tuesday morning

this is the part of winter that feels long and dark, isn't it? this morning felt like the kind of morning where a bunch of flowers goes a long way. i'm a fan of grouping them by color for display...part because i love all things monochromatic, but also because the simple act of grouping and arranging and putting like with like can feel calming. there's something orderly about it that we just don't get very often in the chaos of real life. agree?

i'm listening to this song this morning as i write and sip my coffee and it makes me smile and feel happy. happy tuesday.

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?

warm and toasty

i for one am extremely happy that the temperatures are cooling and fall really feels upon us. isn't it amazing how our moods change with the barometer? one of the most changeable spaces in our lives is what we eat and drink, i find. all spring and summer, nothing pleases me more than iced coffee, but around this time of year, all i want is the spreading warmth of hot coffee, extra points for steamed or frothed milk.

the yogurt i've been enjoying for months (greek with sugar free jelly and roasted almonds) is starting to feel and taste too cold...so a warm bowl of oatmeal seems just the thing. i found this delicious sounding recipe for apple pie oatmeal i wanted to share, which makes use of warming fall flavors, including the best of fall's fresh produce (i think pears would be a perfect addition to or replacement for the apples). it seems so easy, and so adaptable according to your tastes and dietary needs.

i even love the idea of having an oatmeal brunch for a small or large crowd. it would start with strong coffee, glasses of ice cold water and milk, stacks of pretty, mismatching bowls and a large urn of piping hot oatmeal. brunchers would have a choice of many toppings and flavors...chopped walnuts, slivered almonds, salted peanuts, maple syrup, berry flavored jam, sliced apples, pears, roasted cranberries, warm figs, ripe banana slices, chunks of fresh melon and seedless grapes (maybe frozen!), even shreds of chocolate and coconut. wanna come? this would be a simple, inexpensive and unexpected brunch to host, don't you think?

is there anything autumnal coming out of your kitchen?

first image; second image

in the spirit

i had a fortuitous run-in last night with a friend at dinner here. (ps, the cauliflower "alla siciliana"on the antipasto tray was ridiculous). fortuitous because it was a pleasure to see familiar faces in the sea of fellow diners in a noisy place, but also because said friend had just purchased a spirit hood, which quickly became my new favorite thing. apparently i'm a little late to the table on this one. first of all, they're entirely adorable. second of all, buying them can help save an animal thanks to pro blue, their non-profit organization. 

my favorites are the brown bear (above), the polar bear and the grey wolf:

i particularly enjoy the ones with unexpected linings like the navajo above. how cozy! and each animal is said to embody certain traits that the wearer of the hood can emulate...the brown bear is brave, curious and gentle while the red wolf is a loyal, social spirit, taking on the role of teacher. got that?

if going full hood feels like a lot, i love the half hoods too, like this snow leopard one. and how perfect is this guy's face in that hood? i love these as a special, luxurious holiday gift - for you or someone you know who embodies a special animal spirit. or who likes furry things. either way.

boot(y)

are you with me on loving the look of cuffed boots?  here are some of the nicest in my humble opinion...

the mrkt bea wedge boot:

the steve madden aspenn wedge boot (can i have these please?):

the adorable zigi soho stroll bootie:

these mid-calf cuffed platform boots:

and oh my god, these uggs:

and these:

and then i also love these legwarmer style things that you can put on existing boots...this is one of the best cheap wardrobe tweaks i've seen! i love these from payless and a faux fur pair i saw in the store but can't find online. i wrote about a bunch of these last year too...remember?

top image

spring it on

how excited are you at the prospect of spring? i can honestly say that before the holidays, i was enjoying the season so much that i couldn't conceive of the idea of being ready for the inevitable rush of spring in the stores and all over the web that would pretty much immediately follow new years. but i have to tell you - i'm ready like a banshee, and i'm sure you are too. i am moved almost to tears by the appearance of little baby birds and the hint, really a whisper, of a warmer air moving through. nothing could be sweeter than that, even on valentine's day.

is there anyone out there in the frozen tundra that is still having fun?

image

here birdie

how sweet is this little ceramic bird?

and how about his little brother in black?

to me, there's always something charming about little bird figurines...i think because you get the sense of looking up close when he or she is perfectly still which so rarely happens in real life, even for the most avid birdwatchers.

especially on a cold, snowy day like today here in new york, it's nice to be reminded that warm-bodied little birds will soon be back in town to forage and flap their way into spring.

