Qlocktwo

Simply gorgeous, and quite clever: a clock that literally tells you the time.

Via Uncrate.

Shag: The Store

As if we need another reason to visit Palm Springs… SHAG The Store has just opened there. Loves me some SHAG, and can’t wait to check this place out!

Shag: The Store.

Close to the Chest

Women possessing anything north of the most modest bosom know well the discomfort that any high-impact exercise can cause. Not only is the bouncing uncomfortable (and, some would argue, unsightly), but it can be damaging to breast tissue. The protective stance one assumes in trying to mitigate the bouncing can result in less-than-optimal posture for the given exercise, leading to back pain, muscle strain, etc.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if someone made a sports bra for well-endowed women that would restrict vertical movement to almost nothing?

Someone did, and her name is Renelle Braaten. Her company makes an amazing bra that makes sure the girls stay, as the title of this post declares, close to the chest. It’s called the Enell Sports Bra.

As you can see by the photo at right, this isn’t lacy lingerie we’re talking about. No cleavage will be on display. It requires patience and some practice getting into it: There are seemingly a zillion hooks-and-eyes to secure, and there’s a technique to making sure one hook doesn’t maddeningly pop open as you close the next. It’s not cheap (they run about $60 each).

But if you want to comfortably jog, or play volleyball, or engage in any other high-impact activity, the Enell sports bra is sweet relief.

Note: I have no interest in or relationship with this company. I’m just a happy customer spreading the word about a truly useful product. If you (or anyone you know) could use something like this, I hope you’ll do the same.

Timothy Richards Bookends

While living in the UK in the 90s, my husband and I became fans of Belgian Art Nouveau architect Victor Horta. Behold this stairwell in the home he designed for Emile Tassel, regarded by many as the first Art Nouveau building:

Happily Horta’s own Brussels home, now the Horta Museum, is in superb condition and we were able to take a tour during one visit to the city. (If there’s a lovelier radiator anywhere in the world than in Horta’s house, I’d like to see it. I can’t find a photo of it online, but I’m perfectly serious. But I digress.)

A few years ago, on a trip to London, we were ambling through a small gallery off Kensington Square, and I stopped short in front of a gorgeous miniature reproduction of what I instantly recognized as the facade to Horta’s home:

It turns out to be a bookend, one of a stunning series of architectural minatures by the British artist Timothy Richards. From his website:

“Tim has been making models of architecture in plaster for 19 years. All of the sculptures are made by hand by Tim and his small, dedicated team. The work is believed to be unique in the world today. Central to the theme is that of architectural truth. Tim aims to use his love of architecture and model making skills to tell the story of architecture over the centuries. Some of the models are designed to be used as bookends. Others as stand alone collectors pieces. Of course it’s entirely up to you how you use them (though not as a door stop please!).”

Needless to say, Horta – or at least his small facade  - came home with us. We’ve since acquired a miniature Big Ben (we do like visual puns). I hope to add a few others to my collection going forward, including the V&A:

And perhaps Oscar Wilde’s house:

And maybe even Jane Austen’s door:

In any case, do have a wander through Richards’ site. The single-door bookends are reasonably priced (the models, double-bookend sets and more complex designs are accordingly priced) and make spectacular and unique gifts (particularly for oneself).

swissmiss | Tea Sub

How freaking cute is this???

swissmiss | Tea Sub.

3-D glasses dress by Nicole Lindner

A clever idea (even if, as one commenter points out, the red and blue panes should be reversed for accuracy).

3-D glasses dress by Nicole Lindner – Swell 3D (with thanks to Ben for finding it).

Hipsters, by SHAG

An irresistible combination: three of pop culture’s greatest performers, as depicted by one of pop culture’s greatest artists, SHAG. If you’re unfamiliar with SHAG’s work (SHAG being the moniker of  Orange County’s Josh Agle), he’s well-known for his stylized images of mid-Century Los Angeles, of all things Tiki, and of several anniversary artwork creations for Disney, among other things.

The print above is 12×14 inches, and sold in a limited signed and numbered edition of 250 for $110. You can find it, and the rest of his currently-available work, at Shagmart.

The Connectedness of Things

Our son just started his first year at Bard College. (I digress here to note that Bard’s illustrious musical alumni include The Sherman Brothers, Steely Dan, and our friend Nelson Bragg of the Brian Wilson Band. Spectacular connections right there, but that’s not my subject for today.)

Rhinebeck, NY is a lovely town about 8 miles from the Bard campus in the Hudson River Valley. We dined at a few places there in August while we were in town to drop Ben off at school. Among the restaurants to which we intend to return is Terrapin. The setting is dramatic: it’s housed in the beautifully renovated “First Baptist Church,” built in 1825. It’s got a bistro on one side, for casual dining, and a somewhat dressier (in both food and ambience) restaurant side. The food was amazing, from the Farmer’s Market salad through to the crème brulée (which was, to our shock and delight, among the best we’ve ever tasted, anywhere).

The wine list was carefully considered and reasonably priced. Feeling adventurous, we tried a Spanish grenache called Evodia, and fell in love with it. A happy wine, very food-friendly, and we decided we’d have to add it to our house rotation. Since it was reasonably priced on the restaurant’s list, we figured it would be a relative steal at retail. Then we tried to find it at retail. While it’s readily available online, the shipping adds greatly to the cost, making it not such a bargain. And the only place it was available in Los Angeles, according to Wine Searcher, was across town in Venice. Ordinarily that wouldn’t be a real problem, but I’d recently had major surgery and that greatly limited the extent of my travels.

In the meantime, I took myself out for lunch at a local favorite, Studio City’s Artisan Cheese. While waiting for my sandwich, I chatted with Sarah, their assistant wine buyer. We talked about varietals we like, and she allowed as to how the owner prefers Italian and Spanish selections. I remarked that we had just the week before had a delicious Spanish grenache called Evodia. ”Evodia?” she exclaimed. “We’ve got it!” Lo and behold, they had it – lots of it, in fact. I bought a case.

Trying and loving a wine in a little village across the country, and finding it right here in my hometown – it’s a funny old world, isn’t it?

I <3 Throwboy

Hope I’m not the only one who thinks these Throwboy pillows are clever as well as cute. In addtition to the “Icon” collection, pictured here, Throwboy offers “Chat” and “RSS” pillows. They’re 100% fleece, polyester filled, and go for $29 each or $149 for the set of six. They seem rather perfect for dorm rooms and office sofas, don’t they?

MSR Flex 4 System Cookset | Uncrate

What a clever idea – a compact cookery set for four that collapses into a tidy, portable pot. This MSR Flex 4 System Cookset makes my minimalist heart very nearly want to go camping, just so I would have a reason to get one.