Archive for the ‘good things’ Category
Too Sick to Do Much, Too Well to Sleep All Day
Still sick. Tonight, after a hot shower and a dose of meds I’m going to try to get out of the house for a while. I need new laundry baskets, some no-kill mouse traps and a 2009 day planner. Pretty exciting stuff, let me tell you. I’ve spent some time today “Poloadroiding” some vacation photos.
As far as first weeks go, this one is pretty much the worst ever.
2008 Holiday Guide - Last Minute Gifts
Stop slackin’! Get to crack-a-lackin’!
————————————————————————————
Amazon Gift Card, $5 - $5000
You have two immediate options for this one: you can print it out right away, or you can email it for instant delivery. Some people argue that gift cards are SO last minute and thoughtless, but I don’t. I’ve always said that a gift certificate is giving the gift of shopping.
Amazon has everything, so you don’t have to worry about whether they’ll find something they like. An Amazon gift card is like a gift card to the universe.
P.S. Dear Amazon marketing department, you can use that one. You’re welcome.
at amazon.com
————————————————————————————
Winter Bark, $2 per pound (ish), depending
This is a super easy recipe, it’s pretty, and it’s yummy. If you’re running out to the grocery store, you can grab the ingredients if you don’t have them already. I vote adding pretzel pieces into the mix with the peanuts. Alternatively, you can take cracked up candy canes and sprinkle them on top. Bash the candy canes in a plastic bag and then put them in a collender to get rid of all the dust and tiny shards. Sprinkle the bits on top so the red and white colors show, and then put it in the fridge. Festive!
Since you waited last minute and don’t have time to buy matching packages, run around your house and grab shoe boxes, the boxes that oatmeal packets come in, cereal boxes, etc. Anything you can find. You’re RECYCLING! (Wahoo for positive spins!) Line them with parchment paper or wax paper, and tuck the bark in.
Get a paper grocery sack and cut the bottom off so you have one big long rectangular piece of brown paper. Wrap the box with it, backwards, so it’s just plain. (I am, of course, assuming that you’ve run out of wrapping paper at this late date, YOU SLACKER!) Tie with twine, old ribbons, or make a bow out of shopping bags. (Hint: Target bags are red and white, and the New York Times comes in a great blue for Hanukkah.)
————————————————————————————
Jingle Balloons, $18 or less
You can’t go to the mall today without wanting to lobotomize yourself, but the florist shouldn’t be so bad. Ask for a dozen red and green balloons, but before they’re blown up, stuff 50 cents worth of dimes into each of them. The result is a bouquet of Christmas colored balloons that jingle! This is perfect for someone too young to be jaded by the mild annoyance of pocket change.
Photo by my dear friend Chad who gets to hang out with three awesome ladies and a cool dog this Christmas.
from my own brilliant mind
————————————————————————————
Salt Dough Ornaments, $1 or less
Two parts flour, one part salt, one part warm water. Mix, and you’re good to go, no waiting necessary. You can make shapes out of cookie cutters or form them free hand; through the years I’ve done a combo of both. Make a hole in the top for a ribbon, or do what Jen did with this one, which is take an ornament hook, bend it, and insert it into the top. You can use a cookie cutter to make an entire set of stars, bells or reindeer. Bake them on 325 until they’re dried out and let them sit for about an hour to cool before you break out the acrylics and paint them!
Package them in a candy box (you can just dump all the chocolates out first, and eat them while you paint. Score!)
————————————————————————————
Printable Stationary, $4
The smarty-pants at Little Brown Pen have made it seriously easy for you to make sweet stationary sets by just adding the paper you have and printing them yourself. Once you order, the PDFs of the image you selected will arrive within 24 hours according to the site, but you can probably beg for a rush order.
Also available: printable calendars, which they recommend using card stock for.
at etsy.com
————————————————————————————
The Gift of You, Free Dollars
What of yourself can you give someone else? Think about it. You can do something. Some ideas I’ve got: an offer to babysit, edit old home movies, convert old slides into digital files, set up a stereo system, make a months’ worth of meals for the freezer, take really beautiful portraits, clean out a garage, make cupcakes for a bake sale…
Write it down, slip it into an envelope, and present it with a smile.
Merry Christmas.
