Gift Ideas: Shiny Things

I'm in the market for some new accessories (um...this is Esme, if you couldn't tell). I have a lot of inexpensive, plastic things and a couple of nice, special items. But I'm looking for a few more staple pieces, namely necklaces, that'll go with everything. Here are a few of my recent favorites.

I love these simple, recycled metal necklaces by eco friendly Epheriell from Brisbane, Australia.

Recycled glass in such pretty colors, from swordandfern.

Kate Miss, one of my favorite bloggers and designer of our sweet moving announcement, also makes awesome necklaces (is there anything she doesn't do?). Fortunately for her, not so much for me, they sell out super quickly. I check her blog regularly for shop updates.

Portland, OR's Verabel mirrors my affinity for feathers. & lockets! Genius. I feel like I've been wearing them for years, but I still adore anything feathery.

Her Etsy shop is too cute -- "floating the river in july. birds. drinking wine in the afternoon". A girl after my own heart.

I don't wear rings. My fingers are saving themselves :)

But I love this dainty little Forget Me Knot ring. Something tells me, I'd always remember to wear it.

I had never heard of the mineral Howlite before I saw these pretties from Laura Lombardi's shop. I love how they look like little pieces of wood or ivory.

I know exactly who I'd give this to! These two silver slimeys from Anomaly are right up Lil' Stephles' alley!

WANT. just. want. EVERYTHING. from BROOKLYNrehab. She can do no wrong.

I'd love to wear this as an "Homage to Pete", who likes to collect found keys on the street.

Thomas Paul

I'm loving these plates & coaster dishes by Thomas Paul. They'd be perfect for the seaside home with a wraparound porch and huge patio table I'm designing in my head! 

Thomas started as a neckwear designer, but I'm glad he moved into the home decor arena!

Aren't they swell? (the whale's my fave)

found on Daytrip Society

Gift Idea

OKAY, promise no more downers like yesterday. Let's be happy! It's Friday & Esme's little brother's in town!

In honor of birthday time in June & all the impending bridal & baby showers this summer, I thought it would be fun to post some gift ideas.

DISCLAIMER: this is not meant as a hint to my loved ones! 
I know I'm not the only one who struggles to find great gifts, so I thought I'd share some of my recently coveted pretty things.

I want to get my hands on everything that DwellStudio makes. Their use of neutral geometric patterns + pops of bright color is exactly what I want to see all over our apartment. 

In particular, I think these quirky peacock shams would look great on our bed. Don't you think?

Our First Blog Present!

Maybe you remember this Moleskine journal we wrote about a few months ago?

WELL, our good friend (and devoted reader) Emma read the post & bought one for us! Out of the blue!! For no reason!!!

This journal is really swell, especially for those, like us, who may drink a bottle,

really like it, but may not remember the name, etc.

Thank you, Emma! We love it! & we love YOU. & Thanks for reading our blog!

You Know You Live in San Francisco When

Both Esme & I have fallen prey to one of the classic San Francisco afflictions: Bike Lust. 

No, we're not standing around in the Mission drooling over just ANY old bikes. The bike we have in mind is simple, elegant -- almost utilitarian even -- affordable, & made down south in Venice Beach, near LA. 

Ladies & Gentlemen, meet Linus (stage left, next to the two dudes who made him).

They've been around for a few years now, but as of last summer when Esme found out about them, Linus bikes were only sold in Venice Beach & South Hampton, NY. As posh as those places sound, though, the sticker shock of their bikes is surprisingly low. Retailing from between $350-$550 & handmade with stainless steel, a leather seat/handlebar covers, Linus bikes are a steal.

And now that a few places in the Bay Area carry them, it's time to make it happen. Esme's birthday is coming up & it's been my plan for awhile now to get her one of their 3-speed "mixties" (*see below...& not a surprise, obviously). 

And with my beater commuter bike, Betty White, having major troubles of late as well ("of late" meaning that my front brake busted riding in this morning), I'm strongly considering getting myself one as well.

Where am I gonna get that kinda money? Very good question, dear reader. I'm thinking Esme first & me second on this one. Or maybe it's time for a garage/bake sale/bbq soon. I'm taking donations too. You know...in case you have a few hundred dollars lying around.

PACT it up PACT it in!

One of Pete's Blue Practice clients is getting some great green buzz for Earth Week! All week, PACT Underwear is donating 100% of its proceeds on a new print designed by British Architect David Adjaye to the Green Belt Movement (the ones in the pic below). These little undies are not only cute, they're doing good things for the world!

