For the non cook, there is nothing better (for both you and your guests) than to produce lobsters for dinner, with good mayonaise (chefshop.com), salad, and a good desert, which can always be purchased. Then you're done. I did this in London once for a dinner and it was great. The lobsters all arrived in boxes from the Isle of Mann. HancockGourmetLobsters.com do the same thing from Maine. The site is great. You can order lobster pot pies, but I think it is the shipping of live Maine Lobsters to wherever you are that is good to do.  And the lobsters are coming direct from this marvelous woman whom you can see above.

Are you ready for this? This is possibly the coolest looking storage system for the price ever made. Brought to you by a couple of Danish designers, Lillian Adler and Soren Berg, Pure Nomade "Hotel" boxes come flat packed and then pop up to create little storage pods for... well pretty much anything you can fit in them. And you can stack them 10 feet high, so you can even make them in to a room divider. At around $27 each you can probably build a whole room or a even fort with them.These just landed this side of the pond and are available at Matter (any day now) and other fine establishments internationally. What would you use these for? Shoe storage perhaps?

I feel a bit like Rita Konig as I've just returned from a short trip.  But instead of Barcelona or Montenegro I went all the way to our nation's capital, Washington, D.C., where they make the laws! The generous powers that be at domino sent me down for a couple days to do my deal hunting thang on new turf, and also meet with a writer for the Washington Post Style section, a cool dude named Cory.  More on that later.  To begin: 

The National Building Museum wasn't on the itinerary for my first trip to DC -- the 8th grade class trip -- but it should've been! Their BIG shop alone is worth a visit.  I love museum stores for the souvenir fix and the sheer volume of design-y books and objects in one settting. I bought a simple pop-up card of the White House and almost grabbed one of these Flensted mobiles:
But they didn't have the black and yellow version I wanted for $38. To be honest I kept circling a scale model of Le Corbusier's Villa Savoye made out of balsa wood (to paint white and set atop my kitchen cabinets) ... it was $250! I found it on mxyplyzyk.com -- go to "mxy's picks."  Too outrageous? I'm on a model kick lately, fun and unexpected. A company called Paper Landmarks will apparently introduce their version next month but it requires assembly.  Neither practical nor patriotic! Ha.

Vanilla salt? How crazy is this? I am imagining it is fabulous like salted caramels are fabulous. The strange thing is that it comes from Wales, a country known more for its leeks, sheep and rain than its exotic fusions. This is a combination of flaky Welsh salt (delicious) and Tahitian vanilla. It can be used for cooking fish and added to soups, but they also suggest putting a little on top of flourless chocolate cake or hot chocolate - YUM. I am really into the salt/sweet blend. I also had this delicious salted caramel ice cream (actually gelato) the other day. As soon as I find the site for it I will share; I promise.

Go to Chefshop.com for this salt and a ton of other culinary treats.

What do you think of these -- playful, or in poor taste? These handmade Tank U Vases are designed by Jerome Fischbach and Thierry Galloni D'istria of the Paris-based collective La Tete Au Cube. The website claims that they "spread just a little cheer in these troubled times." Do they remind anyone else of, oh, say, this golden grenade lamp? Might make a fetching set, no?

I was in one of my favourite shops on Saturday, Artsee, a fabulous sunglasses shop on Washington Street in the meatpacking district of NY.  It is unusual because they sell sunglasses by eyewear designers, not fashion designers - so Cutler and Grosse, Face a Face, Oliver Goldsmith - bla bla bla. They are also lovely and tell you what doesn't work as often as what does. I love that in a city where every sales assistant is either being incredibly rude or telling you you look marvelous in something that makes you look like a chump. Anyhow to the point...at artsee they combine art with glasses - hence the clever name. Starting Saturday and up until April 10th, they have an exhibition of Penny Hawkey's fabulous flowers (all from her backyard) There were a few I would have liked for my bedroom, they are so feminine and sexy and the prices are really not so bad ($750) for generous sized artworks. Artsee, 863 Washington Street, NY, NY 10014, tel: 212 414 0900,  eyewear@verizon.net.

