BEDKNOBS & BAUBLES

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6 Christmas Albums You Need (Preferably On Vinyl)

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The Best Christmas Records on Vinyl

When we bought our record player last year, I had no way of knowing that it would become one of my favorite things about the holidays. There’s just something about listening to an actual record instead of an Apple Music playlist that makes the experience richer. It’s certainly more tactile and our stereo system is by far better than a WiFi speaker, but I think it’s the romanticism of putting on a record while mixing cocktails, hosting friends, or decorating the tree that really gets me. That and nostalgia. When I was growing up, my parents always played the Bing Crosby Christmas album when we exchanged gifts.

We’ve amassed a sizable collection of holiday records in the last year and a half, including an embarrassing purchase of Trick Daddy’s holiday album I picked up at the used record store last weekend. (I mean, how could I leave that gem behind?!) Below you’ll find my six favorites (in no particular order) that you should add to your collection this holiday season — Trick Daddy excluded. Let me know if I’m missing any great ones!

The Best Christmas Records on Vinyl

ONE | TWO | THREE | FOUR | FIVE | SIX

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Weekend Links

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Weekend Links:

Finds Under $50:

  • These knit monogrammed ornaments are darling.
  • Treat yourself to a new pair of earrings you can wear throughout the holiday season.
  • I’m loving this paisley-print blouse. It’s loose enough to hide any over-indulgence this Thanksgiving.
  • A faux fur pom-pom tops this cute hat that comes in nine colors.
  • I didn’t think a heart-print sweater could be sophisticated until I came across this one.
  • I bought these glasses in advance of holiday hosting last year and I’m still in love with them. The glass has a pretty blush hue to it.

Earlier This Week:

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image via Schoolhouse Electric

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Attractive Cat Furniture *Does* Exist!

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Tuft + Paw Modern Cat Furniture Review

In a “Weekend Links” post a few  months ago, I called your attention to Tuft + Paw, a company that’s been billed “the West Elm of cat furniture.” Pet furniture is notoriously ugly and as much as I love our cat, Bacon, he’s not going to be the recipient of an overstuffed cat bed or a carpeted cat tree. Tuft & Paw changes that, marrying good design with feline-approved furniture. I mean, just look at this sophisticated cat tree or this sphere-shaped cat bed!

To say that I was excited when the company’s founder, Jackson Cunningham, reached out to me would be an extreme understatement. I had a full-on crazy cat lady reaction. I mean, how could I not? An opportunity to feature Bacon on the blog — even if he’s a frustratingly uncooperative model — and feature a favorite design find? Sold. Read on to learn more about Tuft + Paw, including the inspiration behind the brand, the design process, and the one thing that surprised Jackson the most when he launched his company.

Tuft + Paw Modern Cat Furniture Review

What was the inspiration for Tuft + Paw?

“In 2015, I was traveling in South America and there were a ton of homeless cats. Being a cat lover, I knew I wanted to start a business someday where I could help support the homeless cat community. Fast forward a few months and we rescued our cat, Peppers, and when we went shopping for cat furniture we were appalled at the options available. We live in a small apartment in the city and so we’re very careful about what we bring in our home, and there was nothing we could find that wasn’t super tacky.”

How did you identify this niche in the marketplace?

It arose from our own problem with cat furniture, but then I verified that other people were having the same issue by using keyword tools to show how many people were searching for things like “modern cat furniture” on Google.

Tuft + Paw Modern Cat Furniture Review

Tell us a little bit about your design process.

We try to start with basic open ended questions like “why do cats scratch?” or “what makes cats happy?”For example, it’s important for cats to scratch at different angles because one of the main purposes of scratching is stretching. So, why are all scratching posts shaped like a beam? Why not a pyramid or a cube? Once we sketch out some concepts, we then create basic models that we can take to local shelters to test out. If cats seem to like it, we create a prototype to iron out the details and then we produce. We’ve definitely had some flops, but usually you can turn them into something workable; we created a scratching wall once but noticed the scratching material was too thin so cats couldn’t sink their claws into it. As soon as we adjusted that, cats loved it.

Tuft + Paw Modern Cat Furniture Review

Has there been anything that surprised you since starting Tuft + Paw?

It surprises me how expensive shipping is! As consumers, we’re all used to Amazon free shipping. But what you don’t realize as a consumer is that shipping (especially furniture) is insanely expensive and most vendors are taking a huge hit when they offer free shipping. That’s been our biggest challenge, some items cost upwards of $200 to ship and many customers expect free shipping now thanks to Amazon.

What are your most popular items? 

The two most popular items are probably the cat cave and simple scratching post, which has catnip embedded in it so cats love it.

