Closed September 2 for Labor Day
Brown paper packages...
Brown paper packages...
No, I'm not dancing around the office in my nightgown. And I'm not singing - be very happy for that. But I am humming "My Favorite Things" as I peruse the wonderful "finds" provided by some of our favorite people.
Today is about interesting, useful, practical and "just because I want it" stuff. And there are so many different things to carry along, I'm going to need a cart of some kind so let's start with this one because it's on wheels! Sherri Falls of This & That loves this Ikea Risatorp cart and I can see why. (Is it a good thing that there's an Ikea store less than 10 minutes from my apartment?)
Brenda Riddle likes just about everything at Magnolia Market... just so you know, it's a "danger zone". Maybe not for you but definitely for your tarjeta de crédito.
This bag is from Barnes & Noble.
It's Pat Sloan's and it matches her The Sweet Life fabric collection! How cool is that? (Pat also found a wonderful red metal children's ironing board but I couldn't get the picture to load properly. Be happy about that because if you'd have seen it, you'd have wanted one too.)
Do you garden? Kate Spain does and she has an amazing one - Miracle Gro should be asking her for tips! Her favorite recent discovery is a pair of herb snips. (These aren't the pair that Kate has but Bed, Bath and Beyond doesn't seem to have those on their website anymore.) Kate also loves to support small local business so she recommended Smith Dry Goods Shop - an Etsy shop she frequents for gifts.
Kate didn't mention anything that was art-related but Amy Friend did - Rainbow crayons! Her daughter and her friends enjoyed them at a recent birthday party. (They're on the bottom.)
Amy's "finds" are all wonderful - a couple of which were gifts. The first is a planter her husband gave her for Christmas. Every year, she picks a new "hairstyle" for the planter. The upper right corner is a modern cross-stitch necklace kit by Susan Fitzgerald at Red Gate Stitchery. The yard is hand-dyed by Spun Round Right - sock-weight in Mutant Flamingo colorway. And the button-hole scissors from Gingher were tucked in her Christmas stocking one year.
(More on knitters and crocheters, yarn and other sewing "finds" next week.)
Several people included this book - The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up - on their list of finds.
Lissa read it a few weeks ago, as did Sherri McConnell. Sandy Klop has read it and wants to re-read it. I've read it and it's very good, the funny part is that I'd already started doing this sort of thing a few years ago after reading The Happiness Project and Essentialism - The Disciplined Pursuit of Less. (It made a huge difference when I moved to Texas... and moving helped even more.)
This book was on Polly Minick's list - Audrey at Home: Memories of my Mother's Kitchen. Written by her son, this is a biography of Audrey Hepburn that combines recipes, stories, photographs and personal correspondence. If you love Audrey Hepburn - and who doesn't? - it's a wonderful book.
Books were also on Vanessa Goertzen's - Lella Boutique - list. Books... plural.
Classic literature combined with Anna Rifle Bond's gorgeous artwork, these books are a beautiful way to re-visit our favorite books. And they look pretty on the bookcase. (But I'd bet Vanessa isn't eating her favorite Vosges' Peanut Butter BonBons while reading these books... messy fingers with these books? Not likely.)
Given how many listen to podcasts, Netflix, audiobooks and music while they work, I was a little surprised that Corey Yoder - Corey loves podcasts - was the only one who mentioned wireless speakers. These are from Jam. I love the colors! (If I didn't already have a speaker I love, I'd be very tempted.)
Erin! After designing the gorgeous Purebred collection, I should have known that Erin Michael would find all kinds of cool stuff.
Customized, vintage inspired vinyl record party invitations! Silver earrings shaped like ears. Slippers that look like saddle shoes - dancing shoes. A commissioned Velvet painting and a small vase shaped like a cactus. (Because the items were gifts or bought in little shops, sources aren't available.)
Acquiring Polly Minick's "finds" will be easier - just go to Ralph Lauren, Williams-Sonoma and Michigan.
Blue. Faded in a denim-sort of way. With a Flag. It's Polly. It's also lightweight enough to wear in Florida - she mentioned that as being important.
These look like Polly too. If you don't already know, Polly's son, Jim, is the newly-named Director of Football Operations for the University of Michigan. He'll be working with his life-long friend, the newly-named Head Football Coach for the Wolverines, Jim Harbaugh. (GoBlue!)
Individual-sized berry bowl/colander are another Polly-find - she and her husband use them every morning. How did I miss these at Williams-Sonoma when I was there last month? Oh wait... Williams-Sonoma. Distractions are their forte. I was probably side-tracked by this knife.
It's a tomato knife and if you love tomatoes, you need a knife like this. Betsy Chutchian has one and loves it, it was a gift from her Mom many years ago. She's pretty sure it came from Williams-Sonoma.
Printer's Trays - Betsy found these at an antique mall; they're pretty and perfect for storing her sewing tools. There is a divided drawer and a divided top tray - I love the the dovetail joints.
I think Joanna Figueroa - Fig Tree Quilts - needs one of those tomato knives - if she doesn't already have one. Tomatoes are one of her favorite things - REAL tomatoes, not the greenhouse-ripened things at the grocery store. (She was pretty adamant about that - and there is a huge difference.) That explains the Tomato candle by Produce Candles.
Bowls - usually from Anthropologie. (She has an unnatural obsession with bowls - a husband, three kids and thousands of blog and Instagram followers would graciously agree in a completely non-judgmental way.) She also has an unnatural obsession a funny little quirk for how her kitchen smells. Grapefruit is her kitchen scent of choice and the Target-brand of cleaner is her favorite. (She buys in bulk and Target is on notice that they must provide her with six-month advance notice if they're ever crazy enough to discontinue it.)
Sandy Klop - American Jane - has two wonderful little treasures that she bought for only a couple of dollars. The first is a $3.00 flea market find - it's a little toy that actually moves - when you pull the string, the legs move back and forth like scissors.
Sandy also loves the Madame Alexander Storybook dolls that came in McDonald's Happy Meals, she finds them for $1.00 or less. My favorite thing about Sandy's finds is that they're fun and the sort of thing that would always make me smile. (Kind of like Sandy does - she's the best.)
And finally, our buddy and retreat-cohort Jennifer Keltner of Martingale Publishing has two favorite finds to share on this list. The first is a must-have calendar - the Sue Spargo Stitches to Savor 2016 Wall-Art Calendar. Just because looking at something gorgeous and inspirational every day for a year is pleasurable.
And...
Whew. And that's it for today... except for one more thing, something suggested by Jennifer.
A Unicorn. Four or five parts champagne, one part St. Germaine and two parts soda - Club or 7-Up. She describes it as "magically delicious" and definitely a lovely find.
So Happy Tuesday - I'm off to do a little shopping and make something for Friday.
(And go to a meeting... write/proof some patterns... work stuff.)
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