I LOVE summer but I HATE mosquitoes. What is a nature loving, blood-protecting girl supposed to do? Bug Off! has come up with a multitude of ways to arm yourself naturally against pests. Using ingredients such as blends of citronella, rosemary, lemongrass and geranium essential oils (all of which are Mother Nature’s insect repellents), Bug Off! makes it easy to put down the deet. They have wipes, soy candles, spritzers, soaps, oils, shampoos and a bug rub that contains shea butter. And for that tiny spot you may have missed (and there’s always one), Bug Off! makes a Bug Bite Soother. If you are visiting a tropical locale (take me please), you really must stock up. When I’m covered in bumps, the tan just doesn’t seem worth it!

I saw these cute little vases sitting on new lacquer trays in Pearl River's store window:

Upstairs in the 'Pearl River Home' store-within-a-store the trays were marked an unreasonable $49 but the little lotuses were $13.50.  It's hard to tell from the pic but they're much more delicate than anything you'd find at West Elm or Target, with a thin lip and  pleasingly opaque glaze (no crackle/luster ugliness).  Would look great with a single peony or chrysanthemum. 

I sat opposite a girl at dinner last night called Louisa Guinness. She and two of the other girls at the table were wearing these beautiful rings that looked like Anish Kapoor voids, round rings with concave centers. So of course we start chatting about them. It turns out Louisa is a jewelry designer who has started a collection of pieces with big name British artists. These cuff links are designed by Tim Noble and Sue Webster and are called The Bastards Got Me. Marc Quinn has made a frozen strawberry pendant in white or yellow gold with 54 diamonds for seeds, and there are pieces by Sam Taylor Wood, Gavin Turk and Antony Gormley.

The jewelry is not that easy to get hold of--everything is made by hand either in the artists' studios or at Hatton Garden so the productions are small. However, it is not impossible. Louisa's website shows all the artists that she works with and includes the jewelry that inspired her collection, pieces by Max Ernst and Calder for example. The jewelry is available to order at Ben Brown Fine Art on Cork Street in London but take a look at Louisa Guinness' website where you can also contact her directly.

Had he not already had a side table, I would have gotten this for my son's nautically inspired room. It would also be chic in my tasting room...if I had a tasting room. I feel like writing about the reuse of wine barrels could be a little cliche, but if you like slightly rustic wood, this could be just the table you are searching for. After a couple years doing its job of imparting complexities unto fermenting grapes, these barrels generally find themselves tossed in landfills. This side table, handmade in Georgia, is a great example of finding a creative way to get the most out of something valuable - oak. What results is a well-crafted, salvage piece that honors the curvature of its predecessor.

I'm a sucker for obscure household products with cute packaging, like this "Renaissance Wax Polish":

Greek key, lion's head, New York magazine type.  But what does it do?  So much that Amanda (who opened the info packet in the mail today) kept murmuring "this is amazing ... amazing" until I turned down SkyFM All Hit 70s at my desk and was like "Mmhmmyeahwhat?"  She brought it over and suggested I blog.  Developed by researchers at the British Museum in the 1950s, the wax cleans and restores almost ANY material-- wood, metal, even paper -- with a combination of natural and man-made waxes that won't harm original finishes.  Works so well that a gal named Her Majesty the Queen appointed Picreator Enterprises Ltd. (its distributor) Official Supplier of Products for Restoration and Conservation. $15 for a 65ml/2.25 fl.oz. tin at restorationproduct.com.

I am in london doing a shopping story for the magazine. The thing that has struck me more than anything is how green London is, i know this isn't exactly news - there are more parks in london than any other city in the world but there are also so many flowers everywhere. I think we are not just a nation of shopkeepers, but more specifically, florists. I am staying at Number Sixteen Sumner Place, a divine hotel on a smart, residential street in South Kensington - they have knocked the gardens of the four buildings taken to make the hotel together to make this long and very green garden where can have breakfast. It is really charming and amazingly the weather is too.

Get your dhurrie in a hurry: Madeline Weinrib is having a sample sale. I don't normally plug sales but this is too good to ignore ... If you don't know her work then maybe it's time to redecorate the rock you've been living under! 40-60% off home and fashion stuff, from towels to pillows to carpet bags to sarongs.  Best of all are the RUGS -- wool and cotton flatweaves from $100-$800 (down from $225-$1400) and the delicious wool Tibetans at $800-$4000 like this 'Alexander':

Love the cheeky take on a Beni Ourain. Oh and I'm told this is a one-time-only deal -- not like waiting a season to get your Theory pants half-off -- so get thee to the ABC flagship at 881 Broadway on the lower level.  Sale runs through May 11th, Mon-Fri 10-8, Sat 10-7, Sun 11-6. 

My girlfriend, who is presently remodeling her house just asked me what to do with all of her perfectly useful appliances and fixtures, so I began to research. Of course, Freecycle is an excellent local option, but if she lived on the East Coast I would have raved about Green Demolitions. The socially (and inadvertently eco) company says that their service is a "win, win" situation. But this is more like a "win, win, win, win" situation. Green Demolitions will bring along a crew of contractors to extract all the useful items (for free). Then they'll sell them at a fraction of the going price in one of their three stores (New York, Connecticut and Pennsylvania) or online at greendemolitions.org, give you a tax deduction and put the profits towards their charity to help people overcome addictions. The donor, the customer, the charity and the earth all come out on top!

Naturalizer Shoes are getting behind closet purging. From May 3rd through 11 take your unwanted and gently used shoes - the ones that you would wear to an interview - and still could wear to an interview - and hand them in at your nearest Naturalizer, store. They will donate them and a pair of brand new Naturalizer shoes to the charity, Dress for Success, as well as offer a 20% discount on a pair for yourself.
Dress For Success is a wonderful charity that helps disadvantaged women get their lives together by helping them dress for job interviews. If you have other clothes that you think would be good go to the Dress For Success website and donate directly, this is just such a wonderful pro-active and confidence building charity for women who need a helping hand.

There are a number of gnarled, natural looking furniture pieces popping up everywhere from the most luxurious depots to mass market stores. Though I encourage you to place these pieces sparingly, it is exciting that the serpentine artistry of an entwined root is no longer relegated to the outdoors and that nothing has to be chopped down to indulge an al fresco aesthetic. I have a particular penchant for the Vivaterra multi-tiered receptacle. Vivaterra salvages the roots, trunks and limbs from fallen trees (actually, they vow that they never cut trees down for any of their wooden pieces) and that their select artisans hand-construct these stands to receive  jackets, purses, scarfs and hats. Applying an all-natural, burnt finish, the twists and turns are rich and imaginative and, surely, they will spruce up just about any foyer. And if you fancy some driftwood  elsewhere in your home, Vivaterra also offers a corresponding bookcase, table, stool, and framed mirror (keep in mind the "sparingly" comment above).