A Little Bit About a Lot of Things

This is coming a little late, so maybe you’ll use these ideas for next year!

Let me start by saying that for someone who doesn’t really like craft shows, I go to quite a few of them. Usually they are too “crafty” for me. My aunt and I went to Pawtucket, RI to the Foundry Artists Holiday Craft Fair. I like this one because you do all your shopping and then pay all at once at the end. I found this great rooster pillow for my dad by Jennifer Rashleigh of Cedian Painting. $65.

Everyone has that friend who has everything. You have to really think when you buy them gifts. I bought these magnets from Tanner Glass for a good friend of mine. They got engaged in Nantucket, and I thought that this would be cute. This set, shown above is $18.

I thought this “Junk Yard Dog” was adorable. This guy is $47 and made by ArtHead Studios. No two are alike!

I bought this great ornament for myself (you know you do it too!) from Beehive Kitchen Designs. At $18.50, the “Fancy Bird” ornament is a good buy-made of hand crafted pewter. I got the cheese markers last year, so I was excited to add this to my collection.

If I had a door to put this on, I would buy this door knocker in a second! It’s made by Colby Smith and costs $200. Colby is a super nice guy-I met him at the craft show. It’s always nice to give your money to nice people.

I also love the sailboat model.

I usually go to the SOWA holiday market in the morning. This year we had to go in the afternoon and we waited in line for 30 minutes outside in the freezing cold. I loved these great mugs the minute I set eyes on them. At $40 they are not cheap but they are SO adorable! They are made by Abby Berkson, and her designs are based on children’s art.

I have to admit that I’m a sucker for mugs that are painted on the inside too. They are a great size-perfect for curling up on the couch with a warm beverage on a cold winter night. They are dishwasher and microwave safe!

I love her hedgehog design as well. It is on my list!!

I think that these stuffed animals by Zooguu are adorable. They just make you smile when you look at them. They are $40 for a medium sized sheep.

Cathy and Sugar makes these great stuffed animals called “sew cuties”. I love the elephant one!

Hoosier Magnolia makes this cute mobile. Note that it is not a toy and for display only. ($50)

I don’t actually use coasters, but that didn’t stop me from buying these for all my friends last year. I first saw them at SOWA holiday market, but they weren’t there this year, they now have their own store in Somerville! Boston Coasters. My boss bought these as party favors for her holiday party this year, I cleaned them out of Red Sox themed coasters. ($4.95 each). They have a selection at the store and an even bigger selection online. They have photo coasters and artists original designs. They support local artists and they are made in the USA.

When I was there, I saw these great vintage T signs. I bought this one $250 because Science Park has a sentimental meaning to me. The sign is metal and from the 1960’s. It’s 95 inches long, so the only problem is figuring out how to hang it. The sign came with glue on it, but with a little scraping and some goo gone, it looked like new! My dad couldn’t stand up straight for days, but it was worth it!! I bought the sign from Brian, who couldn’t be nicer-and I think he said that his brother works at the shop too!

I was there this past weekend, and don’t worry, they re-stocked their Red Sox Coasters, and bought an Ork poster. For $29, I thought that this was a pretty cool piece of artwork.

A Nordstrom’s exclusive, the “Miss Havisham” runs $155. It comes in three finishes: Gun Metal, Rhodium and Yellow Gold. The Gun Metal is totally rocker, but to me, looks dirty. I have nothing to go with yellow gold, so the rhodium it was! It is fancy enough to go with your LBD and it is casual enough to wear every day with jeans.

I love Daily Grommet. They support local businesses and charities. I have a thing for cheese plates, even better if they have honeycomb. I have been hard pressed to find honeycomb….until now. At $24 from Savannah Bee Company, this will instantly class up any cheese plate you make at home. It is a conversation starter and it tastes delicious.

I saw these on Rachael Ray. State cutting boards ($40) with a heart in the place of the city of your choice. I love that MA comes with islands!! You can find them on Etsy, A. Heirloom.

I feel like sphere ice cubes are all the rage these days, after all, who likes watery scotch? You can find this for $16 at MOMA. If you are looking for other cute ice cube ideas, check out this article.

I was in Freeport, Maine and came upon this cute store, Vervacious. For $12, this balsamic makes a great little hostess gift.

I always lose my keys. Whether I leave them in a coat pocket that I put away, or I throw them on the table and they get covered up, or they get lost in the black hole I call the bottom of my purse. This forces me to put them in the same place when I walk in the door. You can buy them from Uncommon Goods, I love everything at that store, but you can also get them on Amazon. They look solid in the picture, but in real life they are hollow and are made of plastic. They are cute, and many of our friends that were recently over wanted to know where I got them.

I love this whimsy robot tea infuser. For $10, it’s a cute stocking stuffer!

You can get this book at Barnes and Noble, but you can also listen to the audio version read by Samuel L. Jackson-it’s pretty funny.

This year I bought a piece of art from Tim Murley, and ever since, I have been seeing his work everywhere: The Barnes and Noble in Framingham, the JP Licks in Brookline, the BerryLine in Boston, and even a conference room in Brookline’s Town Building.

I heard that Bronte Pistachios are amazing. They come from Italy and are known for their bright purple color. I couldn’t find any, but was able to locate the next best thing.

Bronte Pistachio cream from Zingerman’s. It’s $24 a bottle, but a little goes a long way. My favorite way to have this is buying store bought frozen pastry dough and making pistachio filled croissants.

That’s it for now, I hope that you enjoyed my list of favorite things. Until next year….