Can I tell you how excited I am for the holidays?! I can. not. wait. to disembark from the Ethan Allen tomorrow evening into my families' arms - if I can find them in the 2 feet of snow blanketing the mighty Green Mountain State... Hello?! Parents? Brother? Arms?!!! My husband Craig and I decided to Amtrak-it to my northern home instead of slushing through the highway havok; all we ask for are two seats relatively close together and a tidy spot for our baggage. [ fingers crossed ! ]. My brother is home for his first Christmas from college, and my mom is hosting dinner Christmas Day. Perhaps I can entreat my dad to make us latkes, the infamous fried potatoe pancake, for the fourth night of Hanukkah... I love my mixed traditions, but let's look at the facts, folks. Exhibit A, above : a glorious panetonne in a box worthy of stylish posterity. And Exhibit B, below : a mishmash of oily starchiness.... Ah, holidays !!!

Craig has just offered up a new tradition : Let's bring the inflatable mattress to Killlington ! Instead of skiing down the mountain, we can recline down the mountain... ! And maybe we can bring fleecey blankets and I can smoke a pipe and you can read a book and and and ....

My only comment, once again is : Ah, holidays !

Eco Emporium

It is my great pleasure to share with you these images from the incredible EcoEmporium in Atlanta, Georgia. The sweet and stylish Carol Held and her husband, Bruce launched this 3200 sq.ft. lifestyle store in October, which they describe as 'A place where there is a sense of community, balance, and serenity.' The glittering lighting and warm, muted palette is such a soothing background to the lush collection of eco products. As they note on their website, prices range from $5 to $6000; so while lucky residents of the Atlanta area are stopping by for organic food events, creative classes and children's events, they can discover fabulous furnishing, linens, baby gear, paper goods and other unique, recycled, fairly traded, sustainable, and non-toxic goodies.

Congratulations, Carol and Bruce !

www.theecoemporium.com

Located at the intersection of Howell Mill Road and Marietta Street in the BricksWorks commercial center.

Store Hours : Tuesday - Friday 1o:30am - 6:30pm Saturday 10am - 4pm

just my type

The corner desk I work from is growing increasingly cold as the winter winds wrap the drafty brick walls on both sides. I have a constant supply of warm beverages to bolster my spirits as I check off items on my to-do list... genma-cha roasted green tea, yogi peach detox tea, strong french press coffee with lots of cream and the occasional cocoa to name a few of my overtime companions .... So when I saw this fine coaster from ACD on Supermarket, I thought we'd be fast friends. ACD is an undergrad in NYC whose products 'bring interest to otherwise ordinary objects'. ACD's coaster, rendered in Baskerville semibold and produced from mature bamboo stock in Canada, is also available at veer.com.

Great Green Gifts from Inhabitat

Unlike most of the riotious public, I actually tried not to shop during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday madness... If you're like me, than the posting of Inhabitat's Green Gift Guide comes at a perfect time. Brew a cuppa something tasty [ cocoa, coffee, tea, nips included or not .... ] and peruse the wonderful selections in a variety of well-organized sections. If I may suggest, the Gifts Under $50 have a great note card set you might recognize... ; )

Eye-catchers and other click-worthy gifts include :

you're so fedorable !

I LOVE this hat from Terry Graziano, and not only because it has the perfect name... Well, maybe it has a lot to do with the name, but still - look how cute and adaptable it is ! As soon as I get over my fear of hat-hair, this is the first purchase I'll make. Visit Terry's store on etsy and check out the other great styles, like the Moxie, Gemini, Confidante + Capricious - or amble through her blog.

loop happenings !

With the holidays quickly approaching, we are happy to offer two great new promotions! The first is a December sale-- 15% off note card sets for mixed Paintings, mixed Line, mixed Drawings, Doodlespark Explore, and Holiday. Our second promotion offers a free surprise set with purchase of any three note card sets!

Loop is also happy to be one of 15 artists participating in Scoutie Girl's Indie Goodness Giveaway! Not only does every entry get you one step closer to winning fabulous handmade items, but she is also donating 5 cents to the winner's charity of choice for each entry. Visit her blog to learn how you can enter and see all of the great products!