Big Hearted Friday #3

Give the gift of safe drinking water for a whole school in Angola or Kenya. Can you think of a better way to spend $50 (please see post of dog sweater). No. I didn't think so.



World Vision- The Gift of Clean Water $50 donation

The Good Book

For those catholic school drop outs.



The Good Book Flask Holder from Mxplyzyk $20

Bird on a Wire

Sterling Bird Necklace from Elsewares $65

Santa Paws

Note to all you preppy dog owners: J. Crew now makes dog-cessories. Your chocolate lab is sure to be the spiffiest looking mutt down at the country club annual clam bake.



Striped Dog Sweater for J.Crew $60

7 Deadly Plates

Would prove to be quite interesting dinner party.



7 Deadly Sins Retro Plate Set from Trixie Delicious $125

Sea Worthy

The terribly talented Emily from Orange Beautiful was in Boston over the weekend and fell in love with the store Hudson.  Can you blame her?

Sea Urchin Boxes from Hudson $25 for the small, $35 for the large

Fat Daddy

Fat Daddy is right! What I wouldn't give for one of these cupcake-in-a-jar concoctions from Fat Daddy Bake Shop. They bake up every imaginable flavor of cupcake (chai, lemon, peanut butter, candy cane, banana, carrot, macadamia, and of course....chocolate) and send them straight to your house in a cute little reusable mason jar.



Cupcakes from Fat Daddy Bake Shop $6.50 each (but they're HUGE)

Hot Dog Dog

For wiener dog lovers everywhere (especially the one sitting at the desk across from me).


Ruby Pillow from Elsewares $72

Cawffee Tawk

It's like buttah.



Brooklynese Coffee Mug from Fishs Eddy $9.95

To Go, Please

Imagine breakfast in bed on this sweet little tray. Delightful.



Dansk Urban Picnic Tray $40

Beaut Of A Calendar

This stunning desktop calendar is a great gift to give around the office. Come on, you know your co-workers could use a little modern minimalist style in their lives


Desk Top Calendar from Sure as Blue $9.99

Monster Mash

Make bath time a regular old monster mash with this hooded terry cloth monster towel from Polka Dot Patch.


Monster Bath Towel via Mighty Goods $55

Big Hearted Friday #2

Especially apropo the day after Thanksgiving, when we are all awash in leftovers. America's Second Harvest is the nation's largest hunger relief organization, running soup kitchens, after school programs, and emergency shelters to ensure that no one goes to bed on an empty belly.

America's Second Harvest

Turkey Day

No posts yesterday, I was enjoying the greatest gift of all- time spent with friends and family. Happy belated Thanksgiving!

Gearing Up For Turkey Day #3

Perfect for a game of touch football after the big turkey dinner. Or just digesting on the couch after the big turkey dinner.

Fleece Sweatpants from J.Crew were $49.50 now $39.50

Gearing Up For Turkey Day #2

Make a wish but please don't try to break this wishbone in two.

Wishbone Necklace from Urban Outfitters $18

Gearing Up For Turkey Day #1

If you don't think this baby turkey hat is adorable you may be dead inside.


Baby Turkey Hat via shelterrific and Going Crafty priceless

Instructoart

This book is a hilarious instruction manual for hum drum every day activities. A great gift for someone with a quirky sense of humor and a keen eye for design. Or any hipster. They'll eat this stuff up.



Instructoart Book from Giant Robot $25

Tea For Two

Makes for a much more civilized tea party than the paper cups and plastic lids from your neighborhood coffee shop.


Crackle Tea Set from Pearl River Mart $39.50

Let Them Eat Cake

As if you needed a reason to be more excited about cake.


Clanwilliam Cake Stand from Anthropologie $128

Sweet Tart(an)

What lady lumberjacks wear to holiday parties...



