Dirty Pretty Things, part deux

Ohhh, I love me some stuff.

It's true, and I don't know how else to say it. I just love stuff. I adore little bits and baubles and gadgets and knickknacks and pretties and smellies and softies. I like to surround myself with this stuff because it all makes me happy to look at, wear, smell or use. I love to look around my home and see attractive things.

And that's it. So for those of you inspired to perhaps suggest again that I am personifying Veblen's theory of conspicuous consumption, I will just say this: don't hate the playa, hate the game. I like these things not because they're haute or trendy, but because I find them aesthetically pleasing, and the fact that some of the objects tend to be somewhat expensive? Ancillary. So blow me.

That said, here are my top eleven (I couldn't settle on just ten) latest objets du désir. I seem to be fancying lighting quite a bit these days, from the looks of it (also, I don't know why the damned images won't center and aren't framed, but I'm tired of fighting with them):


1. 'Sassi Luminosi' by Bosa (so expensive they make you email the manufacturer for the price) - When hearing the term "magical rocks," some people think "crack cocaine." I think of these incredible floor lights. (And I think the crack might be cheaper.)






2. Monyette Paris ($45 for 1/8 oz. roll-on, monyetteparis.com) - This is my signature scent. I discovered it by happenstance in a little boutique up in Seattle. It was the only thing I could afford. I'm not kidding. Anyway, it smells fantastic (like Tahitian gardenia, French lily of the valley, hints of island vanilla orchid) and wears really well. Also, IT DRIVES THE BOYS WILD.





3. Roost Porcelain Mushrooms and Cargo Mushroom Boxes ($6 and $24 respectively, velocityartanddesign.com) - I find myself attracted lately to '70s design...those ceramic garden gnomes, owl paraphernalia, starburst clocks...and these wee, unglazed porcelain and wooden mushrooms (with lids!!!) seem to be a smaller, modern iteration of those old school cement toadstool statues I played on when I was a kid in my grandma's garden. I'd line them up on a shelf over my desk or in the kitchen, or just use one as a little paper weight. I would NOT try to chop them up and put them in spaghetti hoping for a hallucenogenic high, tempting though that might be.





4. Capri Blue Volcano No. 6 candle ($28, anthropologie.com) - If you have never smelled this candle, BOY HOWDY, ARE YOU IN FOR A TREAT. My friend Megan introduced me to them, and good god almighty, this might be the most amazing candle ever. I'm serious as a heart attack. The manufacturer describes the scent as "tropical fruits, sugared oranges, lemons, and limes, redolent with lightly exotic mountain greens," but I'm here to tell you that it smells like NECKING IN THE DARK and BEING DESERTED ON A TROPICAL ISLAND.




5. Nakamol leather rose rings ($15, nakamolchicago.com) - These are actually sold locally (!!!) at Willows Boutique in Downtown Vancouver, and for a whole dollar less! They're adorable little leather rings with a colored leather flower on top. And I love them so.




6. Roost Berlin Pendant Lamp ($270, velocityartanddesign.com) - I love the exposed filament bulbs in these pendant lamps...they manage to be elegant and rustic at the same time. Had I a dining room that wasn't bordered on three sides by doorways and therefore basically an idiotic, glorified hallway, I would hang three in a row over the dining room table. But since my dining room is a total effing waste of space, I'll just make do with the dining room table shoved unceremoniously in the corner and the heinous boob-and-nipple-shaped, brass-and-frosted-glass ceiling light that serves as our lighting now. SIGH.

7. Dash & Albert rugs (prices vary, dashandalbert.com) - Rugs are awesome. They're also really ridiculously expensive. My parents bought a very nice rug to go in their living room, under the coffee table, and while it's a great rug -- soft, pretty, sturdy -- it cost thousands of dollars. THOUSANDS. I don't know about anyone else, but I've got a cat that likes to play with carpeting, and I also have two feet that often wear shoes that perhaps have not been cleared of debris entirely before walking around my apartment. That said, there's no way in HELL I would spend that much on a rug. But Dash & Albert rugs are not only well-made and cute...they're affordable. Like, seriously affordable. And I just found them being sold in a new home store in Downtown Vancouver called Heart of the Home (which sounds like the sort of place selling decor featuring geese festooned in blue bows, but in fact sells lovely French country stuff). And to that I say, "holler."

8. Biella Wool Trench by Suzabelle ($388, suzabelle.com) - Seriously, this might be the greatest coat ever. We met in a bridal shop, of all places, while gown shopping for one of my best friends, Gina. Carrie and I spied the coat at the same time; she fell for the black, I for the gray. It's soft, warm, pliant, and easy to wear and move around in. I know this because I wore it for the duration of our time in the store, refusing to take it off until it was clear that my only choices were to do so or face criminal prosecution. But I've never forgotten it, and I know that someday I'll have a spare $388 that isn't earmarked for T-Mobile or NW Natural or some awesome past-due parking fine, and I will buy this jacket.

9. Anthropology outfit, "The 3rd" ($770, anthropologie.com) - Oh, Anthropologie. Are your clothes made using the rare strands of unicorn mane? Perhaps from the marrow of endangered baby seals? Are the earrings crafted from the same precious metal as the Holy Grail? No? THEN WHY IN THE HELL DOES THIS OUTFIT COST $770. WHY. At any rate, I love every piece of this outfit (especially those shoes), and will happily seek to reproduce it for approximately $650 fewer dollars. At Forever 21. If that is possible.

10. Manzanita Candelabra by West Elm ($99, westelm.com) - We have a fireplace mantel that could be used as a guest bedroom, it's so huge. It measures 5 feet wide and 2 feet deep. 2 FEET DEEP. I have long wondered what exactly to put up there that wouldn't make it look as though I were hosting a small garage sale in the living room, and, conversely, tried to avoid putting too little up there because it just draws attention to its ridiculous size. Then I saw this manzanita branch candelabra, and HALLELUJAH, HOLY SHIT! Something large enough to fill the space well, but dainty enough to not overwhelm the space or the room. And, of course, West Elm tells me it is now sold out. Why do the mantel gods hate me so?

11. Monkey Portraits by Jill Greenberg - Simply the greatest coffee table book ever. Period. I mean, LOOK AT IT.

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Want to share something you covet? Feel free to post it in a comment, or email it to me and I'll post it for you. Because product porn can be a lonely pasttime, I know. AND I'M HERE FOR YOU.

Comments

[Steven]

Monkey portraits FTW!

You should take a field trip to Noun for your next post.

[malisams]

Oh I know, I love Noun (A Person's Place for Things). I miss living across the street from it. I so wish they'd relocate to Uptown...but alas. Perhaps I'll start a sister store: Verb - Expressing Existence, Action and Occurrence.

Or not. TOTALLY NOT THE SAME.

[Nay]

Very nice list, you have great taste.

[Amber Case]

Oh great -- just when I thought I had a handle on my ability to purchase nothing!