I LOVE waffles. Love ’em. I also love maple syrup. Put those two together and you’ve got a perfect (any time of day?) meal. Yum. Yum. Yum.
I read about Drip maple syrup in the LCBO’s recent Food & Drink. Great packaging, beautiful website, and I am sure Drip’s maple syrup is pretty darn delicious.
The three maple syrup varieties – blond, copper, amber – are each $20 and can be purchased online.
Bows – so girly, so feminine, so right! I love bows on my clothes. My collection of belts with bow closures has steadily grown over the years. I think they add a simple touch of femininity to my usual black-on-black outfits. While I don’t think I have even one bow in my home, I think I should look out for something that’s just right. Perhaps the gorgeous Kate Spade vase I featured below. Perhaps.
Fashion
Marni bow belt shirt, $825, Matches Fashion
Valentino peplum cardigan, $2203.58, FarFetch
Salvatore Ferragamo purse, $917, My Theresa
classic Panama hat, $155, Matches Fashion
dotty spot & bow umbrella, $19.99, Forever New
bow earrings, $7.99, Target
baby bodysuit, $5.10, Target
Viviette skirt, $200, Avenue42
Marbella adhesive tattoo, $134, Luisa Via Roma
Home
Grace Avenue vase, $75, Kate Spade
bathing cutie shower curtain, $54.99, ModCloth
Ah – online shopping. Don’t you love it? If I wanted to, I could totally buy souvenirs of Paris before I even leave the house.
Maison Francis Kurkdjian candle set, $90, Bergdorf Goodman
astier de villatte zermatt candle, $83, ABC Carpet & Home
time zone clock, £35, The Conran Shop
Eiffel Tower mug, $8.95, Sur La Table
Palais de Tuileries mug, $58, Barneys
Paris sweatshirt, $85, Madewell
Perfect little hostess gift…especially for someone who collects eyeglasses!
spectacle bottle opener, $8.99, ModCloth
Not one, not two, but three animal lamps have found their way to the blog today.
We are still seeing quite a bit of wordy decor items online and in stores. I don’t know about you but I’m pretty addicted to pinning inspirational quotes, cute sayings, and beautiful typology on my Pinterest art board.
Top: cushion cover $12.95, teacup $16, sign $30, plate $3.95
Bottom: laundry bag $37, banner $60, t-shirt $24, tote $22
I think the banner is my favourite item in the collection above. It could be quite a good reminder when the going gets tough. You know?
lab evaporating bowl, $16, Jayson Home & Garden
There are so many creative ways to use photos nowadays. From cards to memory games to mugs to calendars – there’s a way to perfectly personalize holiday gifts and stationery. Pinhole Press, as you may have previously heard, makes gift giving quite easy.
You could start with holiday cards to send to family and friends.
You could then get coordinating labels and gift tags.
Unique gifts for children and adults include memory games, photo books, and magnetic notepads.
Do you like receiving personalized gifts like the ones above? Don’t you think it’s a great way to remember – and share – happy moments?
Images courtesy of Pinhole Press.
The Zaza bird at CB2 is not made out of origami paper…in case anyone was curious.
Zaza bird, $5.95, CB2
I have too many mugs so instead of buying more, maybe I’ll just feature them on the blog and it’ll sort of feel like I own them.
owl mug with lid, $10, Chapters-Indigo
Look at this little guy. How can I resist?
I am adding this to my wish list.
 Elsa Peretti – Sevillana, Tiffany & Co.
After I recover from my reno, I’m going to buy myself this ring. I have been wanting a ring in this style for years but I hadn’t found it anywhere. When I was at Tiffany & Co. in NYC last month, my mom spotted this one, I tried it on, and fell in love. A lady I met at BlogPodium had it and raved about how comfortable it was. I don’t need any more convincing. Now the question is – do I get it in silver or gold?
Who’s a sucker for stationery? I am! I am!
Sugar Paper is a Los Angeles-based stationery shop. It has recently collaborated with Target and Mark & Graham to bring us these gorgeous collections of stationery.
Sugar Paper + Target:
Sugar Paper + Mark & Graham:
Images via Sugar Paper.
As much as I love coffee, I love tea. There are so many flavours and I am a fan of most of them! Earl Grey, yes please. Vanilla Roiboos, don’t mind if I do. Chamomile, indeed. I’m not too particular when it comes to loose leaf or tea bags – I like it all. I take milk with most of my tea and sometimes I add a drop of honey. Delicious! Since I talked about coffee last week, I thought I should give some attention to tea this week.
