haute note: stylish stationery

A friend recently sent me a gorgeous, personalized thank you card and as soon as I opened it, I knew I’d just discovered something for an upcoming blog entry. I’ve professed my love for pretty paper and stylish stationery many a time before but with so many fabulous options out there, it’s hard to choose just one to gush about. Today, I’m swooning over the gorgeous designs from Haute Note. This Vancouver-based company makes beautiful note cards and invitations and I love that you can personalize them. Simply pick a design and then personalize it with your name or a phrase like Thank you from Natalie. You can choose from six different fonts and if you can’t decide on just one design, you can mix and match and create a custom order. A packaged set of eight cards and nine envelopes (just in case, they say), costs $24. They’re perfect to have on hand for those occasions when you want to send something special and they also make a wonderful gift. Order online at hautenote.com.

Visit us at the Style at Home Show, Oct. 17 to 19, at the Direct Energy Centre, Exhibition Place, Toronto. Go to styleathomeshow.com for more information and to order tickets.

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wallies chalkboards

When I was a kid, I used to write reminders to myself on my hand (ew!) In university, my roommate and I put a whiteboard in our foyer to write each other notes about everything from empty milk cartons and bread shortages to exam schedules and weekend plans. Efficient, sure. Unsightly, definitely. If only we’d known about Wallies back then. These peel-and-stick chalkboards are perfect for around the home, plus, they’re removable and repositionable. What a great idea! No more leaving notes around the house that may or may not get eaten by the dog. These chalkboards, while running the risk of being a tad kitschy, end up being totally stylish because they’re so clever. And inexpensive, too! At about $9.99 a sheet (prices vary depending on size), they’re a bargain to boot.

Available online at: wallies.com

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flora and flight stationery

More stationery I love. Shocking, I know. These adorable designs have a bit of a French country charm to them and portray pretty botanical images that make me think of spring, even though winter is showing no signs of releasing its stranglehold. That’s not very optimistic, is it? Anyways, the Flora and Flight collection features pocket pads, note cards and gift enclosures that are not only impossibly sweet but so handy to have at home for emergencies … OK, not EMERGENCIES, exactly. They’re no good for putting out fires in the kitchen or anything. But you know … emergencies like forgotten birthdays and last-minute dinner parties (you know you never like to show up empty-handed).

All available for purchase online at randomhouse.ca.

Flora & Flight Pocket Pads, $11.95

Flora & Flight Note Cards, $15

Flora & Flight Gift Enclosures, $15.95

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office accessories

Everything’s better in crystal, don’t you think? If you thought Swarovski was all about cute but utterly pointless crystal dust-collectors … I mean figurines, collectibles, whatever you want to call them … think again! The crystal retailer offers up a killer collection of all kinds of blinged-out treats, from jewelry and accessories to home decor goodies like picture frames and stemware. But my faves are these office accessories that are totally extravagant but so pretty to look at. Talk about taking something ordinary and making it special! The Amazone Headphones (pictured left) are made of polished stainless steel with fully faceted drop-cut crystals on the ear buds. The Lock Out USB Key (pictured right) is a memory stick, masquerading as a lock. This 1GB memory stick is also made with polished stainless steel and Silver Shade crystals. You’re going to want to take good care of these!

Prices:
Amazone Headphones: $175
Lock Out USB Key: $210
Available at Swarovski stores across Canada; for more, visit swarovski.com

PLUS: Check out 10 home office must-haves on styleathome.com.

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fab file folders

If these colourful and stylish file folders don’t motivate you to organize the heaps of junk on your desk into neat, orderly piles, perfectly protected in pretty file folders, there’s just no help for you. Sorry.

Available at: crane.com
Price: $11.95 for package of 6 (left), $12.95 for package of 12 (right)

Are you a piler or a filer? Take the quiz to find out!

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jeweled pencils

A few weeks ago, I bemoaned the fact that rarely do we handwrite personal letters or cards and send them out via postal service. And if pretty paper (like the kind I blogged about here) isn’t enough to inspire you to put your computer away and communicate the old-fashioned way, maybe these jeweled pencils will do the trick. This simply but stylishly packaged slide box of five pencils is the perfect gift for yourself … or … fine, for someone else. With a Swarovski lead crystal at the head, these jeweled pencils are more than just writing tools. In the middle of the day, they might just come in handy as chopsticks to hold your hair up. They are jeweled, after all.

Available at: violet.com
Price: $15 for a box set of five

Check out some of my favourite stationery.

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macbook air

I love it. I want it. It’s as simple as that. I can’t help it – I’m a gadget girl and this latest chef d’oeuvre from the masterminds at Apple really makes my heart race. The sleek and innovative design of the MacBook Air just reinforces why they say, “Once you go Mac, you never go back.” Who says? I don’t know. People say. I’ve heard them.

I mean, OK – do we really need our laptops to be so impossibly thin that we can interoffice them to colleagues in a manila envelope? Not so much. (Not to mention, if I had one, I wouldn’t let anyone else put their grubby hands on it, anyways!) But that’s the beauty of it. This isn’t about necessity. It’s about creativity. It’s about inspiration. It’s about creating something not because you have to but because you can.

I know, I know, it lacks features. It’s only got one USB port (gasp!), it lacks storage space (compared to its equally pretty but more powerful predecessors) and it carries a hefty price tag (considering the aforementioned). But I guess that’s what love is. Sometimes blind, often irrational, always from the heart, no matter how misguided. Look, I know I’ve been suckered …

This would look so good in my home office. Or in a manila envelope on my desk. Or in my pocket.

For more great ideas for your home office, visit styleathome.com.

P.S. Styleathome.com recently launched a free monthly newsletter, full of design and decorating information. Have you seen it? Sign up for it here.

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download this!

Every month on styleathome.com, we offer readers a free, downloadable desktop calendar, featuring the beautiful cover image of the magazine. It’s not only a pretty way to dress up your desktop but it’s handy, too! Click here to download it now!

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