A Very Tiny Christmas Present
My friend Patrick works part time as a projectionist in a theater. He came over today and brought me a very tiny gift, which he had wrapped AND put a bow on!
It’s one frame of the movie The Tale of Despereaux. Best tiny gift ever!
Happy Christmas Eve.
The Beckoning of Lovely
This week I’m blogging about all of the little things I kept meaning to blog about but never got around to.
Maggie Mason posted about this yesterday; I’d forgotten about it. Heads up, it’s a little on the long side: 7:14, and it’s worth watching uninterrupted.
Enjoy.
2008 Holiday Guide - Inevitable Holiday Purchases
There are things you pull out of storage year after year to celebrate the holidays. You buy them once and are done for life. Then there are the things you need to buy fresh every December, and I’ve rounded up some of my favorites here. I feel like there might be a thing or two I’ve missed; let me know if you think of something, or find a cool alternative to what I came up with.
These are my picks for the “Holiday Inevitables”.
————————————————————————————
Chanukah Soda 4-Pack, $6
Every year Rob and I buy the holiday pack from Jones, and we’re going to have to get this one, too! I’m a little scared to taste the “latke” soda. I wonder if it’s like the “mashed potatoes” kind in last years pack. Bleck!
at myjones.com
————————————————————————————
Cranberry Kir - Winter Bliss Tin, $5
I picked one of these up from Anthropologie last year and I still have it. The wick is long gone, but I’ve remelted the leftover wax several times to let the good smell out into the air. I like to buy one candle per year, just for Christmas, and I try to think outside of the ankee-Yay andle-Cay box. The website says “100% all natural wax”, but the one I have says “soy” on the label. I think they’re trying to appeal to the (surprisingly numerous) people who roll their eyes at soy candles.
The smell is called “Cranberry Kir”. I have no idea what that means (typo? Cranberry Fir? That’s actually about right.) Anyway, it smells like Christmas.
————————————————————————————
Vermont Balsam and Cedar Christmas Wreath, $15
I knew that the large outdoorsy retailers offer fresh wreaths, so I went to seek them out for this post. Internet, they are shockingly expensive. I said to the dogs sitting at my feet, “One hundred dollars for some pine wrapped around a wire? Ppppth.” Plus the decorations they come with are cornier than a Bozo wig. This one is nice, simple, and homey. I like that it looks handmade, and it’s inexpensive. There are no ghastlly decorations, either; you can add your own ornaments or leave it plain.
I read the shop’s description, too, and I’d paraphrase, but they said it so well:
We are two neighbors and friends. One of us is a mom of four and the other a mom of two and grandma. We love living in the country, caring for our families, enjoying our animal friends, and being creative. We do a great job of keeping each other busy and getting ourselves into exciting new adventures (a.k.a. trouble)!
at etsy.com
————————————————————————————
Beeswax Hanukkah Candles, $12
A more colorful way to celebrate Hanukkah.
————————————————————————————
Peppermint Bark, $26.50
A cherished holiday treat by many, just not by me. I want to like it, because it’s beautiful, but I’m so not a peppermint person. Ah well. If your family is into peppermint, I hear this is the creme de la creme of peppermint candy.
————————————————————————————
Ginger Bread House Kit, $14
Leave the from-scratch houses to Martha. Don’t try to make the walls and roof of a gingerbread house yourself. It’s so not worth it. I promise. Just buy a kit. No, no. Listen. Trust me. You don’t need to try it “just once”.
at amazon.com
————————————————————————————
18-year-old Macallan, $124
If you have nutty relatives you’ll be forced to deal with over a turkey dinner, this is an extremely classy single malt way to cope.
at themacallan.com for stores
————————————————————————————
Lieber’s Milk Chocolate Gelt, $11
The kind folks at Oh Nuts! emailed me and asked if I would please mention them in my gift guides this year. I said yes; I love any company that twitters, and they have such nice Hanukkah gift baskets. You’d think a gift basket is a gift basket is a gift basket, but every year my in-laws get them by the truck load, and most of them include things forbidden in their kosher household. It’s something I think a lot of people don’t consider. So my PSA for the season: if you’re sending a gift basket to a Jewish family, make sure it doesn’t include smoked pepperoni, you know?
