Fanning Out

I love a good handbag. If I didn't, I wouldn't devote an entire category to them. And what's better than a special, handmade bag few other people will have? For example, there's this lovely model, made by Jess Switaj at Etsy:

I have to admit that I didn't find this one on my own--Etsy featured it on their Facebook page about two weeks ago. But the second I spotted it in my feed, I knew I had to share it with my audience, as well. It's the perfect accent for a prom dress or winter formal outfit. Plus, Switaj offers it in many colors and even allows for customization at no extra cost. So if you're looking for a bag in shades that suit you, check Jess out today!

Buy through Switaj's Etsy shop for $50.00.

Image via Etsy.

-Cate-

PS It's Etsy week here at What We Covet! Because we've found so many spectacular things over Etsy way recently, we wanted to share them with the world, so each entry will cover something we truly love from the crafty ladies and gents there. Enjoy!

My Pink and Black Suede Shoes

Generally speaking, I'm not too fond of Mary Jane-style shoes, but I do love a good, inappropriate heel from time to time, so here's a lovely pair from Vince Camuto:

I can't imagine a single place that might be the right venue for these shoes. But I don't care, because they are fabulous--not only on the page, but also in real life. If you're willing to go out on a style limb (which I occasionally am) and risk the perils of suede shoes (which I am not for meteorological reasons), you should check these out. Perhaps you can pair them with a jewel-toned dress for the holidays?

Buy through Nordstrom for $118.95.

Image via Nordstrom.

-Cate-

Dance with Death

Now, as Halloween approaches, I have a couple of things to admit to you.

First, I'm not sure I'm even going to dress up, even though I totally want to.

Second, I love earrings. I love them a lot. I don't know what Cate thinks of my earring habit, but I know my friend Claire is pretty okay with it.


Though I won't buy more earrings right now (I have quite enough earbobs. Really, I do. Really. I do, don't I?), I had to go looking and see what is available this Halloween. Maybe something would strike my fancy and inspire a costume for me, or maybe I would find something I could just covet.

After searching and searching and determining that all the spider earrings were a bad idea because if they were mine I would inevitably freak out about a spider in my hair and get blood everywhere, I decided that these would suffice:


They're so cute! Dancing skeletons! They aren't terrifying, but they get across many of my thoughts about Halloween perfectly. PARTY ON, DUDES.

Well, maybe they're terrifying if you decide that this is the skeleton of Snow White's evil step-mother who was forced to dance in red-hot shoes until she died. But you don't have to decide that.

By through Claire's for $6.00.

Images via Claire's.

May all your bags be filled with candy!

Maureen

Shakeyosaurus

Here at What We Covet, we like dinosaurs. (Really, who DOESN'T? Some kind of dinosaur haters or something?) So here are a couple more:

They're color-coded salt and pepper shakers, and I can't think of anything more suited to the dinosaur-loving sodium fiends of the world. Can you?

Buy through Plasticland for $13.00.

Image via Plasticland.

-Cate-

People We Covet: Neil Gaiman

Neil Gaiman is not spooky by default (proof).

However, some might say that he is quite good at spooky-type things. His 2008 novel The Graveyard Book won the Newbery Medal, which is not given according to the goodness of a book's spookiness. However, if he had done a really, really bad job of writing a spooky book, I doubt he would have won the Newbery, the Hugo, the Locus, and the Carnegie. Gaiman actually has a bad habit of winning Locuses, but that isn't the point.

My point is that Gaiman is a pretty safe place to turn for some spooky reading around Halloween time. Wrap yourself up in your cloak, get a mug of hot chocolate, turn the lights down, and read about the life of Nobody Owens, growing up in a graveyard.

Or you could read his award-winning novella, Coraline. I find that Coraline is more terrifying than The Graveyard Book. I enjoyed the latter, but due to all the things that happen in the world behind Coraline's door to nowhere, I was for the longest time somewhat wary of an extremely shallow closet that I never opened because it looked like double doors to nowhere.

Yes, I am a grown woman.

Gaiman also writes other things. Like American Gods and Sandman and a bunch of short stories. But for Halloween, I think I'll go with the kids' books. They may be all I can handle.

Now tell me, what will you be reading after you turn out the porch light and head back inside to eat the rest of your Halloween candy?

Less than Clear Skies

I don't know where you live, but where I live (in North Carolina), it rains. Often. For no apparent reason. So I thought this might be a good time to explore my umbrella options. Truly, I will never use one, because I can't be bothered to keep track of them, but for my other friends in North Carolina and around the world, here's a great one:

It's kind of like the one Queen Elizabeth carries, except cheaper and not as snazzy. But still, if you're looking to get a little royal, this is a nice place to start. It's also a solid choice if you enjoy a little extra protection but still want to be able to see. Check it out today!

