Design & Decor Blog

I’m a bona fide gadget girl. I can’t get enough of my tech toys. But no matter how much I love my Blackberry, I still love gorgeous paper products – stationery, calendars, notepads and journals. And so, one of my favourite things to do at the start of a new year, is to search out beautiful agenda books. Below are some of my faves. Plus, check out 9 more stylish 2010 calendars.

My favourite calendars (from left to right, top to bottom)
Agenda Coelho 2010: Inspirations
Available at: amazon.ca
Price: 26.58

Cath Kidston 2010 Mini Engagement Calendar
Available at: chroniclebooks.com
Price: $12.99

2010 Designer Dogs Calendar
Available at: peterpauper.com
Price: $3.00

2010 Wall Calendar
Available at: seejanework.com
Price: $34

From finally clearing the clutter in your home office to getting a jumpstart on the holidays … what are you doing this month? Here are 10 things to do in November:

1 Check your gutters
Clean your gutters regularly during the fall to make sure they’re not blocked with fallen leaves and other debris. Also check that they’re solidly attached to the house and draining properly.

2 Try some new cheeses
A creative and delicious cheese plate anchors any selection of appetizers. Take the time now to visit your cheese store and test-taste the offerings so you can wow your guests when the party season arrives.

3 Get out your knitting basket
Nothing’s cosier than a hand-knitted gift, whether it be a simple scarf mittens or an item for the home. Get started on small handmade gifts for your loved ones now — you’ll have time to make something special for yourself, too. New to knitting? Pick up a beginners’ book such as Knitting Pretty by Kris Percival, or sign up for a knitting class at your local yarn store (LYS, in knitters’ lingo).

OK, that’s only three things … check out our full list of things to do in November!

My desk is a disaster. As in … seriously … a disaster. I need some organizing help. So much mail crosses my desk each day that it’s nearly impossible to stay on top of it. That’s why I was thrilled to find these adorable office organizers from Susy Jack . From wall and desktop calendars to magnets, clips and pencil holders, these handy helpers for the office are big on style. Check out my favourites:

Pencil Cup and Pencils
$16.00
Work Reminder Magnet Sets
$9.95

2010 Deluxe Wall Calendar
$34.00

Day of the Week Clip Set
$8.50

More ideas for organizing your office
If you need some advice (like I clearly do) on organizing your office space, check these out:

5 tips for organizing a home office
Get your office clutter-free with these ideas.

Organizing 101: Organizing the home office
With a little creativity and home organizing, any space in your home can be designated as a functioning home office.

6 great office gadgets
A messy workspace can lead to distraction and frustration. Take your geek to chic with these fab organizing items for a clutter-free home office.

It’s been a while since I blogged about stationery, no? Today’s fabulous find is from Linda & Harriett. Offering a wide assortment of notecards, greeting cards, notepads and personalized stationery and invitations, Linda & Harriett’s letterpress ink is soy-based. The greeting cards and note cards are printed on 30% post-consumer and 100% carbon neutral paper. So not only are they gorgeous, but they’re green, too.

The card collection includes all the usual messages you’d expect: Thank You, Thinking of You, Happy Birthday and a sweet collection of Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays cards. But my favourite are the paper petal pins (pictured top right). Reconstructed by hand from letterpress misprints, even the scraps don’t go to waste. Stylish and socially responsible. If this was Facebook, I’d give that a thumbs up.

Visit lindaandharriett.com for a peek at the entire collection and check out the personalized letterpress stationery and the custom invitations and announcements.

I’m at it again! More pretty papers – this time, from New York-based designer Thomas Paul. Born and raised in the Big Apple, Thomas boasts a career working for design powerhouses like Bill Blass, Calvin Klein and DKNY. He started his own collection in 2001, featuring pillows made of exquisite silks. Since then, his collection has expanded to include all manner of things for house and home, all graced with his signature patterns.

So, imagine my delight as my online travels brought me to his lovely website. (Aside: Do you remember those Choose Your Own Adventure books? I used to read them as a kid. Within the pages of one book lay numerous possible stories and outcomes, depending on the choices you made as you read. Anyhow, the Internet is just like that. You never know where you’ll end up. It all depends on what you click. But I digress … )

Pictured left are examples of the items in Thomas Paul’s stationery collection, all done in pretty colour stories. Up top is chocolate - orange – marigold; followed by persimmon – pink; and aqua - peacock – leaf. I love the chocolate, orange and marigold line! Each line comes with a variety of products from notebooks, journals, notecards and desktop accessories like pen holders and desk trays for papers and miscellaneous items. Working is not my favourite thing to do but if you have to be behind a desk, these pretty accessories certainly make things more interesting!

For more information, visit thomaspaul.com but be warned: Your credit card may be safer in the freezer in a block of ice! Otherwise, have fun shopping! Click here for a list of online retailers selling Thomas Paul products.

PLUS:

Don’t forget to check out our other Style at Home blogs, if you haven’t already.

Executive editor Laurie Grassi’s blog Natural Chic is about stylish eco-friendly and green living.

Senior editor Lauren McPhillips’ blog Tech Style is about the coolest gadgets for your home and your life, plus handy tips on technology.

Associate design editor Brett Walther’s blog Style Sleuth keeps you up-to-date about what’s on the market and behind the scenes in the design world.

Enjoy!

P.S. Follow me on Twitter!

I’m sure I’ve bemoaned this fact before but it really distresses me. OK, maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration – there are dozens of things that distress me more than this. But what I’m talking about right now is the lost art of handwritten letters. In this age of technology, how often do you sit down to write a thoughtful letter to a friend? If you’re like me, you tend to communicate via email and Facebook or send quick text messages from your cell phone when you’re on the go, go, go. These methods have certainly helped me to increase the quantity of my communications with friends and family but I can’t say they’ve increased the quality of that communication. There’s something about sitting down and carefully thinking about what it is you want to say (there’s no delete button when you’re handwriting a letter) and on the flipside, there’s something special about receiving a letter or card in the mail. I don’t know about you but my mailbox is chock full of flyers and bills, neither of which I have much interest in. But as soon as I see something personal sitting there, with my name written by the hand of a friend, I toss everything aside and tear the envelope open.

Need some motivation? Beautiful stationery always works for me. Pretty papers and patterned envelopes seem to do the trick! New stationery makes me want to sit down and tell a friend I’m thinking about them. These designs (pictured above) from Chronicle Books are fun and whimsical and someone you know will be thrilled to see a note from you sitting in their mailbox. I guarantee it. Oh, and they make a great gift for someone on your Christmas shopping list.

For more information, visit chroniclebooks.com.

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

More stationery I love. Shocking, I know. These adorable designs have a bit of a French country charm to them and portray pretty botanical images that make me think of spring, even though winter is showing no signs of releasing its stranglehold. That’s not very optimistic, is it? Anyways, the Flora and Flight collection features pocket pads, note cards and gift enclosures that are not only impossibly sweet but so handy to have at home for emergencies … OK, not EMERGENCIES, exactly. They’re no good for putting out fires in the kitchen or anything. But you know … emergencies like forgotten birthdays and last-minute dinner parties (you know you never like to show up empty-handed).

All available for purchase online at randomhouse.ca.

Flora & Flight Pocket Pads, $11.95

Flora & Flight Note Cards, $15

Flora & Flight Gift Enclosures, $15.95

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.