Brooklyn in the house!  Another unique, cool product from Rose and Radish's Urban series.  (Last one, I swear.)  These pillar candles are each named after a different Williamsburg, Brooklyn street--Kent, Wythe, Bedford, and South 3rd--and supposedly each is covered with a film transparency, so that as the wick burns down the street-scapes are illuminated further.  They reflect the shapes and energy of urban graffiti, without that subway-pee smell. You like?

Just a little shameless self- (and cross-) promotion:  check out page 80 of this week's  Time Out New York -- that's me in Elise Loehnen's (she of the rope-covered lamp) charming apartment showing you renters how to wallpaper your refrigerator.  I am officially that guy who wallpapers fridges, and I'm here to spread the gospel!  Elise was stuck with the usual boring white fridge and cheap laminate cabinets so she enlisted my help.  Ah, what a roll of wallpaper and a can of rubber cement can do, plus some black electrical tape to give her cabinet doors dimension.  Pretty fab if I do say so myself.

BUT I think the real draw here is the wallpaper:  already featured on apartment therapy L.A. and Design Sponge, Cavern Home makes some of the coolest wallpapers around.  We used their repeating horsey 'Calvary' design, but I think my absolute favorite is the 'Blackbird' :

This one also comes in a beautiful emerald green as the background. At $155 per roll it ain't exactly cheap, but it's hand-printed and the patterns are all so original -- cheeky but not kitschy. Just look at the impact you can achieve with one roll ... wallpaper: not just for walls anymore.

Please no comments about my pale, disembodied hands!

Ridiculously cool San Francisco-based store/gallery/flower shop/website Rose and Radish is honoring their love for city life with their new Urban series, and so I am too.  Quaint, warm, and homey.  I?m thinking the hand-drawn look of this would be charming as shelf paper or for a small room or large closet.  But there's also something a little odd about the scratchy, shadowy little houses.  What do you think -- cute, or creepy?

I've been thinking about rug trends lately.  There are trends in rugs, right?  You know it's not like the cotton dhurrie was invented ten years ago but they've certainly become more popular.  Seeing a lot of Morroccans lately, too, and points to anyone who can find a good pic online to illustrate those! They're all over your dogeared copy of the mag. And patchwork pony fur/cowhide carpets.  I love all these and think they'll stick around but I'm not sure I can say the same for their fluffy cousin, the Flokati.

Cost Plus World Market tells me "the Flokati area rug has been a Greek tradition since the 5th century."  Whoa.  Still, in the 21st century they feel a little played out if you don't live in a fishing village (which doesn't sound half bad right now).  Maybe because of the 90s mod revival, Austin Powers, shag carpets and all that. I think success always lies in the execution: don't do the expected rectangular or hide-shaped Flokati in front of your living room sofa.  Why not buy a few of these ($150 each for a 5x7) and install them wall-to-wall in your bedroom?  So soft underfoot and great for noise control.

I often forget about the deliciousness of cheese and honey until I am somewhere where they serve it like this.  Yesterday I was having lunch at The Blue Ribbon Bakery in NY, and a friend of mine ordered some cheddar at the end of lunch.  It arrived with some slices of deliciously fresh white bread (a proper country loaf), and a small ramekin of thick honey.  Wow it was good. It reminded me of the Spanish who serve quince jelly with Manchego. It's the perfect combination of savory and sweet. For good cheeses go to Murray's Cheese shop or Zingermans, where you will also find good breads, including a white paesano.

Check out Colette Brooks and Eric Cadora's bedroom on pages 124-125 of the March issue.  If TLC were still together (RIP Left Eye) they could do a whole album about it called GroovyCrunchyCool.  That dog painting is just outrageous, but I'm really eyeing the suzani throw on their bed.  It's from Hollyhock, Suzanne Rheinstein's beautiful home store in L.A. (Shout out to her lovely daughter Kate whom I met recently -- she reads the blog!) Anyway this old blankie is big, beautifully embroidered and certainly worth the price ... but I hear this voice in the back of my head saying ...

