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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

Posted By jdemontravel

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

Posted By jdemontravel

11/01/2019

10 Steps to a Low-Stress Thanksgiving

There’s a lot of emotion associated with a bird that’s considered the misfit of the poultry family. Sure, the turkey is enormous and pulling out the giblets is a bit too literal for the occasional cook, but treating the holiday meal with the attitude of a special family dinner alleviates unnecessary holiday pageantry. Memories are built around the gathering, playing, watching and indulging in leftovers.

A simple table setting equates to low-stress planning.

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Posted By jdemontravel

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. Paper plates

: 2. Men’s hoodie

: 3. Pumpkin Chai candle

: 4. Set of 6 canvas pillows

: 5. Nail polish

: 6. Hanging fans

: 7. Reversible blanket

: 8. A-Goal boot

: 9. Acrylic Watch hat

: 10. Picnic blanket

: 11. Freeform hardside luggage

: 12. Side chair

: 13. Women’s lightweight athletic shoes

: 14. Sunglasses

: 15. Camo umbrella

: 16. Mini backpack

: 17. Orange clip earrings

: 18. Teepee

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

Posted By jdemontravel

10/15/2019

Keeping Up with the Pumpkins: 5 Inspired Ways to Decorate the Porch for Fall

Pink Cinderella, Bitter Gourd, Caveman’s Club–these are not trending GIFs but a variety of gourds. Remember when it was just an orange pumpkin carved with a jagged smile? Now decorating with gourds has mirrored the pumpkin spice craze, a bit out of control with enticing results. Doorsteps are crammed with them. Nurseries charge a fortune by creating makeshift patches with a hot cider stand. Kids don’t even carve pumpkins because it’s too overwhelming to pick just one. In the spirit of our no-fuss approach to decor, don’t let the farm stand wheelbarrows bully you into picking too many, in a few weeks those rotting carcasses will cause fright no haunted house can replicate. Choose a few that catch your eye and assemble in a clean, festive design.

1. Evaluate Your Entry

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Posted By jdemontravel

10/11/2019

Ultimate NYC Fall Rainy Day Activities with Kids

Autumn takes Manhattan is not the name of the latest Muppet caper but what happens when the season grips the world’s most robust city. On a rainy day, the leaves’ fiery ombre colors assume a more industrial tint, melding with the city’s urban culture. Getting around with the addition of a portable umbrella that duals for crowded sky space, inevitably experiencing its demise in a trash receptacle from the havoc bestowed by wind tunnel blows, along with the constant splatter of cool wetness, is a natural deterrent for a city day. Mustering on and you will find a worthy adventure heroes in quests are familiar with. Begin at the top, literally, at Top of the Rock that offers 360-degree Midtown views 70 floors above street level. We swiftly pass through all checkpoints due to the lack of visitors who forfeited to the rain, given a gentle warning by the ticket attendant that sections of the observation decks are closed, and if we would like to continue. We’re game.

Westside views with skyscrapers and Central Park grant an interpretation of the city like no other.

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Posted By jdemontravel

10/04/2019

Not Just a Fashion Thing, Layering the Bed for a New Season

It’s layers weather, which is as much a part of fall as Halloween kitsch and an invasion of gourds. Transitioning summer clothes with added pieces is an effective, seasonal way to adjust to the crispness of autumn. It secures style and comfort, a necessity that also applies to bedding without the hassle of losing those added pieces in the backseat of a cab. Dressing a bedroom with a grouping of blankets and textiles will style the room and achieve a comfortable haven during the year’s best sleeping weather.

Source from different vendors for personalization.

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Posted By jdemontravel

09/25/2019

Hold the Wrappers – Helping Kids Make Healthy Choices

Recent parenting dilemma: Typically happy son races off the bus because it’s the end of the school day. This particular time did not go as smoothly: “Mom! Why did you cut me off of a la carte!” To clarify the context of a la carte, fourth graders not only have Tik Tok and avatars, they have the freedom to buy lunch from a daily menu at school. When I was their age it was a puny carton of milk and cold pizza Fridays. Luc can choose from snacks, drinks and hot meals from a menu that’s available on his school’s website. I can view these orders on the K12PaymentCenter site where, during the first week of school, he bought so many bags of chips I assumed he treated his classmates to a round of Dorito’s. This prompted a call to the lunchroom administrator, who swiftly limited the number of a la carte items per day. Return to the irate son.

Farm fresh foods can be as enticing as processed with the right presentation.

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Posted By jdemontravel

09/19/2019

For Adults Only – a Design Story – Styling a Master Bedroom Dresser

When you live with kids, sitting on lightsabers and bins of toys that mysteriously chime at random times is customary. There’s a lot of branded textiles, gear and explosions that happen in the kitchen sink. Our home is a colorful one, on all terms, but particularly because of its creative dwellers who are always nudging some art form along. With such an onslaught of kid areas, there needs to be one space that is unabashedly grownup. Take advantage of the design opportunity to design a styled bedroom dresser.

A thoughtfully appointed chest that identifies the needs of the sophisticated dweller.

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Posted By jdemontravel

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.