misosouper, a shopping blog » library

bound for glory

Guinevere de la Mare — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 09:00:24 +0000

My day job is in publishing, and old fashioned book binding holds a special place in my heart. These heels might be taking the literary motif a little too far, but they would accessorize nicely with this hand-bound iPad case.

study hall

Guinevere de la Mare — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 09:00:33 +0000

This vintage card catalog made me time-warp back to high school study halls. I can only hazily remember those hours of doodling in the margins of spiral notebooks, running a yellow highlighter over passages of text, and tapping equations into a scientific calculator whose buttons would baffle me today. But the thought of sitting at a desk in a library for an hour with no electronic distractions seems so incredibly soothing and peaceful to me now. Wow, I really need to put away the iPhone.

library love

Guinevere de la Mare — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 09:00:55 +0000

This post on Etsy has me seriously considering a librarian make-over, complete with pencil skirt and horn-rimmed glasses. While this piece is technically a vintage dentistry cabinet from the 1920s, it’s reminiscent of those lovely old card catalog cases. Yes, please!

baby geared: my first library

Anna — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 17:12:02 +0000

Oprah, in all her outsized beneficence, wheels out a carriage full of books as her baby shower gift; here’s my version*, inclusive of the 12 books that have been in constant rotation since my daughter was born. When shopping for my daughter’s library, these were purchased as much for their illustrations as for their narrative. Interactivity–see Gallop, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Happy Baby Words, and Where Is Baby’s Belly Button?–is also a huge plus.

*Well, except for the fact that you actually have to buy these books yourselves. And if you do, please purchase them through these links, which help misosouper play the cheap-ass version of Oprah.

1. I Am a Little Monkey (Barron’s Little Animal Series); 2. The Important Book; 3. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?; 4. Dr. Seuss’s ABC: An Amazing Alphabet Book!; 5. Busy, Busy Town (Giant Little Golden Book); 6. The Runaway Bunny; 7. Happy Baby Words; 8. Where Is Baby’s Belly Button?; 9. Little Golden Book Collection: Sleepytime Tales (Little Golden Book Treasury); 10. Gallop!: A Scanimation Picture Book (Scanimation Books); 11. The Little Island; 12. The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

Have any favorites that I left off the list? Please tell us in the comments!

gifts that are playful

Anna — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 22:39:10 +0000

Not in the mood for love? These gifts will bring out your cheeky side.

These animals will keep that library in line.

Mix your Mexican beverage metaphors and serve her up with a tray full of Negra Modelos.

My favorite martian.

Way creepier than playing poker with mirrored glasses. A true objet d’art.

Why should Radiohead get all the rainbows?

A satisfyingly dramatic way to pass the days.

Now that the election is over, you need someone else to root for.

Lover, you should have come over.

My teenage cousin is obsessed with phone charms. Here’s one (a miniature terrarium!) that doesn’t involve pink beads.

Perhaps my favorite item in the whole gift guide. Perhaps the cheapest, too.

Do these derby critters remind anyone else of the Hummer soapbox derby kids?

Portable iPod karaoke sets bring joy to the world.

A daschund bag needs no commentary.

I warned you that I like small things writ large.

Yo to the yo.

This koi pitcher makes a lovely gurgling sound when it pours.

I’m thinking this tape isn’t fireproof.

Parrots are the new Rabbits.

Cleaning toilets probably isn’t what Pinocchio signed up for.

Unwrap it. You know you want to.

What this sleek white instant camera lacks in vintage charm, it makes up for in features, like autofocus. Plus, it hasn’t been discontinued, which is always a plus. RIP, Polaroid.

And to think you were going to get them a Jawbone.