EBAY.          EBAYEBAYEBAYEBAYEBAYEBAYEBAYEBAYEBAY.

And voila:

It measures 140 x 89 inches and bidding starts at $75 bucks.  And there are plenty more where that came from (Uzbekistan).  Sure it's new and hardly the same quality, but who isn't loving the trippy design and these colors?  I see a study with tomato red lacquer walls, white trim and bookcases and black doors with this draped across an aubergine linen velvet sofa.  Just a thought!

Whoever did the snow butterfly on my bonnet - I LOVE.

If you want to laugh A LOT go immediately to the Murray's Cheese Shop blog: BigCheeseStories, there you will find a piece of YouTube footage that has got to make you laugh. It is an Italian commerical for their beloved Parmigiano-Reggiano. IT IS HYSTERICAL, ONLY THE ITALIANS COULD DO THIS.

Take a look at this blog The Peak of Chic. I love love love it and NOT just because the author has featured yours truly more than once.  It's a really good resource!  I'm so inspired by all those Billy Baldwin rooms.

Anyhoo, today it piqued my interest (groan) because I want to encourage you all to try making your own tented room.  Bring the outdoors in.  Just look at this amazing Slim Aarons pic:

I wanted a poolside awning in my apartment (really inspired by Kelly Wearstler's at the Avalon Hotel -- can't find an image to save my life) but you don't have to take it quite as far with sewing and trimming to get the same effect.  In small, squarish (guest?) bedroom, I suggest you tack/glue inexpensive fabric around the ceiling line, trimming around doors and windows -- and gather it a bit at the corners to resemble side curtains.  Then tack a few widths of fabric at the same line on all four walls, gather and staple at the center of the ceiling (around a ceiling fixture?) to make a canopy.  To hide the messy gathers I suggest buying some synthetic felt in a darker color (I'm picturing kelly green over sea foam gauze) and cut out a notched pattern -- felt doesn't fray -- and glue where the "canopy" begins.  Does that make any kind of sense?

Ok, I've got an eco bag too!  This is so hot. Anya Hindmarch (the super chic London-based handbag designer) has made this cool bag in a bid to stop people from using plastic bags.  So strong is her commitment that she is selling them in London for 5 pounds (sorry don't have the symbol on my computer). Even with the hideous exchange rate a $10 bag by a luxury brand designer is amazing and it is so cute. "As a luxury fashion brand we are in a position where we can influence.  I can't think of a more positive way to do this than producing a desirable and cost effective alternative to a plastic carrier bag." It will be available in the states in June. Get your name on a list now, if the London sales are anything to go by they are goign to be hard to get hold of.

It's a rainy day here in the Big Apple and I'm thinking I need some new umbrellas.  I own a stash of very fine old ones from great aunt Mary Louise -- my favorites from her big old Victorian house.  I had a party at my apartment recently and upon seeing them in the basket by the door, my boss says "how come I haven't seen you sport these pretty parasols at the office??" Ha. But I would like a sturdier brella to replace my everyday red mini.  Look at this pastel beauty from a British company called Brolliesgalore:

It's 15.25 ... British pounds.  I think that's more than double with the conversion (right Rita?!), and anyway I want a bamboo handle.  Or maybe it's more about the basket holding them all:

This is a super stylish banana leaf basket from Target, on sale for $29.99. Would look so great stuffed with brellies/brollies in your entryway, but you migh want to buy a metal or plastic pan for the bottom to avoid mildew. Ew.

Nick recently wrote about being green by using a tote to do your shopping and I couldn't agree more. I have just one more tote to add to the mix that I think will become a future classic and in the event you get lost this is the tote you want on your shoulder. Designed by Rachel Rheingold, fashion stylist and Michael Berick, cartographer, these totes will keep you heading in the right direction and looking cool simultaneously. Available online at Maptote and select stores.

