Dear Santa,
I will be the first to say I have been very, very good this year. Or, maybe just good. I mean, at least in the sense that I sinned less. I did donate $62 to the Obama campaign, which was probably the best thing I did all year. Anyway, I know you mostly take care of kids, but since I’m a month shy of my dirty thirty I thought I’d just throw it out there: my wishlist. Please note: I don’t have a Christmas tree, or a doorman, and my chimney is purely decorative, but I’ll keep my window open (actually it’s always open- you know these old radiator tenement buildings in the city keep it a little too toasty!)
With Love and Christmas Spirit from Noria
MY CHRISTMAS LIST
- John Robshaw’s vibrantly printed linens to jazz up my next dinner party.
- I will decorate my jazzed up dinner table with these Venetian-inspired votives, which I saw on Jayson Home and Garden, a site that induces insane obsessions
- Jayson Home and Garden Obsession CASE IN POINT: a bird bowl. It just seems so necessary.
- I used to shop all my Christmas gifts at Koo de Kir when I lived in Boston. Thank God the shop has a website. I love these mismatched aperitif glasses, perfect for a little lillet before dinner.
Quite simply the most brilliant gift for a wino who inhabits a very, very small studio. Thank you MOMA.
- Because the only way to serve salad is in a water buffalo horn bowl rimmed in sterling silver.
- Naturally I would serve the salad with handmade mother-of-pearl utensils.
- Ok, let’s keep it real. A cast iron skillet from the original Lodge, to help legitimize my increasing chef-iness
- I love everything from Le Creuset’s stoneware collection- the baking dishes, canisters, the pitchers, the ramekins…all of it looks so much prettier in their saturated colors.
- Because how am I supposed to make dough for my tarte tatin this winter if I don’t have the classic Kitchen Aid mixer? It’s so charming in baby blue!
- A+R is a store (with a great website) that carries all the newest in modern design for home. I always go here for ideas…and now I have the answer for how I will grill steaks on my fire escape.
- Mariage-Freres, specifically their seasonal blend aptly named NOEL. The most elegant, wonderful tea salon in Paris made this blend rich with Christmas-y spices and a bit of citrus. I love it. This is a bargain, and it’s such a lovely tin.
- I cannot think of one person who wouldn’t be thrilled to receive this stunning, festive arrangement from Ovando, a boutique florist in Manhattan. The only unfortunate thing about it is the name, “Modern Ice.” So cheesy.
- I may have a napkin obsession, but these napkins are special- they’re JAPANESE. They’re called tenugui, hand-dyed napkins that are big enough to double as dish towels or head scarves. They’re from this awesome home store in LA called Tortoise, which has so many cool, modern yet rustic things for my new apartment. Ahem.
- This bag is designed by my dearest friend Meleana, a gorgeous Hawaiian with a fantastic line of handbags full of vintage prints. **If it’s easier, I would happily accept a roundtrip ticket to Honolulu so I could just pick this up myself (and immediately use it for the beach). Save the reindeer some energy.
- I still remember my first scent of this candle. I was a lowly fashion assistant, running around a snow-swept city picking up clothes for a photo shoot. I took the elevator up to the Sonia Rykiel showroom, where the elevator opened up to a Frenchy oasis with black carpeting, racks of beautiful clothes, a primly dressed publicist and an intoxicating smell. What is that, I gasped, forgetting I was only a lowly assistant. Red currant, the publicist answered. I’ve been in love with this scent ever since.
My co-worker Jenny has a calendar hanging on her desk, it’s called Extreme Ironing. This month, it’s a man ironing topless on the side of a mountain. For 2009, I think I want to upgrade her to one of these silkscreened calendars. I saw them originally in Domino Mag (their gift guide is amazing) and once I did some research on The Dolphin Studio (sweet family in Massachusetts, lived in Ireland, Mr. French looks like Santa Claus). Sure, the calendar is $50, but it’s 12 months of art. I would frame my birthday month and always remember 2009 as the best year ever.
Naysayers say the book rambles, but I say we're talking about Provence, and if you've ever been to Provence, you know there's no better place to ramble. The writer, Mary Ann Caws, is a distinguished professor of literature at CUNY whose personal history is so fascinating who cares that the book is about food?
….and, well, what the hell…it’s not food-related but it’s gorgeous….
Since this is my forum, and my pretend Santa letter, I want to give a shout to a beautiful jewelry line called Conroy and Wilcox. Elegant but slightly gypsy-ish…maybe because the designers went to India to learn goldsmithing.
Excited to have checked out this site really found it useful and will return for a further look around when I am not so busy.
my mother always buys the best kitchen aids that she can find on the market ”