Fabric envy

I found this great source for Asian fabrics from Mollychicken. On a side note, she makes the absolute cutest stuffed animals I have EVER seen. Find the fabrics at kitty-craft

Booties from heaven

Mahar Drygoods has the absolute cutest baby booties I have ever seen. Those Birkenstock looking ones would be a hot seller back home in CO I tell you what!

Yippie!

I just got word that I will be attending the New York International Gift Fair this Sunday at the Javits Center here in NYC. I will be armed with my camera and notepad and promise to bring you the absolute BEST of the show.
I am so excited I am jumping up and down!

My preeeeccccious

Just today I had somebody stop me and ask me about my gorgeous ring that was made by good friends of ro, Eva and Ava from Vale Jewelry.
I've been waiting to blog about this for a while because I was afraid I couldn't do justice to their designs with my piddly writing. Just check out their website for yourself, and be assured that their jewelry is all super fabulous. Great stuff!

Please!

There are a plethora of people in my life that I should be handing these cards out to. No doubt there are times I should hand one to myself too...
Available at rare device

Tech friendly gloves

Did I happen to mention that it is cold as a witch's hooha here in NYC today? It's cold enough that taking off your gloves to make a phone call, or to skip over a Billy Joel song on your ipod can be a mighty painful experience. Enter touch gloves which are warm leather gloves with specially crafted ultra sensitivity patches on the thumb and forefinger. No longer do your fingers have to suffer, and you are in no danger of accidentally calling your ex that hates you (why is his/her number still in your phone anyhow?!?) when your clumsy woolen glove punches the wrong button. Good idea!

Does anyone have a pen?

Bic pen chandelier
Absolutely gorgeous. Makes you want to slap yourself for being so darn uncreative doesn't it?
By En Pieza via notcot.org

Butter Cutter

File this one under things you didn't know you needed until now...it's a butter cutter that carefully and lovingly portions and cuts pats of butter for you. How thoughtful those people over at whateverworks.com are.
Via notcot.org

Belly warmers

Aaron sent over this link to Ping Magazine's article about Japanese belly warmers. Apparently these are some sort of old fashioned granny panties re-thunk by a Japanese designer and created to be worn on the outside. According to the site they do everything from just plain keeping you warm, to making you more fit, easing menstural cramps and aiding in digestion. It's a shame that nobody is offering these on any English websites because I think I could really use one today!

Super Bowl alternative

From the DIY website:

DIY Network is playing the field on Super Sunday with its first ever Knit In by encouraging needle arts enthusiasts to knit and crochet for charity. On Sunday, Feb. 4, when football fans are glued to the tube, DIY is challenging all knitsters and crocheters to pick up their sticks and grab some yarn to help kick off the network's commitment to create shawls and blankets for the less fortunate. Get started by tuning-in at 5 p.m. ET for a marathon of DIY's popular series Knitty Gritty, and learn how knitting one small square will help keep hundreds warm throughout the year.

Ro sample sale - part deux

Hi everyone, I wanted to let you know that the ro bags sample sale has been extended through Friday the 26th. We have added more stock, and even some Spring 2007 samples into the mix...some of which are one of a kind.
We will be open from 11:00-7:00, but if you want to come and cannot during those times please feel free to give me a call at 212-477-1595 and let me know that you are planning on coming later. No biggie!

Ro bags
by RMD studio
150 W 28th Street between 6th and 7th avenues
Suite 801
New York

Hope to see you here!

Sweet gift

Ok, this is most certainly my last post on terrific Valentine's Day gifts for today. I've had this cute plastic charm bracelet up on my desktop all day trying to decide whether to purchase it, but decided to give you the opportunity to instead.
Made by BeadinNora and is on sale for only $26 at etsy.com

Wine and Tapas

The Food Section is reporting today that January 27th- February 4th is Navarra Gastronomic Week. My friend Amy and I have been to several of these Spanish food and wine events, and they are always superior opportunities to try many many wines and restaurants for a really reasonable price.
Check back for more updates of events, and I'll post more specifics of the best events to attend.

Avoid the brown ones

Here's another great Valentine's Day gift idea for that special lady in your life. It's a thong bikini made entirely of candy!

Rockin!

Maybe kids have changed, but I don't remember sleeping on rocks being quite so peaceful . Oh wait, these are big old beanbags from Smarin Design via Modern Self that just look like rocks. Hey, that's pretty cool!

I can't resist your crispy cones!

From the crispycones website-

"CrispyCones will forever change the way we look at meals on the go, with a new, fun alternative to traditional fast food. Made with nutritious ingredients and delivered in a smart drip-free cone that complements the delicious flavors of the food, the Crispy Cone lets you enjoy your favorite foods in a modern and environmentally-smart new way."