Swans Upon a Time teapot, Modcloth via Luxe Life
Enamel Teapot, West Elm
Maxim Teapot, Marks & Spencer
Alice’s Teapot 4, Anthropologie
Weave Teapot, Crate & Barrel
What do you prefer – coffee or tea?
Happy Friday! Have a wonderful weekend!
***
Did you enter this week’s giveaway?
I love this white cookware set from the Pampered Chef…especially the frying pan. What do you think the chances are of any of it staying white?
white cookware, $44-$129, The Pampered Chef
Thanks for sending this my way Shannon Y.
I have many little boxes around my place that hold everything from jewelry to safety pins to coins. I find they are quite useful as well as decorative. But I’m curious, do you have a collection of treasure boxes? What do you use them for?
opaline box, $495;Â modern lacquer box, $29.50;Â studded charade box, $175;Â monogram jewelry box, $78;Â lacquer stash box, $78
Happy Friday! Have a wonderful treasure-filled weekend!
Oh yes – I love this one and pretty much the rest of the card collection at The Paper Cub Co.Â
greeting card, $5, The Paper Cub Co.
Do you ever accessorize with white jewels? I tend to wear a lot of silver and dream about diamonds but I don’t have anything in white. It’s a bit surprising, isn’t it?
marbled orbit necklace, $68, Anthropologie
organic pendant with chain, $64
Fleet Objects droplet necklace, $60
silver delight necklace designed by Carri Ampris & Ampris Loves, $38
I don’t know what made me think of carousels today but I did. I think it all started when I was browsing Anthropologie and landed on this sweet carousel clock:
carousel clock, $168, Anthropologie
Here are four more carousels to round up today’s Friday Five:
white carousel at Louis Vuitton, via Hello Magazine
GE’s solar powered carousel, The Carousolar (It’s solar powered!)
carousel necklace, $79.53, Laura des Villes Laura des Champs
carousel model puzzle, $11.54
Phew – that was a quick week wasn’t it? Hope the weather is beautiful where you live so you can enjoy a couple of free days outside! Happy weekend!
It’s going to be another summer of baby births! Five of my friends and family members are due between June and August. Woah. Time to start shopping!
Petit Bateau star rattle, £25.00, Elias and Grace
Bonton Loulou slippers, £29.00, Elias and Grace
Tane seed-stitched baby booties, $56, J.Crew
Cashmere sweater, $125, J.Crew (cashmere for a baby – yay or nay?)
Zara baby girl coat with bow (back view)
Â
sailboat fabric mobile, $59, Moran Alhalel
While there are so many lovely gifts available, let’s face it, my favourite gifts to give are this book, this bunny, and a little newborn hat/tee from whatever university I happen to be at when a baby is born. So yeah – no real surprises when people see my gift box.
We just finished a long weekend here in Canada and I used a lot of my free time to catch up on some reading.
I am just about finished Sheryl Sandberg’s book Lean In and I highly recommend it. Sheryl Sandberg, COO at Facebook, shares her experiences as a woman in the business world and gives advice to readers about going for what you want, valuing your skills, and taking initiative to explore new opportunities. She urges women to recognize their potential and to speak up. Instead of holding back, as many women do (and studies suggest as much), Sheryl Sandberg encourages us to “lean in”.
Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg, $15.92, Indigo
I’m curious to know if any of you have read it. What did you think?
Oh – Alfred. What a helpful little guy.
The Alfred hook, $15, Baba Souk
Alfred was designed by Paul Coconut of Six Point Un and is made in Quebec.
Izola‘s stainless steel collapsible travel cup is the perfect gift for the avid traveller in your life. It’s easy to throw in a carry-on bag whether you’re travelling across the world or off on a weekend camping trip. Two thumbs up for the design and function of this little accessory.
Izola travel cup, $18 US
Want to see the cup in action? Have a look at this video (with one of my favourite songs!):
Have a look at what other Izola items I’ve had my eye on here and here.
Many thanks to Lauren at Izola for sending this my way.
Here we go – a seasonal high-low post about geometric terrariums.
High:
Geo Terrarium, $95, Jayson Home
Low:
Turning Triangles Terrarium, $39, Urban Outfitters
Now that I have a new awesome camera, I feel I might need a very cool camera strap to go with it. These straps by Bloom Theory look amazingly well-designed and beautifully executed. Too bad their price tags put them out of my reach (for now anyway…I’m going to keep my eye on them!).