They sent me some Lieber’s gelt, too, in both “dairy” and “parve” (that’s milk chocolate and dark chocolate to the gentiles!) Unlike a lot of the “chocolate flavored” foil wrapped crud available, this stuff is gooood (ask Stu!; she liked it)! I will never buy another brand of gelt again. (The milk chocolate is my fave!)
at ohnuts.com
————————————————————————————
30 lb. Brown Kraft Wrapping Paper - 36″, $39
Save yourself from the world of corny, flimsy, mis-matched, eco-unfriendly and EXPENSIVE wrapping paper! This 100% recycled brown kraft paper can wrap all of your gifts; blue ribbon goes on the Hanukkah presents, and red can be for Christmas (I’m not sure what color would be for Kwanzaa.) (Yes, I’m very aware that I am half black. I still don’t know.) The rest of the year you can use another color ribbon and call it your “signature wrapping”.
At first glance this seems expensive, but considering this roll is much longer than standard wrapping paper, AND you can use it for EVERYthing, you’re saving a bundle. Just add plain gift tags, and you’re done!
————————————————————————————
Double-faced Satin Ribbon - 1.5″, $11
Available in all sorts of colors. Your “signature wrapping” could be any one of them! (I am, by the way, SO going to do this signature wrapping thing. Feel free to copy me. We can be classy together.) They have a nice red that would work for Christmas, and a nice royal blue, too, for Hanukkah. Kwanzaa has to be in there somewhere…
————————————————————————————
Yay for Chessa!
My new bloggy friend, Ciao!Chessa, was featured as a runner-up in the Popular Photography Annual Reader’s Contest in the “People” category! I am very proud of her! This is the winning photo.
Congratulations Chessa!
Amber’s 2008 Gift Guide - Home and Kitchen
Lumiere Candleholders, $4 - $5
I like these candle sticks because they’re modern but classic, quirky but not silly and unique but still universally appealing. And they’re cheap, so you can get a whole bunch.
at cb2.com
————————————————————————————
Emile Henry pie plate, $45
This line of pie plates has a distinctive charming edge to it that I love (obviously). I use mine for meatloaves and pies. Williams Sonoma offers three exclusive colors, and Sur la Table features all of the rest.
at surlatable.com
at williams-sonoma.com
————————————————————————————
Happy Birthday Plate, $15
There are two things I really want in my kitchen. One is a bowl that says “Amber’s Popcorn” on it, which I’ve wanted since I was about five. (True story. My friend Heather had one that said “Heather’s Popcorn”, and I thought it was the coolest thing.) Another is a special happy birthday plate; my parents had one for us growing up, although I don’t think it was designed specifically for birthdays, it was just a funny plate with a boy and a girl on it. It was very cool to get to have dinner on it every year. Every family should have a special birthday plate.
at etsy.com
————————————————————————————
Norpro Heart-Sicle Pan, $8
Any sort of food that goes onto a stick works for me. I love the hearts! This pan is available a lot of places, but it’s on sale at Hearthsong.
————————————————————————————
Otomi hand-embroidered bedspread, $250
The Otomi Indian embroiderers are working hard to preserve this ancient art of this specific sort of embroidery, and I am madly in love with this bedspread, hand done in Mexico. This is not to be slept under or sat on, and would be kept away from dirty dog feet (and dirty husbands).
at ebay.com
————————————————————————————
Orange Medallion Bowl, $30
This orange bowl would make a great fruit bowl. I particularly like the sketched design on the front.
————————————————————————————
Juice Clock, $45
It’s yellow and made from recycled HDPE (the sort of plastic that dishsoap comes in). I’m in love.
————————————————————————————
Welcome Coat Rack, $15
I have three coat racks and they never seem to be enough; we’ve got three dog leashes, three dog harnesses, an assortment of reusuable grocery bags, coats, hoodies, a variety of scarves, hats and gloves, and at least four things to return to stores all hanging in the hallway, all vying for a spot on the coat racks. So I could use another one. This one is gorgeous. Also available in “beautiful day”, which has five hooks and is painted white. I would spray paint it, of course.
