open your hearts to NieNie...

The blog world is abuzz today with a fundraiser for Stephanie and Christian Neilson. They were hurt badly in a small-plane accident almost 2 weeks ago- the pilot of the plane is dead, and the two of them are burned and injured. They are the cutest family- featured in Cookie last September, and have four children under the age of 6. Even if they have great insurance, it is more then likely that it will not begin to cover the additional expenses they will have- with two parents not working and four children to take care of.

Having been in a bad accident myself just a couple of years ago, I can attest to the positive effect the kindness of strangers can have on you while recovering. I hope you will join me in either bidding on something in the auctions benefitting them, donating directly to their PayPal fund, or sending them a card at the hospital.

Mari Copa County Hospital

c/o Stephanie and Christian Neilson

601 East Roosevelt St

Phoenix AZ 85008

drooling, drooling...beatrice peltre

No words needed to describe the work of food stylist and photographer Béatrice Peltre, aka, La Tartine Gourmande. Yum-azing.

a Party of a different sort

In June, my great Aunt Elly passed away at the age of 94. She was revered not only in my family, but by a great deal of people. She was Michigan's first female Republican chairman in 1964, which was a huge triumph- given that she was the first woman to chair any major state political party in U.S. History. She was also the national co-chairwoman of ERAmerica, a coalition that helped in the fight to get the Equal Rights Amendment ratified. She died a registered Independent. Needless to say, she's set the bar high for women in my family. 

The passion she showed for America and our political system fuels my desire to be a part of the political process. I hope- whatever Party you're a part of, and whomever you support- that you will choose to be a part of the elections this November. I have been riveted by the Democratic Convention this week and can't wait to see the Republic Convention on the 1st. 

On that note, Plum Party has a great selection of election party goods- what better way to inspire participation and excitement then throwing a political fete? The political cookies, shown above, are among my favorite things.

nashville spotlight: libby callaway & flora vintage

Libby Callaway, a former NYC-er and fashion editor of the New York post, is now a Nashville-based clothing stylist and writer, and by far one of the coolest ladies in town. Libby writes two blogs: The Style Arbiter for the City Paper and Flora Vintage, which spotlights current vintage finds that she sells at Gas Lamp Antique Mall. Gen and I stumbled across Libby while setting up our own booth with vintage wares (now a thing of the past), and have adored this lovely lady ever since. Above is my latest favorite thing from Libby's vintage collection. So fun for a party!

conran discount

I've been wanting to recommend the conran shop's great discount to you...20% off everything through August 30th...but they've disappointed me so much with my attempted buying experience, that I've been leery about passing it along. 

The website does not function well. The first time I tried to order something using the discount, I could not get the 'apply discount' function to work. Then I received an email that the discount was now working, and to try again. Which I did this evening. The discount did work- but I was appalled to see they were charging $35 to ship 3 small items- completely erasing the savings. Absurd!

It's too bad- they have some really beautiful things. If you still find some things you can't live without and don't mind the shipping costs, enter code word DOMINO at checkout (a promotion through Domino magazine).