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snow day

i hope you're somewhere warm and cozy, as in either a tropical island or at least a heated interior. in yesterday's snow, between racing, bundled, from the house to the car to the corner store back to the house, i stood under an awning for a few moments and deeply inhaled the smell of snow and wind and still winter air. it was beautiful.

honey gift files...for those who are freezing

something like these hot headz would be so perfect for a frozen morn like today. the two-packs are a great deal and with two different color schemes in each set, they're sure to go with any winter ensemble, which to me, remains important regardless of where the mercury is. it's just so satisfying to match!

another really easy, warm and cozy gift idea is a pair of these deliciously comfortable slippers from old navy which are $7.50 - $15 for the women's versions and $5 for the mens'. and in-store at old navy, they're carrying super-cozy chenille sleep socks, 2 pairs for $5. a pair or two packed sweetly in a little bag with a note to "have a cozy and warm holiday" can't be beat. similarly amazing sleep socks are $5 a pair at bath and body works too.

wisteria has these great sets of 5 pashmina-style scarves, each a different color story and they're now on sale for under $15 per set - which means $3 per scarf. need i say more? give them all to one person, or divide them among a few (saving one for you, obvi).




tell me you're amazed that gloves come with a "texting slit" on the index finger. tell me. the echo plain glove with texting slit has exactly that.
where have i been? and then there are the echo touch tech savvy gloves which "allow for reactive smart phone use." this whole situation, i was turned on to by my readers just yesterday.
among hundreds of other versions, there are also these which don't seem to have any special padding or slit, they just work with touch screens. are they made of human skin? let's not go there.

these cashmere fingerless mittens which are admittedly less high-tech but sort of the perfect combination of features to my mind, and well, they're cashmere so there's that.

and there's always room for a faux fur vest, and this one's my favorite.

well, aside from this one. but i'd rather have a place to live. sort of.

for more supremely cozy gift ideas, see last year's honey gift files...sweet dreams.

images from linked sites

tiny treasures...toasty fingers

okay, this tiny treasure is too good to pass up. two pairs of gloves for $1.50. COME ON. seriously? YES. target is selling two-packs of gloves for $1.50 - black/black, cream/tan, hot pink/hot pink stitched, cream/tan stitched...you get the idea. STOCK UP. stash a pair in the car, a pair in your desk, one in your bag and another in the hall closet - and you'll STILL have only spent $3. tiny treasure indeed.

for you, for your holiday recipients, for your mailman - whatever!

for more little luxuries under $5, discover more tiny treasures here.

tiny treasures...baby it's cold outside

i had a really hard time deciding on just one tiny treasure this week, because i have a few that i want to share. so i chose two since they could also come in handy as stocking stuffers and yankee swaps, and i'll save the rest for next week. gotta ration, you know?

the first is a blanket-soft scarf from old navy. given my obsession with yellow this year, i got it in the punchy yellow which doesn't seem to be online but was in abundance in-store. warm but not too warm, long but not bulky, i think it's the perfect foil for a black or brown coat, especially in the solid colors it comes in.

and then...lots of people i know grew up on carmex, but i wasn't one of them. for those people, "carmex" is like the generic term for lip balm, like pampers for diapers or kleenex for tissues. now i get why. i bought this three-pack and stashed one in my makeup bag, one on my nightstand and one on the ottoman in my living room, so i'm never far from chap relief. in this season, it's crucial. the unexpected bonus is that the sheer shine looks really pretty, and of course natural.

bundle up and soothe your lips girlies...it's cold!

images: top, scarf, carmex

at our fingertips

i'm loving the essie winter collection - such an improvement on last year's winter collection to my mind.

one of the things i like is that some of the shades are sort of evolutions of some of the essie fall collection. take for example these:

going incognito, above, is a jewelier play on fall's army-chic sew psyched, while hot coco, below, seems to a cross between between a moodier take on fall's little brown dress, which i have fully enjoyed, and the slightly older mink muffs.

luxedo, below, seems a lot like fall's velvet voyeur, which i'm wearing at this very moment and loving, deeply (it's so shiny!!). i'm interested to see how luxedo differs.

i'm also really excited about masquerade belle, below, described as black ruby (yes please!) which bodes well, since the aforementioned velvet voyeur (indeed the holy grail of fall manis, like i thought it would be) is described as "intense chocolate amethyst"...they seem to share some DNA in being really dark black/brown with a hint of a deep, jewely color.

not sure how silken cord differs from the bounty of great reds, long stem roses being my personal pick, so we'll see when these hit nail salons (should be soon, but shoppable now here and in abbreviated form here).

and then there's smokin' hot, below, described as a stone-cold fox gray. while the slightly older chinchilly doesn't work for me, i'm hopeful that this deeper, darker, browner gray will fit the bill.



any early favorites?