Buy through Umbrellas for $22.95.

Image via Umbrellas.

-Cate-

Doing Style Battle

If you're in the market for a breast plate-type piece of jewelry, here's one from Tarina Tarantino that might fit the bill:

Personally, I have no use for a bib necklace, and especially not this one, but look how shiny and pretty it is! Plus, bonus? It's the perfect orange accent for your non-costumey Halloween fashion statements. What could be better?

Buy through Zappos for $321.75.

Image via Zappos.

-Cate-

"Mad Am I Not"

For some of us there is little better than curling up on the couch with a good book and a mug of hot chocolate. We choose our reading material carefully depending on the situation and dive in for the evening (or the morning--we all have different schedules).

Well, my recommendation to you during this spooky holiday season is Edgar Allan Poe. His short stories (the ones you hear about) are rife with murder, unreliable narrators, and fear. "The Tell-Tale Heart" and "The Black Cat" were favorites of my seventh-grade language arts class. In my own time I also enjoyed "The Cask of Amontillado" and "The Pit and the Pendulum."

All of these, I think, would be splendid reading on a windy October night. "The Black Cat" even comes complete with a bit of gore!

And an Aubrey Beardsley illustration.

Also, Jules Verne totally thought that he and Poe should be bros.

Happy reading!

Maureen

Image via Wikipedia.

Pretty Kitty

You may have noticed that I have a slight obsession with the L.A.M.B. Williamsfield tote? Well, I stand by that obsession, and I'm here to expound upon it (shamelessly, I might add). So here's another Williamsfield for your viewing pleasure, this one in Snow Leopard:

And this one is on sale at Last Call! Though the price isn't ideal, I promise that it's money well spent: the Williamsfield can take a serious beating. Truly. (Trust me. Mine has been through two years of travel hell.) Check it out today!

Buy through Last Call by Neiman Marcus for $210.00.

Image via Last Call by Neiman Marcus.

-Cate-

Lizard's Leg and Howlet's Wing

For those of us who don't like candy or Disney Channel Original Movies, there is always theater!

William Shakespeare's Macbeth is perfect for Halloween. Witches, betrayal, murder, and ghosts abound in this play. True, I do not advocate betraying and murdering one's friends and kings on this most special of days. So the stories will do, I think.

You might do well to find a movie version to watch. I seem to recall once that in high school English, we watched a movie where a character's severed head rolled around for a fair while before stopping. That's sufficiently gory for Halloween, don't you think?

I don't want to ruin the play for you, even though you should know how it ends, so go see it (I hope there is a community theater in you area putting it on!) or read it or rent a movie. Get your friends together and act it out! You can practice your death cries for the haunted house I am sure you are going to run later because you love Halloween as much as I do.

Maureen

I Have a Theory

Ladies and gentlemen, this theyskens' theory wedge is the kind of shoe that makes me want to keep blogging:

Just look at how brilliant it is: the material fades from patent leather to nubuck. Basically, this is a classic degrade turned on its head. I've never seen anything so fascinating on a shoe before, and I truly mean that. In fact, the first time I saw it, my jaw literally dropped. And in that moment, Olivier Theyskens helped revive my dedication to blogging, because I know that if I look long enough, I will find things worth sharing with my readers, if not for their usefulness or accessibility, then at least for their aesthetic value.

Buy through Barney's New York for $465.00.

Image via Barney's New York.

-Cate-

PS After much deliberation, I've decided to fold Food We Covet into What We Covet. 42 posts from that blog have been imported into this one and can be found via the tag Food We Covet. In the future, new Food We Covet entries can be found here at What We Covet; they will appear occasionally as special editions. Enjoy!

Papers Fit for (Nesting) Ladies

Leave it to ModCloth to come up with the perfect stationery set for me: the kind that is matryoshka-themed!

And this is a good stationery set, the kind with stickers, note cards, and envelopes. The best part, though, is that, in true matryoshka style, every piece comes inside a matryoshka-shaped box. Tell me what's not to love about this?

Buy through ModCloth for $23.99.

Image via ModCloth.

-Cate-

Visibility Cloak

Imagine, if you will, a cool October night, the full moon shining down on a cloaked figure as it scurries through the woods for mischief. Focus on the cloak. That is what we're talking about today.

One thing I covet most in the world is a red woolen cape* that my mother owns. I rarely see her wear it, but it is warm, my favorite color, and not too long for me. I want it.

But I won't take such a magnificent garment away from my mother. Instead, I went hunting and found one that I will be able to buy in my dreams:

Yes, these fine folks look like they're getting ready for a LARP. And the company, Half Moon, seems to market itself to LARPers and the Society for Creative Anachronism. But cloaks and capes are also perfect for sneaking about during spooky fall days or dressing up as Little Red Riding Hood or the Headless Horseman.

