Hello, Gorgeous!
I’m ready to start roadtripping to peep fall leaves, though I’m dreading tagging along while friends visit their offspring in college.
A friend dropped her daughter off at college a few weeks ago and came back flabbergasted. “Where did all this cool stuff come from and why didn’t they have any of it when I was in college?” she asked me over and over again.
Well, your guess is as good as mine. It took me seven years to graduate college since I started working full-time straight out of high school. I went to college at night and at one point started studying makeup artistry over the weekends. Along the way I also collected many many (probably useless) degrees in addition to my majors. What I didn’t collect was cool dorm room swag. I think it’s time to make up for that now with amazing items that would be perfectly at home in the coolest dorm room - or your home.
Gorgeous wine glasses
Remember hanging out in your dorm room and drinking cheap wine? I don’t, because I never dormed. I’d like to think that most of us have graduated (see what I did there?) to beautiful and functional wine glasses. This set of four Chroma stemless glasses from Mikasa are both beautiful and functional. Since they’re all tinted with different color variations there’s no need for wine charms. Two things to keep in mind: These are made of thin glass and they’re not washable in your dish washer. They’re incredibly beautiful though (I feel like I should add *only* $35, Mikasa.com).
A power plant
Looking for an unobtrusive way to charge all your devices? This ridiculously cute faux succulent from iHome blends into the background while charging all your Apple and iPhone tech toys. It also has an extra USB port for good measure. I have a houseful of plants and still fell in love with the adorable design on this charging station ($40, amazon.com).
Who’s your (spice) caddy?
For reasons that shall not be shared publicly yet, I had to throw away all my spices a few weeks back. I lie. It was pantry moths. A lot of them.
Moving right along, the lovely souls at Lifetime Brands sent me this Kamenstein functional and beautiful revolving spice rack that was jam packed with 20 spices (basil, chives, celery salt, cinnamon, coriander, crushed mint, crushed red pepper, dill weed, fennel, Herbes de Provence, Italian seasoning, marjoram, oregano, parsley, pizza mix, rosemary, savory, seasoning salt, sage, and thyme). This beautiful unit has a tiny footprint, so you can easily keep it on your kitchen counter. Want someplace to store your cooking utensils? The middle caddy doubles as a storage area. One more thing, you may be eligible for free spice refills. Simply register your unit and check their website for specifics. Did I mention the labeled stainless steel tops on the glass jars? ($52, Amazon).
Glass food storage containers
Clearly you’ve outgrown a fridge full of Chinese takeout containers (or at least I think you did). PlanetBox has a line of square or round BPA-free glass containers. I love the fact that you can see exactly what’s inside and that they’re dishwasher, freezer, and microwave safe. (4-cup round storage container is $20, Planetbox.com).
Better butter
If you struggle to cut sticks of butter, you’re in luck. Chef’n, maker of all things clever around the kitchen has a new Slice’n Store Butter Dish with Built-In Slicer Lid. Simply stick in a stick of butter and use the lid to measure out the perfect pat. No need to melt the butter stick and swipe as you go the way you did back in your college days! ($12, Amazon).
Let’s dish
When I moved into my first apartment my then friend Bobbie asked if I wanted her old dishes. Which were actually her roommate’s boyfriend’s mother’s old dishes. I declined. Since then I’ve had a few lovely sets of dinnerware. A recent fave are these sky-blue extremely lightweight Madison dishes from Mikasa (also available in palest green or pink). They’re perfect for when you want to add a touch of color to your table, and to use alone or rotate with your patterned pieces or to extend your current set when company comes over (About $122, Amazon).
Winter break
My writer pal Brette Sember — a self-described born and bred Buffalo, NY gal —recently spent some time in Iceland. Inspired by her travels she wrote about the idea embracing winter instead of being depressed by the cold and gloom. I’m excited to read her new book WinterTide which among other things teaches you how to develop a positive winter mindset($10, Amazon).
Have you made any small updates to your kitchen or space lately? Let’s meet in the comment sections to discuss!
Rachel, Your beauty concierge 💋