chocolate: for better and for worse

For better:


If you are going to indulge in chocolate gifting for valentine's day, why not go for something a bit more special than a drugstore boxed selection?  Here are four chocolate's I wish I was getting for the holiday (or really anyday!). 

• Teaism's chocolate salty oat cookies: sorry, unless you live in DC, you are out of luck
• Home-made caramel marshmallows: for the valentine who drinks hot chocolate just as an excuse to get to the marshmallows; also comes in flavors like cardamon and espresso!
• Drunken figs: figs soaked in sherry and dipped in chocolate, oh my my
• Chocolate mice: dark chocolate/orange, milk chocolate/mocha, white chocolate/cinnamon (all have almond ears)

For worse:

You would think, based on my comments above that I was a reasonable chocolate eater, holding out for "special" and dutifully snubbing pedestrian chocolate-eating opportunities.  I would have you seriously fooled.  Not only would I eat nearly any chocolate in front of me [except for this chocolate-sauced beef strip I recently saw on semi-homemade...bleck], I would eat nearly any sugar put in front of me.  Like many Americans, I seem to be completely addicted to sugar and unsure how to break the habit.  Oh sure, I know how.  Everything in moderation. 

However, the amazing treats I highlighted above would be consumed in this fashion if they entered my home (assuming most of them come in packs of four): 1. eaten immediately--to show gratitude to the gift-giver, of course; 2. shared with the gift-giver--I am not greedy; 3. eaten after dinner--need something sweet to make me feel like I finished the meal; 4. eaten for breakfast the next morning--I simply could not resist.  Then, they would be gone.  And, worse yet, I would already be searching for the next sugar fix.  This is not the example I want to set for my DLO and nannychild.  I also know that this path is only setting me up for serious health-problems.   

Working at home both eases the challenge and has set me up to face new problems as I strive to bring balance to my diet (and life).  On one hand, I don't have the ever-beckoning call of the office vending machine, meetings with sugary treats, and shared goodies in the kitchen.  On the other hand, if something is in my house, it doesn't cost me any money to go and finish it off.  When I take the kids out for walks, for some reason I feel like I deserve a treat for venturing out of the safety and relative-ease of my living room.  A new cupcake store? Why yes, that sounds delightful.  If nothing else, I get to talk to the adults serving me up these treats and adult-interaction is oh-so-needed--the cherry-on-top--to take the metaphor too far. 

trend alert: hedgehog round-up

Foxes are already the new owl.  As we build our modern woodland collections, look for hedgehogs to take their place as the next style icon borrowed from the forest.  Far from the sonic image we grew up with in videogames, this hedgehog is an animal (much like the owl and fox) that is sweet, quirky, and also has a little bit of edge to appeal to our increasingly prepster culture.  While I personally think that the world of design will soon swing wildly to the techy (read robots) to counteract all of the nature-inspired interiors of the green movement, expect to meet a few more furry friends you forgot existed while those of us hippies hold on to this opportunity to live in make-believe tree houses that are actually english-basement apartments. 

Perfectly adorable for valentine's day.  Don't expect the trend to last as long as owls (which have become our generation's version of our mother's cows and our grandma's rooster) but they will certainly have their day and make yours!


Images above:
1. Hedgehog family mobile by Flensted Mobiles
2. Justice for Hedgehogs by Ronald Dworkin, January 2011
3. Prickly pal plush from Anthropologie
4. DIY hedghog plushie on threadbager.com
5. Hedgehog pencil holder tutorial recently featured on ohdeedoh
6. Hedgehog earrings from Zooz Jewelry
7. Bamboo hedgehog clock from Decoylab

homies' time!

I understand that the title may be misleading, but hope that you won't be disappointed for long.  Although I am new to blogging myself, I am not new to loving blogs.  That is why "The Homies" nominations are one of my favorite times of the year.  The Apartment Therapy blogs (also including re-nest, ohdeedoh, unplggd, and kitchn) do a round-up every year of the best design blogs in the areas of general, green, children, technology and food.  Its the perfect time to find new favorites and renewed inspiration.  Although I have only had time to do a quick scan of this year's nominees, here are my favorites so far: 

Children's design blog: lilmagoolie.  I like the round-ups of cool, mom-friendly products and crafty diy projects.

Technology blog: wired magazine's gadget lab.  Okay, so there were only two nominees, and I was not particularly excited about either, but thought these iphone cases that turn your phone into a ping-pong paddle were awesome!  Good news for you techies out there...start a blog on the subject and Wired Magazine is pretty much your only competition.

Cooking blog: 101cookbooks.  To me, nothing beats Smitten Kitchen--coincidentally, a past Homies winner--but the photographs in this vegetarian blog are stunning.  All of the dishes look like something you would eat on a rejuvenating yoga retreat in the woods, which is obviously a life I sometimes like to pretend I am living.

Green blog: babygreendesign.  This one's a two-fer...both a green blog and a kids' blog.  They had me at their eco-friendly kids' bookshelf round-up.  It is particularly impressive that this blog is under a year old.

Overall favorite: greengoody.  So, I must have gotten click-happy.  I don't think this blog made the final cut for any of the categories, but I am in love with the author's impeccable taste and subtle humor.  There is a little bit of everything here...products, projects, recipes and more with an environmentally-friendly focus.  [postscript: found it!  it was a past winner]


For all of the nominees, go to Apartment Therapy.  Go to the subpage of your preference for more specialized lists!  Happy blog hunting.  Of course, it won't hurt my feelings if you decide you only have time to read mine ;)