02/14/2020

The Ultimate Guide to Smart Packing for Travel

It’s a showdown of loaded stares, that one-on-one with the flight attendant who has the power to refuse your carryon on a maximum-capacity flight. Gone are the days of steamer trunks and hat boxes that can transport a fashionable wardrobe, which makes today’s packing a Chinese puzzle of sorts. Air travel has reached the same level of anxiety as the DMV or waiting room at the dentist’s, which makes smart packing crucial for a stress-free trip that can save money. Ever have to pay the penalty for overweight luggage? Smart packing is simple if you edit to a few easy pieces that are versatile, well made and coordinate with one another.

Consider your flight needs and only pack those items that will be used, which also saves on the potential of losing things.

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02/07/2020

Best Coffee Table Picks to Style for Valentine’s Day

What coffee? Whatever the genesis, coffee tables are an essential design element in a space. They’re also a platform to create an on-trend update without a major expense or decor treatment you can tweak as regularly as an eyeliner color. Color is the main influencer for this Valentine’s Day table, which is not as overt as Hallmark hearts.

Palm Beach by Aerin Lauder, Assouline

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01/29/2020

Not Just Puppy Love, the Dalmatian Print Is Iconic

Zebras and leopards may get all the fashion ink but the Dalmatian will always have our attention. Arguably the most stylish canine, the black and white spotted print is both chic and whimsical—it’s no wonder Disney banked on 101 of them. As a simple accessory that elevates an all-black ensemble to adding a personalized note to the decor, you can’t go wrong with a Dalmatian print.

Dalmatian spots removable wallpaper, available on Etsy.

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12/26/2019

New Year Goals: Simplify with 2019’s 4 Best Finds

There’s a lot of chatter about goals this time of year that come with a flurry of hashtags. Here’s one that takes minimal effort with a big payoff: Simplify. And we’re not just talking about pairing down the living room in muted colors. The decade has provided on-demand inspiration through the growth of social media. It also comes with challenges. More things, updated homes, renovate this and that. Here’s to less scrolling and more living. This year consider your spaces, favorite items, and why they’re all that’s needed to make a home happy.

Four Must-Have Items to Add to the 2020 List

Pair down with simple luxuries for 2020.

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12/19/2019

3 Simple No-Tape Presents and Other Gift Wrapping Hacks

Gift wrapping has promoted a rise of a paper industry that can create a Greta Thunberg moment. The excessive paper is certainly pretty and fun, but it’s at the expense of resources, creating another task in a hectic season. After wrapping multiple presents it’s only natural to surrender to the gift bag option, which is great as a parting gift at an event but on Christmas Day the thrill is compromised. Try these easy options that are environmentally-aware and beautifully presented.

You can wrap with tissue paper, decorate with bows without tape, and save the paper and ribbon for future presents. Deliver in a market basket to seal the reusable theme.

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11/13/2019

Give Quality – A Hand-crafted Backpack You Won’t Be Seeing on the School Bus

It’s the kind of accessory you could see a relation of Geppetto creating in his workshop. It will stand out among the shiny bags with logos that associate a generation of kids. With a wave of fast fashion that has taken over electronic shopping carts, a return to customized pieces that are thoughtfully produced will endure. When you need the reliable backpack that becomes an extension of your form, this is where quality matters.

The backpack that can take you around the world, or downtown on the 6 line, with style.

 

For this gift guide special, Mission Mercantile’s canvas leather goods gets our vote because they’re the kind of pieces you could see tested by throwing in a ring of bucking broncos and survive unscathed. (Though we don’t recommend that you do that.) The canvas, leather and craftsmanship is of such high standard, it will be that loyal accessory you hold with the regard of a family dog.

Resources:

Canvas Backpack: Mission Mercantile

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11/08/2019

Annual Holiday Gift Series: The Ultimate Everyday Blanket

It’s the fleece pullover for the home, literally. That go-to item you use to the thread, yet All the Feels velvet reversible blankets are more durable than your grandmother’s tartan. The texture is chinchilla soft with a designed look. Adding comfort and style to a space, it may be time to retire those fleece blankets touting your favorite NHL team. 

It may look luxurious but the blanket is as affordable as it is comfortable.

 

This is a gift that will be used, appreciated, and can make the rounds at sporting events, picnics or even work if you have that cool office environment with donut Fridays. It even hits all the PC icons: affordable, animal-friendly with plush faux fur, practical and for every item purchased, one blanket or the monetary equivalent is donated to a youth in need. In this holiday gifts series, from everyday affordable luxuries to heirlooms, we feature products that won’t need return receipts.

Resources:

Phantom Grey Velvet blanket: All the Feels

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10/23/2019

18 Ways to Shop Autumn’s Orange

If there’s one way to heighten a mood without doing bodily harm or abusing your credit card, bring in some orange. October is the month of orange thanks to autumn’s palette, notably the pumpkin, which has a magical quality that’s given a headless horseman and bullied stepsister’s carriage some oomph. Before winter’s onslaught of black arrives, give orange its deserved attention.

How can you not control giddiness when encountering a patch of oversized pumpkins? Studies may not have been shown, but we believe orange ignites an uplifting reaction.

 

Shop Orange

 

1. Lesirit paper plates 2. Adidas sweatshirt 3. Nest Fragrances candle 4. Set of 6 Top Finel pillows 5. Marc Jacobs nail polish 6. Zilue hanging paper fans 7. All the Feels blanket  8. Jeffrey Campbell boots  9. Carharrt hat 10. The Riviera Towel Company picnic blanket 11. Polly & Bark chair 12. Samsonite suitcase 13. DMGYDAF sneakers 14. Ziwanule aviators 15. Hiemcnhss umbrella 16. Doughnut backpack 17. Les Néréides earrings 18. Teepee

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09/13/2019

Shop Eco-Fashionably – Use Reusable Bags

Shoppers beware, there’s another accessory to add to our list but this necessity has an environmental advantage. Stores are following an international custom by no longer providing bags at checkout. Either bring your own or pay a dollar for the market’s heavily illustrated tote. There’s also the method I saw a perplexed shopper attempt, who clearly hasn’t gone to the market since Miley and Liam broke up (the first time). He left the store carrying an armful of groceries that included a cantaloupe and pie. Taking your own bag is a matter of adjusting to a routine. Make it a lifelong habit by investing in a sturdy market basket or reusable bag, which adds style to scanned items. Another tip: Leave in your car for future shopping trips.

This classic market basket by Joanna’s Collections recalls a vintage tackle box, which has buckles you can attach to a bicycle’s handlebars.

Market baskets and sustainable totes made with sturdy waterproof materials are our favorites. So chic, use them in lieu of your everyday bag for a personal take on eco-style. Such a trend will add a humbler take on fashion that everyone from naturalists to stylists will love.

6 Must-Have Totes:
  1.  Tango Zulu 2. Baskets of Africa 3. Reisenthel 4. Scout Bags 5. Joanna’s Collections  6. French Baskets

Market baskets also come in handy as a comfortable dog carrier.

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08/14/2019

Annual Fragrance of the Year Awards – And the Winner Is….

Awards have brought rise to red carpets and laminated restaurant reviews. Film, food and fashion all vie for recognition and we’ve honed in on a category that peaks the senses or, specifically, the nose. In our annual Fragrance of the Year Awards, a lot of sniffing happens so we can honor the year’s best scent.

The right home fragrance indicates a thoughtfully-appointed room.

ducks goose fragrance of the year winner

Typically we feature a variety of scents that stimulate the olfactory but this year there was one stand out winner:

Nest’s Velvet Pear

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