Tartan Peep Toe Shoes $250

What a Softie

If a cashmere sweater is a bit out of your gift-giving price range, why not a cashmere scarf? When you think about it, it's really a better investment of your cashmere dollars: You wear a scarf everyday during the cold winter months, as opposed to the weekly or monthly sweater day and a it's much easier to rub the warm cashmere of a scarf on your cheek than to nuzzle your face into the arm of your sweater. Yeah, getting caught nuzzling your own sweater at work is awkward. Save your loved ones that uncomfortable interaction- go for a cashmere scarf instead. Land's End has some nice ones

Cashmere Cable Scarf $199.50
Lands End has cashmere scarfs for as little as $29.50. But I happen to like this pricey little cable knit number.

Cute Overload

My oh my, we have some serious cute going on here. Take a look at the precious little creations over at Cupcakes for Clara's Etsy shop. All of their little buddies are handmade and numbered as collectibles by the lovely Laura in Cheshire, England.



Cupcakes for Clara Plush Buddies $57 to $62

C'est Bon

There are a lot of reasons why I'm glad I don't live in LA; the freeway's, the botoxed, bottle blond ladies, the lack of seasons (a world without fall foliage is not world worth living in). There's one reason I wish I did live there- to be able to run to Paulette's and pick up a box of her sweet, colorful, delicate macarons.

Il est dommage Paulette doesn't ship but luckily Dean and Deluca does. What a sweet treat it would be to give a box of these pretty little Francois Payard French style macarons as a gift. Hopefully, who ever you give them too will be kind enough to share. Bon appetit!


François Payard's French Macarons $32

Little Feet

These baby Mary Jane socks let even the littlest babies show up to holiday parties in their dancing shoes.



Mary Jane Baby Socks via Amazon $20.99

Big Hearted Friday #1

With all this talk of gifting and getting and wanting and wishing it's important not forget about the GIVING. Every Friday I'll post about a charitable cause that is in need of your time, skills, money, or attention.

Helping those in need is the best gift you can ever give or receive. I suggest it for everyone on your list.


Doctors Without Borders brings medial staff and supplies to war torn, disaster damaged, and epidemic ridden areas of the world. Your contribution may help bring medical and psychiatric treatment for victims of sexual violence in Darfur, aid for malnourished children Niger, or help for flood victims in Mexico.



Doctors Without Borders

Carry On

Thanksgiving is right around the corner. I hate to be the one to break it to you but if you have to get on an airplane the experience is going to be painful. Excruciating, even. Do yourself (and the other 37 million of us travelers) a favor and get one of these security regulation friendly, 1 quart, see through, zip lock top bags for your carry on toiletries. Keep it moving, people, everyone needs to get to a turkey dinner somewhere and we don't want to wait on a security line while you tinker with your toiletries.


Carry On Case from Flight 001 $5

On Demand

Hook the Sling Box up to your TV and it'll transmit the signal to a computer of your choice. So? Well, essentially the Sling Box allows you to watch and control your home TV, DVD player, and Tivo from the road. That's right, you can watch all those saved episodes of Grey's Anatomy while you're sitting in the airport or your favorite football team play when you're on a business trip out-of-market. Sling Box truly redefines the meaning of 'On Demand'.


Slingbox Pro $186.94

Sail Float

Great for the bath, the beach, and rain puddles.



Toy Sailboats from Kid O $16

Jail House Cluck

Q: Why?
A: Why not?


Elvis Chicken $23

Hip Kicks

It's never to early to start a cool collections of kicks for your little one.

Puma Lab II V Sneakers $42

Steam Power

NYC apartment dwellers, have I got a gift for you. This ingenus design by Byung-seok You uses those burning hot, steam radiators found in old apartment buildings to your muffin-warming advantage. Sorry to burst your bubble (or burn your muffin) but it's not available for purchase just yet. You'll have to continue using the microwave and toaster oven for now.

via Apartment Therapy

Bird's Eye

Having fresh flowers in a house makes it feel like a home. Having fresh flowers in a house in this vase makes it feel like a home, *tweet* home.