I really cannot comment on this, it's too out there, but can I borrow some money to franchise this in NYC?

Yee haw

I just ordered the cowboy tablecloth above and I am pretty excited to see how it turns out. They've got a whole selection of neat old fashioned looking cloths for really reasonable prices over at repro depot and boy did I have a hard time choosing. Decided to blog about the rest instead of buying one of every style. After all, I only have one table!!!

Feeling inspired in a very general way

Does anyone have any ideas of a project I could use this fabric from repro depot for? It's so cool I really want to buy it, but I am drawing a blank as far as use goes. Help!!!

Viva Pedro!

I am terribly excited to link to the pre-order on Amazon.com for the boxed set of EXCELLENT Pedro Almodovar movies.
The set includes:
Talk to Her
Bad Education
All About my Mother
Live Flesh
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
Matador
La Flor de mi Secreto
Law of Desire

Chillin and grillin

OH man it is cold here in the city. All I can think about is summer and grilling time. Check out this handsome portable grill I found on hoping for happy accidents website. It sure beats the pants off the sad little thing we used last year to grill our weinies. Mmmmm...weinies

Super tee

My good friend Catherine sent over this link for a seriously awesome tee shirt. I love the cross-stitch look, especially since I didn't have to poke my finger 10 million times to achieve it, and any shirt with beavers is a-ok in my book. Good find Catherine!

Flea market mentality

I remember finding jars like this at the flea markets outside of my home town in Colorado when I was little. Browsing the musty and dirty aisles often you would find little jars of mysterious stuff like these, sort of a grab bag in a jar. These jars are a modern sort of crafty take on the idea from One Good Bumblebee via designsponge. Each one contains over 100 items like clothes pins, buttons, glitter, charms and other tiny treasures. I would have loved to have gotten one of these as a gift then, and now...especially since I can sidestep the creepy flea market altogether.

Prolific napkin writings

I don't know about you, but I do my best doodling and writing on napkins and paper tablecloths. This letterpress covered notebook printed by Serrote is filled with tablecloth paper and should inspire even the most devout napkin writer. Each notebook in the series is letterpressed using found wood and metal type and are individually numbered.
Such a great idea!

Don't try this on a Monday

It seems that it would be impossible not to over-indulge when playing the Rachel Ray drinking game created by Greg S. and friends.
The rules are simple...take the prescribed amount of sips of your beverage of choice whenever Rachel does anything on the list.

For example:
2 sips- makes an awkward, spastic gesture with her arm
2 sips- mispronounces "foreign" words such as "paprika" or "tapas"
1 sip- fails to provide a measurement and tells you to "eyeball it"
1 sip- "Delish!"
1 sip- "Just run your knife through it"

Could be dangerous!

-Via Serious eats

Tomorrow is pie day

Ok, well the diet is off...at least for tomorrow because it is National Pie Day!
I wanted to warn you in advance just in case you wanted to actually make a pie from scratch. If you need a recipe for pie, try this one for apple cranberry from my favorite recipe source Simply Recipes.

Here are a couple of suggestions from the American Pie Council on how to celebrate a meaningful National Pie Day:

Pay it forward. Hand out pie slices to strangers and encourage them to do the same for others. It could spread the peace on earth and goodwill to mankind that we all hope for.

Be a good Samaritan. Buy an extra pie at your local grocery store and give it to the person behind you in line. You may just change their life!

Alright, you heard them, go out and CHANGE LIVES WITH PIE!!!

Exciting tap related news!

I just got an email that I will be taking a "tap dancing workshop" this coming Saturday. I should warn you that I haven't taken tap dancing class since I was 5 and I hit my nose on the floor (don't ask please). Should be an interesting time to be sure. I promise to blog all about it on Monday and hopefully have some hilarious photos to share also.

Finalmente!

Gosh, it took long enough for Rafe.com to come out with their Spring preview. I've been checking every day to be sure I was the first to give you the good news. There are definitely some cute pieces to be had like the Brooke Tote shown above. The prices are still a little on the high side for me, but one has to wonder if he will do another collaboration with Target again this year...anyone have the scoop?

Food-aholic

Alright, I admit that I am a food-aholic. I also admit that I am on a diet (Dr. Oz diet FYI) and I am not supposed to eat donuts or white bread or anything FUN. Well, I have found a way around that, Repro Depot is selling these embroidery patterns that include a pattern for embroidering everything you own with donuts, white bread, cake and wine! Personally I am going to skip embroidering the apples...wasted calories after all.