We Covet | Better Living Through Consumerism

We Covet Candles That Smell Like Italy

Spare me the kitchen candles that smell like sticky baked goods or Hello Kitty erasers.  Give me an authentic, organic smell that can transport me to an Italian garden via my olfactory system. 

This candle by Tocca does the trick.  The aroma of vine-ripened tomatoes and Mediterranean herbs is splendid, fresh and pure.  It's packaged with a spa aesthetic that's almost too pretty to light.  Named Sofia for the legendary Madame Loren, this scent makes me want to bare my shoulders and seduce Carey Grant on a houseboat. 

Tocca Sofia candle $36 @ Blue Mercury

Planter We Covet

A planter so hip it hurts.  How COOL would your neighbors think you were if you had this fabulous planter on your covered porch or your in your living room?  Very cool, I reckon. 

Fill this baby with unusual annuals, like chartreuse coloured vines, hot pink wave petunias, and some red flax grass and you are rocking the container gardening scene.  OR OR OR!  You could fill it with ice and put your wine coolers in it at your next party. SHAZAM!!

It's made of fiberglass and is fully water tight.  Unfortunately they recommend indoor use, but I would take a chance in a protected and/or screened-in area, like under my roof overhang during the summer.  Of course an indoor plant would rock this planter as well.  Groooooovy retroness, baby.

Bullet Planter, $144.99 @ Grounded

We Covet Grobals

Grobals. I know. The name of this product sounds like some dodgy medication that you hear about on late-night infomercials, the kind that gets hawked in all those e-mails that mercifully end up your spam folder (r yur balls too small? hot chks like big balls!).Which is only one reason why I'm sorely tempted to order these in my husband's name and have them delivered to his place of work.

The other reason is that these Grobals - not the testicular enhancement cream that no doubt exists somewhere - are just really cool. They're self-watering planters - which, if you have a black thumb, like me, is the only means by which any plant would survive in my household - and they're designed by Karim Rashid and they'd look awesome in my living room.

And if my husband doesn't get the package open before his colleagues start ribbing him, well, so much the funner.

Grobals, $21.75 @ Delight.com

Yard Sign We Covet

Get that dog poop off my turf!  (Or use a bag to pick it up... or at least wait until you pass by the neighbor’s house.)

I would never have the balls to use this sign in my yard, but I THINK IT all of the time. 

They need a similar one for No Butts (meaning cigarettes), don't you think?

No Pausing Pooch Lawn Sign, $29.95-$59.00 @ Design Toscano

Birdfeeder We Covet

I'm feeling in a spring-y mood these days, can you tell? And what better way to get into the mood of the season than to grab some items for the garden, like this egg-shaped bird feeder (colored a lovely robin's egg blue -- heh, geddit?). While undoubtedly functional, it's also a unique blend of modernist and science fiction-inspired styles -- I can't decide if a hipster or a space alien is gonna hatch out of that baby, but I love it regardless. Take me to your coffee shop and/or leader!

Egg Bird Feeder, $135.00 @ Uncommon Goods

Tea Towels We Covet

There's only one problem that I can see with these vintage-print tea-towels - I would never want to use them as tea-towels. I would never want to mess up the image with spilled wine and crumbs of dried cheese (what? what do YOU spill in YOUR kitchen?). I would probably get myself some kind of cool tea-towel rack and hang them in such a way that the picture showed and then smack my husband's hand every time he reached for one. Which might deter him further from doing dishes, but it's not like he's particularly good at that to begin with, so. Better to preserve funky tea-towels than to worry to much about spousal household maintenance training.

Vintage Tea Towels, 4 in a box, $20.00 @ Give Simple

Windchimes We Covet

I've been on the lookout for a good wind chime -- nothing that looks like a freakin' sandcastle or Precious Moments figurine, mind you -- and came across this cute, almost architectural tree-shaped wind chime. Perfecto!

With summer almost here, you know you need this hanging on the back porch, gently tinkling in the breeze. Ahh...

Tree Wind Chime, $59.95 @ Signals

We Covet Angelic Mirrors

Okay, so you probably couldn't fix your hair properly looking in these mirrors, but does that really matter? They are THE AWESOME. Depending upon how and where you place them, these could either be totally sweet (little girl's bedroom?) or totally rock 'n' roll (my little girl's bedroom, above her collection of stuffed Fender Stratocasters) (remind me to post about those).

(They're made by a UK company, and you'd have to make special arrangements for shipping - there's a number you can call under shipping info - so they wouldn't come cheap, but hey: what price admission into the ranks of the cherubim, really?)

Mirrored Angel Wings, very expensive (price in pounds, and I don't have that key on my laptop) (169 pounds, which is what? A zillion US dollars?) @ Graham & Green

We Covet Sunshine In A Jar

Because, you know, there are just times when the perfect gift really is just a jar of sunshine.

(You don't need me to tell you that a little jar of sunshine is, like, totally an awesomely eco-friendly little accessory because sunshine is a totally renewable resource - until, you know, it collapses into itself or explodes or whatever it is that's supposed to happen, in which case we're all going to be dead anyway - and way better than sucking up more fuel or electricity. You know that shiz already. I'm just here to tell you that as a gift? A little jar of sunshine is cool and sweet - in the aaaawwww, how adorable, what a sweet idea sense of the word - and how often do you see that?)

The Sunjar, $39.75 @ Delight.com

Animal Abode We Covet

I'd like to talk to you today about a serious problem, one wreaking havoc in our cities, towns, and yes, even in our suburbs. It is a problem that all too frequently leads individuals to succumb to the scourges of drug abuse, alcoholism, prostitution, and, sadly, early death from preventable causes.

I'm talking about bird homelessness, people.

Too many birds are out there on the streets right now, turning tricks for seed, crashing in people's clothes dryer vents, vandalizing cars with crusty dollops of poop. It's a problem that ultimately impacts all of us.

But you can help. By buying this adorable yet functional birdhouse from Anthropologie, you can strike out against bird homelessness, and change someone's life. As the online catalog states, "this hollow, oversized nut is a cozy abode any wren or warbler would be proud to call home." Tru dat, my friends, tru dat.

Just a place to call home. Even junkie alcoholic disease-ridden whore-birds deserve that much, wouldn't you agree?

Acorn-Sweet-Acorn Birdhouse, $38.00 @ Anthropologie

Decorating Idea We Covet: Wall Decals

I'm completely enamored of the possibilities inherent in using wall decals instead of paint and/or wallpaper. The flexibility and inventiveness of decorating with decals, and the number of companies producing them, seems to be growing daily -- just have a look at Real Simple's awesome decal round-up and resource list. And then commence with struggling, like me, to stop your brain from re-imagining every flat surface in your home. I mean, that bland old refrigerator could use some spiffying up, couldn't it?