dice in horn box $16, dominoes in wood box $48
wooden tops, $14
The purchase of one of these (reversible, practical and awesome) totes feeds one child for one school year. Plain and simple. They have already helped over 40,000 kids. You can do your part by buying one today at catbird. The organization is truly amazing and worth reading about.
I saw this chocolate, wrapped in lovely paper, at The Brooklyn Flea in November and wanted to carry it, if for no other reason than we would all have delicious snacks whenever we had some down time. Plus everyone knows that nothing goes better with chocolate than jewelry. (Smartly, they were already at the very lovely Bedford Cheese Shop, so no go for me.)
Cape Cod polishing cloths, $5.50
Made by the same, super nice Dutch folk that brought you this gem, are these super long (38 feet!), cotton banners. They are great as a party decoration (outside or in), decorating a room (kid's or not), or just to brighten up an space (an entry way, an office, a kitchen...). And at $38 they are a great gift as well.
Barens and Belle 14k and tourmaline, white sapphire, and chrysoprase rings, $120-$130
I linked this blog to my Notes in Facebook and...well...I'm really not sure what that means. Does anyone know? Do people get an email every time we post? Is it annoying? It sounds annoying. Anyone? Please don't be shy.
Word on the street is that vampire-themed entertainment is all the rage. I can't comment much on the Twilight phenomenon, except for the fact that in book form, it seems to be gripped in many a hand on the subway. I say skip it, and read the The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. I'll see you in a few days, when you swing by to pick up Ach Ach Liebling's Anti-Vamp Protection Kit necklace. At $70, it's probably not a bad investment, because you just never know.
(last photo from absolutely beautiful things)
$38, now at Catbird
heart in hand bottle opener ($12)
an old-timey hanky ($4 / 5 for $20)
john derian plates (the three shown here are $88 and under)
an old-timey card, equipped with a hanky ($4)
Jewelry is always nice. St. Kilda pieces are consistent winners, as are Yayoi Forest heart necklaces. Check out that cute little frog with black diamond eyes!
teeny heart studs (singles are $28 for silver, $40 for gold)
Or really, seriously, just get a card and write something heartfelt and true on it. Anyone worth their salt will love that the most anyway. (under $4)
For a slightly gentler take on Nancy Cunard's armload of bangles, I point you in the direction of Mela's one of a kind, jingly-janglies. Mel uses vintage wood bangles as her base and wraps them in mostly vintage silks. As a girl who wears mostly black though has an intense love of florals, I plan on stacking two mismatching babies on one arm, and one on the other. If I were more conversant in fashion, I might tell you that the bangles are Dries with a twist of Prada. But I'm not, so I won't. I will tell you that at $18-$22 Mela bangles are fool's gold.
You know when you wear your boots all winter and then spring starts to peek around the corner and you have no idea what else you could possibly wear? (If you have Svens then you know exactly what I'm talking about.) These canvas Dru boots are a great solution. I like their Safari vibe - sort of an intrepid explorer feel. They are evocative of many old world items I'm fond of but can't really pull off - spats, saddle shoes, waders. Ok, maybe not waders.
We have not one, but TWO styles of sweet, little porcelain boxes for a first lost tooth. I am enameled with these. Har har.
A while ago I told you about these beautiful pussy willow earrings by Stephanie Simek. We now have them in regular shiny, sterling silver, as well as the original dark, oxidized silver. So silvery and pretty.
Raise your (very cold) hands if you've lost your favorite pair of gloves and don't want to admit that there's more winter yet and don't want to spend your spring funny money on cold-weather gear. My hands were raised, until I bought myself a pair of these pop-top mittens by Father Panik. Mine are solid black and say "LONE WOLF" and at $24, my spring wardrobe funds are still intact. We've got a variety at Catbird now.
Anything that reminds me of the Crayola tour factory on Sesame Street makes me very happy. Our new shipment of vases does just that- all grouped together next to the real life terrariums, it's our own catcall to spring.
In third grade, when we were learning about our local flora and fauna, we had to make terrariums. Mrs. Ormsby gave us the not-so-generous time frame of one week. I don't exactly know how I thought this would pan out but I chose to ignore the project until the day before when I told my parents about it. And that is how I learned the word "procrastinate", now all too familar to me. Oh wait - maybe it was actually a diorama.
I can't get enough of this totally bizarro new little tray from John Derian that just arrived at Catbird. Whenever I buy trays or boxes, I puzzle over what I'll use them for, and then they magically find the most perfect little home. Truly, trays and boxes can help make our little Brooklyn homes tidy, efficient, cozy, mean little machines. Did I say little???
Last week I spent the day interviewing people for a weekend post at the store. I met lots of lovelies, one of whom was very French, had great, easy style (is that redundant?) and was wearing a beautiful necklace that she had made that stopped me in my tracks. I picked some up immediately and today she told me that a Very Big Designer (who shall remain nameless) is probably picking them up as well. (There are people who walk this earth and the sun shines on their shoulders no matter where they go. I think Judith may be one of these gilded lilies walking amongst us. She has been in the states for about 15 minutes and seems to have all her canards in a perfect row.)
Our cool and classy new first family, courtesy of La Familia Green. Scoop one up at catbird today.
