My Wish List for 2007

WARNING: Don't bother reading this if 1. you don't have exorbitant amounts of time on your hands or 2. don't "do" tabbed browsing, because you will want to tear your hair out before you're halfway done.

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Happy November, people! 11/1 is the day I've always known as "The Day The Holiday Season Begins (Whether You Like It Or Not)". The Christmas music is going on my iPod, and I'm perusing my Betty Crocker Cookbook to pick out perfect holiday treats to make for the third annual Rob & Amber ChristmaHanukkaKwanziFestivus Party [sidenote: my spell-check just vomited]. In the next few days, I'll be double checking my wrapping paper supplies and making sure my pantry is well stocked so I don't have any "baking emergencies". I LOVE the holidays!

Just to scare you: there are only 53 days until Christmas, and mere 34 until night 1 of Hanukkah! IT'S TIME TO GET EXCITED!

I did a blog entry wish list last year, and it was fun. This year, I expanded. In addition to including things I'm jonesing for, I've shared things I just really love, including a few things I already own. It took me two weeks to put together, and I'm thrilled.

Happy browsing, and Merry Christmas. Happy Hanukkah, too!

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I want this. I don't know how to use it (yet!), but I really, really want it. Ten (point one!) wonderful mega pixels. I narrowed it down talking to other photographers on flickr, reading multiple camera reviews and bugging my photography-savvy ex-boyfriend (he's good for something after all.) The Canon Digital Rebel XTi is the winner. It's a DSLR.

Ok, this one scares me a little. Since when did pots end up on my wish list? Since now. My other stockpot got slightly pitted, thus unusable, and has literally "gone to the dogs".. M & L use it as a water bowl.

Old news. Still awesome. A blanket with arms? Come on. They come in a nice slew of colors; I recommend "Limoges", because it's the most fun to say.

Have you read Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli? It's one of my all time favorite books. This is the sequel.

This smells like I've always wanted to smell. It's like my personality in a bottle. Rob gags at the thought of perfume, but this one is really light.

I was first introduced to Pylones when I worked at Starbucks. They did a thermos exclusively to be sold in the stores, and I loved it. They have a ton of fun, functional items to give your utilitarian side a dash of wimsy (if you have to buy something anyway, why not make it adorable?) I have my eye on these change purses, because my gigantic purse eats all my quarters. You should check out their store in Manhattan if you ever get a chance (take the 6 to Spring Street, climb up to the street and just look around... really, REALLY, you can't miss it!)

Darling, what IS Christmas without Tiffany?

I haven't checked these out in real life, so it remains to be seen if I can stuff my afro in one (probably), but I really dig them.

Diana+ File this under things that I don't need, even a little bit, but really want anyway. Bonus: it perfectly matches my VW Bus! They launch this month on the 14th.
Also available from the store I hate to love, Urban Outfitters.

Not pretty, but useful.
Because I am SO over traveling with my bathroom stuff crammed into a used Target bag.

Also from Flight 001.
You don't have to arrive looking busted just because the TSA is a bitch.

How base! I had to turn the salmon I made the other day with a pie server. Not cool.

I did a little research, and this one is the best of the circa $100 set. A really good one is around $250 - $400, but I don't want to drop that much on something I'd use only occasionally. This one is good for those of us with only a tiny case of the Martha.

Who doesn't need goggles especially for chopping onions? In pink, natch.

SIGG is the new Nalgene. They come in 144 designs and have cute optional tops. For me? I like the classic 20 oz. bottle in sleek silver. Disposable plastic bottles are so '06!

Last year for Christmas Jen got these slippers, and I fell in love with them when she let me try one on (just one, briefly, and then she snatched it back when I started to get dreamy eyed and drooly... slipper envy is not pretty on me.). They come in five different colors (and they sell five different colored teddy bears to match!) Jen has Eucalyptus, and I'm craving the Caramel.

MAC lipstick in "Retro" is THE perfect lipstick for just about everyone.

Hoof like? Hobbit like? Unflattering? Yes, yes, and yes. But also? The most comfortable things you've ever worn. YOUR LIFE WILL BE MADE BETTER IF YOU HAVE THESE. I already have these, I'm just spreading the love here. Wearing UGGs is like giving your feet the best sex ever. Twice.

This is a fantastic book for people who are just starting to "go green" and aren't sure where to start. I did a little PR for this one, too, and have read it cover to cover. Good stuff in here. They fell a little short on some things (the answer to "Paper or plastic?" is "Canvas", people!), but most of it is right on the mark.

I'm very much not a fan of having couch pillows, 1. because Matty and Leeloo eat them and 2. because I despise the concept of traditionally functional items purely for decoration. These are wonderfully functional, however, and were it not for the inevitable destruction at the paws of my two mutts, my couch would be filled with these. Also? The company name is PillowPillowPillow. Cool, right? All of my favorites are available from Rare Device, but you can check out their website for the complete line.

