gifts

Why I Can’t NOT Write about Persimmons Every Year

There are good reasons I cannot NOT write about persimmons every winter. I love all the ways that they seem defiant, wild, beyond my control… I want others to find their way to the rare experience they offer.

‘Trees are Sanctuaries’: Hermann Hesse’s Writing and Watercolors

A snippet of a Hermann Hesse quote about trees sent us hunting for the whole thing. We stumbled on “Trees: An Anthology of Writings and Paintings”, a little gem of a book: thirty of Hesse’s watercolors with his essays and poetry about trees, for him, a symbol of transcendence and rebirth.

Ways to Honor The Mother Trees (Susan Simard, W.S. Merwin)

We have marveled at Susan Simard since we realized she was the model for the fearless, hermetic tree botanist in Richard Price’s wondrous tree-centric novel The Overstory. Her new book Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Ancient Wisdom of the Forest about the intricate underground communication network trees create and depend upon got us thinking about the perfect gift, for Mother’s day or otherwise.

Tool for Living: A Strangely Perfect $8 Spatula

The best eight bucks I’ve spent lately is the OXO’s Good Grips Jar Spatula, a silicone spatula meant for reaching into jars. It’s so curiously-perfect I find myself using it daily for all sorts of kitchen endeavors.

Tool for Living: Hulkenbag, Huge, Stylish, Strong Bag-on-Wheels

My favorite tool of late is the Hulkenbag: a big cleverly-designed open satchel-on-wheels that holds its structure and can be rolled around anywhere. I throw in whatever I need to shlep and go. When I’m done, I fold it up and stash it out of the way. Perfect.

Tree.fm: Listen to Forests Around the World and Plant Some Trees

The past week working at our desk, we listened to soundscapes of forests in Malaysia, Estonia, Portugal, China and France… Through a remarkable website, we found ourselves transported into tranquil environments AND quickly able to gift trees to friends…

Giant Twisting Balloons Inspire Furniture and Your Own Big Ideas

Designer Seung Jin Yang’s whimsical furniture appears to be made of the kind of twistable balloons used to entertain kids. OMG, we thought, could we make furniture out of balloons?

Oilcloth (Not PVC) Makes a Surprisingly Cool, Wipe-Clean Tablecloth that Protects Your Wood Table

When the mid-century wood table I set up for dining and work took a hit from a spilled glass of water, I cast about for a protective everyday solution that wouldn’t look like plastic. I found it in old-fashioned oilcloth…

Sister Corita Kent Greeting Cards for Holidays and All Year

Looking back at our post about the prints legendary artist Sister Corita Kent made around the theme of “the moment” in 1977, we thought “What wonderful greeting cards they would make”, now and all year.

Gifts that ‘Encourage Wonder and Reflection’

The recent post about Mister Rogers got me thinking about how to give gifts that “encourage wonder and reflection? Here are some gift books that do just that.

How to Shop Improvised Life

One of the things I let go of during the renovation of Improvised Life was its Shop, a compendium of items I’ve found worth the money to buy. Here’s how you can still easily shop items recommended in Improvised Life.

Scent Your Space with “Eaux Fraîches” of Green Leaves, Grass, Loam

Always on the lookout for ways to transform my space and mood, I recently stumbled on a bargain of heady transformation: a $20 way to subtly evoke Nature indoors.

An Analog Kid’s Timer Increases Focus and Productivity

The simple, clever Time Timer has proven a useful visual aid that helps me focus on whatever I need to make headway with, and then get up and take a break, disrupting the obsessive overfocus I’m prone to. It helps me work more efficiently, with less stress.