Design & Decor Blog

I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t need another bag. Like any good girly-girl, I’ve got too many bags and too many pairs of shoes. My mother tells me that my obsession with shoes began at a very young age so it was only natural that when I got my first job as a teenager, it was at a shoe store at the mall up the street from our house. But the obsession, I think, isn’t so much about quantity as it is about quality. And by quality, I don’t mean outrageously expensive, hand-crafted, imported Italian leather. I’m talking more about utility. For years, my favourite boots were a pair of synthetic platforms that cost about $40. But they were so versatile, they were the perfect pair. And so it is with my new favourite bag. The SUMO women’s laptop purse is so stylish and utilitarian, it was love at first sight. And then, as I began to use it, I really fell hard. It’s sleek, which I love; it doesn’t look like a laptop bag at all. And inside, there’s a cozy, corduroy-lined pouch for my computer. It fits sveltely inside, with plenty of room to spare for all the other odds and ends I lug around town. This bag is big on the details (did I mention the corduroy-lined pouch that I love?) – it’s got a printed interior and the fuchsia stitching on the exterior is the perfect finishing touch. The bag itself is nylon but the straps are a soft, pliable leather. Exterior pockets provide easy access to your phone or iPod. It’s stylish for toting about town and super-functional for traveling with.

Available at: mobileedge.com
Price: $129.99

Print, scan, copy – this Kodak printer does it all! I’ve already blogged about it (see here) but we’re giving one away at styleathome.com so you should hurry and enter the contest. You can enter once a day so what are you waiting for? Click here to enter. Good luck!

I’m all about multi-functional these days. I mean, why invest in three things to perform three different tasks when you can rely on one thing to perform three tasks? Yes, I am of the BlackBerry generation – one device for phone, email, music, calendar … I’m hooked! So when I discovered Kodak’s ESP-5 all-in-one printer, I knew I’d love it. It’s sleek and sexy and so easy to use. So what does this wonder printer do? It prints (duh), copies and scans but what I love most is the three-inch LCD screen for viewing and editing. And, it features memory card and USB slots so that you can view, edit and print your materials, even if you don’t have a computer hooked up to it. When did something as practical as a printer get so exciting? It’s both Mac- and PC-compatible and has space for two cartridges; black and a five-colour cartridge. Perfect for your home office as long as you actually work and don’t spend your day playing with your new gadget!

Available at: Staples Business Depot and London Drugs or online at kodak.ca.
Price: $169.99

Psst! We’re going to be giving one of these fab printers away soon on styleathome.com so keep checking back for our contest!

If you really want to stay on top of cool new tech toys, you should definitely check out our Tech Style blog by Style at Home’s senior editor Corinna VanGerwen.

I often find myself bemoaning the fact that rarely do we hand write personal letters or cards and send them out via postal service anymore. And if pretty paper and note cards (like the kind I blogged about here) aren’t enough to inspire you to put your computer away and communicate the old-fashioned way, maybe these jeweled pencils will do the trick. This simply but stylishly packaged slide box of five pencils is the perfect gift for yourself … or … fine, for someone else. With a Swarovski lead crystal at the head, these jeweled pencils are more than just writing tools. In the middle of the day, they might just come in handy as chopsticks to hold your hair up. They are jeweled, after all.

Available at: violet.com
Price: $15 for a box set of five

I love sending out handwritten notes and cards. I love the whole process of it. I love carefully choosing a card or a piece of pretty paper. I love sharing a few personal words. I love signing off with a flourish, putting to paper the curves and curls of my name, perfected years ago as I sat doodling in one math class or another. But these days, we email. We text message. We Facebook and we MySpace, we instant message and we BlackBerry. We call from landlines, cordless phones and cells. But rarely do we ever take the time to put pen to paper it seems. And with such beautifully designed stationery, it’s really quite a shame. So think about it – pop a note in the mail. These cards pictured above are like a little piece of art that anyone would be thrilled to receive in the mail. Check out fabulousstationery.com for tons more designs.

Plus, take a look at these beautiful stationery options. You’re going to want to write a letter now. Do it.

Everything’s better in crystal, don’t you think? If you thought Swarovski was all about cute but utterly pointless crystal dust-collectors … I mean figurines, collectibles, whatever you want to call them … think again! The crystal retailer offers up a killer collection of all kinds of blinged-out treats, from jewelry and accessories to home decor goodies like picture frames and stemware. But my faves are these office accessories that are totally extravagant but so pretty to look at. Talk about taking something ordinary and making it special! The Amazone Headphones (pictured left) are made of polished stainless steel with fully faceted drop-cut crystals on the ear buds. The Lock Out USB Key (pictured right) is a memory stick, masquerading as a lock. This 1GB memory stick is also made with polished stainless steel and Silver Shade crystals. You’re going to want to take good care of these!

Prices:
Amazone Headphones: $175
Lock Out USB Key: $210
Available at Swarovski stores across Canada; for more, visit swarovski.com

PLUS: Check out 8 eco-friendly home office ideas on styleathome.com.

If these colourful and stylish file folders don’t motivate you to organize the heaps of junk on your desk into neat, orderly piles, perfectly protected in pretty file folders, there’s just no help for you. Sorry.

Available at: crane.com
Price: $11.95 for package of 6 (left), $12.95 for package of 12 (right)

Are you a piler or a filer? Take the quiz to find out!