece set consisting of an insulated lunch bag with hidden handle, sandwich bag, snack bag, and napkin, all made from 100% certified organic cotton.
While they have their place and purpose, zipper-lock plastic bags make me crazy. Instead, I use a mix of the bags from the set and plastic lunch containers I've amassed from various places. Island Picnic doesn't use any plastic materials to line their bags, but rather un-dyed, unbleached organic cotton sateen. The lunch bag insulation is 100% certified organic cotton batting. You can use these bags for nearly any kind of food, even messy PB&J sandwiches which I often do. Just brush off the crumbs to use again tomorrow, or flip the bags inside out and toss in the washing machine. All the pieces are machine washable. I usually put a handful of baby carrots in the snack bag and even though they're wet from rinsing when they go in the bag, the outside of the bag does not get damp and it doesn't affect any of my other food. The lunch bag is big enough to fit extra bags or containers and I like that I don't have to rely on paper napkins. There are a bunch of fun color and pattern options and if you're not in the market for a full set, the snack and sandwich bags are available in a separate set of two. Do you bring your lunch to work (or play)? What do you use? 'Tis the season for limited-edition collaborations! If you read shelter magazines regularly, you know that Farrow & Ball is the high-end paint brand widely favored by magazine editors and interior designers. And if you read fashion magazines, you've likely seen the handbags by The Cambridge Satchel Company in both classic and neon colors. Now the two British companies have joined forces on a small collection of exclusive bags that has just launched. I think it's almost always a no-brainer for great fashion and home brands to match up and offer a tactile combo of both their strong suits. With this partnership, you get the benefit of the exceptional craftsmanship that is a hallmark of both brands: a chic durable leather bag in a bespoke shade formulated by color experts. One of Farrow & Ball's latest colors, Stiffkey Blue is inspired by the remarkable color of mud found at the beach in the hamlet of Stiffkey on the north coast of Norfolk in England. I would love to know what makes the mud this unique shade! The nautical/beachy background of the color makes the satchel perfect for summer and beyond. The shade is a bit moody, which you know I love, and it will go well with other neutrals, metallics, and brights as well. The bags are handmade in England and will be available in four sizes as a limited edition of 200; each piece will be embossed with a number inside. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! We were very happy to run around and play outside, both on land and by the water. Several years ago, when I interned at Bridal Guide magazine, I was responsible for photocopying important pages from magazines we received at the office that our EIC wanted for her files. Fashion ideas, interesting page layouts, anything that triggered a thought for the future. Rather than just go up to the Xerox machine, do the copies and file the magazines, I would pore over each one, and often I'd make a second copy of certain pages for my own files. This was a great way to learn about the other magazines but also a different way of reading magazines because I was looking at ideas and trying to think of how they could be adapted for a different market. Though the name of the magazine and exactly what else was in this article escapes me, there was an article in a woman's magazine, and the gist was something like, what piece of clothing changed your life? And that sounds like it could be superficial, but one response was from a woman who talked about her first Marimekko dress in the 1960s. It's been so long that I can't remember anything else she said about her style or the pattern of the dress (though I'm pretty sure if I delved deep into my own files, I have a photocopy of this article somewhere), but I distinctly remember that when she wore the dress, it totally transformed how she saw herself as a woman. Ever since then, I've had an interest in Marimekko. I've also loved mod 60s style since I was a child watching reruns of 60s comedies. So, I was very interested to belatedly learn that Marimekko and Banana Republic have teamed up for a limited-time summer collection. The collection just launched a few days ago and is selling out very quickly already. These two pieces are some of the few still available online and in select stores. Of course, there's always the real deal, too. I love these new dresses available on Marimekko's site:
Well, it seems like a million years since I had a chance to last post, but I can finally share one of the reasons I've been so busy. I was totally caught off-guard and flattered when Arhaus Furniture asked me to be the first guest blogger on their blog, Greenhaus. I've worked with Arhaus for years on editorial stories and it's always been a pleasure and I remember how fun it was to get a preview of their Manhattan flagship store before it opened. It actually took a long time for me to figure out what I should write about for the post. I was trying to think of some grand theme I should try to create but finally it occurred to me to talk about what I know, dinners with my family, and make it look exactly like it would if I were buying it for myself with no online attention. I knew I wanted something bright and fun, something that would make me smile, and even though I was stressing out until the very last second, I think it came out well and somehow from my brain translated to the table exactly how I wanted it to. This was the first "full-scale" shoot I've done since I moved and let me tell you, it was as fun as I remember but so much harder! For a typical magazine shoot, you put your concept together but you can order lots of options to choose what works best together. I couldn't do that so I just had to hope that my idea would come out right and make me look like I know a little about what I'm doing and not criminally insane. I really love the pieces I chose and I can't wait to keep using them in different ways. I had a great time digging through my own things and finding a few new pieces (can't get enough of these zebra glasses) to pair with them. If you read the post, let me know what you think! full disclosure: I was allowed to keep the products that I selected to photograph for my post, but all opinions are my own.
