tiny treasures...a lavender swipe

you're gonna thank me for this one. favorite new thing ever. EO lavender hand wipes. i buy them individually wrapped or in a package of 10 at whole foods...they smell divine and they're perfect for newsprint on hands on the morning commute. nothing worse than that.

in the mood for more tiny treasures? or more deliciously lavender smelling things?

spare pair

these last few rainy days in new york have illuminated how great the "spare pair" is that i picked up at target a few weeks ago (not to be compared with this spare pair, also interesting).

they're a foldable pair of flats that come with their very own carrying case - how cute! thrown in your bag, they're a quick change agent for heels, rain boots, sneakers or flip flops and perfect for traveling, commuting, or just as a fallback for ambitious shoe-wearers. they're like the popples of shoes. hear me when i tell you they look just as nice as their more rigid flat brethren when worn. unfortunately, they're not available online so you have to make the trek. or...

similarly, the gap has city flats in several colors and textures, including my two favorites, the velvet flat in phantom purple and the leather flat in perfectly on-trend camel. also see them in the punchy, rich lasalle red.
i love the range of colors available in the city flats, and if you want even more options, you have to check out the collection at yosi samra. they even make bridal ones!
to me, this concept is pure genius. women have been carrying spare pairs since the dawn of time...(okay, maybe not the dawn of time, but you get what i mean), it's just never been this easy or cute!

all images from linked sites

in the bag

old navy is really pleasing me with accessories as of late. first it was these great duffels, then the terrifically beautiful scarves and crossbody totes i wrote about here. add to that the bucket bags and straw totes i wrote about on shefinds, and i'm basically a bag hoarder.

but there's more. i seriously love these graphic rope totes. i feel like they're pretty much perfect for a wide array of summertime activities - they're great for the beach, obvi, but they're also good daytime totes for daytrips or parties where you need to pack a little more than usual - a towel, a change of clothes, a large bowl of pasta salad...anything, really. i also love them because they're a nice alternative to a leather or otherwise heavy commuting carryall.

love!

this one's a keeper, part 2

around the holidays, i wrote about a reusable iced coffee cup from starbucks as part of the honey gift files, and although it was a great find, this one is even better because it doesn't have the starbucks logo plastered on it. i love the fact that it has a "jacket" built in so your hands don't get wet from condensation on these days where it's so hot you feel like you might burst into flames.

and it's half the price, less than half if you remember your 20% coupon.

tiny treasures...roll it up

i am of the firm belief that you can never have enough bags (exhibit A, my closet). totes, clutches, hobos, barrels...a purpose for every one of them, and once in a while, a bag truly wows me. the one i'm telling you about today happens to cost $3, so...tiny treasure, obvi. (if you're new to honey living, or just to tiny treasures, they're small indulgences to make you feel good for under $5. check out all the past tiny treasures here).

i've had these bags for a while (see here for the matching reusable shopping totes), but for some reason, i keep forgetting to write about them. forgive me! so...

pier 1 carries the bag in four extremely likable prints, and they roll into a small pouch which can clip on to...something. keys i guess? i don't know, that part i don't get, but i'm a huge fan of throwing one in my bag, one in the car, one in my desk drawer...the list goes on. they're so perfect for when you end up with more stuff than you thought you would coming to or from work, shopping, a visit with friends, etc. also, you don't have to deal with the annoyance of forgetting the reusable grocery bags in the car or your house every time you're at the store, because these are always in your bag taking up hardly any room at all.

me being big on matching bag ensembles, all mine are in the spot-on black and white damask, but the other three coordinate nicely with each other and might one day find their way into my bag too.

some honey living you might have missed:
-if you love black and white damask like i do, you might love the rainboots in this post.
-for more stylish reusable tote bags, see here and here.

photo from pier 1

a mind of their own

on my way to work each morning, i pass by a row of planters full of beautiful, wispy pink tulips. i love the way their openness looks - so sort of blase and relaxed.

but what i love most is that there are two that just don't want to conform. they are different- no matter what.

i'm glad they have each other.

taking our sweet time...overbooked

i have been cooking up a new feature for honey living called "taking our sweet time," meant to be something you can do in a small amount of time (think 15 minutes or so) that can change your daily life. of course this could be almost anything, but the way i'm thinking of it is as far as organizational things that are always there, lurking, needing doing, and often getting pushed off. those things are often the type where once you do them, you realize how easy they were and how liberated and fresh you feel to have it done. so here we go...