Bloom Theory Gold Mine camera strap, $130
Bloom Theory Free Spirit camera strap, $120
Bloom Theory Stargazing camera strap, close-up, $120
Bloom Theory Moonshine camera strap, $130
Bloom Theory Stardust camera strap, $130
Bloom Theory Wild Flower camera strap, close-up, $100
 And speaking of beautiful things from Bloom Theory…isn’t their logo lovely?
I love this reusable tote from Mimot Studio – it’s simple and functional. It can hold up to 25 pounds and it can be easily folded for storage. Who doesn’t need another stylish reusable tote?
Tyvek reusable tote, $16, Mimot Studio
Mimot Studio also makes a sweet Tyvek lunch bag that is also under $20.
Mr. Romano cheese grater – clever. Fred & Friends makes some of the most amusing products on the market.
Mr. Romano cheese grater, Fred & Friends
I say yes to beautifully-shaped cookies that come in an equally design-conscious package.
hazelnut yogurt cookies, $8.50, FrüuteÂ
Anyone who has eaten a meal at my place or has eaten lunch with me at work knows that I use cloth napkins for everyday – not just for “fancy” times. I switched to cloth napkins about five years ago and I have two main sets – both white (one set from my mom and one set from Johanne – they both know me so well!). I find cloth napkins really nice to use – why wipe your mouth with rough paper napkins when you can use cotton? I wash them often and I iron them sometimes.
I’m now inspired to make myself a new set of (mostly) mis-matched napkins like Elsie did from A Beautiful Mess. She bought her fabric from Etsy shop Stash Modern Fabric and so I obviously had to browse the shop to see what fabrics might suit me.
Summersville Spring Collection
Prices for half a yard of each of these fabrics range from $4.50-$5.00 (USD).
I haven’t yet decided if I’m going to order fabric directly from this Etsy shop or from Fabricland but I do know that my new napkins will be black and white (surprise!). And if I’m feeling wild, I might just add some red. Woah.
How fancy are you getting these days?
Some of us are fighting the winter blues by buying spring clothes that  barely hit the retail floor, and some of us are getting into upscale fragrances. Do you know about Lucky Scent? It’s a shop with a scent bar specializing in top and otherwise uncommon fragrances from all over the world. Last week I splurged and ordered the L’Artisan Parfumeur Samples Pack– a great way to try 10 of the top phenomenal creations of all time at a fair price.
This caught my eye, too: fancy incense papers. I never liked the smell of incense before but, I have a feeling that its just like the difference between burning a fancy candle and a not so fancy one. Big difference.
Today I’m featuring these lovely incense papers that come in one of three signature fragrances by Maison Francis Kukdjian, Paris. At $25 for a pack of 20, these incense papers are either in notes of rose or orange blossoms and lily of the valley. I have a feeling that they are divine- a user review on Lucky Scent’s site gave these full marks. They are decadently scented with only the best. This isn’t a fortune-teller’s sandalwood stick: this is expensive in a way that is refined and crafted with nuances and pure extracts. Paris! Come on, you’d love trying one of these, wouldn’t you?
One way to save time and save on ink when prepping your correspondence is to use of a custom embosser. So pretty in white…and lasts forever (unless you move, obviously).
custom embosser, $65, Wedding Paper Divas via Cup of Jo
While I think Valentine’s Day is wonderful holiday to celebrate love between friends, couples, family, and children, I’m also one of those people who thinks that it should be celebrated beyond February 14th. Perhaps this is because I used to work at my mom’s flower shop every February 14th and I really just wanted to tell everyone who came through that everyday is a good day to buy someone flowers – why limit one’s generosity to red roses on one cold day in February?
Anyway – you may already know that in addition to flowers I am very keen on stationery. Giving a card is one of the easiest things one can do to show any kind of emotion or good will. Here’s a round up of some great cards for this lovely occasion.
Valentine card, $5, Paper Society & Co.
Valentine card, $4, Julie Ann Art
Valentine card, $5, Red Bird Ink
Valentine letterpress gift card, $4.95 for 10, Paper Source
Valentine card, $3, Quiet Tiger
I am so glad that C. Wonder opened up in the AOL Time Warner Centre this past fall. It’s now within walking distance of my family’s home and so, thinking selfishly, it’s going to be really convenient for me to pop in and see what’s new. In between my trips to the Manhattan, I do enjoying browsing the collection of home accessories (among everything else) online.
bamboo nesting bowls, $44.99
tapered lacquer bowl, $38
bike helmet, $49
bullhorn speaker, $10
The easiest way to keep animals at the office:Â a squirrel speaker for your desk.
Ceramic squirrel speaker, $26 on sale at West Elm
