flex your wrist

have you seen flex watches? i love them! they don't ship until feb 1st but what a nice spot of brightness in the cold winter to look forward to! they're fun and playful, sporty and sleek. and they support good causes - eleven of them! 

the watches (only $30 each) come in eleven colors and each supports a different cause - gray is for imerman angels,  red is for mariners outreach, blue, which is my favorite, is for nika water. oooh and i love the black too. i love all of them, really. especially this light blue one. i guess i'd be a good candidate for the ten pack. the ten pack would be a great way to save $5 per for next year's holiday gifts or bridesmaids gifts. or for oneself. there's always that too...

they also sell just the bands for $15, so you could opt for the white or gray watch (silver face) and then get a few different color bands that would work with those faces. the possibilities are pretty much endless.

into the woods

 

i love the whole woodland christmas theme i've seen emerge over the last couple of years in the stores and catalogs -- it seems like everyone got the memo. the whole look makes me feel like i could be curled up in a lodge next to a fire with a piping cup of hot chocolate (or coffee if we're being real), listening to wonderful christmas crooning and just more or less living the christmas dream. you too?

i love this wonderful collection of ornaments from anthropologie which are, like everything at anthropologie, a little on the pricy side. still, though, not too bad if you're purchasing just a few special ones for a gift for yourself or a loved one.

and then these from crate and barrel:

and i love how west elm has gone the more plush, playful route, with several of them under $5:

pier 1 also has incredibly affordable ones, which is especially nice - most are under $2!

do you love? so cozy, right? i love the idea of combining these little textural critters with mercury glass, shimmery pine cones and lots of candlelight for a cozy, christmasy night in.

caffeine and inspiration

i found starbucks to be full of inspiration this morning...maybe i'm lightheaded from lack of nutrition, or maybe it just was that inspiring...first, isn't the color story of the christmas blend packaging beautiful?

and don't you know people who get such joy from the red holiday cups? i know i do. get the joy, i mean, though i also know other people who do. it's a sure sign that the holidays are here, and so i love the idea of getting someone an ornament of that very cup! it's as perennial reminder of the holidays for some as the idea of a christmas tree, so why not go for synergy? they come in a set that includes the plain old white cups, or individually as the red ones. paired with a starbucks gift card, this makes the perfect stocking stuffer or thank you gift.

 

i also love the new selection of mugs, including the classic line which are clean and graphic with the starbucks sizes emblazoned on them (clearly the venti would be my choice) and even include a teeny, tiny, totally adorable tasting cup at 3 ounces, known as a demi in barista land. this one is so cute for when you just want a sip...or to serve at the end of an evening with mini biscotti and chocolate covered spoons. or if you want to feel like alice in wonderland. 

i also love the ones with the sort of freestyle mug designs inspired by their italian roast. aren't they pretty? i like that they're so unbranded, so they'd look fine in anyone's home.

and how about this starbucks reserve mug that seems to be made just for me...at first, i was thinking "why would you buy this unless your last name starts with an R?" and then i realized, it doesn't matter, because mine DOES START WITH AN R!

p.s. did you know you could buy the starbucks flavored syrups? who knew?

wrapping in bold and brassy style

so yesterday, we talked about the cleanest, most classic papers i love from the container store for holiday wrapping, and today, i'm going in the other direction. as much as i love the festive and warm styling of yesterday's papers, i love the bold and brass of these too. i love how they engage some classic hints of christmas cheer, but they do it through a psychedelic, neon filter. do you love?

wrapping in clean and classic style

i know i've been atrociously bad about blogging recently, and it isn't that i haven't been thinking and dreaming about things to share - i have! i've just been pulled in many directions and my writing has fallen by the wayside for the last couple weeks.  i am promising here and now to be better. it's funny the things that move us to action, and in today's case, it's the simply beautiful wrapping papers at the container store. not that i've ever been a stranger to giftwrap porn.

first, i love the idea of mixing a few different striped papers. it's such a great way to be festive and add a little contained chaos, but in the most orderly of ways.

 

and i'm always a sucker for really clean, classic prints that are christmasy and festive in an old-timey way. with just the right combination of reds and greens and graphic christmas imagery, it's like the christmas fantasy i've always dreamed of (pay no attention to the latke grease on my apron).

i envision buying a few prints and wrapping all the gifts under the tree (read: menorah) in just those few papers. 

it's a fantasy, but an attainable one, don't you agree?

TGIF

try to get cuter than this mug with a ribbed knit cozy. just try. this would make a great holiday gift (get started early with honey gift files!), maybe paired with a special package of coffee, tea or hot chocolate, and a milk frother would elevate it to another level.

i hope you have a cozy weekend ahead...mine will consist of some clearing and purging at home, some cooking, and some DVR catch-up. you?