misosouper, a shopping blog

This colorful, letterpressed pretty is well-designed and well-named.

A lovely gift for a preening friend who’s always late.

Granted, what’s local for me probably isn’t local for you; but the Orlando-area shop Luxe & Liberty is deserving of your attention, even if you have to order online instead of popping in to pick out a few choice gifts.  Organized around goods made in America, L&L stocks lines both little and big, from neighborhood artisans to well-known names like Calphalon, Amenity Home, and Pangea Organics.  (See?  I told you they were good.)

Here are my picks:

1.  Skinny Fish Artisan Stationary–produced in small batches by artist Shawn Laughlin; 2.  Leather Photo Album, in prismatic colors; 3.  Kalender Platter, trimmed in platinum and gold; 4.  Herb Bowl with Mezzaluna Chopper–one of those tools you didn’t even know you needed; 5.  Endangered Parrots of the World Chess Set–prohibitively expensive, outrageously fun; 6.  Crocus Rocks Glasses with 22K Accents–hello, hostess; 7.  Chiller Pitcher with Lid–a closed carafe that will keep al fresco flies out; 8.  Chick Chair; 9.  Balustrade Napkins–round and round the table they go; 10.  Aptos Collection Pebble Pendant; 11.  Amber Dard Hunter Rose Thermometer & Clock–outdoor temperature gauges are so underrated; 12.  Teco Art Pottery Orb Vase–lovely lines, from an exactingly reproduced historical collection.

Hurry!  Go!  Misosouper readers can enter LUXE09 at checkout to receive 20% off their first purchase.

By now, you’re all aware of my well-documented, long-standing affection for all things bird. (I’ve heard so many people crowing lately about how bird motifs are done; as soon they uttered those words, a bird crapped on their heads.)

My awesome neighbor (thanks Sz!) sent me a link to these avian napkin holders, now on sale at Z Gallerie.  I like the idea of using them in the bathroom for my hand towels, which the bird-haters will need to clean up the karma waiting to rain down just outside their front doors.

I’ve had this post waiting in the wings for some time (get it?  I’m so punny!), but since Mincing Mockingbird hit the front page of Etsy today, I figured I’d better publish it before he sold out.  You see, I have a thing for bird prints; at last count, I have 23, mostly arranged on one wall in my dining room.  I own three of Mincing’s pieces, and you know how at Disney’s Haunted Mansion the paintings’ eyes follow you around the room?  His work has a much more soulful kind of creep.

And because the hilarious titles of his paintings–such as the name of this post (and titular print in the book), and the pleasantly misanthropic “Any Poetic Impressions Of Life I Have Are Usually Ruined When Someone Starts Talking”–are on full display, this book would be a prime candidate for leaving propped on your bookcase.

I love Ez; she adores beautiful stuff, she makes beautiful stuff, and she offers it up to us on a daily basis.  Plus, she turned thirty a couple of weeks before I will, so that makes her my (ever so slightly) older, wiser birthday buddy.

Like me, Ez loves the free; her lovely downloadable paperie is full of objects like labels, library cards, and notebooks, including this sentimental bird card that I’m sending straight to my mama.