The brand was established in 1897 by Englishman, David Nelken and doesn’t come with a very shabby client list… Globe-trotter has outfitted world-class adventurers including Captain Robert Falcon Scott, who traveled with Globe-Trotter on the infamous Antarctic expedition in 1912. Sir Winston Churchill used a Globe-Trotter Dispatch Case during his position as Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1924. H.R.H. Queen Elizabeth II chose Globe-Trotter for her honeymoon luggage in 1947 (and continues use her cases to this day). Sir Edmund Hilary ascended to first base camp with Globe-Trotter during his conquest of Everest in 1953.  ’Nuff said.

Ok, I’m about to start a trend… Fave new drink is the oh-so-chic Martini Blanc (Martini Bianco). Absolutely the ONLY cocktail a girl needs for the summer.  Neat or on the rocks, in a super chilled glass, it’s a sexy blend of dry white wine, an herb infusion (thyme is in there somewhere, I know it), and some sweetness… garnish with thyme sprig or olive (preferably on the branch).  Drank these all over Morocco, always in a magnificent setting.  I’m telling you, they taste like that place feels.

You heard it here first.

What a totally impeccable selection of perfectly designed 100% Post Consumer FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) Certified Recycled Paper writing and office supplies by the Sustainable Group! I love the ReWrite notebooks and want to order them by the caseload. The CD cases are pretty sweet too. Kraft colored business cards anyone? Yes please!!!!

According to the Sustainable Group website, zero virgin fibers were used in creating their products, which look like something sold at Moss, not made from it. Love Love Love!!!

I’ve been sick over what to get my eldest kid for Christmas. I just can’t stomach going into a store and uttering the words “Do you have WWE Smackdown vs. Raw for the PS3?” It’s bad enough that I’m having to utter the equally cringe-inducing “Let me have two dollars on Mega Millions and a Win For Life scratch off” these days.

And then it hit me, as I read a hilarious Huffington Post piece about about 37% of Americans not being able to locate America on a map of America. (A small exaggeration on the part of the author…but not really.) A globe! A great, old school globe! It’s really the only gift every kid needs to receive at least once in their life. And I promise, your $59.99 investments in this plastic ball will pay dividends over the equally-priced gaming cartridge. No instruction manual needed. Sit, spin, and use your imagination. Remember that?

A great selection HERE.

My boyfriend calls me “Chandelero.” And for good reason. I’m obsessed with chandeliers. I have stockpiles of them in our garage and even a spare yet beloved Italian Tole piece I love plopped on a chair in our dining room.

I also love charms. So I am ready to kill or be killed for this literal “pendant light” by Floto + Warner, who have created this luminary masterpiece from assorted necklaces and pendants found at Goodwill and Salvation Army stores. Repurposing never looked so good.

Refinery 29

In the fall of 2006 my boyfriend bought me a ridiculously chic ski jacket that was a the result of a collaboration between Moncler and Balenciaga. Maybe it was the tear sheet from a magazine with a big Sharpie circle around the jacket posted on the fridge that clued him in, but he surprised me with it on my birthday. Apparently only two were ever made in white – he somehow tracked one down and had it sent from Paris. What can I say – I have a rare man.

In any case, I’ve been obsessed with Moncler ever since that first quilted masterpiece came in contact with my body. Self-titled “the cold-beater par excellence,” Moncler is the Dali of Down, the Seurat of Ski, the Klimpt of Quilt. What they do with the stuff seems to defy the laws of physics. Check out some images from their winter lines for women and children. They have a huge men’s range too but I don’t really care.

With boutiques throughout France and a solitary U.S. outpost in Aspen, it’s virtually impossible to find the collection stateside. Keep your eyes open for the Thom Browne capsule in the pipeine. Go here and drool.

Clear bubble umbrellas. The only way to go this winter (and ever.) If, like me, you are short, an ambulatory multi-tasker, or coordination-impaired, these are for you. If, like me, you constantly donate expensive umbrellas to cab drivers and fellow subway riders, you can buy them in bulk HERE.

I’m currently re-reading this classic. Essential reading by the brilliant Napolean Hill who was given invaluable insight by the great Andrew Carnegie. Watch Mr. Hill kick knowledge. (again and again and again and again if you have to.)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GCaEZscfvA&hl=en&fs=1]

Smythson of Bond Street- stationers to the British crown as far back as Queen Victoria – have their online store up and running. I for one, still like a handwritten thank you note and a pocket planner as a backup to my iPhone. I also love seemingly useless bits of information and 24-carat gilt edging. Given that combo, I don’t think I can resist the Schott’s Miscellany Diary, it has all of the above. Written and designed by the author Ben Schott in association with Smythson, the diary features quirky snippets of miscellany, pages of pertinent information, quotations on all manner of subjects, words of the week, and pencil games to while away the daily commute. Stocking stuffer perhaps?

I need this bag. It’s like it was formed using scraps of my brain. It’s on the online store in case anyone is feeling generous. Every color is perfect.

Balenciaga