Isn’t this tea kettle beautiful?  It’s electric, but unlike most I’ve seen it’s clear so you can see the water come to a boil.

Made by Chef’s Choice and ranked #1 of 25 by Good Housekeeping.

$79.99

The Green Year: 365 Small Things You Can Do to Make a Big Difference is a cool book by Jodi Helmer filled with tips on how simple things can add up to benefit the Earth.

Believe it or not (husbands, boyfriends, men, are you reading?) Valentine’s Day is coming right up.

Jodi has some ideas for how we can add some green to the holiday:

* Order organic roses for your Valentine. Conventional roses are sprayed with chemicals to kill insects and mildew and are dunked in preservatives to keep them from rotting before they’re shipped. Organic roses are grown without pesticides or preservatives.

* Surprise your Valentine with a candlelit dinner. Turning the lights out isn’t just romantic, it saves energy. To make the evening even more eco-friendly, opt for soy candles over candles made from paraffin. Soy candles are made from natural ingredients, last longer than paraffin candles and reduce the amount of soot released into the air by 90 percent.

* Toast your Valentine with organic wine. Organic wines are made with grapes that have not been sprayed with pesticides and contain no added sulfites (acids that occur naturally in most wines but are often added as preservatives). Organic wines from local growers are the most environmentally-friendly choice because they have not been shipped long distances.

* Consider buying a piece of estate jewelry for your Valentine. The pieces are more unique than the jewelry sold in big box stores and estate jewelry is the ultimate in reducing, reusing and recycling.

Boyfriends, husbands, crushes- we promise, even though we read this too we will be act totally surprised when you do these things for us!

I love lighting a candle or two in the evening but I’ve heard that many candles release toxins into the air and can be bad for our health and air quality.

I was thrilled to learn about Evergreen Candleworks, an Evergreen, Colorado-based candle company that makes candles that are better for the environment and healthier for people.  They use soy wax which is safer than parrafin wax, and they use no fillers, colors, lead, tin, zinc or anything else that could be harmful.  Evergreen Candleworks is powered 100% by windpower.

Alpineglow candles come in distinctive glassware (above left) which makes it beautiful to display at home or to give as a gift.  Plus, the containers are reusable which of course I love.  The burn time is 65-80 hours which is a lot better than those little tea lights I’m always tempted to buy at IKEA!

Silky Soy candles and lotion bars (above right) is especially for our skin- how cool.  You melt them on the warmer, which is sold as part of the kit, and then apply to your skin.  (A hot oil treatment like this is probably $295.00 at the hotel spa!)

Companies like Evergreen Candleworks restore my faith that the world is full of good people doing good things.

Bubble Yum Oversized Novelty Coin Bank is cardboard and tin and vintage.

One thing I know about guys is that they like to have somewhere to put change from their pockets at the end of the day.  Men’s wallets don’t have change compartments.  I suppose that’s one of the ways men keep their wallets rather svelte, as opposed to my chubby wallet which often becomes hard to force shut and adds weight to my already overweight handbag, which Real Simple says is probably causing me premature spinal damage, though the article also curiously mentioned that a magazine, which I sometimes carry in my handbag along with wallet, can weigh about six pounds.

I digress.  This bank would be an upgrade from the mug that we currently use (which was an upgrade from an old box).  It has a plug for quick retrieval for quarters for laundry day.

Three Potato Four, $45

St. Patrick’s Day is just 40 days away.  Get ready with this Paddy is My Homeboy Frosted Glass Mug, certain to delight your friends and bartenders.

Hot Dog Lover Keds Lace-Ups for Kids and Bacon Keds Slip-Ons for Women

just.

made.

my.

day.

Yours too?

Obama Logo Cookies by Philadelphia-based Whipped Bake Shop on Etsy.

$20 for 6 cookies (pretty packaging, too)

Enjoy Inauguration Day!

Photographer Carl Warner‘s “Artichokes” is a great print to have in your kitchen.

It’s earthy and calming, appropriate for all seasons, and inspires us to eat wholesome, nutrient-rich produce.

Food is so beautiful when we pause to look at it and appreciate it.

Lace Birdie Napkins are 100% cotton and made from Amy Butler fabrics.

Atlanta-based artist Bella Bee sets a good looking table!

Etsy, $28 for 4

Gobble, gobble… no wait, that’s turkeys.

Cockadoodle doo!  But isn’t that just roosters?

(…Google search turns up Burger King Ad….)

What do chickens say?  How ’bout some salt and pepper?

Sigh.  A holiday away from New York should do me good.

Perch! Design via Cog & Pearl, $48

Frank Lloyd Wright Cocktail Napkins: synergy of architecture, art, geometry, and agroforestry.  For the price of, you know, paper.

Museum of Modern Art Store, $5 ($4.50 for MoMA members)

Dustpan and Broom by Normann Copenhagan is a serious upgrade from the plastic thing I’ve got lurking next to the fridge.

Velocity Art and Design, $31

Flower flask is pink and green and yellow and pretty and wow it’s been a long week and I can’t believe that I have to go to work on Monday and Tuesday it’s not like I’m going to get anything done but let me stop thinking about work because it’s the weekend now and did I tell you how pretty you are and how much I love you?

Pylones, $35

Holiday parties over the past few weeks inevitably have people grumbling about how they’ve eaten too many treats.

But treats are fun!  And you have people left on your gift list!

Here’s a solution.  Give treats to parrots who need them at the Best Friends Animal Society on behalf of your carb-conscious yet animal-loving friends.

Changing the Present, $5

Dave’s Gourmet Spicy Heirloom Marinara Organic Pasta Sauce proves that bottled pasta sauces are capable of incredible things. 

1. It’s way easier and quicker than homemade.

2. It’s tastier than homemade.

3. I know this because I tried to recreate this pasta sauce.  No matter the organic spicy heirloom ingredients I threw into it, the flavors fell short.

4. Time to take on this challenge yourself… or by gifting it to someone who might be inspired to try.

Dave’s Gourmet, $7.99