"When a Trusted Brand Disappears" by Ricki Morell

As someone who doesn't even like when products change their packaging (Pictionary, you were once so lovely!), I was quite pleased with this article in yesterday's New York Times.

Product Appreciation: Sharpie Extra Fine Marker

Sharpie Fine Point Permanent Markers are too big. (These are the standard Sharpie size, don't be fooled by the name they're actually quite large)

Sharpie Ultra Fine Point Permanent Markers are too small.

Sharpie's Extra Fine Permanent Markers are juuuuuuuust right.

...however, they are the hardest ones to find (and they only come in 4 colors but you probably don't need a Valley Girl Violet or Banana Clip Yellow Sharpie anyway). So, should you come across a fleet of Extra Fines I would like to encourage you to give one a test drive. I think you'll find they handle with greater maneuverability than the Fine Point and offer a smoother ride than the flimsy Ultra Fine.

Product Appreciation: Smart Wool Socks

My love affair with Smart Wool socks began when I was living in cold country. However, now that I'm back in the tropics they're still in heavy rotation. They're just so comfortable. Seriously, if you've never tried these socks you'll be shocked that you've been living your entire life wearing socks that come in a plastic bag with a litter of their siblings. Yes, they're about $20 a pair but they also last longer than any pair of socks I've ever owned.

Product Appreciation: Ab Ex Stamps

These stamps are my favorite stamps to be released in quite a while. The images are great, of course, but I love how enormous they are! The really help to make letters look livelier.

Thing Celebration: Annecy's copy of "White Noise"

As I've discussed before, I'm a big fan of books with reader annotations. This recent NPR piece tells the story of a young lady purchasing a copy of White Noise that happened to be annotated by the writer David Markson.

I love this story for two reasons; it tells the history of an object and I'm lucky enough to be friends with the young lady, Annecy Liddell. Listen to it, it's only 5 mins.

Lonny Blog

I'm now writing for the Lonny Magazine blog. Here's my first post.

Product Appreciation: Rose Water

Ever since I read this article I've been putting rose water on everything. It's especially good with strawberries.

Happy 1st Birthday Order of Things!

Product Appreciation: String Dispensers

I'm rather fond of the idea of having a string dispenser but I'm afraid I don't use string enough to justify getting one. However, if I were to get one I'd want this cast iron one from Cast in Style. While researching these dispensers online, I also came across someone using a diner-style sugar dispenser for string, quite clever.

Product Appreciation: Sanford Giant Pencil Mountable Sharpener

My heart really goes out to the Sanford Giant Manual Pencil Sharpener. It may not be the flashiest or prettiest sharpener out there but its simple and sturdy design makes the electrical sharpeners that light up when the pencil is sharpened look like some real brown-nosers. The Sanford Giant is ready to work with you, not for you even in the worst power outages.

Product Appreciation: Kork-Ease Sandals

I recently watched The Runaways...and then I watched it four more times. It's a pretty silly movie and I'm still unsure why I enjoyed it so much but I think it has something to do with the film's mid-to-late 1970s So-Cal aesthetic. In fact, I was so taken with the cars, interiors and clothes that I purchased a pair of Kork-Ease wedges. They're surprisingly comfortable and make me feel like Cherie Currie.