Talking Sparrow Vase from Three Potato Four $35

Lost in Brooklyn

This poster is a great gift for Brooklyn natives and new transplants alike. Ork Posters (check 'em out at orkposters.com) screen prints each one by hand. The Juniors cheesecake and Brooklyn 'tude are up to you.


Brooklyn Neighborhood Poster $25

There's a Kind of Hush All Over the World

Car alarms, screaming toddlers, flight delay announcements, screeching subway cars, background TV chatter... They all have a way of ruining a perfectly good song on your iPod, to say nothing of your commute. These noise canceling headphones help to block out the rest of the world so you can rock out in peace.


Bose QuietComfort 2 Headphones $299

Shadow Puppets

It's not that I don't think you're a terribly gifted shadow puppeteer...really. But come on, the bunny ears, the butterfly? Maybe you're good enough to pull off a convincing shadow-puppet dog or frog but that's about all you've got! Gracefully accept some help from Owly Shadow Puppets. These paper cut-out shadow puppets make magical, mystical shadows on the wall and some pretty cool art when the lights are on. You can make quite a shadow puppet fairytale with the mermaid, yetti, tooth fairy, and dinosaurs, and sea monster they have available.

Shadow Puppets $10.50

Simply Silhouettes

This is a really great gift idea for parents- old parent, new parent, your parents, their parents. Send in a picture of your silhouette subject and the folks at Simply Silhouettes will transform it into wall art, a tote bag, playing cards, or just a simple silhouette to frame and cherish as a family keepsake.


Simply Silhouettes 5x7 Silhouette $30, Personalized Playing Cards $40, Personalize Tote $40

"Luke, I am your flash drive..."

This is a serious stocking stuffer for the the hippest Star Wars nerd on your shopping list. These flash drives use the power of the force to store up to 4GB of data. Available in Darth, Chewy, r2-d2, and a mini storm trooper.

Star Wars Flash Drives $59.95-$119.95

On the Ones and Twos

This vinyl archiver allows you to convert your old LPs to new iPod friendly files. Inheriting grandpas old record collection just got a lot more appealing. Hello Hank Williams...


Vinyl Archiver $129 (down from $150)

For the Birds

This sweet porcelain birdbath from Apartment38 is great for the birds, but would also be a great little candy dish, serving platter, or even a supersized soap dish. I'm sure the birds won't mind if you keep this one for yourself.


Birdbath Dish $58

Grey Skies Are Gonna Clear Up

Rainy days won't seem so bad with this umbrella.


Blue Sky Umbrella $48

Jet Propelled

Paper airplanes have got nothing on this. Propelled by a simple rubberband, this plane has been flying high since 1911.


Rubberband Propeller Plane $24.97

Prepare for the New Year

When I tell you to prepare for the New Year I'm not referring to sequin shirts, high heals, and noisemakers, of course. I'm talking about this Stendig 2008 Wall Calendar.


Stendig 2008 Wall Calendar $29.95

For the Pencil Pusher

From: The Department of Corporate Communication


Cubicle Stickie Notes $3.25 each

Mmmmm.... Bacon....

My brother has always maintained that everything tastes better with bacon on it. Everything. And really, I can't disagree... burgers, baked potatoes, salad, scallops, you name it. Well now you can sprinkle that beautiful bacon flavor on everything with JD's Bacon Salt. Imagine sprinkling this on french fries, eggs, mac and cheese, corn on the cob, tomato soup, roast chicken, grilled cheese...well...you get the idea..everything.

Oh, and it's vegetarian, calorie free, and kosher. Ain't life grand?


Bacon Salt $4.49 each, $12.99 for 3

Espresso Doppio

This is how my Italian grandmother makes her espresso- always has, always will. I suggest you do the same.


Bailetti Stovetop Espresso Maker $34.95

Here Comes Trouble

Here comes a bachelorette party invitation.

Kate Spade Stationary $25 for 10