misosouper, a shopping blog » outdoor

cozy nook

Guinevere de la Mare — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 03:34:19 +0000

A friend of mine said the other day, “You know, I never fully understood those ‘Calgon, take me away’ ads until I had children.” And it’s true. Only a mother can appreciate how incredibly decadent twenty minutes of peace and quiet is.

under my umbrella, ella, ella

Guinevere de la Mare — Tue, 10 May 2011 09:00:14 +0000

Leave it to Marimekko to put a new spin on the classic striped outdoor umbrella. These kicky swirls are just begging to brighten up my back patio.

nesting

Guinevere de la Mare — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 16:00:05 +0000

After a long, rainy winter, my backyard is in shambles. I love to garden, but I haven’t had any time to devote to it and it’s a disaster. I really need an outdoor makeover show to swoop in and unleash a celebrity landscape architect on the space to turn it into a magical wonderland of cozy nooks, lush foliage, and perfect grass. Can we make that happen?

doggy bag

Anna — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 14:42:01 +0000

I found this wicker dog basket for a friend from Chicago that was on the hunt for a bicycle seat for her pup. I’d buy it for myself, but my dog would tip the front of my bike over, and my cat would look like popcorn pinging around in a hopper (check out this pic to see exactly what I mean). So: if you buy this, please send me a photo of you and your pooch at anna {at} misosouper.com, so we can all ogle your adorableness.

*Yes, I know it’s out of stock, but if you read the user reviews, it seems to be perpetually backordered. Put your name on the list, and they’ll ship after the baskets are out of production.

and i run, i run so far away

Anna — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 17:16:35 +0000

Speaking of gravity: it has come to my attention–in the form of my mother grabbing my flip-flopped foot and saying, “won’t it be sad when you fall over on that baby?”–that heavily pregnant women should be wearing some form of arch support. You know, for the inevitable wobbling and imbalancing and falling that plagues us third trimesterians.

This sucks. Apparently, I have crossed over to the yoga pant/sneaker phase of pregnancy.

Thankfully, Puma–whose shoes I have idolized since I got over KangaROOS in 3rd grade–hooked my feet up with a pair of their new Cell Voltra sneaks.

Against my inner hipster, whose voice wailed about wearing tunics, skinny jeans, and ankle boots to the end, I put the shoes on, knowing full well that until the bitter end, they weren’t coming off.

They’re silver, thin and sleek, with bubble inserts that make my feet literally bounce as I walk. In my non-scientific road test–which meant walking kid #1 around the block on her trike–I felt buoyant, faster, actually capable of running from lizards or hailstorms or other perils of the suburban wilderness.

If you are an already fast, already buoyant, already capable athlete looking for a new pair of sneaks, you’ll appreciate their Puma pretty. For me, for now, their transformative power is more than enough.