Around the World In an Hour

I'll admit that, as much as I love wandering around the streets of New York, I find that shopping in this city can be a draining experience.  In the same way that I can only stay in a museum for ninety minutes before I feel the need for a stiff drink and a plush bar stool, I have a limited tolerance for meandering in and out of boutiques. 

But online is another story entirely.  I can hop from retailer to retailer with a flick of my finger, browsing hungrily (but away from the prying eyes of salespeople) for as long as my interest holds.  And not only am I hopping from retailer to retailer, but really from world to world.  I'm not bound by a particular neighborhood theme as I might be in say, the West Village (expensive chains) or Soho (varying degrees of chic).

Online I can start with the rarefied world of Vivre, flicking through pages of resort wear, hostess gifts, extravagant luggage and chunky, expensive jewelry which only the monied bohemian set could ever pull off with any sort of panache.   I could easily see myself in this Sag Harbor Tunic, lolling about the pool at a tasteful weekend home.

Perhaps as Babe Paley once did at Round Hill..

If I find that world becomes dull, I can bounce over to the internationally oriented Far Fetch and browse the edgier wares.  I have the inventory of boutiques in Copenhagen, Hong Kong, London and L.A. at my fingertips...with all that choice I am nearly drunk with the possibilities.  But it is this leather dress from Rika that I can't get out of my head.

Perhaps a bit warm for the unseasonable humidity we've been having?  No matter, it is a fantasy after all.  There is no humidity in my fantasy world.

Bored with clothes, I can easily make the switch over to the cheeky housewares at Horne.  How perfectly amusing is this fruit bowl?

It looks simultaneously like a massive hand cupping your spoils from the market and an abandoned banana bunch which has been forced into practical service.  It makes me laugh.

These sorts of perfectly white items always make me think of Swedish interiors (Emma's Design Blog showcases the most perfect examples) so I sidle on over to Swedishness to get my fix...

This Skultuna brass and white enamel bowl would look so perfect next to the bananas.  And that logo?  To die.  I am suck a sucker for a crown imprint on my dishes.

All of this emphasis on the kitchen puts me in a festive mood so I head over to one of my favorite little shops, Spartan.  I could happily purchase virtually everything on the site, but am always drawn most intently to these spanish wine glasses, which I was first introduced to through the always inspiring Remodelista.

Perfect for a party (I can spare my Riedels!), especially up on my roof deck.  Any unused glasses would quite adeptly shield a few votive candles from the occasional breeze, lending an undeserving sense of coordination to the night's gathering.

But enough about food, wine and social gatherings...I'm in the mood to adorn myself now.  I can't resist a bit of sparkle, especially around the face.  Roseark is always good for some shine, but it is not always an attainable shine, as they tend more towards real gems rather than imposters.  However, these single deco strand strand earrings would fit within most everyone's budget, even in these lean times.

But perhaps it is time to move on to something a bit darker, a bit sharper?  Made Her Think has such items in spades.  This ring for instance.

I love the vaguely brass knuckles vibe.

But at heart I'm a lover rather than a fighter, so I would of course have to balance it out with the kissing swallows.

A perfect souvenir from my virtual trip around the world.

How Lovely

My sister and I share a love of nice stationery. So when her birthday rolled around this year, I thought that some special note cards would be an appropriate gift. But it can be a bit difficult to find a compelling design. Obviously companies like Mrs. John L. Strong makes a fabulous product, but good lord, have you seen those prices?!! And a lot of the other options with high quality paper (an absolute must in my book) are totally devoid of any whimsy.


So I decided to look into making a set myself. I had heard wonderful things about a website called PaperSource, and my sources did not let me down. PaperSource not only sells their own stationery designs, but also sells notecards, folding cards and envelopes in every size and color under the sun. They sell decorative paper, gift wrap, crafting supplies and, my current obsession, embossers! Is it overly lame to emboss my initials on note cards by the way?


