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Write Here: A Journal for You

Many journals are just plain, bound, lined pages. Others overwhelm with too many pictures or inspirational quotes.

It's little wonder Belle Style's funky yet dainty jewelry has made cameos in films and television shows—like The Watchmen and Brothers and Sisters—and have been featured in magazines like Teen People, L.A. Confidential, and Tiger Beat.

Eliza Redford Necklace

The Eliza Redford Necklace from Paper Treasure is definitely unique. It was named after a ship that wrecked in a storm on Lake Ontario on November 16, 1893. The necklace it makes you think about the ship that wrecked and the people on it. It takes you back to a far off place and time and makes you wonder about what happened on that day. The necklace has a round, gold locket that opens, allowing the wearer to keep a picture of a loved one close to your heart. Both the face of the locket and the inside can hold a photo.

Organic Maple Syrup

Perusing vegan cookbooks recently, I've noticed a tendency to recommend maple syrup as a sweetener. Yes, it's sucrose, but perhaps tree juice is ahead of refined cane sugar and the demon corn. And it also has flavor. I cannot abide most artificial flavorings, and although some faux maple comes from the authentic spice fenugreek, there's nothing like the real thing. Coombs Family Farms' maple syrup is very real.

WonderToast Onesies

I originally noticed Ann Woltz's charming illustrations when looking for a birthday gift for a surrogate niece. Odetta is flourishing on the other side of the planet, but no matter where she's planted, I have no doubt she will bloom. And what better food for a flower than knowledge of global cuisine? Even though one may be mashing bananas through its fists, it's never too early to expand an infant's palette. The items available at the WonderToast site provide assistance.

White Elephant Necklace / Raspberry Earrings / Pig Earrings

I am so thankful that my fabulously dainty ‘white elephant’ necklace does not live up to its name. Neither a possession of disproportionate upkeep costs, or a regift from a bad party game, the newest tiny charm on a chain comes courtesy of Cornyness, a delightful online jewelry shop. Cornyness, run by a super nice gal named Danwei, offers a variety of handmade accessories to suit just about anyone with a taste for the quirky and cute.

Imperia Necklace

Have you ever heard a peacock scream? While I was visiting Kolkata's Marble Palace during last summer's monsoon, I happened across the mansion's hodgepodge collection of animals, which I am hesitant to call a "zoo" despite that being what it is. My friends and I were buying time since our trek across town to the museum was through knee-deep water, and we wanted the level to fall a bit before heading back on to the street.

Turquoise & Gray earrings

There is something about Scandinavian design that is at once incredibly stylish and timeless. It seems that the further north you get, the more beautiful things are. Norwegian jewelry maker Hilde is an artisan whose work captures the exquisite beauty of the northern Nordic states. In addition to some of her more subtle pieces I now own, Hilde makes a lot of her jewelry from pearls and crystal. Her creations are elegant but reserved, and based on the earrings I posses, I have no doubt about her crafts(wo)manship and style.

The "Happy" Collection

As if anyone needs an excuse to spend more time under a hot shower—well, here's another, or five others—each a more compelling reason to recreationally cleanse. LUSH produces fresh, hand-made cruelty-and-lard-free and frequently vegan personal care products. All bathbombs, gels, soaps, shampoos, and other innovative items are individually made by skilled suds people—Sara, Czarina, and Reggie contributed to my 'happy' package.

Bliss Bodice and Bamboozlement Bloomers

That which is covered or veiled in chiffon, silk or lace can intrigue more frequently than the rawly exposed. The scene that continues once the screen fades makes me smile more than any clinical documentation. (Obvious, boring, lacking subtlety...) Also, most agree that some sort of underwear is a practical necessity. Under the Root offers comfortable and charming designs of historically inspired but contemporary coaxing clothing.

13 oz. Silver Parsley Water Bottle

A new baby inspired the fine bottles available at Earthlust: it was time to start thinking about the future, and giving generations to come a clean place to stay seems reasonable. There is the Native American saying: “We are not inheriting the planet from our parents—we are borrowing it from our children.” Even the childless can appreciate the folly in generating unnecessary garbage, so why not use a water bottle?

