I am ever on the lookout for unusual and well-designed iPad cases. I recently bought the Dodocase which I love, but this one called the Pillow Stand iPad case from Côte et Ciel would fulfill another function which is to get the iPad to stand on my lap or bed when I am watching a [...]

I love the Dodocase. I think it’s the best iPad case on the market today. Made in San Francisco. It resembles a large Moleskine notebook. Your iPad nestles in a bamboo case, protecting it from dings if you drop the case.

Looking for the most beautiful iPad cases? Check out the selection at Vaja. They’re cool, retro leather cases that do not make you look like a geek.
www.vajacases.com

I love this leather hard-back cover for the Mac Book and the Mac Book Pro. It makes your Mac look like an old-fashioned book. You can get it for $79.99 from Twelve South, a company that creates accessories for Apple products.
www.twelvesouth.com

I have just written a long profile of Touch2Give, a new shopping site launched in December 2009 by Asian-American entrepreneur, Claire Chung, who is based in Lisbon, Portugal. Unlike other luxury shopping sites, Touch2Give focuses on independent brands and niche designers who create true luxury – not based on extreme high prices, but on quality [...]

I love the dresses on the television show, Mad Men. But it’s not easy to find them (although sites like ShopMadMen.com are trying to help). I decided I would try Etsy.com and guess what, there they were: three elegant vintage dresses. The first two look very 1950s or early 1960s Dior and I can imagine [...]

Just in time for the holidays, here’s Paperless Post, an online stationer that allows you to design your own invitations and holiday cards, send them via email, track responses and more. Unlike invitation sites like Evite, Paperless Post does charge for sending cards via what they call Paperless Stamps. The cost is pretty minimal, starting [...]

The Christmas holidays are just around the corner. If you are looking for real holiday cards, the ones you actually have to write on and send via post, check out Rifle Paper Company. I like their collection because the cards are so different from what you would find at Hallmark or other mass greeting card [...]

I’m keeping my eye out for the best Black Friday deals. Drugstore.com (and its affiliate Beauty.com) are holding amazing sales. These are the items I have my eye on:
(1) Borghese Essentials Holiday Set: this includes the Fango Active Mud, Tono body cream, Bagno di Vita foaming bath gel, two facial moisturizers (the moisture intensifier and [...]

I have a weakness for paper goods: blank notebooks bound in leather or cloth, quirky greeting cards, unusual notecards, and even old-fashioned school notebooks. I look for paper that feels good which means different things for different occasions. For example, if I am writing with a fountain pen in a blank notebook, I want the [...]

Cold wintry days are upon us again, If you’re looking for that one cozy, unique, warm coat that feels like a warm blanket and wraps all the way around you, then you have to get this playful wrap coat from Vivienne Westwood’s Anglomania line. The coat closes at the neck, has large side pockets and [...]

Have you lusted after the gorgeous clothes and accessories worn on Gossip Girl and wondered where you can find similar (or identical) items? Well, now you can go to www.shopgossipgirl.com, a website that allows you to shop by episode, by character, and by product. Items which are similar or identical to those worn on the [...]

I’m clearly several light years behind the developments at Piperlime as I discovered only today that they sell: (a) shoes and bags made by other brands; and (b) clothes for men and women (including jeans). I never go to the Piperlime online store but I did today because of a press release announcing that Piperlime [...]

It’s that time of the year when the darkness comes earlier and there’s a sudden chill in the air. Our thoughts turn to steaming mugs of hot chocolate in front of a roaring fire and long walks in the countryside to admire the fall foliage.
At home, we yearn for warmth and coziness, bundling ourselves up [...]

I can’t believe no one thought of this sooner. Mypressi TWIST is a portable espresso maker for people who want to have good coffee wherever they are, even in a location infested with Starbucks coffee outlets. According to the mypressi website, “the TWIST requires no external power to produce single or double shots from either [...]