————————————————————————————
6 oz Cupcake Scented Soy Candle With Sprinkles, $6
I bought one of these at the Brooklyn Flea Market. It’s delicious. I switched to exclusively soy candles a while ago, and I haven’t looked back. They burn cleaner and longer than their petroleum counterparts, and the smell is cleaner and less artificial. These were made by “Mrs. Tattooed Geek”, a mother of 5 who is a self-described punk. She gives me hope.
at etsy.com
————————————————————————————
Pebo Stovetop Vacuum Coffee Maker, $70
Pebo is fun to say and fun to use. I haven’t tried it, but the coffee is supposed to be delicious, with no “bits” in, like a french press tends to leave. Perfect for the coffee lover who has everything else.
at bodumusa.com
————————————————————————————
Personalized plate, $20
I want an entire set of these for my beach house. (And while you’re at it, get me a beach house, too.) I yanked this photo from Cakespy because the photos on the website are UGLY.
at laplates.com
————————————————————————————
Perfect Cube Ice Trays, $12
Why do we call them “ice cubes” when they’re not actually cubes? Should we rename them? I think not; I think we should reshape them. And so did someone else, apparently.
————————————————————————————
Stag Shaker Set, $30
Look! They’re smiling!
————————————————————————————
Mini Frothers, $10
Because mixing your U-Bet and milk with a spoon just isn’t as fun.
————————————————————————————
Lemonade Decanter, $109
At my house this would most likely be holding lemonade with Absolute Citron. Cheers!
Amber’s 2008 Gift Guide - Art and Photography Stuff
* See my note below.
————————————————————————————
Chuckles 2009, $20
Heather Armstrong (Dooce!) takes photos of her dog Chuck and turns them into calendars. This year she is donating the proceeds to the Humane Society of Utah. So you can buy two.
at dooce.com
————————————————————————————
Aperture2, $200
For the Mac user who is a photography enthusiast (*coughAmbercough*) this software is the perfect gift. It allows you to edit photos using controls beyond the iPhoto basic adjustments, and it’s still easier to use than Photoshop. I play with it every time I’m in the Apple store, and day dream. Over the weekend we did Hanukkah early with Rob’s family, and my in laws got this for me! Woo hoo!
at apple.com
————————————————————————————
Cupcake Print by Sandra Juto, $15
I’m a big fan of Sandra Juto. I’d like these cheerful cupcakes for my kitchen.
————————————————————————————
20″ x 20″ Fingerprint Portrait, $290
Because you really are a beautiful and unique snowflake. Available in larger and smaller sizes, and in tons of colors. DNA11 also offers a genetic mapping of your DNA which they then translate into visual form, as well as art made from your lip prints if you’re looking for something sexier than thumbs. Currently, they do not have an option for ass prints, but I guess you could ask… Robert.
at dna11.com
————————————————————————————
Hand-painted Nesting Russian Dolls, $27
Less fussy than the traditional sets.
————————————————————————————
Flickr pro account, $25
My Flickr pro account is pretty much the best twenty-five bucks I’ve ever spent. If you know an internet-savvy photog, especially if they’re using the free version already, chances are they’d love a pro account. Now with video, too!
at flickr.com
————————————————————————————
Ork Posters screen print, $27
The concept behind Ork Posters is very cool, and the folks who run the company are so nice, too; I met them this summer at a craft show. Each location they offer a map for has a unique selection of colors and prints and is available in both printed form and screen prints, which have a bit more texture and character than the printed ones. Of course, I want a Brooklyn poster (I’m waiting for a fun limited edition one, maybe in orange on a cream paper… hint, hint!) in a screen print.
————————————————————————————
Charlotte’s Web cover art lithograph, $2500
Only 250 lithographs were made from Garth Williams’ original artwork of the cover her did for Charlotte’s Web, and they’re hand signed by the late illustrator himself. Even so, I’m not sure how anyone is justifying the price tag on this… but I still want it.
————————————————————————————
Fuiji Instax Camera, $130
Tiny, simple, instant. It’s almost as good as an instant Polaroid which, of course, is soon-to-be no more. I think this looks like it came off the set of Star Wars. Want!
————————————————————————————
Polaroid Super Shooter Land Camera, $28
It probably doesn’t work, but it comes with cool flash cubes! I love the rainbow stripes on the package, too.
at etsy.com
————————————————————————————
Holga 135BC Plastic 35mm Camera - “Black Corners” Version, $46
Holgas are typically a medium format camera, meaning they take 120mm film and produce square photos, not the standard 35mm with 2:3 rectangle photos that everyone is used to. I love my Holga, which was $25 new, but the film is so expensive and niche that between buying one roll and having it developed, I was spending more than the camera itself cost me. Recently, the manufacturer created three new versions Holga in 35mm format. Expensive film problem solved. Out of the three, this is my favorite. It similar to the 120N that I have, except that it includes a cable release adapter in the shutter release button. Very cool. There is an internal mask to create a soft vignetting of the corners, a.k.a. the “bent corners” effect.
