Lounge me

I have recently initiated a search for the perfect lounge chair and I can't help but jump on the mid-century bandwagon and pick this as my dream chair:



The Saarinen Womb Chair is beautiful in its gently curving form and though I have yet to sit in one, I am going to guess that it is incredibly comfortable. It looks like the kind of chair that is cozy enough to snuggle up in with a blanket and a book but it's not so cushy that it will suck you in and make getting up a mini struggle.

It comes in an array of colors and a few different fabrics, depending on the retailer. The Womb Chair is definitely a bank-breaker but it will certainly have a high resale value if for some reason you change your mind after purchasing one.

Find the Saarinen Womb Chair at hivemodern and Design Within Reach, among other places. Photo from Design Within Reach.

Sunbeam

Even though it is a global warming induced 60 degrees right now, I still appreciate my Sunbeam mattress pad! On a normal, cold, Chicago winter night, I am hesistant to get into bed because the cold sheets tend to reawaken me, which goes against my naptastic demeanor.

*Prices range from $49.99 to $95.99 depending on your mattress size.

There really isn't anything more satifying than crawling into a warm bed on a cold night, and since my stuffed animals have not learned how to produce their own heat yet, this pad will do! Standard features include 10 heat settings, 2 controllers and auto-shutoff, so you don't have to worry about burning you or your house (in that order) down.

The only negative I can think of is that sometimes when I'm laying in bed, I get paranoid about laying on a bed of electrically heated wires. Will this fry my ovaries? Even though I don't want kids, I like to keep my options open. Anyway, it's so warm I'm sure the worry will melt away. I mean, it will.


One Sunbeam warming product I do not recommend is the electric blanket... or at least this one:
The same price as the mattress pad, the blanket proved to produce uncontrollable fluzzies. That's right, fluzzies. Fluzzies, a close relative of the dust bunny, are produced mainly by things you think are soft and would never harm you until they begin to produce endless amounts unsoft clumps of their "softness" all over your house/apartment.

Plus, since this is a blanket, it gets dirty faster because all of the direct contact with your warm, sweaty self. Send this as a gift to people who you don't really like, but you'd still like to say, "Great wedding!"

I imagine some people may be skeptical to lay on a bed of wires instead of under though, and there are other models I have not tried. If you do decide to go the way of the fluzzy blanket, I applaud you on your decision... Just remember, you've been warned!

*P.S. I am fully aware that the use of this product is further contributing to global warming, which I am currently basking in even though I know it's wrong.

Presents I Enjoyed Buying in 2007

Since the holidays have come and gone, most of the presents I bought have been opened. Here is a short list of things I really wanted to buy for friends in 2007:

These animal key covers make identifying keys in the dark super easy. The only downfall is that they don't work so well on a regular key ring, so I bought some binder rings from the office supply store.

$5.99 on modcloth.com (currently SOLD OUT)

I also enjoyed these inner chubbie embracing key covers...

$8 on Urban Outfitters online or $5 in stores (yeah, I don't know what's up with that!)

Speaking of food, next on my list of things-you-should-have-in-your-life is Mae Ploy's sweet chilli sauce:

$3.29 via importfood.com or at your local Asian grocery

Best on chickens of all kinds (fried, rotisseried or baked), this sauce is as essential as mustard or salt&pepper.


Speaking of salt&pepper, the 2007 holiday season's favorite Dutch ceramicist award goes to Chris Koens!

*Since this item has not been received by its intended giftee, I will not divulge it's location... but that's what Google is for anyway.

Last but not least on the list is my favorite stocking stuffer, Andrew Jeffrey Wright's "Labs With Abs" mini-comic.

*More images here. **Buy online through Giant Robot for $5.50.