This week’s post in NBC Bay Area news is about traveling in style with the right luggage from Hideo Wakamatsu, a Japanese designer. I understand that we like to wear comfortable things when we travel. But must we look sloppy and have ugly luggage? There are very few places to get beautiful luggage that is [...]

I might have already said before on this blog that I love shoes. I’ve loved shoes since I was a teenager. My mother had dozens of pairs of shoes when I was growing up. I have been carrying on the family tradition. But since we’re Filipinas, we’re excused.
This week, my favorite shoe comes from French [...]

This is the look I put together today on Polyvore. It’s feminine and sophisticated, with a slightly tough look from the Jean-Michel Cazabat shoes and the Bally black leather bag. You can wear the arm warmers with the short sleeve knit top when it gets colder and then add the short coat if the arctic [...]

Just when you thought there were enough online shopping sites selling designer brands at sale prices, here comes Rue La La. When you join, you see brands such as Robert Rodrigues, Lululemon and Furla offering items on sale, but only for a limited time. You can invite your friends and when they shop, you get [...]

Do you like APC and agnes b., but feel like fainting when you look at the price tags? I’ve been wearing agnes b. and APC for years. I love their modern take on classic French style, which means you can wear their clothes and accessories season after season without looking outdated. But during this recession, [...]

I am obsessed by beautiful blank notebooks, note cards, pens and pencils. Millimeter/Milligram from Seoul, Korea is one of those online boutiques I wish I could order from (they don’t deliver except within Korea). You may want to contact them to see if they have a wholesale distributor in your city. Here in San Francisco, [...]

I found this beautiful hanging book shelf system from a French online design shop called Design De Collection. It is a bookshelf called Piegato by German designer, Matthias Ries. It is a “laser cut and powder coated sheet steel delivered almost completely plain, which results in a simple and cost effective transportation. The customer then [...]

If you own a laptop, iPhone, iPod Touch, Blackberry, Moleskine notebook, Amazon Kindle and G1 phone and you’re looking for a cool new sleeve or carrying case, check out the New High collection from an Austrian firm called Hard Graft which uses Italian aniline leather and pure new wool felt for materials. There’s no reason [...]

The hardest things to give up during these difficult times are your favorite luxury bath and body products. If you used to think nothing about dropping $65 on Fresh’s Brown Sugar Body Polish, which is a favorite among many women. But what if I told you that you could buy a sugar body polish that [...]

I love stationery: blank and lined notebooks, note cards, letter sets, calendars, agendas, pencils. Present and Correct is an online store in London started by graphic designers who love quiry design. They source many of their products from Japan, South Korea and Germany. Here are my favorites.

Present and Correct
42 Melbourne Grove
London, SE22 8QZ
United [...]

Looking for a cool messenger bag that’s made locally in San Francisco and inspired by the urban cycling culture? Check out Rickshaw Bagworks. They have messenger bags of varying sizes and colors with efficiently divided pockets and slots, perfect for gadget freaks. They also have baby bags that don’t make you look like [...]

In the winter, I like using Clarins Raffermisante Nuit (Extra Firming Night Cream) because my skin is drier. The cream sells for $85 at Nordstroms. So on the advice of a good friend, I decided to shop for it on Ebay. I bought it on Ebay for $38.50 including shipping. That’s 50% less than the [...]

Looking for a truly special gift? Why not give someone a Blurb Book? Better yet, you can make your own beautiful personal book on Blurb and give it to someone for Christmas. Go to the Blurb website, download the Blurb software, create your book and have Blurb ship it. You can also sell your book [...]

Here’s a tip from a friend who buys her Jan Marini and Peter Thomas Roth skin care products on Ebay. She says that with many salons going out of business, salon owners have been putting their inventory on Ebay. I decided to test if this is true for my favorite hair product, Kerastase Mousse Nutri-Sculpt, [...]

Tired of generic office supplies stores that sell the same ugly, gray office accessories — you know the ones I’m talking about: cheap and ordered by the bulk and totally depressing to look at, perfect however for a cubicle office in Hell.
Fortunately, there are alternatives. Check out See Jane Work, an online shop where you [...]