I love lomo cameras; they’re whimsical, unpredictable, quirky and fun. Everyone from children to professional photographers will appreciate having one of these, and therein lies the beauty of lomo photography: it is art for everyone to make.
at adorama.com
————————————————————————————
Frolic print by Yellena, $20
I’m hoping not to sound insulting when I say that I envision this print going in my bathroom. It’s so pretty, and would make me happy when I saw it every day as I was putting on my face.
at etsy.com
————————————————————————————
eco-packaged Joby Gorillapod for SLR, $40
Hats off to Joby for offering this without the packaging and giving a discount for people who buy it this way. As for the thing itself, I have one. It’s invaluable. You can put it in your camera bag and set it up anywhere. The ingenious way it attaches to your camera reduces the set up and take down time to about two seconds, it’s virtually indestructible, and it’s so darn cute, too! I love this.
at joby.com
————————————————————————————
*I mentioned that this would be the “awkward” section of the gift guide. Art is a weird gift, and not everyone likes strange and/or old cameras and photo stuff. Tomorrow is more “kind of strange” things to give; I’m going to show you all of the cool kitchen and home stuff I came up with.
Still, the concept of my gift guide started out as a way to give Rob gift hints for me, and all of this is stuff I love. Some of it I already own, everything else I would like to. This one is mostly for me, but I hope it makes you happy, too.
Amber’s 2008 Gift Guide - Techy, Geeky and Designy
Tepee, $2200
Both environmentally friendlier and much prettier than a standard tent. It’s designed to have a minimal impact where it’s pitched; it doesn’t kill the grass it sits on. The 100% cotton fabric is mildew and water resistant. Other features include reinforced stress points, critter-proof floor design and gorgeous pine poles for support. Just add one campfire, a motley crew of guitars and harmonicas and a few ghost stories. Perfect!
at dwr.com
————————————————————————————
15″ MacBook Pro with 2.53GHz, $2500
I asked all of my friends what they wanted for the holidays, and this was Brian’s pick.
at apple.com
————————————————————————————
Muppet Whatnot Gift Kit, $130
What’s a Whatnot? A Muppet extra on the Muppet Show! This kit allows gift recipients to design their own Whatnot and have it made on the spot at the FAO Schwartz store in NYC. Starting in February 2009 you will also be able to send away for it. Then they get to keep it!
at fao.com
————————————————————————————
Handel’s Messiah Sing-a-long, $12
You’ll have to give this gift a bit early, but that’s alright! Get into the Christmas spirit with the West Village Chorale’s annual sing-a-long of Handel’s Messiah. It takes place this coming Monday, December 15 at 7:30pm. You don’t actually have to sing, either, you can just go and listen… but where’s the fun in that?
Photo by my friend Tracy, who I love more than pancakes.
————————————————————————————
Wall-E (Three-Disc Special Edition + Digital Copy), $23
Pure Pixar genius. This three-disc special addition DVD has tons of cool extras including featurettes on the creation of the movie, animated shorts, and tons of deleted scenes. Waaaaaalllleeeeee!
at amazon.com
————————————————————————————
Mallomars 3-box Value Pack, $16
Along with his old hair line and a new apartment, my buddy Jeff says he would like a lifetime supply of Mallomars for Christmas. My mother-in-law also loves these. Because they melt easily, devoted fans stock up in the winter for the hotter months when stores don’t sell them. Both Jeff and Mrs. Blatt are New Yorkers, which makes sense: 70% of all Mallomars sold are sold in metropolitan New York.
