Je t'aime

Helpful in those chicken scratch situations: Compose your own sentiment and have calligrapher Betsy Dunlap make magic on an antique Parisian postcard. A handwritten valentine from Litterae, available until February 7. A small gesture (but oh, how romantic).

Last Minute Wish List // Gift Guide

Need a great gift idea in a pinch (two days until Christmas!) I always think a magazine subscription is a great thing to give. Sign up for a gift subscription online and make a little certificate to box up and wrap  - if you're really on top of it, buy an issue off the newstand, too. If you are looking to get me a magazine, I'd be happy with finding any one of these publications in my mailbox:

The Believer is a superb literary magazine by McSweeney's, positively packed with articles, interviews, poems and columns for the literary-minded (i.e. English major like moi).

Kinfolk is not actually available by subscription but is such a lovely publication, one volume makes a great gift. Full color photography and seasonal inspiration for get togethers, recipes and other projects. Kinfolk is available in all Anthropologie stores and at Forage Modern Workshop in Minneapolis if you want to keep it local. Check the stockists for a place to pick up the latest issue in your area.

Anthology is a limited-edition quarterly publication that's perfect for design bloggers and interior appreciators. It is such a treat to get in the mail!

Cook's Illustrated contains a wealth of information in each issue, it's almost overwhelming. But for the home cook who's interested in the how and why behind their cooking, it's a great source. They've tested every method and every tool, so you know the best way to make any dish.

Intelligence, wit, style, humor, 'nuff said. The New Yorker is great for the covers alone and is delivered each week (how can one ever keep up?)

3191 Quarterly is also just available per issue, but is such a superb publication with all sorts of beautiful photography accompanying quiet moments, recipes, craft projects and good living.

Wish List// Gift Guide

Happy 12/12/12! And on this historic date, I present to you the official pinkshirtsandcarwrecks Wish List//Gift Guide. If you don't know me, give any one of these gifts to someone who loves simple, useful, beautiful things. If you know me, you'll find a few ideas :)

The best gifts are those that you can use (I think). My honey got me a legitimate camera last Xmas. It's been great for my business, but now I need a leather camera strap that will wear beautifully like this one from Kaufmann Mercantile. Made in Japan, $158.

Lucky Peach is a quarterly food journal put out by publishing masterminds McSweeney's. Issue Five is all about Chinatown (which we dipped our toes into in October during our visit to NYC. The place where we had lunch was legit: Cooked ducks were hanging in the window. One year subscription, $28.



I'm in desperate need for a big, white enameled colander. I thrifted one a few years ago and it's literally rusting out. I've got a specific hook in the kitchen for it and can't find a replacement at any of the big box kitchen stores. This one from Manufactum is by Riess is the closest I can find to a decent replacement. Made in Austria, 33 Euro.

I want to start cooking with truffle oil. I've heard it's magic in scrambled eggs. White Truffle Oil by Dean & Deluca, $30.

This book looks fantastic (take a peek at one of the amazing designer's live/work spaces here). Handcrafted Modern by Leslie Williamson, $45.

A wicker shopping basket would make it easier to get groceries home when we walk to the store in summertime. Wicker Shopping Trolley, 178 Euro.

I'm always on the lookout for cool vintage candlesticks (they are harder to find than you might think). I've got a pair that these handmade beeswax taper candles would look handsome in. Hand dipped in Oregon, $5.90 for a pair.

I swear I'd get more gardening done with a pair of authentic Japanese gardening scissors from Tortoise. $150 each.

I got Steve a pair of modern snowshoes that are super light (but super ugly). I want a pair of these Silent Glider Wooden Snowshoes so we can hike down to Minnehaha Falls in deep winter together. Designed for direct competition with aluminum shoes, they provide more traction because of the rawhide. If properly cared for they will last three lifetimes! Handcrafted in Michigan, $275.

Oh, to have my own Faribault blanket. The Mill Street is the modern take on an antique Faribault Woolen Mills blanket from 1920. In Olive please, $214.50.




These Wanderer aluminum and brass notepads would be great to have at your desk. I think Manufactum says it best: "A wanderer – a bit like a piece of smooth, polished stone transported over the years by the movement of the tides and washed up hundreds of miles from its place of origin." Made in France, 22 – 40 Euro.



A complete set of Audubon Field Guides would keep you prepared for anything. Since Best Made Co. is sold out of the series, wouldn't it be cool to start collecting the books one by one? I'd start with the guides to Trees and the Night Sky. $19.95 each.