i have been driving myself crazy recently with my array of personal accoutrements - book i'm reading, datebook, notebook for personal stuff, notebook for blog stuff, notebook for counting weight watchers points...ENOUGH. i realized it yesterday morning when i felt the emotional equivalent of an eyeroll when i had to reach into my bag to find something. too much!

i don't know why i had resisted, but somewhere along the line, i got away from the idea of having it all in one place...well, bad idea. i'm now back to the one place, in the form of a pretty raspberry filofax (or "filo," as my high school self called them). i have a section for each category of my life with pretty lined paper and plenty of post-its to go around. to accomodate my new style, i'm going to go back to the one-week-at-a time point booklets which i can just slide right in the little pocket, rather than having a little book. sometimes it's little ways of rethinking the routines we get into that help to turn a problem on its side and come up with a different way of seeing it.

seriously, it's like a breath of fresh air. all in once place, organized, space-efficient, raspberry! doesn't it just look so much prettier?

what's in your bag? if it's a lot, does it bother you? could you condense?

right on target

so pretty, right? that was exactly how i felt when i spied this bag last week at target for $12.99. yes, $12.99. perfect non-dowdy shape and size, tapered and lovely trellis design, poppy and bright yellow hue. and i'm loving it, and getting compliments galore. i'm thinking of picking up the same one in green, to be honest. such a great everyday bag for me, whatwith my commuting and lunch-packing and general over-packing tendencies. just don't overpack it too much is what i've learned.

i love it in zebra and black dot too.

A LOT. because look at their linings! and you KNOW how i feel about lovely linings.

i don't love the pink so much, for me ... i don't know, something about it with the brown handle or something...but you know, what strikes me funny might strike someone else as perfection.

and my happy train moment...great new bag packed with all my stuff, and my book (the help, HIGHLY recommend) matches it perfectly. i'm telling you, these are the kind of details that make my heart sing. you too?

update 3/17/10: okay, i still love these and feel so happy when i'm carrying them, but both the yellow and the green broke in the same place (where the brass loop on the handle attaches to the bag itself). easily fixable, and still well worth it for $12 and the cuteness factor, but i feel i have to tell you in the interest of full disclosure.

all non-original photos from www.target.com

rainy day style

oh my wetness. new york city is not dry this morning, no, not dry at all. i arrived at my office looking and feeling like a wet puppy - umbrella broke in the gale force winds, shoes and socks soaked. i looked only slightly more together than a man i saw holding a ruffled little girl umbrella on line for the bus. true story.

here are some ensembles i wish i was wearing today, replete with waterproof bags...nothing like a wet newspaper.



i think i really do need to address my rain situation so i have some rain-cessories that make these days not so miserable and gray and...WET.

generally, it would make rainy days a lot less gloomy to feel stylish and coordinated...and dry.





do you have any rainy day accessories you look forward to or can recommend? i'd love to know!






at least i had a pair of dry socks in my desk drawer so i can browse my dream rain ensemble with dry feet. so there's that.

hat photo and all jacket photos from http://www.landsend.com/; yellow boots from http://www.acetoolonline.com/, all other boots from nomad puddles at http://www.dsw.com/; white umbrella photo from http://www.amazon.com/, hot pink bubble umbrella photo from http://www.umbrellaheaven.com/, all other umbrella photos from http://www.umbrellastand.com/, zebra tote from www.thestoragestore.com, all other bags from www.herve-chapelier.com

honey gift files...tote-ally delicious!

most lunch bags don't look like the sachi "lunchin' ladies" tote. but they should. these insulated bags come in six adorable colors and prints, and at just over $15 each from qvc, it would be reasonable to have a couple to match your outfits and outerwear ensembles! oh right, this is a gift post...okay so it would be reasonable for your lucky gift receiver to have a couple...

so many people carry lunch and snacks to work, and using paper bags or shopping bags is so not green. besides, it's really unpleasant when the bag falls apart and eventually tears and everything around you smells like balsamic vinaigrette for the rest of the day. is that just me? also, you know how i feel about making the mundane feel special and pretty - this nails that concept.


and i have to say, aside from being discrete and stylish, they also fit A LOT. i first laid eyes on the sachi at my weight watchers meeting, when my leader showed us hers. ooohs and aaaahs all around - i'm telling you, they are CUTE! and just to give you an idea of how much they fit - in the bag, she had the following: ice pack, tupperwares of blackberries and watermelons, ziplocs of snow peas, celery and carrots, a package of sliced apples, and 2 small muffins.

love! also, FYI...when you order more than one, you get $3 off the price. this could not be any better. i think i'm going with black and red, personally. you know, for my "lucky gift receivers."

all photos from www.qvc.com