In the end, I purchased a cute little ladybug stamp, a red stamp pad, parchment colored note cards and envelopes, envelope liner templates and decorative paper with which to line said envelopes.


And I got to work stamping away:






And lining away:



Lining envelopes is stunningly easy, in addition to being immensely satisfying. All it requires is this template kit, some decorative paper that you find pleasing, scissors, a couple of paperclips and a glue stick, et voila!


A cute little stationery set.

Sale Alert!

Remember One Kings Lane? Well go there immediately, John Robshaw's lovely bohemian pillows and table linens are on sale!

Home Economics

I am a massive fan of Gilt Group.  Probably because I love sample sales and this website allows me to do battle with other rabid shoppers with my mouse rather than having real life confrontations in various states of undress.  Who's excited for the Louboutin sale coming up next Wednesday!!!

Anyway, you can imagine my excitement when I started reading on all of the design blogs that there is now a home version of Gilt Group called One Kings Lane.  Same concept...you have to become a member, if you refer a friend and they buy something you get a $25 credit (hook me up with some credits if you feel so inclined), and they've got many sales per week (in this case, it seems to be a sale per day).

They've got quite a few good things going on at the moment...

Ann Gish has got some cool pillows and whatnot:

Arte Italia has got some lovely serving pieces (I'm a total sucker for dishes of any sort, because they indicate food will be filling them at some point).

I love how this bowl is sort of basic country but that silver rim makes it quite sophisticated at the same time.

And Lunt Silversmiths has got some adorable stuff.

How funny is this bookend?

And I love the silver plated leaf serving platter.

Ah, I can feel my productivity levels dropping already as my internet browsing time increases...

Noble Resolutions

I've really never been one for New Year's resolutions.  The dead of winter does not seem to me to be a natural time to get your life together.  Who wants to start eating healthy food and working out when the weather dictates that you should be hunkering down and eating food that will provide you with insulation?

But that said, I do have one...let's call it an aspiration rather than a resolution:  to be more thoughtful about the wine that I drink going forward.

Now I was actually given a bar a few years back (a wooden table thing with wine shelves, I'm not referring to a bar bar here), along with a few sets of Reidel wine glasses.  The bar can accommodate 24 bottles of wine (and the glasses).  However, at any one time it holds an average of two bottles.  What this means is that I never have what I'm in the mood to drink (want a minerally white?  well, I have a dusty bottle of chianti over here), and if I go out to buy wine, I just swing by whatever store is near, blindly pick a few bottles (sometimes based on little blurbs posted) and generally am vaguely dissatisfied with whatever I have bought (except if I've bought it at Winesby.com of course)

But I have a plan.  I will make wine decisions outside of the store, based on the musings and recommendations of oeniphiles whose taste I respect.  But where might one find these experts you ask?  I have two sources that I have become very excited about of late.

First, the blog Good Wines Under $20.  I love this guy.  There's something quite compelling about the way that he writes, but beyond that, I'm always excited to try whatever bottle it is that he's featuring.  Plus I'm very into his wine book club idea.  If the library had his latest selection, I would have been all over it.

Also, I have recently rediscovered a newsletter that I used to receive (and apparently still do receive, I just hadn't checked my old email in quite some time...several years to be exact).  Laura Holmes is the woman behind Gourmet Grrrl, and although she also writes about food (and does it pretty well), I think she really shines when it comes to wine.  I fell a little in love with her after reading her "bubbly for the holidays" issue a couple of weeks ago (I am such a sucker for pink champagne it's just ridiculous) and have been hooked ever since.

And, as if Wine.com had read my mind with regards to my new wine purchasing habits, I just got an offer in my inbox for unlimited shipping from them for $49 per year!  $4 a month...even if you're a very moderate wine drinker it seems like quite the deal to me.

So I'll see how this little experiment goes...I'm hoping that I have sufficient emotional strength to stick with my very strict drinking schedule.