The story's been picked up by the New York Times Magazine & Dwell, to name a couple. And those are some good friends to have!

My favorite detail is each pair of underwear is packed in its own reusable fabric bag. They take the leftover "off-cuts" and eliminate shipping thousands of plastic bags!

I must admit, I was a little surprised + embarrassed when Pete brought home these tiny cotton pouches of skivvies (your CO-WORKERS saw you pick out a THONG for ME?? In the OFFICE??), but I'm glad he did--They're so comfortable! And I love hearing about other companies contributing to social movement by "Empowering communities to protect the environment while promoting good governance and cultures of peace". Sounds like a good deal to me!

Read more about PACT's mission, ingredients, supply chain & more here.

I'm reblogging, because who can say it better than the NYT, right?!

Women's Fashion
By ALIX BROWNE
April 19, 2010, 3:30 pm

"Maybe your mother told you that you should always put clean underwear on in the morning in case you were ever to get hit by a bus. But what if every time you changed your skivvies, 20 trees would be planted in Africa? It could happen. PACT underwear [www.wearPACT.com], the pet project from the design celeb Yves Behar, donates 10 percent of its sales to an ever- increasing roster of nonprofits like Dave Eggers’s writing program, 826 Valencia, and Oceana. Each organization gets its own print so you can wear your cause on your, er, oh never mind. The newest collaboration is with the architect David Adjaye and Wangari Maathai, whose Green Belt Movement works to empower women and fight deforestation, soil erosion and water scarcity in Kenya. For Earth Week only, 100 percent of the proceeds of Adjaye’s specially designed Green Belt print underwear will contribute to the planting of 10,000 trees. (After April 25, it reverts to 10 percent.) See? Change is good!"


Photos from PACT's website

Competitive Shopping

Ohhh, J.Crew. You’re making me feel bad! Before I saw your Spring ’10 catalog, we were a devout Gap Inc. household (you know, since they send me paychecks & all…), And then you show me your Fall collection? Now, I’m afraid we’re going to have to stray & visit you more often! Only in the spirit of competitive shopping, of course! I've gotta stay on top of these things!

Gap Inc. is getting loads of good press, TOO  (holy CUTE, Stella McCartney for GapKids!)...

I'm just saying, there’s not one outfit I wouldn’t wear!

Well, maybe this one

Maybe Pete would wear something like this?

It's like they raided his closet!

Have you SEEN these clothes?! & the accessories & styling & layout?!?

I want everything!

(and a subscription to Monocle, please!)

photos courtesy of freshnessmag, jcrew, style.com, gapinc & fabsugar.

xo, esme

Men's Laptop Bags + Sleeves

Pete’s currently on the hunt for a laptop bag and accessories for his new MacBook. He needs something that will be different, durable, yet light enough for his bike commute, all the while keeping with his old-fashioned sensibility. Although most of the bags below are shoulder bags or multi-purpose totes, they’re still on the list for rainy, non-bike days.

Too bad we can’t afford all of these. He could wear a different bag every day of the week!

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1. Filson Large Carryon

2. Recycled t-shirt sleeve, + for a good cause!

3. Classic & timeless bag from Duluth Pack

4. The best simple, stylish & durable bag -- Fjällräven Kånken.

   *This one is actually one of Esme's favorite bags...so, DIBS!

5. This bag combines two of Pete's favorite things - his favorite color + organic! Want Organic for J.Crew

6. The colors of these Sandqvist Bags - Herr Judit, Roald and Jack (Pete's favorite name)

7. Simple, modern & best for the commute. Our friend has this sling pack and really likes it

8. Loving the Faux Bois trend

9. Kenton Sorenson leather laptop sleeve. Probably not the most useful, but definitely interesting-looking

10. Etsy friend Forestbound's sturdy, worn-in cotton salvaged from an olde farm feed bag

11. Awesome Vintage Yuketen, via Selectism & oipolloi

Polaroid: The Next Generation

Thanks to a CRAZY good deal from Photojojo via Tumblr, we just pulled the trigger on a new Fuji Instax Instant Camera.

This is something I'd had on my (very long) list of possible Christmas gifts for Esme, but it was ultimately nixed once I realized that my budget was busted. But thanks to the nice folks at Photojojo (& all the tumblrs who reblogged their post, thus causing the price to plummet), we snagged one at just under $60.

The more people demand it, the lower the price goes? It's a regular case of Freakonomics 101!

First we had skateboarding owls, & now we got ourselves a new camera. Friday is looking UP!