Archive for December, 2007
As has been previously posted (see, ummmm, entire blog), I’m a sucker for cutesy, plasticky things, especially stuff for kids. And cutesy, plasticky kid things that LIGHT UP? Hoo boy!
We invested in a set of Candeloos — and were mightily disappointed. They’re cute but they’re just too fragile for little kids. So up, up, up the Candeloos went onto the high shelf to accumulate a couple of years’ worth of dust. In the meantime, I think the boy may find one of these Mobi Tyke Lights in his stocking this year. I like the Candeloo design a bit better, but, at this point, sturdiness (can I drop it down the stairs? can my truck run over it? can I bounce if off the cat?) trumps design. A bit.
December 11th, 2007
Curled Cat mousepad because 1) it’s cute and 2) I really should replace the grimy, ancient freebie Apple one I have, but…
it’s so cute that I just know that it would disappear almost instantly. And I’d find it a few hours later, up in my girls’ room, “talking” to some of the 4 bajillion stuffed cats up there. Then I’d drag it back down to my office and again it would disappear, this time perhaps as an accessory in the cat apartment (yes, we have a “cat apartment”). Point is, it would never stay here, where it belongs, under my mouse. Sometimes it’s nice to have cutesy little things with faces. And sometimes you just stick with the old ugly ones that stay where they belong.
December 11th, 2007
So I just heard that Blueprint is closing shop. But it was my new favorite house rag! So what if I get SO many magazines that I could never, ever possibly read them all… I read this one!First Budget Living folds on me, and now Blueprint. Come on, Martha, you’ve got the bucks to keep it going just a little longer… just give it a chance.  Pleeeeeeease!?Â
December 10th, 2007
Sam Potts, the design genius behind the Areas of My Expertise book cover and the Brooklyn Superhero Supply signage, may, quite possibly, have the best website I’ve ever seen.Â
December 7th, 2007
I know two little girls who would just squee over these humongous ‘diamond’ rings from Fred Flare.Perhaps Santa will drop a couple of rocks in their stockings after all…
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December 7th, 2007
Ok, I know that many, MANY people loathe Martha Stewart. Not me. And these markers are just an inkling (heh) of the reason why. Because she seems to appreciate things like a pretty, pretty set of markers, all lined up in rainbow order. Or at least she appreciates how much these sorts of things appeal to me almost enough to shell out $35 for them.
Almost.
December 6th, 2007
So I have this Christmas stocking problem. One part of me is partial to the cheesy faux fur stockings of my youth. The other part of me wants swanky cool stockings. The cheap part of me has so far won out and we use a mish-mash that’s been cobbled together over the years.
Perhaps someday we’ll actually get a mantel on our fireplace and maybe, just maybe, that will be the kick in the butt I need to get everyone fabulous socks for Christmas morn.  If the cheap part of me was asleep, or perhaps in a fudge-induced daze, the rest of me would totally order one of these stockings from Hable Construction. They are beautiful. Although I can already foresee the fights about who gets the mermaid stocking…
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December 5th, 2007
Ok, so we’ve all noticed the onslaught over the past few years of 80s toys. Cabbage Patch dolls, My Little Pony, Care Bears, Strawberry Shortcake, Trollz (nee Trolls), Pound Puppies, Transformers, Rubik’s Cube… we get it, ok?  You’re appealing to the nostalgia factor, expecting us to gasp “ohhhh, look! I had one of those when I was a kid!” while we swipe it from the shelves and head for the register.But you know what else came out of the 80s? “Know when to say when” and “Just say ‘No’” (oh, and my favorite, “This is your brain on drugs”).  The knowing when to say when? That would’ve been somewhere before you hit Popples. The whole idea behind cashing in on our nostalgia only works if you bring back things we loved. Look at that thing — it’s butt-ugly. Nobody loved Popples. Swatches, yes. Popples, no.No, no, no. Â
* * * Â For those who don’t know, Popples were stuffed animals that could fold back up into a ball. In full disclosure, I have to tell you that there are new stuffed animals out this year called
FurBerries, which also unfold from a furry ball. My middle child *longs* for one of these this year — it’s her number one Santa gift. And so I caved, mostly because it makes my inner 13-year-old giggle to say “FurBerry.” Also, “furry ball.”
December 5th, 2007
I could not possibly, in a bazillion years, need another set of melamine mixing bowls. Except maaaaaybe I do. Because look at this set from French Bull. It has pour spouts! And colors! Two colors each! They’re so pretty! And they talk! Hear them? They’re saying, “Hey you, you’re running dangerously low on pretty melamine mixing bowls…”Â
December 4th, 2007
Who doesn’t love the Barenaked Ladies? So head on over to Robeez and download their track from the new kids’ CD For the Kids Three (or, alternately, “Music that Won’t Drive Parents to Shoot Themselves”).Â
December 3rd, 2007
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