Featured: BOGO Sweaters from Torrid

Through January 4, if you buy one sweater from Torrid, you get one free. You may have noticed this blog's worrying obsession with cardigans (they're the perfect layer!). And even though you may associate Torrid more with, e.g., spiked cuff bracelets and so on, just occasionally some kind of disturbance in the space-time continuum sucks cute career basics from some other reality and deposits them among the cherry-print fifties dresses and Twilight t-shirts.

So... which ones would you buy? Tell me your faves in the comments.

Black Wrap Long-Sleeved Cardigan ($48)

Swoosh! That's the sound this sweater will make as you swoop down the sidewalks (maybe just in your mind, though). Freeform and flattering. From Torrid.

Black Drape-Front Buttonless Cardigan ($44)

What do you do with buttons, mostly? Yup, lose 'em. And how often do you keep a cardigan buttoned anyway? From Torrid.

Heather Gray Grandpa Cardigan ($44)

Somehow, these patch-pocket cardigans are being used by both teachers (handy chalk receptacles on the sweater? Boy howdy!) and emo kids (ummm... yeah, I don't know what the emos are keeping in there). If emo kids start wearing Xmas sweaters and matching them to colorful socks, teachers may have to unite in repelling this fashion takeover. (You can take our lives, but you canna take our denim jumper dresses!) From Torrid.

Featured: CB2 Holiday Catalog

Is it really time to start thinking about Christmas shopping? Well, there are two schools of thought to that: the (grumpy) people who don't like holiday stuff in stores before Thanksgiving, and the early birds who want to get shopping out of the way. I admit that I have seen some too-early holiday appeals (every store that had Xmas stuff in August, I am looking at you right now), but by late October, the air is crisp and, if it's not quite time to put on the Johnny Cash Christmas album, it's at least time to start thinking about what you are going to get that one very finicky niece of yours.

In that spirit, I've picked my favorites out of the CB2 holiday catalog for your enjoyment.

Fu Dog Bookends ($50)

Set off your favorite tomes with these protective pups. Who can say no to that curly fur and those big grins? From CB2.

Phantom Clear Table Lamp ($100)

I like the way the shade and the base have complementary widths and shapes, and of course this has a nice minimalist appeal. From CB2.

Aluminum Business Card Case ($3)

Good design: sleek, sensible, and very good at its job. Holds up to 15 cards. From CB2.

Ibiza Wine Glasses ($4/each)

These would look great mixed, or go monochromatic to match your all-pink kitchen (tell me someone out there has an all-pink kitchen?). Dishwasher-safe, they promise, and the paint uses organic inks. From CB2.

Aluminum Mirrors Set ($60)

Love these—you could go very mod with them, but they'd also work as a touch of contemporary in a more traditional setting. I would hang them over my desk to reflect the windows at my back. From CB2.

Featured: Harts Fabric

An independent fabric store in Santa Cruz, California, Harts Fabric also sells online (thankfully for all the non-Californian crafters). With lots of imported fabrics from Japan, it has some of my favorite prints. Plus, great oilcloth prints and organic canvas in a range of pretty colors.

Flowers & Maze Cotton Fabric ($10/yd)

Who doesn't love teal and red? Plus the geometric forms with the curvy flowers—delish. Buy here.

Green & Aqua Pear Print Cotton Fabric ($10/yd)

I love the illustrated quality of this print. You could almost frame it! Buy here.

Asian Mums Cotton Batik Fabric ($10/yd)

The watercolor-like finish on the dyes keeps this pattern from being too busy. Great for a throw pillow. Buy here.

Cotton Birds & Flowers Fabric ($10/yd)

Loopy birds and botanicals. This would be both fun and sophisticated in a nursery. Buy here.

Featured: Stepanka Ceramics

Working out of NYC, the artist who runs Stepanka Ceramics is doing some really inventive things with porcelain. Her "wall pillows," along with some of her porcelain cups, seem to reference fabric and sewing in their construction, and her translucent cup sets highlight porcelain's delicacy by letting light through.

I'm a big fan of her work, and I love it that she offers her pieces at a range of prices—accessible art for everybody!

Below, some of my favorite pieces from her Etsy store.

Translucent Porcelain Cup ($28)

This cup, with its translucent-dotted base and sewing-inspired marks and seaming, is the first piece I fell in love with by this artist. From Stepanka Ceramics.

Happy: Box With Four Porcelain Balls ($360)

Handmade of porcelain and stoneware clay, these would look great on a coffee or side table, or as a centerpiece in the dining room. From Stepanka Ceramics.

Translucent Cup Set ($115)

The artist uses thin slabs of porcelain to make these delicate cups. Food safe, but if I had them, I think I'd want to put candles in them to watch the light shine out. From Stepanka Ceramics.

Asking Questions: Porcelain Wall Pillow ($42)

Concept piece and a lovely decoration for your wall, from Stepanka Ceramics.