Useful, beautiful, and tasty finds for the kitchen and table.
• $25
• Ancient Industries
These mugs are made by Leeds Pottery, a company that has been around since 1781, making household pottery and creamware like the pieces found in this pattern. I don't know if it's the herringbone stripe, or the graceful simplicity of the handle, but these mugs beg to hold an afternoon cup of tea.
• $1.99
• IKEA
The DIOD glass is one of those ubiquitous IKEA pieces, always available, and often featured in the catalogs. I picked up 6 just after we moved into our new house, getting ready to host early holiday guests, with limited time for thinking about table decorations. I was pleasantly surprised by these little glasses. The oversized tea lights that IKEA sells fit perfectly inside and give off a warm yet milky glow. Very easy, inexpensive, and fuss-free way to light up your table for hours. (And of course you can drink out of these too - they make great little cocktail glasses.)
• $18
• Gretel
How do you brew your loose leaf tea? When brewing a single cup, as opposed to a full pot, I usually brew a cup then strain out the leaves. These Tea Eggs by Normann Copenhagen offer a different method: they are tea balls made out of silicone, and in several different colors (you could have one for black tea, one for oolong, one for fruity herbal teas, all color-coded). I have to say, I like how easy these are to clean!
• $9.99
• Target
I like to use bar soap for cleaning hands at the kitchen sink and in the bathroom - as opposed to liquid soap, which I often find drippy and messy. I bought this extra-deep soap dish for my new house on a quick swing through Target, and I ended up just loving it. It's big enough to hold a bar of soap, and deep enough that leftover suds or drips stay in the dish, not out of it. Definitely a good option for around the sink!
• $40
• Ancient Industries
This "ice-box box" from Bauer Pottery is a beautiful way, yes, to replace Tupperware and plastic wrap - a covered dish for stashing leftovers and lunch. But it's also a functional piece of art, a piece of classic American pottery from a classic American company.
• $37.50
• Etsy
We all probably have a spot in the house that could use a shot of color. I really like these big, oversized drawer pulls that can also be used as hooks. They're designed by ReThink, a studio in Savannah, Georgia, and fabricated by a local metal worker, then powder coated in bright and cheery hues. I can imagine just one of these on a stand-alone drawer in the kitchen, or mounted as a hook in a conspicuous spot. Size: 2" H x 5.5" L x 1/8" W x 1.25 D
• $24
• Etsy
Jenna Park does some of my favorite food photography, and she's put together one of my favorite (so far) 2013 calendars. I like how the calendar comes unbound, so you can hang one month at a time, or spread out all 12 pages over a big wall in the kitchen.
• $2 to $9, depending on weight
• Whole Foods Market
I picked up a little container of these giant, salty baked corn kernels at Whole Foods during a trip to San Francisco last week. Emma and I munched on them during work sessions and found them totally irresistible! Emma pronounced them high-end beer nuts. They're salty, crunchy, and super tasty.
• £45
• Loglike
This bowl caught my eye last week - I love its bright tangerine color and the clever construction. Colored pencils make up the grid holding in the fruit. It's good for fruit (plenty of airflow) and so handy to have pencils easy to grab. And as a bright, pop-py jolt of color, it may be just the right colorful accessory to pull a kitchen together.
• $24 for 6 trees
• Signe Sugar
I've admired Sarah Signe's lovely modern gumpaste cake decorations for a while now, and these cute trees are a good excuse to check her out now during the holidays. But don't miss her modern birthday cake toppers and lettering in glittery finishes and pale pastel colors.
• $16.99
• HomeGoods
Here's a fun alternative to the wine gift bag that is either clever or cruel, depending on how eager your recipient is to break into that bottle of wine. This kit helps you encase a bottle of wine in a wooden puzzle that the recipient has to solve before the wine can be opened. Definitely better for the first bottle of wine, not the third! Available at HomeGoods, Marshalls, and TJ Maxx stores.
• $50
• Etsy
I'm such a big fan of Abbey Nova's blog, Abbey Goes Design Scouting. So I was really excited to see these letterpress posters she created a little while ago. The Food=Love print is my favorite - such a good one to tuck into a corner of a kitchen. But don't miss the "But First, Coffee" and "Gourmand" editions. (P.S. The red print seems to be sold out, but there are still editions in royal blue.)
• $14
• Jayson Home & Garden
You have the cheese, you have the plate - now what to serve it with? I'm liking this little horn-handled server. Its blade is sharp enough to cut hard cheeses and broad enough to smear soft ones.
• $21
• Studio Dunn
I'm a fan of these handmade dishes for holiday parties and buffets. They were designed originally for sushi and soy sauce, but, as this photo shows, also make great dishes for cheese and crackers and other party food.
• $80
• Simplehuman
I've gone through periods where I ate large amounts of rice, and I always seemed to have a big bag of rice slumped on the floor of the pantry cupboard, shedding rice grains in every direction. This rice container from Simplehuman is engineered to store rice (or other grains) much more efficiently, with an airtight seal that keeps rice in and moisture out.
• $49.99 for 4-piece place setting
• Bloomingdales Home
I have a couple serving pieces from this collection of dishes from British food writer Sophie Conran, designed for Portmeirion, and I love them. The white is creamy and soft, and the ridged lines on the dishes make them feel casual in an organic, relaxed kind of way. This is a great dish set, for a good price. Porcelain. Microwave and dishwasher safe.
• $12
• Alder & Co.
These silver tapers are a glamorous, grown-up version of the birthday candle. Even a plain or unfrosted cake would look lovely with these dotting the top. Also great for holiday cakes - Christmas bundt cake, all lit up. 1/4" diameter x 6" height. 45 minute burn time.
• $30.52
• Amazon.com
When I started looking for flatware a few years ago, I was surprised how hard it was to find pieces I liked. I didn't like the flat and chunky shapes of contemporary styles (often uncomfortable to hold) but I did want something with clean lines. Here's what I ended up with, and four years later, I'm still really happy with it. The pieces are hefty and feel good in the hand, and they've held up well in the dishwasher too.
• $12.50
• Amazon.com
Lake Champlain Chocolates sent me a few samples of their luxurious hot chocolate mixes, and this was my favorite. The other were very good, but they were simple hot cocoa mixes - powdered cocoa to mix with milk. This one was different - it's a canister of chocolate shavings, ready to be stirred into hot milk for the richest, most decadent hot chocolate (not hot cocoa - hot chocolate!) you've ever had. Truly delicious. Also -- good with bourbon!
• $14.95
• King Arthur Flour - The Baker's Catalogue
It's great to have bake-and-give pans for gifts, and I like these lightweight wood ones a lot. They are more substantial than the paper bake-and-give pans that I usually see, and make for a great presentation for a loaf of bread or a small cake. Wrap with a ribbon and you're set!
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