misosouper, a shopping blog

When I was a child, my grandparents sent us a box of Harry & David pears every Christmas and I’ve been spoiled ever since. I don’t even bother buying pears at the grocery store anymore, because they are always a disappointment. For today’s catalog-themed splurge, I’m going all out and putting in my order for the 12-Month Organic (!) Fruit-of-the-Month Club Collection. Pears, pineapples, apricots, peaches, avocados… something divine every month of the year. YUM.

It’s catalog week on misosouper, and for today’s gadget post there was only one place to turn: the mother of all mail-order catalogs, SkyMall. It was hard to decide which spectacularly ridiculous product to feature, so I just chose the first one that caught my eye. The Roll-Up Electric Piano. Which, according to the description on the web, is “The Greatest Gift.” Ever.

As I mentioned yesterday, I’m on a catalog kick this week. Another one I love cracking open is The Land of Nod, which is always a wonderland of well-designed kids’ decor from the Crate & Barrel folks. New to this issue was a multi-tasking art easel, which can morph from chalkboard to whiteboard to puppet theater as well. Cool, right?

Autumn is upon us, and the passing of the equinox unleashed a flood of mail-order catalogs through my mail slot. My favorite was the one from mini Boden, packed with adorable British duds for wee ones. This fuzzy number with the Teddy Bear ears had me at hello.

Textile designer Virginia Johnson has just released a new bedding collection featuring her colorful and whimsical illustrations. Because this quilt is block-printed by hand, every one is unique. I can’t wait to wake up to little yellow ducklings marching across the foot of the bed.