misosouper, a shopping blog

My mom, a interior designer and antique dealer, has always sworn by Ballard Designs.  Not so much to furnish your whole home–can you imagine a room filled with those godforsaken beskirted tables?–but for accent pieces and furniture that are useful, attractive, and pretty reasonably priced (one of my friends joked that BD was the place to go in Atlanta when you wanted a white couch, which BD sold in 87 different versions).  Then dearly departed Domino Magazine got in on the act, styling some rooms for the BD catalog.  But because I spent a large portion of my early life repudiating anything my mother liked, I never paid attention to poor Ballard Designs.  My loss, because they’re selling some really good stuff.

1.  Porta Luggage Rack–I hate unpacking, but I also hate rifling through a jumbled suitcase on the floor, so this is my perfect solution; 2.  Palm Leaf and Fern Needlepoint Pillows–hand-sewn, for $85; 3.  Marianna Glass Chandelier–Braveheart meets bistro; 4.  Malu Seagrass Square Boxes; 5.  Leather-bound Monogrammed Dictionary–Merriam-Webster in sorbet colors, with your name on it; 6.  Medallion Panel–thick, graphic, cheap; 7.  Horn Mirror–yes, I’m aware of its original provenance, but at this price you can paint it royal blue; 8.  Grovesnor Queen Headboard; 9.  Courbé Storage Ottoman–imagine the possibilities for hide-and-seek; 10.  Burlap Ribbon; 11.  the popular Brady Adjustable Sconce–slide the light and bolt as needed; 12.  Wire Ferris Wheel–just look at it!

Shopping for a new digital camera?  Start here.

Skin is what’s in.  Or what you’re in.  Until you take it off.  Confused yet?

Thank god these Hood Thongs are custom made.  Because I’m thinking that little landing strip included in department store bathing suits just wouldn’t cut it. (NSFW-ish.)

Via The Awesomer:  a tie pillow, collar pillow, and sleeve pillow that cradle you as you weep softly into your desk.

Booooooom x Design for Mankind’s “Free Encouragement” postcards are for sale.  Hand one to the person who scrunches over for you on the subway.

Via NY Mag’s Best Bets:  a pillow screened with the year’s top Google search terms.  Price?  $120.  Having David Cook and Sarah Palin sitting together on your couch for posterity?  Priceless.

Happy weekend!  Don’t forget to enter this week’s giveaway with fawn&forest, and see you on Monday…

Three years ago as I planned my daughter’s nursery, I longed for a shopping site that would fulfill my modern fantasies of what her room should be. The online shop fawn&forest, whose wares are as committed to good design as they are to kid-friendliness and eco-sensibility, had yet to launch, so we cobbled together pieces from all over the internet, cursing the fact that we couldn’t combine shipping.

These days, similarly minded parents can take advantage of fawn&forest’s amazing taste, choosing from their inventory of sleek cribs, rocking rockers, graphic bedding, and wooden toys. One of the things I love most about fawn&forest is the fact that their pieces can be used throughout your home.  As in: whose sofa wouldn’t look good crowned by this Binth pillow?  And:  plunk this glider (it’s 50% off!)  in your living room, and guess which seat guests will fight over when they come for cocktails.  (I speak from experience; we have a very similar chair in our house, and our friends have been forced to take turns sitting in it.)

Got some ideas?  Good.  To keep track of all your design plans, fawn&forest and misosouper are giving away a copy of Nikki McClure’s gorgeous journal Things To Make and Do.  Filled with graphic, inspirational woodcuts, this little book nudges you toward action with charming reminders–Make Mistakes!–and blank space for Plans, Wishes, Dreams, Build, Explore, Learn, Make, Grow, Give and Find.  (Need more inspiration?  Check out this tour of fawn&forest mastermind (and total dear) Summer’s home.

Simply leave a comment on this post, telling us which fawn&forest product(s) you love.  One lucky winner will be chosen at random.

the fine print

Comments will be closed and entries will not be accepted after 11:59 pm EST on Sunday, March 22, 2009. The winner will be selected on Monday, March 23, 2009, and notified by e-mail. Results of the giveaway will be announced on Monday, March 23, 2009.  Misosouper, a shopping blog reserves the right to disqualify entries that are incomplete, inaccurate, or considered spam.

West Elm has sales all the time; I try to check out the discounted merch every couple of weeks, and generally avoid the “HUGE SALE” e-mails that arrive in my inbox, because inevitably all the good stuff is already gone.

Here’s what I’m ogling today:

1.  Wood Wedges (honestly, these ledges couldn’t look more adorable in a kid’s room, and for $9.99, you can get them in multiples); 2.  Lutz & Patmos Zigzag Throw (these are yummy soft, and worth stashing in the closet for next year’s holiday gifts); 3.  Uneven Squares Quilt and Shams (simplicity at its best, made even better at 50% off); 4.  Quilted Wingback Headboard (if you sleep in a California King–lucky!–this regal bed is a steal);  5.  Upholstered Bed Frame and Headboard (for the rest of us plebes, this headboard comes in smaller sizes and still ups the nighttime reading comfy factor); 6.  Rope Candleholders (just look at them…do they need commentary?); 7.  Wall-Mount Pendant (I love how these make a grand statement, for $69.99); 8.  Abaca Pendant Lamp (summer, at 82% off); 9.  Square Metal Sofa; 10.  Water Hyacinth Pillows (I dare you to show me a house these wouldn’t look great it); 11.  Beach Club Floral Print Pillow (as a rule, I buy anything that has “beach club” in its name); 12.  Sydney Bar (I’m totally putting this inside my house, but I live in Florida, so hopefully all will be forgiven).

As of this post’s publication, some version of the above items was in stock, although it probably won’t be for long.

The best gifts to please screeching, barking, tired households like mine, short of free babysitting and maid service.

Sweet felt frames for all the birds in your flock.

Because as long as you’re bribing the kids with hot chocolate, you might as well take that Carnation instant cocoa to the next level.

A trick from my beloved grandmother, who hails from the pre-germ era:  kids love counting and rolling coins.   These colorful metallic trays are also perfect for making change when they play store.

Put your foot down once and for all.

Be the goose that lays this golden egg in their backyard.

The only foreseeable issue with these Lego-handled utensils is that the kids will insist on eating with them stacked in an awkward fork-spoon-knife combination. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Made from densely packed magazines, this bulletin board (no push pins necessary!) is the sharpest I’ve ever seen.

The ultimate rainy day entertainment: a 500 piece “impossible” puzzle based on an abstract illustration by Alex Beard.

These cards make traveling sew much fun.

Why freeze ice when you can freeze the cup instead?

This gigantic digital photo frame (15″!) makes that newborn baby almost lifesized.

While they’re not quite Anarchy in the UK, these punky monkeys are so much cuter than letting them stick a safety pin through their ear.

Bedtime battles be gone:  turn on this constellation maker and snuggle under the Milky Way tonight.

Memorialize the whole family on a stick-figure pillow that Mom and Dad will keep on their bed forever.

Yes, these are bugs encased in Lucite.  Is that creepy?

Feed their Bob Ross addiction with a paint-by-numbers set.  Just make sure it doesn’t end up in the garage sale by “accident.”

Use these spy sunglasses to confirm your long-standing conviction that they are indeed following you.  Even if “they” just happen to be, um, your parents.

Because after all this fun, mom and dad are tired.  Guaranteed.