Xx a One of the things I miss about New York is easy access to the zillions of great shops with modern and cool home goods (everything here leans pretty conservative). The Conran Shop, now closed, was one of those shops I liked to take a spin through, especially their lighting department. So occasionally I check out the website of the original London shop. You can't find pieces like these beautiful glass pendants here (though, luckily, you can find them in New York). Designed by Czech partners Jan Plechách and Henry Wielgus for Lasvit, these handblown crystal glass lampshades are directly inspired by the grand chandeliers found in opera houses worldwide. There are five designs of the Neverending Glory collection: Designer Plechách said, "We wanted to create just a ghost of the original chandeliers, or just the soul, the shadow, the shine of the original ones. If you imagine the grand, original chandeliers in these opera houses, they’re glorious, and the ‘neverending’ part relates to the profiles and the idea of infinite rotation—a neverending glory." I love the sketches below showing the process of translating the original design to the modern interpretation. Another thing I love about these pieces is the scale of them. Each is between two and three feet high. I think every house needs a statement light fixture. Each light certainly holds its own, but they look quite striking together in a row. I'm not sure which is my favorite though I'm leaning toward either La Scala, or probably not surprisingly, Metropolitan Opera. Which is your favorite? It doesn't get any more functional than the power cord for your phone. And the way our phones have virtually become additional appendages, having an extra charger handy is always a good idea. But why should we be resigned to making do with plain white pieces when these little lovelies exist?
Ban.do's Power Trip charger sets (for iPhone 4/4s and 5/5s only) are so cute: one set is soft and feminine and the other is bright and cheery, but both are super stylish. If you currently have the 4/4s, the set includes an adapter so it isn't made obsolete if you upgrade. When you're at the airport around one of those charging stations and everyone's phones are trailing off in identical fashion, yours will be the one that stands out (and I'm always about that). My love for pasta knows no bounds. I even have a shirt that says "Pasta Power" on it and I wore it for years, then framed it so I could still enjoy it. When I came across this adorable ceramic pasta storage container from Black + Blum at the gift show, I knew I had to share it with you.
Aside from being a slim and handy way to store spaghetti, it has both a sense of humor in its design and practicality: the underside of the cork lid has a one-, two, and three-serving portion measurement guide so you can ensure you're making the right amount for the number you're serving. This week is Tabletop market in NY and I can't wait to see images of the new introductions. Tabletop market is one of my favorite market events (actually, I love them all), even though I don't get to work on tabletop stories very often. New place settings, serving pieces, glassware, and some giftware are on display both to the press and to retailers who decide what to buy for the upcoming season. Most, but not all, of what you see at Tabletop is high-end so it's fun to create tablescapes using these beautiful pieces. In honor of Tabletop week, I decided to share some of my favorite tabletop pieces from past years at market (see the slideshow above) and these are still available for purchase. Ruche by British bridal designer Bruce Oldfield for Royal Crown Derby is a pattern I fell for right away. The pattern is inspired in part by the way the silks Oldfield works with move and the ruching technique. The yellow accent plate is actually a little more chartreuse in person, and the gold bands on all the pieces are textured. Haviland's Laque de Chine chargers are classic and come in wonderful colors, so they mix with nearly anything. I'm not usually into the sea creature-theme, but I do love these textured plates by Richard Ginori with creatures in relief. Kosta Boda's glass Mine collection is swirly and smoky and fabulous. I adored Juliska's Country Estate collection from the minute I saw it because it has all these wonderful details like little hot air balloons in the scenery. I am pretty much a fan of everything Kelly Wearstler does, including this tabletop she designed for Pickard. I absolutely love John Rocha's Black Cut collection for Waterford. The black crystal with the cut clear crystal is so gorgeous and feels a little mysterious. Nason Moretti's Cliff glasses are another product I was constantly drawn to. The Harcourt glasses are the oldest collection in Baccarat's archive. I love weighty stemware and the hexagonal foot. Saint-Louis' Les Endiablés collection is a major favorite. It's so high end, but I love the colors and the fact that they're both objet and functional glass, and can be used upside down or right side up. The incredibly talented (and lovely) Marcel Wanders designed a line of flatware for Christofle, and the engravings are gorgeous. Lladro is really more of a collector's brand, but the craftsmanship of the pieces is incredible and I love the creativity and whimsy of them. This Clown Lamp is by designer Jaime Hayon. Rosenthal's Studio Line has a bunch of wonderful vases and this is just one of them. If I remember correctly, it was designed by a student. Full admission, the Oberon pattern from Wedgwood is not one I saw at Tabletop initially, though I did see it there once I started attending market. Oberon is actually my own wedding china pattern, but I still love it, so I thought I'd share it. images via royal crown derby, bloomingdales, richard ginori 1735, kosta boda, juliska, pickard, waterford, nason moretti, baccarat, saint-louis, christofle, lladro, rosenthal, wedgwood
Xx a Now that I've (gulp) registered my first-born for kindergarten, I keep thinking about various things that I've been meaning to do with my girls. One thing I've had in mind for a while is to write them letters about this period in their life, what they are like, what they like to do, and so on. I meant to start when Cupcake was born, but even though I've composed these in my head several times, I haven't gotten anything down on paper.
I think her going off to school and beginning this new phase in her life will be the perfect time to put down exactly how I feel about her and who she is at this point in time (and my youngest daughter, too). My idea, in addition to writing the letter about their baby-, toddler-, and preschool-hood, is to also write them letters for different situations like their first breakup or the first time they accomplish a major achievement as an adult. I'd like to think I'll live a long time and be there for them to share my own experiences in person, but the truth is we never really know what will happen, and I'd love to leave something for them to keep, as a part of me, and as something to encourage them when they need to be reminded that they're not alone. Once written, I'll need a place to put the letters so they can read them when they're older. I love this chromatic set of assorted envelopes in one of my favorite color palettes. I can slip the letters in each envelope, label them and keep them safe in a box for the future. A future that will be here before we even know it. |
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