Chestnut and blue bracelet and matching earrings

Amanda Yu—who runs several Etsy shops under her own name and the Exotic Flavour moniker and blogs about her latest creations—has an incredible eye for fun color combinations and visually intricate but simply made jewelry. All of Yu’s Exotic Flavour accessories have a similar look, but the pieces don’t lack their own special charm.

Bleeding Chanel Necklace and Microphone Earrings

What do a straightedge vegetarian German jewelry maker and I have in common? Besides our love of a drug-free lifestyle and animal-free eating, we like the punk-rock aesthetic—and if I do say so myself, a delightful mix of the ideals. PorcelinaZERO, an online boutique run by an exceptionally friendly woman named Tanja, is filled with cute charms, funky rings, brightly colored cameo necklaces, and hip earrings. As I type, lightweight miniature microphones dangle from my earlobes.

Chiconomics 101: The Fun, Fabulous Girls’ Guide to Making Smart Money Moves

Chiconomics 101 is a pink-themed, Cosmo-drinking ladies-geared blog about basic money management seemingly written by and for the twenty-something set of singles with less money to burn now that they have “real world” bills to pay.

Chipotle Habanero Hot Sauce

“Healthy, wealthy, and wise.” I was hoping to achieve three out of three, but it now appears that I'd be lucky to hit one. However, you want to make a choice that is smart, economical, and health-conscious, it is time to consider the lowly legume. Everyone's on the lookout for cheap protein. Some favor black beans—my favorite version is a Cuban-style soup garnished with diced red onions and sour cream. Michael's Uptown Café of Bloomington, Indiana always got the cumin just right.

Ex Nihilo Magazine

Ex Nihilo Magazine is an online magazine that was started in December 2006 as a bilingual online publication in English and Bengali for college students. Under the initial chief editorship of Sourya Deb, the small online magazine ran its first issue in January 2007 regrouping and resurfacing the following year. This online publication serves the student population of South Asia and the diaspora with its main focus on art, poetry, photography, and short stories.

Rich Rainforest Dark Gourmet Fudge Bar

There are many definitions of 'fudge.' The first recorded use of it as a name for a confection made of sugar, butter, milk, chocolate, and sometimes nuts is from 1895. Some speculate that cooking it was an illicit practice on college campuses, and this violation of the rules called its production to be called 'fudging,' although this is likely apocryphal. Other meanings of 'fudge' include: nonsense or humbug; to cheat or exaggerate; to avoid coming to grips with.

Travel Pack

“The essential foundation of beauty is health.” - Dr. Alkaitis Sociobiology makes me cringe. The realities of economics and aesthetics are frequently politically uncomfortable. There appear to be some basic principles that all humans operate by—for example, that everyone likes money and beauty. Money is intrinsically meaningless and worthless: a bale of Benjamins won't do you much good in the middle of Antarctica except as tinder. Pot shards, metal disks, cocoa beans—all have done service as manifestations of worth, tokens of sweat and time.

Vintage glass earrings and vintage hairpins

It’s funny how a big jewelry gal like me can be so easily persuaded to scale down. Despite my love of large, obnoxious rings and bulky earrings, I recently found myself browsing the classic designs in Karuski’s Etsy shop. Filled with vintage-inspired clutch purses, brooches, rings, earrings, and hairpins, the shop owner Minna keeps things simple and chic, and most of the wearables are on the smaller side.

CleanWell products

Physicians advocate washing your hands five times a day. My favorite medical hero is Ignaz Semmelweis, the Hungarian doctor who performed his research at Vienna's maternity hospital and had the temerity to suggest that his colleagues could spread disease through failure to wash their hands. His theories were derided as laughable and insulting to the profession, and he died in a mental institution after being roundly discredited and succumbing to a downward spiral of disintegration. This was the mid-nineteenth century and Dr.