————————————————————————————
Freaks & Geeks: Yearbook Edition, $130
Why this show only got one season I don’t know. It’s easily one of the best television shows of our time. This special edition DVD set includes actor auditions, and most episodes have two audio commentaries each.
at amazon.com
————————————————————————————
Charley Harper: An Illustrated Life, $126
Charley Harper died in June of last year. He was a modernist that inspired, and continues to inspire, many other artists, including noted designer Todd Oldham who edited this tome. I would love to have gorgeous book to refer to over and over, so it could inspire me, too.
at amazon.com
————————————————————————————
Set of nine hand-printed cards, assorted, $24
Eliza Jane Curtis is the artist behind Morris & Essex. Her work is a combination of Gocco (a type of printer that prints a very fine ink) and traditional silkscreening. This listing is for a “grab bag” of 9 cards. I love the combination of earthy paper with bold colors. So me!
at etsy.com
————————————————————————————
Flight of the Conchords - The Complete First Season, $24
They call me the Hiphopopotamus
Flows that glow like phosphorous
Poppin’ off the top of this esophagus
Rockin’ this metropolis
I’m not a large water-dwelling mammal
Where did you get that preposterous hypothesis?
Did Steve tell you that, perchance?
Steve.
at amazon.com
————————————————————————————
Vers hand crafted wood ipod speaker, $180
Sustainable materials, good design and great quality. I’ve been drooling over these for a while. The reviews are great, too. If you’re buying this and have an old iPod dock you would like to trade in, go through Vers Audio, the company that makes them, for $30 off. If you don’t, it’s slightly cheaper at Amazon.
at amazon.com
Amber’s 2008 Gift Guide - For the Ladies to Wear
Fingerless Gloves, $58 per pair
Nancy makes these, and got swamped with orders when Dooce featured them in her Daily Style section. From the sound of things, she’s “sick of knitting”, but maybe if you emailed her and said, “Nancy, please please PLEASE make me some fingerless gloves!”, she’ll do it. Trust me: they’re worth begging for. My solid chocolate brown ones are sooooo cozy! There are also two pairs in her Etsy shop at the moment.
at etsy.com
————————————————————————————
Red low-top Chuck Taylors, $42
Everyone needs at least one pair. I’ve got the classics in low-top black and white, and I’m hoping Santa will bring me a pair in red, too.
at jacksshoes.com
————————————————————————————
Unisex Sheer Jersey Scarf 3-Pack, $36
According to the blog Stuff White People Like, scarves make up “a key part of the white wardrobe” and “also function as a vital pillar of the white gift economy.” So, if you’re shopping for a white person, these are nice. I have the 3-pack in black, eggplant and olive. They’re fun to throw on as accessories if not to keep warm.
Shirt underneath is, apparently, optional.
at americanapparel.net
————————————————————————————
Dove Grey, $38
Hands down, this my favorite item of all of gift guides. Lynsey is a “20-something girl” and the artist behind VerreEncore, a studio dedicated to the art of enameling. This pendant from her etsy shop exudes warmth in both the color and the shape, and it made me sigh out loud when I first saw it. I really love this.
at etsy.com
————————————————————————————
Lima Beanie, $62
Made from 100% wool and a little more refined than the chunky-knit-with-tassels sort of hat, but still playful enough for a snowball fight.
at eluxury.com
————————————————————————————
Ampersand T-Shirt, $22
Available in a handful of typefaces; make mine Helvetica! Don’t be afraid to show the world you’re a word nerd.
at ampertee.com
————————————————————————————
Fingerprint Bands, info at camillehempel dot com or 718-387-5076 for pricing
Artist Camille Hempel (a fellow Brooklynite) fashions jewelry with a unique, organic twist. I’m digging these fingerprint wedding bands.
————————————————————————————
The Chalkboard Tee, $38 (for womens)
Either made by or invented by the guy who painted my apartment; I’m not quite sure. He was the nicest guy, though, and these things are hilarious.
————————————————————————————
Vintage Tin Asymmetrical Circles, $160
Crafted by a fellow Amber. She cuts circles from vintage tin and uses sterling silver to craft them into jewelry. The fronts are protected by watch crystals.
————————————————————————————
Super64 Yellow Umbrella, $24
I’m a fairly whimsical person, but I don’t like cutesy umbrellas. I think it’s because “cute” usually means cheap, and there’s NOTHING I hate more than being stuck in the rain with an umbrella that’s gone inside out, too flimsy to hold up to a New York City rainstorm. I like my umbrellas hardy and plain black. Still there is an appeal to being “the girl with the yellow umbrella“, and this seems like it could stand up to a few strong gusts.