Tuft + Paw Modern Cat Furniture Review

Cat bed c/o Tuft + Paw*

*I was torn between the Gatto Basket and the indescribably cute cat teepees. I opted for the former only because I worried that the teepee would put me on the verge of treating my cat like a child. Plus, the basket is a much more appropriate for our mid-century-leaning living room decor! The wool basket is densely woven, which holds its shape and cradles your cat when he’s curled up inside. Bacon had other uses in mind, however, and actually prefers to flip it upside down to sit on the bottom, as well as dive underneath the upturned basket and scoot around with it on top of him like its a turtle shell. It’s … odd, but hey, he likes it!

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Thanks to Tuft + Paw for partnering on this post!

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Weekend Links

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J.Crew Swingy coat in Italian wool melton :: Bedknobs & Baubles

Hi, friends! I’m finally back in the swing of things after a work-induced break from the blog and from much of social media! I always realize how much I appreciate this space after I’ve been away for a bit. We’re expecting a dreary weekend here, which is the perfect excuse to tackle a few house projects. As you know, I’ve been slowly working on repairing and painting the doors in our house, and removing the paint from the original hardware before polishing the brass back to its original sheen (without ruining the perfect patina you can only get with age). I’ll be wrapping up our bedroom door today, leaving me with three more I’d like to finish before the end of November. There are few things I find as satisfying as finishing up household projects, but we’re nearing the end of the things we can do on our own and will need to find a contractor to embark on our more ambitious — and more expensive — improvements.

Weekend Links:

Finds Under $50:

Earlier This Week:

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On My Radar

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baby shower backdrops

WEARING

If you saw my post yesterday, you may have noticed these Vince sneakers. I purchased them during the recent Shopbop sale and I have no idea how I went this long without owning a pair. We’ve all seen them on countless bloggers, but personally, I didn’t see the hype for something that looked like a pair of Vans slip-ons. Well, I get it now. They are ridiculously comfortable and are undoubtedly the most chic pair of sneakers I own. I ordered them in my regular size and a half size smaller as recommended; my regular size fit the best.

READING

I used to be such a bookworm (heck, one of my two majors is in English) and fell out of that habit in recent years. I’m trying to get back into the groove by making it more of a priority, starting with Calypso by David Sedaris. The book garnered criticism for being darker than his other collections of essays. I disagree. Sure, there are mentions of getting older and failing health, but it’s done with that type of poignant humor Sedaris is so skilled at. (I’m roughly two-thirds of the way through, so I’ll let you know if it ends up being awful at the end.) I’d love to hear your book recommendations. I like collections of humorous essays for their easily digestible nature when I don’t have a lot of time. I’m also into psychologically uncomfortable works. (Ian McEwan is my favorite author and I’m behind on a few of his recent works, so I’ll be turning to those next.)

USING

I recently added this Kiehl’s vitamin C serum to my nighttime routine. I’ve been using it for roughly three weeks and it has done wonders for my complexion. My skin feels softer in the morning and my overall complexion has improved. (I layer my regular night moisturizer on top of it.) I don’t think it’s doing much for my forehead wrinkles (apparently I was too expressive when I was younger), but I’m going to take a photo sometime this weekend as an “almost-before” image to compare to an “after” picture in a couple of months. For me, it’s impossible to notice those gradual changes.

PLANNING

Dave was close to reaching silver status with United, so we added another trip to this year’s itinerary to make it to that milestone; we’re going to New York City for a few days at the end of November into early December. I’ve never been to the city, so I welcome any and all must-dos for a first-time trip! I’m also very excited to see the city decked out in holiday cheer. A couple that we’re friends with is going to be in the city at the same time, so we’ll meet up with them at night for drinks but will largely be on our own during the day to sightsee.

HYGGE-ING

Cold weather is fast approaching and we’re making the most of these fall days to get our home in order before the chill really sets in. As you may have noticed on Instagram stories, our dining room table arrived (so gorgeous!) as did the chairs we picked out (which are passable quality, but a lot cheaper than buying the real Danish version — which I want eventually). I can’t tell you how excited I am to have meals at our new table! To add to a cozy, hygge vibe, I’ve been all about candles. I bought a couple of brass candlesticks at Totokaelo in Seattle and I purchased this candle at another store, which has the most perfect fall and winter fragrance that isn’t overwhelmingly rustic.

HALLOWEEN-ING

First of all, two faux verbs shouldn’t be allowed in a post. Forgive me. October is my busiest month at work with our annual expo and Halloween always seems to sneak up on me. It seems that once the event is over, I turn around and the holiday is right there — and completely unplanned for. Not this year. I bought some of these adorable (and insanely affordable) LED-lit pumpkins last year that I’ll be bringing out this weekend, and I added a few of these posable skeletons to have climbing up our banister. Last year, we put out a faux spider web on our porch … which was soon covered with real insects caught in the web, so we’ll pass on that this year. As for a costume, I need ideas! I went as Little Red Riding Hood last year — a costume pulled together with the help of Amazon Prime. The gingham dress and basket could be repurposed into a Dorothy ensemble, but I’m not really feeling that this year. Do you dress up?

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images via 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

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