Obsession of the Week: Seussification

I was alerted to this week's obsession via snail mail, in the form of a glorious Pottery Barn Kids catalog. No, I do not mean the gourmet kitchen for your daughter's dollhouse. I do mean the absolutely adorable Dr. Seuss items licensed to the Barn. There is just something right about Seussifying a kid's world. And I know a little something about that, especially after watching the animated Grinch 'toon about 473 times in the past month. (I never tire of it, actually).

The Cat in the Hat, Horton, Things and Fishies are abound on this adorable duvet cover.


I continue to love the creative, fun, whimsical and vibrant illustrations in Dr. Seuss books. Perfect for a child's room.


Even though One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish is the most annoying Seuss book ever, I still love these super cute towels.



And these hoodie bath wraps? J'adorbs.

Have a Seussical weekend!

There Is No Excuse For This

I mean, really.

Swimmers

How cute are these for summertime? It's freezing, so I'm daydreaming.

Colie's Back: Post Script

As evidence that Colie is not nearly as awesome as me, she forgot to include her email address:

dear.colie@gmail.com

People, what are you waiting for? Ask her to find you some Cheap Ass Shit. She's good at it. Trust.

Pouch Only

Check out this clever kangaroo bowl ... well, half a kangaroo anyway.

Colie's Back: Cheap Ass Shit Wednesdays

So, way back when, Jennifer went out of town and I posted a week's worth great deals and steals for y'all to benefit from. Based on the feedback from that week of posts, Jennifer and I both realized that I am in fact funnier and more popular than she could ever be, and I should thus host a guest column here at The Most Awesomest Shit Ever.

I kid, I kid. I'm younger, funnier and more popular than her. Ahem.

Anyway. That leads us to this, my guest column, which I shall call Cheap Ass Shit Wednesdays (CASh Wednesdays -- hey, look how that worked out).

Dear readers, I will take on your dilemmas and find you solutions. And not just solutions, but cheap ones. Really cheap ones. And I'll post the answers here every Wednesday.

Here's how it works.

1.) Open up your email account of choice.
2.) Choose "new" or "create" or whatever the equivalent of that is in said account.
3.) Write out an email that explains what you need.
4.) Send it to me, Colie.

I will hunt down stuff for you, and, as part of the deal, it will be less than $100. Usually, I'll aim for even cheaper than that, but that will be the upper limit. Requests for totally unreasonable things -- homes, cars, William Shatner -- will be disregarded. A girl can only work so much magic, you know?

Christmas In January.

Today I present incredible fabulousness for under $35. Guess where these are from ... and no cheating!

$34.
$24.
$34.
$32.
$25.

How many of you guessed correctly?

No Replacement.

Look at what's available at Urban Outfitters! Remastered vinyl of some amazing classic albums. And the one above? From the best band ever to come out of the Twin Cities. The Replacements rule!

Say What?

This is the Tano Boogie Bucket Bag. Has anyone seen this in person? It's supposedly lamb leather, seamed and fully lined, designed and produced by a team comprised of a third-generation handbag scion, a handbag designer and experimental design expert, and an art historian responsible for developing new leather ideas and hardware designs. That is a lot of pedigree for a $200 bag.

If you've seen it, or know of it, please report back!

New Goods on Ebay

I love to troll ebay for vintage treasure. But ebay is also a fabulous place to score shiny new goodies at a fraction of the retail cost. I'm not even kidding around.


I love and collect Assouline Editions books, which run about $18 a pop. This one is only $1.95!

How about the Harry Allen pig bank, starting at $70 (more than 30% off retail)?!


Or a new Tiffany & Co. bedside crystal water pitcher, starting at under $30!


If you're in the market for new light fixtures, hook yourself up with something like this Restoration Hardware Wellesley pendant, a steal at $99.


I have been silent on the home bar front for a while, in part because I have been slowly acquiring pieces from ebay to complete the set. I didn't get these Pottery Barn bar tools, but they are a great find for $29.99.


And finally, you can score some amazing deals on new clothing too. For example, this North Face nuptse jacket is starting at $50, and that bad boy retails for about 200 clams. Stay warm!

Obsession of the Week: New At West Elm

Some people hate West Elm.

I am not one of them.

The naysayers out there belittle the Elm Hut for dumbing down furniture classics. I, on the other hand, am a fan because (1) the products look good; (2) they are a decent quality for the price; and (3) the price point is affordable. The new stuff from the Elm Hut is no exception.