Due to my piddling height, I would require a 3/4-length cloak--which is cheaper than the full length. Score!

Buy a cloak in your choice of color and length through Half Moon for $258-278.

Image via Half Moon.

Maureen

*I'm sure Cate has something to say to me about fashion's distinctions between capes and cloaks. I don't do fashion, and she should feel lucky I can usually distinguish between socks and stockings.

Analog Style

Awesome things happen when I'm in Michigan. For example, babies are born! Specific babies, not random ones--although I suspect that happens, too; in this case, the baby in question is my niece. I also get to go shopping at legitimate malls, not crappy ones. (I'm looking in your direction, Cross Creek.) And in the course of visiting those malls, I almost always find at least one fabulous thing fit for blogging. This most recent trip was no exception.

While cruising Nordstrom, I happened upon their designer collections section, and lo and behold, what should I find but this fabulous--and soft to the touch--sheath from Ports 1961:

The picture really doesn't do it justice. In fact, I can say beyond a doubt that the fabric was much more vibrant than what you see here. At any rate, I tried it on--you know, for shits and giggles, because at $850.00, I can't afford it even with the help of a charge account. But it's okay: the credit gods must have been looking out for me, since the dress didn't fit. (I'm very sad to report that Ports only offers their line in sizes up to 12, whereas I wear a 14 on a good day.)

Not one to give up on an item I really adore, I decided that not only would I blog about it, but I would also make an effort to find a comparable dress at a reasonable price. But! Apparently there is no analog to be had, though not for lack of trying. I looked through literally thousands of dresses at websites for Zara, Target, Von Maur, Asos, MICHAEL Michael Kors, Ann Taylor, Talbots, White House Black Market, Anthropologie, and ModCloth before giving up (my search time was cutting into my homework time, or else I would have gladly continued.)

So then I thought, what the hell? I'll just write about the next dress I see that strikes my fancy. Unfortunately, the next dress happened to be this Michael Kors piece that costs, um, four times as much as the fancy Ports dress.

This is the kind of thing I can't even make up, kids. It'll set you back $3,495.00, presumably because the bodice is made of leather. I personally believe that the cost should be offset by the fact that the skirt is polyester, but maybe that's the difference between me and the people who set prices. At least it's a really beautiful dress, am I right?

Meanwhile, for those of you who were hoping for the affordable alternative promised earlier in this post, here's one that doesn't look anything like the Ports but should be serviceable and is reasonably classic from Talbots:

There's a lesson in all of this, though I'm not quite sure what it is. Perhaps it's that I shouldn't be allowed to go home. Maybe it's that I need to stop lusting after clothes that cost too much money. Or could it be that I need to spend less time searching for alternatives and more time doing my homework? The jury's still out.

Buy the Ports 1961 dress through Nordstrom for $850.00.

Buy the Michael Kors dress through his website for $3,495.00.

Buy the Talbots dress through Talbots for $139.00.

Images via Nordstrom, Michael Kors, and Talbots.

-Cate-

Disney Witches

I'm going to let you all in on a little secret: I like Disney Channel Original Movies. And the time is nigh for one of my favorites--Halloweentown!

Halloweentown, which has nothing to do with The Nightmare Before Christmas, is about Marnie Piper's discovery that she is a witch from a long line of powerful witches, and that it is up to her (and her brother Dylan and her sister Sophie) to save Halloweentown!

Halloweentown is inhabited by kindly versions of your typical Halloween characters. Witches, goblins, ghosts, skeletons, and vampires all walk the streets being perfectly nice. But one is not so pleasant. The big bad is upset that all Halloween creatures were forced to leave the mortal world for Halloweentown, and has evil plans in motion to fix this perceived injustice.

When Aggie Cromwell, Marnie's grandmother and the Cromwell family matriarch, is incapacitated, it is up to the trio of inexperienced kids to save the day. They do, of course. But what do you expect from the grandchildren of a witch portrayed by Debbie Reynolds? She's Carrie Fisher's mother, so this movie is basically about Luke Skywalker's first cousins once removed.

There's no word on whether we will see it on Disney Channel this year, but my fingers are crossed for a marathon close to Halloween. There are three sequels!

Maureen

Dream a Little Dream of This House

Well, here's something you don't see every day:

For the uninitiated, that is a Barbie Dream House, in ring form. But wait; it gets better:

That's right, kids: the ring OPENS UP. Truly, I've never seen a ring quite so intricate and intriguing. It's part of the nOir for Barbie collection, and since I love Barbie more than most women my age, I love this piece. Sadly, it doesn't really fit into my life--try as I might, I just can't manage to wear rings. Will one of you please--pretty please--buy this so I can live vicariously through you?