I love the white Paul Mathieu/Odegard lamp from Shalom Harlow's bedroom (current issue, page 133).  It's carved from a piece of white marble, simple and sculptural with a big white drum shade.  Shalom knows a thing or two about making an artistic statement: check her out as the blank canvas in Alexander McQueen's Spring/Summer show in 1999.  One of my favorite moments in fashion history. But this lamp costs as much as a McQueen dress! 

I think Odegard is best known for beautiful white porcelain fretwork, and Urban Outfitters sells a bedside lamp that's sort of a mod take on this style:

Very Palm Beach and only 42 bucks! But do you agree that the shade ruins this lamp?  You can get away with a cheap lamp or a cheap shade but usually not both.  Plus the scale is wrong. I would spring for a coolie style (like the hat):

from Just Shades in white or black lacquered paper.  Or this black and white linen drum shade from LampsPlus for $65 and free shipping! El Cheapo Lampo has one of those screw-in shade bases so I'd also buy a harp and harp base and avoid clip-ons. Just make sure the shade covers all the hardware even where you're sitting down -- another lil pet peeve o' mine.

So I need your help choosing some new drinking glasses.  Right now it's a motley crew in my cabinet:  monogrammed jumbo tumblers from Kay (love!), freebie cobalt blue ones in two sizes (meh), and etched juice glasses handed down from my great aunt Mary Louise (aww). 

But I want a new set for everyday use preferably not in thick, restaurant-grade glass.  I saw some carry really thin, slightly conical tumblers at Conran Shop a few months back but now they're not on their website.  The search had stalled until this afternoon at Club Monaco.

Aside:  Club Monaco is my Safe Place.  Like Kay says about Target, "nothing bad can happen to me here."  It's like shopping inside an old perfume commercial!  But ... this is me when they don't have my size:

Anyway, back to glasses.  The Club now carries these awesomely thin Riedel whiskey glasses:

Of course Amazon has them for less, about $10 each.  Is this too much to spend?  I don't think so, but let's entertain a few options I found at Conran:

So it's the opposite of what I want ... but still kind of cool?  Goopy and organic?  On sale for $7 each.
Then there are these so-called "Working Glasses"

I guess because they have a lid and do double duty for storage.  Not delicate at all but still cute, and these are the real "deal" at $3.50 for the biggie 21 oz.

What do you think?

I don't think it will surprise anyone who has been following my blogs this week that my jeans are beginning to feel the strain. I am now repenting and have got to slow down, but before i do i have to share with you the pretzel croissant, one of the best things i have ever eaten. I fell (quite literally) upon them last night at my friend Julie's house. It is a croissant made from pretzel dough with salt and sesame seeds on top, it looks completely uniteresting until you try it - it isn't greasy like a croissant can be and it is salty like a pretzel but because it is part croissant it is doesn't get stuck in your throat like a pretzel can - it is the perfect fusion food. It comes from The City Bakery in NYC or LA and i think it is the only one in the world. It has it's own website and a cult following, if you don't know about it and you live in either New York or LA i suggest you make it your business to seek one out today. City Bakery is one of the NY greats anyway, at 3 West 18th street, by Union Square.

Let me take you back to a conversation I had with my boss, Miles Redd, a few weeks ago.  Location:  his kitchen.  It was a snowy day so the glare from the mirrored countertops was minimal.

me: "Where did you get your paper towel holder?"
Miles:  "Why do you ask?"
me:  "Because it's the chicest thing I've ever seen. Who made it?  Was it designed by Walter Gropius?"
Miles: "It's from Gracious Home (cackles; exits with flourish)."

I mean, look at this beauty:

I thought he'd bought it at some German design fair or a fancy gourmet kitchen store.  Nope.  It's a 28 dollar bargain by CuisiPro -- I checked.  As I've known all along, Miles is the Original Deal Hunter (ODH).

Compare the early industrial cool:

So I know it's not very "green" to promote paper towel use (keeps me up at night) but I still love this holder.  And let's all ditch the patterned/quilted variety as seen here.  Go for Kleenex Viva. Viva Viva!