Vermont Country Store Pick #4:Lanvin Arpege

""Promise her anything, but give her Arpege" was the slogan for this soft, sultry scent that makes women feel and smell beautiful. When Arpege, a powdery floral scent debuted In 1927, it found favor with Hollywood's glamorous femme fatales. One whiff of this eau de parfum will conjure memories of dancing the night away with your first love and inspire you to stroll hand in hand with someone you love today."-VCS
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Vermont Country Store Pick #3:Traditional Potholder Kit

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Vermont Country Store Pick #2: Boston's Mint-in-Tea, "a Favorite of the Kennedy White House"

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Vermont Country Store Pick #1: Snowball Victim (Set of 2)

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Resource: Vermont Country Store

On a recent trip to my cousins' house, I spent a good deal of time with the Vermont Country Store catalog and I was reminded of how much I love it (I like to think of it as SkyMall's slightly more directed and utilitarian grandfather). So, for the next week I will be drawing your attention to my favorite products from the VCS.

"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.