Buy through nOir for $175.00.

Images via nOir.

-Cate-

PS In other, super-exciting news,What We Covet is now on Facebook! Hop on over and Like us for updates and special Facebook-only content. Our first Facebook-only post will be brought to you by Maureen this Saturday, the 15th. Enjoy!

Landing on Something Spectacular

When I started writing blog posts for this week, I really thought I would be able to come down to Earth and covet affordable things for once, because--believe it or not--I do try to cover a wide range of price points. But then I remembered this bag from Dolce & Gabbana, and those noble plans went out the window:

The good news is that it's a pretty down-to-Earth bag, especially considering the fact that this is Dolce & Gabbana we're talking about (they of the outrageous furs, gratuitous leopard print, and baroque ad campaigns). The lines are clean, the menswear fabric is classic, and the shoulder strap makes this bag versatile. I'd be happy to carry it to a ladylike function or to work. Where would you carry it?

Buy through Net-a-Porter for $1,625.00.

Image via Net-a-Porter.

-Cate-

All Hallows' Eve

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. For one, it's a sign of real perseverance. It's not a federal holiday, and yet it is celebrated every year. In fact, one could even say it's a sign of unity. I don't know much about Halloween traditions in other countries, but in the US, people all across the country put up decorations and hand out candy just because it's October 31. There's no official day off to remind you. No one makes a long weekend out of it. It is the end of October and we give children candy because we are Americans!

Some people don't. But we aren't going to talk about them.

I love Halloween candy. I'm sure pumpkin-shaped Reese's Cups are a rip-off. I know those weird circus peanut things are terrible. But I love pumpkin-shaped Reese's Cups, and I love candy corn, and I love those frightening motion-sensing hands in candy bowls.

The Travel Channel is doing a big month-long ghost story thing. I love ghost shows. They're everywhere for October, and I couldn't be happier or more scared. I probably won't watch any scary movies, but haunting reenactments? Sure.

I am so excited. I was excited in September.

Trick or treat!

Maureen

Driving Away

It would seem that I have recently developed a minor obsession with drivers. Not this kind or this kind, mind you, but this kind:

Drivers don't really look normal on me, which is a shame, because they're damn comfortable (or most types are, anyway), but that doesn't stop me from coveting them. For example, here's a recent chat I had with Maureen.

Cate: Do I want silver drivers? (Hint: the answer is no.)

Maureen: No. Do you need special shoes for driving?

Cate: They are a kind of loafer.

Maureen: Oh. Well, the answer is still no.

Cate: Okay. Do I want PURPLE drivers?

I think you see where this is going. Luckily, since I'm pretty much a broke graduate student right now, I can't justify buying a pair of shoes that won't look right with my current wardrobe. That won't keep me from looking, though.

Buy through Tory Burch for $275.00.

Image via Tory Burch.

-Cate-

PS In other news, this guy I know, David Bell, had a novel called Cemetery Girl released yesterday, and though I haven't read it yet, I HAVE read his other two books, The Girl in the Woods and The Condemned. Even though I am so not a horror or suspense reader, I really enjoyed those novels, and I think that Cemetery Girl will more than live up to my expectation of Bell's writing. If you are so inclined, buy a copy via Powell's Books; you won't be disappointed.

Two or Three or Four Sugars, Please

Right now, I have access to a magical device that makes a cup of tea or coffee almost instantly. You choose this little plastic cup with Earl Grey tea leaves or Italian coffee or whatever you prefer in it, put it in the machine, press a button, and it pours hot tea or coffee in your cup!

I enjoy brewing my own tea, of course. But these Keurig machines just amaze me. Tea! Just like that! With the press of a button!

You have to use little plastic cups made specifically for these devices, but you can also get a reusable one for your own tea or coffee. The magic tea probably doesn't balance out the waste, but gosh, it is neat.

Buy a single-cup brewer through Keurig. Prices start at $79.95 for one with a tiny reservoir and go up and up and up.

Happy sipping!

Maureen

Bubbling Up

So, apparently gurgling fish-shaped jugs are a thing? Particularly in the United Kingdom, where--allegedly--they are a common household item. I'm sad to report that I have never seen one of these Stateside, but I did find one in a catalog once, and it looked something like this:

The color alone caught my eye--isn't that a wonderful cobalt blue? And the design itself interests even me, a girl who has very little desire to decorate her home with fish-shaped things. The cool part is that (as I understand it) air gets trapped in the tail when you fill this jug up with water, and as a result, a gurgling sound can be heard as you pour the water out, making this piece of pottery pretty AND amusing. What could be better?

Buy through Gluggle; prices start at £22.00.

Image via Gluggle.

-Cate-