misosouper, a shopping blog

Polka dot travel mugs = happiness. Can’t wait to slide this across the counter at my morning coffee stop. No more paper cups!

Coffee mugs have always been my desktop storage vessel of choice. The extra heft of fired ceramic makes for a solid base for pencils and pens, and every office kitchen has a cupboard packed with abandoned cups. The Hookmaker teacup tile puts a much classier, decorative spin on the old stand-by.

Instead of dragging out our Father’s Day gift guide into bite-sized chunks, we’ll make today a speed round.  These four gifts illustrate that if necessity is the mother of all invention, then convenience is definitely its daddy.

A wall-mounted bottle opener, because  he deserves a dedicated beer station.

Perfect for the lazy artist, or the armchair coach:  just wet the Buddha Board’s brush in water, and scribble away.

The USB Hub Man’s four ports are definitely handy.

The mug fits in the tray, freeing your other hand for that beer whose top you just popped (see above).  Tomato soup and grilled cheese, or chili and a hot dog–your choice.

Use this mug on Easter morning, and see if the kids notice.

Am I insinuating that the gifts you usually give aren’t meaningful?  (Maybe I am.  I can be like that sometimes.)   Regardless of how much of a jerk I am, these should go out to the ones you love.

Tiny and delicate can also be a grand gesture.

A container for just one thing.  Your love? Your dignity? I’ll let you decide.

You heard the man. Be somebody, all day long.

While Virginia Woolf insists on a room of one’s own, I’d just settle for my very own comfy chair.

Putting your jewelry in this dish will probably scare the robbers away.

I’m not sure what the metaphor is either, but I think I like it.

Perfect for your new assistant. When he finds a better job, ask for it back and give it to your next one.

Felt is so much sexier than leather. What would you rather rub up against in the subway?

Give this to your mother-in-law.  Then smile like you mean it.

For the more cynical among us. (Hey, I say meaningful, not joyful.)

These honesty stamps allow you to apologize or inflame, all without opening your mouth. Isn’t that what got you in trouble in the first place?

A much better teacher gift than caramel corn or an ornament.

A little handmade book of garden birds for your favorite green thumb.

An elegant home for the most modern of necessities.

Puts those Cartier love bracelets to shame.

There’s someone like this in your life, even if it’s your therapist. A route we do not recommend.

Ridiculously romantic: artist Jessica Marie Lertvilai collected love letters and transcribed them in Braille onto the surface of this vase, appropriately entitled “love is blind.”

Is there a more affectionate term of endearment?

These metal flowers come gift-ready in a long white box. Bonus: they’ll never, ever die.

Acrylic is the new gold. Custom made, so get your order in now.

After all these years, there are still some questions left unasked.

And after all these years, they still deserve some secrets.

Send in your doodle, and they’ll stuff it for you.

An anatomically correct silver heart locket. Go Victorian and enclose a lock of hair.

This therapeutic warming mattress cover, with its six separate temperature zones, could save your relationship.

Remember when you used to go to concerts? (Both a question and a statement.)

Limited edition, just like your kid.

Yes, you could just write out twelve ways you made a difference in a plain journal; but if it were that easy, wouldn’t you already have done it?

Make a wish.  Make it count.