August 7th is Sister Appreciation Day! It's also the one day of the year you must set aside your differences, or the time she strung underwear all over your bedroom when your friends came over, and say SISTER...I LOVE YOU! You two have gone through great times, challenging moments, glorious years spent with laughter and angst.  Let's face it, your sister will always be your sister and you might as well get on board and celebrate the good! While you're at it, treat her to a little something special. It might help her forget the time you rented tandem bikes and decided not to peddle. She's still heated over that one...

(1) Elderflower Presse $8 Cheers to you Sister! This lightly floral scented sparkling soda water is perfect alone over ice or paired up with Vodka or Gin to make a fancy little cocktail spritzer. Give as a gift, or bring it over to her place to enjoy over a much needed gossip session or some terribly good reality television.

(2) Large Feather Tray by Michael Angove $43 Sisters of a feather....okay, you get where I'm going. Serve up some kindness with this charming birch try adorned with feather illustrations. This tray would also make an excellent decor accent on any side table...it's her day, get her some flowers to place on top and start stocking up on bonus points!

(3) Party Necklace Cursive Design $55 A little bit hard, A little bit soft. Sounds a little bit like your sister, doesn't it? This beautiful hand made necklace combines metal, crochet embellishments and pops of color to give anyone's neck a pretty little smile.

(4) Ban.do Heart Shaped Shoe Clips $25  Time to kick up those heels and dance! These adorable sequin heart shoe clip-ons will make any pair of your sister's boring flats or heels boogie on the dance floor, or her office cubicle... Jazz hands!

(5) Kokeshi Doll Tea Canister $10 Colorful hand painted jars styled after the wildly popular Japanese wooden dolls will keep tea and spices fresh while adding some enchantment to the kitchen. Maybe she'll even whip up some of those amazing scones for tea time the next time you come over.

Nestled between Silver Lake and Downtown Los Angeles, Echo Park has plenty of retail gems sprinkled along Sunset Blvd. Parking is easy to snag and in five essential stops you can satiate all your purchase cravings.

SPITFIRE GIRL: Best place to pick up a gift for your best friend, significant other or heck, yourself! Stocked with stationary, adorable home goods and a new in-house line of handmade dolls. Who can resist gnomes? Trust me, you will not leave this place empty handed.

TIME TRAVEL MART: Located in the front of 826LA, this quirky market offers everything from posters and literary zines to fake mustaches and Viking helmets. I am not kidding you. This place is a fantastical quicky-mart of curiosities. All sale proceeds go towards the nonprofit tutoring & writing center located in the back. So you should feel good that the robot toupee you're going to buy is giving back to the kids. 

SIRENS & SAILORS: An irresistible selection of accessories, bags, new and vintage fashion. One foot into this adorable craftsman house and you will feel like you've stepped into the most fashionable pixie closet. I can guarantee that you will fall in love with the range of independent designers and leave with a few pieces that no one else will be sporting.

ECHO COUNTRY OUTPOST: For those of us living in the city and want to channel our inner woodsman, this cabin-like boutique offers an assortment of fine leather moccasins, incense, pine cones, and a collection of hand made objects from around the world. One visit here and you'll suddenly forget all about traffic jams and poor air quality.

K9 LOFT: Fido needs shop love too. Not only is this cheery space a grooming daycare facility, it is also one of the largest pet supply stores in town. Stylish and eco friendly brands such as Luca for Dogs and West Paw in addition to healthy and organic treats. The staff is knowledgeable offering recommendations on behavioral toys for any quirky pups and always remember your best buddy's name when you bring them along for a visit.

Need to refuel mid shopping spree? Grab a coffee or ice tea at The Fix,  Chango, or Stories Café. Are you shopping bags full but your stomach isn't? Drop into Two Boots Pizza, Delilah Bakery or  track down the Taco Zone Truck and get your snack on. Once you've rebalanced it's time to boost our economy some more... Get out there already!

Holy Handlebars! I've died and gone to 2 wheel heaven. Juri Zaech's bike type concept is blowing my mind! Can someone please put this into production ASAP?! I'll take a yellow Pretty Gritty please.

If you haven't visited The Cuisinerd, please do and show some voting love!

xo

Everything about mociun is spectacular.

The printed dresses and rompers are amazing and it's not too surprising that their line of jewelry is also quite crave worthy. Gold, diamonds AND turquoise?! Yes Please.

Mens & Womens Stackable wedding bands available soon.

Is it really the end of summer already? This heat wave is telling me otherwise.

Regardless, it's time to prepare for fall with some new office goodies!

Camera Tape Dispenser - Fred Flair

2010/2011 Calendar - Field Notes 

Adorable K-12 Paper Print - Gold Teeth

Pantone Notebooks - Whitbread Wilkinson

(heart!) French Duo Curry & Coco.

I'm offering this to you because they are awesome...and that my mind has been elsewhere.

Forgive me petals.

Hello classy Ostrich card holders! I see a color theme happening with me lately....

Available soon from Black Scale.

These Qlasp™ Earbuds by SonyStyle are actually helping me get over the struggle to start exersizing again. Darn Them!

Hello handsome! Beutifully constructed leather iPad Cases avialable over at Julie Boyles Books. Also check out the beautiful collection of leather journals.