This incredibly stylish scoopback chair is $99 for one, and $349 for four. And as we all know, the expensive part of a dining set is not the table.


I am generally not a huge fan of garden stools, and this one seems a little pricey compared to ones I have spied at Homegoods, but the styling on this Moroccan drum table is fab. $199.

Elm Hut gone DWR. This hide rug is $329. It's more than twice that amount at DWR.


For $229, this fantastic floor lamp is a whole lot of style for not a lot of coin.


This recycled glass drinkware is a fantastic buy for $5.50-$12.


And if you haven't figured it out by now, I'm a sucker for a good tray. These modern weave trays are great for serving all manner of goodies. $29-$59.

I may just head on over to the Elm Hut this weekend to check out these finds myself. Have a good one!

While You Were Out ...

... I ordered this adorable tray from Fishs Eddy!

Hatboxes!

Three stacking hatboxes ...

Okay, I have no witty remarks; they're just cool.

X Marks The Spot

Ye Olde Barne goes glam.

Leafy Ears

Yes, please.

Squak!

This giant grouse print would look fabulous in The Manor. If the economy turns around.

Give A Hand

Imagine the fun you could have with this articulating hand.

Pristine Trays

White lacquer + polished nickel = LOVE.

Tonight.

See you on the flip side!

Ask Jennifer: Self Storing Table Dilemma

Ronnie and Stephen have been on the hunt for a dining table with built in extension leaves. Seems that the dynamic duo have been helping a friend decorate her apartment and she insists upon the impossible -- an expandable dining table with built in leaves so she doesn't have to store them. Ah, the nerve of such practicalities!

Although the existing decor is fairly traditional, Ronnie and Stephen seem to think they can coax their friend into a coordinating, less traditional piece. They are looking for seating between 4 and 8, and something less than $1500. Oh, and they want something oval. Talk about a tall order!



Here's the best option that I found online. The Allerton table from Horchow appears to meet all of the necessary parameters in both style, size and price. This oval table includes two self storing leaves and is a great transitional piece. It's $899, with a hefty shipping tag, but Horchow regularly has 20-30% off sales, so sit tight until one of those.

I hate to admit it, but I didn't have a whole lot of luck with options that ticked all the boxes. That's not to say that there weren't other self storing tables out there:

It's not oval, but it can fit seamlessly into most decor schemes. The Madison Extension Dining Table from Crate & Barrel is a study in clean lines, seats six and expands to eight with the self contained extension leaf. And, it's only $599!


This Aspen Rectangular Extension Table is more traditional, with turned legs. The self storing extension leaf expands the table from six to eight, and there's free shipping! About $1000.

Softer lines, but still not oval. This is the Pranzo Extension Dining Table, also from Crate. This bad boy also expands from six to ten with three self-storing extension leaves. Even better, you can choose the base color, but at a price of $1599.

One more from the Crate -- the Stratford Extension Table is a long and lean one, with a self storing leaf allowing seating for 10. This one is in solid black cherry, and it has a price tag to match at $1999.

Designers have a wealth of resources unavailable to plebians like me, so if none of these work, you might have better luck with the advice of an interior designer. Either way, I hope the project turns out great!

Googly Eyed Lover

The eyes look like they are straight out of a Scooby Doo cartoon, no?

To The Core

Check out this cutting board!

Unchain My Heart

Cuteness from the Safari Shack!

Fuzzy Navel

Check out this sweet little orange change purse! Adorbs!

Bonjour

I love this tray.

In The Trenches

I'm sad to say that Searle has declared Chapter 11. Although, on the bright side, this gorgeous wool trenchcoat was $798 and now it's $249.50.

Everywhere But Around The Neck

I have been cooking practically every meal at home. It's part new years-Oprah-economy-dieting-Suze Orman, blah blah blah. And seriously? I could drown just about anything in garlic. This is probably the best garlic press on the market -- press, slice, julienne or coarse press the stuff. Just put it on everything and I'm a happy girl.

You Want A Piece Of Me

As a thank you to the support they have received in the blogworld, the fine folks over at Pieces in Hot-lanta are offering an exclusive 30% discount on all items to you faithful blog readers. Please mention my blog to get the discount (and no, I'm not getting a kickback). Look at all these gorgeous goodies:





The sale will not be advertised or open to the general public until Thursday the 15th. There's lots of great stuff still in stock, but I expect it will be gone soon. Hurry!