Earthy Cosmetics and Eco-Friendly Applicators

NVEY is an Australian cosmetics manufacturer. Apparently you say NVEY as "nah-VĀ," and after repeated uses, I say it's "Ō-kā," or definitely exceptionally good, in terms of durability and vibrancy. The organic line claims six years of testing and forty-six years of cumulative cosmetics experience. Application is smooth and even, not flaky or powdery, and the spectrum available includes a bracing lime green and rich eggplant, and some shimmers, in addition to a refined range of tans, taupes, and pinks.

Tangled Tree Necklace

It’s true that there are hundreds of wildly talented women selling their wares on Etsy. In recession times, when searching for new gems and jewels, one must make conservatively priced choices and perhaps visually simple ones as well.

Cream Bird Pouch

Designs of the avian persuasion are undeniably ubiquitous on the fashion scene today. From quirky sparrows and stylized blackbirds to elegant peacocks and vintage-y pheasants, flighty, feathered friends can be found everywhere from jewelry to body art, stationary to head gear, and more. Now from The Wren Design comes the whimsical and functional Cream Bird Pouch*. The Bird Pouch is hand-crafted in a pretty textured cream colored linen, embossed with a faint paisley pattern.

Advanced Anti-Aging Eye Treatment

Garden Botanika is a twenty-year old company with a mission of “creating products that are: botanically based, a careful blend of nature and science, cruelty-free, gentle to the environment and 100% guaranteed.” But age is just a number...we shouldn't make light of their efforts despite their relatively recent origin.

The Marcelle

Apparently Danish feminists demand, “Respect, equal wages, and orgasms.” Fortunately, they don't have to demand comfortable shoes, as Denmark is where Danskos come from. Full disclosure: I have been a Dansko fan for years. When I finally met the right podiatrist, after repeatedly having fractures misdiagnosed as neuromas, he told me that I was permitted to wear one of two brands for the remainder of my days. One of them is Dansko.

Victory Garden Supplies

The Victory Garden project continues. While there have been temporary setbacks, a portion of the lot is overturned, sod torn up to reveal a formidable substratum of solid clay, and it occurs to me that the garden might need a path once April showers subside and leave May mud. Neighbors have been kind enough to show me their backyards, and this appears to be a common phenomenon.

Chocolate Body Treats

Buddhism instructs us that suffering is caused by desire. Alright, I have established that I desire chocolate. I can consume it copiously and repeatedly. With utter abandon, and complete abandonment of moderation and concern for my health. I can consume chocolate indoors, outdoors, in the kitchen, from the nightstand, at the theater; while trudging down the sidewalk, operating a motor vehicle, or taking the train. In the park, at work, at play, in celebration and commiseration.

Dr. Hauschka Cosmetics

Everyone's gone "green," but some have been doing it earlier than others. Dr. Hauschka Skin Care has provided holistic skin products for over four decades, and the original Dr. Hauschka was a Viennese chemist who sought to manufacture naturally healthy potions as early as the establishment of his laboratory in 1935. He used rose petals, and WALA Heilmittel (WALA is an acronym of warmth, air, light and ash, and "heilmittel" means "remedy") utilizes organic plant substances to this day. Apparently the plant of the month is the birch.

Organic Original Rice Nectar

A gift box arrived at my home several weeks ago, origin unknown until my partner came staggering through the door, trying to balance the behemoth shipment he’d fetched from the post office. “It’s from Jaimie and Sabrina!” My kind, thoughtful acupuncturist and psychiatrist back in Boston—who share an office space, an affinity for holistic treatment, and unending support for my international move—had sent a care package after receiving a card from us.

Crimsonheart Ring

I found another beautiful piece of jewelry on Etsy. I was looking at member profiles on We Make Zines and found a link to a fellow zinester’s Etsy shop. I like seeing cool things other imaginative folks have made, so I decided to take a look at what she was creating and selling. Wow! BrightCircle has absolutely gorgeous handcrafted jewelry in her shop.

Elevate Difference

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