I love these guys! They'll be perfect for the shelving I'm going to put up in the living room.

Hanging mistletoe over the heads of unsuspecting folks makes you kind of a jerk. Now, you can be a classy jerk. Cause it's gold.

These are way cute and super comfortable. I'm tempted to make an inappropriate double entendre "stocking stuffer" joke.

I'd love to find someone who has the original Don Featherstone flamingos and swap them with these guys in the middle of the night. Urban kitsch meets punk rock. I love it!

I was 16 when I discovered hoodies. ("What?" you say, "did she live under a rock?" Yes. It was called homeschooling.) My boyfriend had one, and I borrowed it (thus began a life long tradition of stealing the clothes of the men I was with). I was in heaven. My favorite hoodie of all time came a year later in 1999, when Jen bought one in gray from the Gap, and I bought one just like it. It's still around; Matty uses it as a pillow. This hoodie, however, would likely trump them all. Cashmere? Yes, please.

The entire Martha Stewart collection from Macy's is pretty darn wonderful, but I'm having a hard time stomaching some of the non-sale prices. It's Macy's, though, so there's ALWAYS a coupon. The 1-2-3 and A-B-C cookie cutters are fantastic.

I've been disappointed in the past few years by Chiasso. They used to have cute, reasonably priced things, and were a great cross between Pottery Barn and Uncommon Goods. Now they're kind of bargain bin. Still, this clock is an adorable exception to the increasingly mediocre merchandise.

Last year, you couldn't get your hands on one of these babies after the first week of November. Because they are fantastic.

The hard part.


As I stated before, this list started out as things that I really want, and turned into a list of things that I have found around the web that I think are beautiful and would make wonderful gifts for ladies in general (although there's nothing on here that I wouldn't love to have for myself.) My rule for this list is: it has to be unique, designed well, and/or beautiful. Preferably all three. I did a pretty good job with everything here, but there were two products that I really wanted to include that proved to be VERY hard to find to fit the bill: a mug and a calendar. It's the same problem for both: most available are ugly. As I searched and Googled and turned up consistently boring, ill-designed or downright ugly things, I came up with a theory. The average person has so many free ones of each, there's not much incentive to design cool ones. (Think about it. You probably have a free mug and a free calendar that you use just because someone gave it to you. And it's probably ugly.)

Interestingly, they're very different products plagued by the EXACT same kind of ugly (with the possible exception that I've never seen a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit mug. Thank heavens.)

Well, after sifting though countless horrible kittens, puppies, bikini clad girls, bad sayings, corny quotes, cartoons and (ugh!) Thomas Kinkade, I bring you cuteness.

I tried to avoid Etsy for this list, because to buy from them you have to login. I love Etsy, though, because it gives you the opportunity to buy from real crafters, and a lot of it is amazing. I highly recommend setting up an account and shopping there for unique gifts. It's a great way to give good people your business. It was also the ONLY place online I found any non-horrible mugs. I bring you two.

This mug from user JMNPOTTERY is so pretty, and it's wonderfully obvious that it's handmade. This would be my go-to hot cocoa mug.

Amanda Ryznar of Yoga Goat makes these gorgeous flowery mugs that are pricy, but so pretty. I'm a huge fan of all her work.

For other nice big mugs (mine HAVE to be 16 oz. at least!) check out Starbucks, Pier 1, and Anthropologie for a great selection (none feature them on their websites, or they feature limited selections, and you have to go into the store to really check them out).

For calendars, I found quite a few pretty ones, but they weren't the sort that you could write on, they were the sort that you glance at to get the correct date. I was hoping to find ones that had a cool, modern pattern at the top and a functional calendar space at the bottom, but no such luck. I settled on the Real Simple wall calendar, which as NO picture at all. I'm pretty sure you can find them in any Target, too. It's not particularly beautiful, but it's classic, nicely designed, and wonderfully free from Anne Geddes and her disgusting babies.

Moving on.

This makes me happy. I don't "do" small, knickknacks (I own one), but he's just so perfect.

A few years ago, Rob started wearing an awesome watch from Red Monkey. That was right around the time he started kissing me and meaning it. I've loved it since, and have stolen his a bunch of times, even though it's huge on my skinny wrist. But I want my own. Specifically, this one, with the red face, and the leather to match my new purse. Rock!

In the rain, classy ladies need gorgeous, oiled leather boots to keep dry, and fun gals need bright yellow Wellies to splash gung-ho into puddles. I think I need both!

Speaking of rain gear: black umbrellas are boring, but anything else is pretty obnoxious if you're over the age of 13. This cheerful design by the wonderfully quirky Tibor Kalman solves the problem.

Last, but not least, the new Post Secret book launched October 9.

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That's my list! If I happen to find any other exceptionally wonderful products, I'll let you know. Until then, Happy shopping!