In Lurrrve with Love

I've recently stumbled upon sister sites Twine (home and handmade goods) and Romp (for the kiddies). Both offer adorable ideas for gifts or for your own wish list with an eco-friendly focus. One item in particular on my wish list is this "love" print. Hand silk-screened and printed on recycled paperstock, you can add a little love to any room in your home that might need it.



$30 at shoptwine.com.

Nerd Lurrrve

I swear I wasn't just trolling around online for baby stuff. I really did come across this while doing research for work. But once I found this, I had to share. Tiffany Ard creates "art & nursery decor for serious science nerds." But you don't have to be a Ross (Friends reference, folks) to appreciate her quirky line of books, prints and flashcards for your little genius.

This elephant print, which would perfectly compliment my own nursery's elephant bedding (hint, hint), illustrates Newton's Laws of Motion:


$15

But my favorite find is the science-themed baby book. A great gift for expectant parents, it combines Tiffany's whimsical illustrations with science-y quotes, plus places to fill in blanks and photos to mark your wee one's milestones. Check it:





$40

For more magnificent nerdery, go to Tiffany's Etsy page.

Roasted.

I am, admittedly, a big fan of coffee. I drink it straight up, caffeinated. (No sugar or cream, thankyouverymuch.)

My husband is a wine expert, so drinking almost any kind of beverage can sometime take on an added level of analysis, although I certainly don't want to talk about the "bouquet" of my beloved coffee before I've had at least a mug-full to wake me up.

But that's why, when I discovered Citizen Bean, I knew it would make a great anniversary gift: it's a gift-subscription coffee-roaster of the month club that offers coffee from small roasters all over the country. We got our first bag of special beans the first week of July, and we've been rationing it, saving it mostly for weekends, because it's so good. Can't wait to see what our August roast has in store for us (and hopefully my husband will share it with me!).

Citizen Bean subscriptions: four months for $79.99, six months for $119.99, one year for $199.99.

In Retro Specs: Lurrrving Vintage Eyeglasses

As I sat in the waiting room at an urgent care on Sunday sans air-conditioning with my left eye watering and twitching, I wondered to myself why I even bother with contact lenses. Some of the most fabulously fashionable people I know (Lisa Loeb, anyone?) have made their eyeglasses part of their trademark look. I love vintage clothes, so why not give vintage eyewear a try?

Don't be fooled by the name of their website -- EyeGlass Boy offers an array of vintage glasses for men and women. Plus, they are very reasonable compared to the designer frames you see at your optician's office. Of course you don't have the benefit of trying them on before you buy them, but if you can return them within 10 days or if you're feeling daring...



Well maybe not that daring. I'm more into these:



And these:



Or maybe these:


They even offer detailed directions for measuring to make sure you get the right size. And even though they're vintage, none of the glasses sold on their site have ever been worn (mostly unused optometrists' stock).

Go ahead and see for yourself!

Charge it!

I am so excited about these rechargeable (and therefore eco-friendly) batteries from USBcell -- they're the only ones I've seen that don't require some sort of clunky, easily-lost charger. Instead, you plug them into your computer's USB port, and voila! Charged!

$17.49 for a two-pack at USBcell.com

They come in AA, 9-volt, and even some cell phone/device batteries (how awesome to be able to leave the cell phone charger at home when you travel?). Plus, it doesn't hurt that they're pretty.

Go ahead and see for yourself!

Puppy lurrrve: The Eco Nap from West Paw

Having a home with all hardwood floors and two big dogs means a lot of sweeping and mopping, but it also means I need to make sure my pups have a cushiony oasis where they can rest without putting any strain on their hips. But every time I buy a dog bed with a cover that's washable and easy to remove, it's never easy to put back on again. That's why I lurrrve the Eco Nap from West Paw Design. It comes in several cool color combos and I can throw the whole thing in the wash when it gets icky. And in between washes, it lays flat enough to vacuum. Not only is it great for my dogs -- it's also great for the planet, made from post consumer recycled soda pop bottles. It's amazing that something so soft comes from plastic bottles (a large mat saves 26.45 bottles from landfill limbo). We've had ours for almost two years and it's still in great shape... and I can't say that about most things that come into everyday contact with our dogs.

$27.90-$93.90, westpawdesign.com.

On Cloud b.

My latest online shopping obsession has less to do with what I want to buy for myself and more to do with what I want for our baby. If I could lock myself out of our Target registry, I would add hours of productivity to my work week. I love Target for necessities, but I'm also loving all of the little boutique-y luxury items. You know, the ones that make great gifts but you could never rationalize buying for yourself.

I'm in lurrrve with lots of good stuff at babyearth.com, but am hesitant to register with a website as I have to pay for any returns, which can be a hassle. It's amazing what they've come up with in the past 30 years (since I was a baby). One of my favorite items that I've seen both online and in person at friends' baby showers is the Cloud b Sleep Sheep.



This is their "on-the-go" model, which is made smaller for travel, which I will probably do more of in theory than reality, but still. It has four soothing nature sounds and a sleep timer so you can set it to go off in either 23 or 45 minutes from when you put your little one to bed. Hopefully, that will be enough time to get him to sleep! If this doesn't work, I'll have to resort to singing to him... and nobody wants that.

$21.95, babyearth.com.