Bill Bryson’s At Home: A Short History Of Private Life just hit the shelves, so I’ve been reading and hearing interviews with him for days now. One of the questions that comes up most frequently is ‘why are there four tines on a fork?’ Or on most forks, anyway. Go ahead, have a look in your silverware drawer. You’re probably going to see four tines.

Early forks had two tines – the modernish European table fork came into being in the 10th Century, and was viewed as something of an unmanly Italian affectation for many, many years. But forks of many forms have been in use since the period of the Ancient Greeks, at least as serving implements. Early forks had two tines and were entirely straight (so no scooping), but forks with more tines quickly caught on because it’s easy to spear yourself instead of your food when you’re using a two-tined fork. Before four tines became the hottest tine number, there were three-tined forks and five-tined forks, and I even found one with six tines (for serving sardines)!

Pretty printed forks by Vintage Garden

Here are two things that tickled my fancy today:

First, the Spilt Milk Bowl by Fred and Friends. Made of silicone, it is malleable and durable, easy to clean, and a great size for cereal or one-portion dishes. The perfect gift for the cereal addict in your life.

And then this, a customized IKEA ‘lack’ side table that offers up 3025 cm^2 of organic green space by ISO 216. I’m thinking you could easily DIY this with a little no-frills patio table, some plastic edging, dirt, and grass seeds. Voila! Your very own lawn!

Is there a toast lover in your life? Toast lovers are an interesting breed – if you think there’s not much one can say about what is essentially re-heated bread, I am here to tell you that thousands of people would love to prove you wrong. There are blogs devoted to toast (Dr. Toast loves two things: music and toast)… lists of ways to enjoy it… and heated debates concerned with how to properly toast bread and which toasters will rock your socks off.

Now that you know about toast lovers, here’s a little something that they might just love:

Namely, these Toast It trivets designed by Patricia Naves for Design Studio OITI. Cute, no? It just kind of works out so perfectly that the cork most trivets are made from happens to be a nice toasty brown!

Designer Peter White remembers his dad bringing mom a delish homemade breakfast in bed and the crystal bud vase toppling over into the pancakes. Quelle horreur! In response to the memory, White whipped up this charming breakfast in bed tray with a built-in bud vase. The price tag is a little high at $99, but breakfast is cheap, right? How do you show mom you really care with an inexpensive omelet if not by serving it on an absurdly overpriced breakfast in bed tray?

Note: If the above link doesn’t work, look this plastic tray up on TWEAK directly. For some reason, it’s labeled in the url as “chalkboard-stickers.”

Some mornings are just plain crap. Now you can have a teacup that reflects the crappy mood that was caused by a crappy morning that is probably foreshadowing a crappy day.

And if a crap teacup isn’t making you feel any better, perhaps a teacup featuring a rather snarky haiku that illustrates perfectly just how much selflessness you’re willing to exhibit today. Tea makes a man mean? Sometimes!

HINT: DIY it with a pretty tea cup and ceramic markers

I have no clue how or wear to buy these – other than ‘in Thailand’ and ‘using Thailand money’ or here – but the whole collection is just too cute not to share. It’s Propaganda’s Use Me line, featuring dishware, laundry stuff, bags, and other odds and ends that are ready to do your bidding with a smile.

Adorable! I’m in love!

Dabney Lee Woglom isn’t afraid to own up to her preppiness, and she makes no secret of her love of luxurious trinkets for the home. And I guess I love her? She’s got that eye for colors and patterns that I envy. Bad news: I can’t steal her flair. Good news: I (and you) can buy her stuff.

Woglom’s line of bold and bright accessories for house and apartment can be found at Dabney Lee at Home, her monogram-o-rific online shop. No, really – if what floats your boat involves lucite, sweet patterns, or paper, then she’s the lady you need to look into.

Lucite is a big part of her wares, mainly because you can use it like a window for displaying colorful paper and photographs. It’s also cool and very modern, not to mention the fact that you can easily work lucite accessories into pretty much any decor.

Woglom’s line of bold and bright accessories for house and apartment can be found at Dabney Lee at Home, her monogram-o-rific online shop. No, really – if what floats your boat involves lucite, sweet patterns, or paper, then she’s the lady you need to look into.

Oh, and here’s the best part: Pretty much everything sold in Dabney Lee at Home is customizable with different colors, patterns, and nameplates. Whether you like simple colors or funky patterns, you’re probably going to see something you like! (I did; I got the salt and pepper shakers, if you were curious.)

How adorable is all this stuff from Ninainvorm? She makes cute and colorful ceramics, screen prints, collages, and more, then sells them in her Etsy store way out in the Netherlands. Shipping is as expensive as you might imagine, but if your goal is to brighten up your environment, perhaps it’s worth it?

She says: “I make these name plates as a custom order for children and grown-up loved ones. I use the most beautiful vintage plates from my large vintage plate collection and then add screenprinted images & cut the letters of the name by hand out of colourful ceramic decal paper. Then the plates are fired in my kiln on a high temperature. The result is a unique, personal, sustainable and very cheerful plate.”

She says: “A beautiful medium-sized (contents: about 0.65 liter or 2/3 mugs) vintage 1960s design teapot, redecorated by me with my screenprinted lots of dots pattern in 6 colors. The vintage teapot is still in a very good condition, only some of the glazing on the handle feels a little bit rough, which isn’t something visible but you can feel it a little when you rub it with your fingers.”

She says: “Each set contains the six different postcards that you see on the pictures. In my other listings you can see detail pictures of the large prints that these postcards are the smaller version of.”

She says: “A beautiful medium-sized (about 7.5″”/18 cm diameter) vintage plate to which I added my screenprinted spirograph image. The plate is quite old, but still in a real good condition. This plate is fired on a high temperature and is therefore fit for daily use or to put it on a wall as wall art.”

As if you couldn’t guess, her life is just as colorful as her creations. See more at
her blog, which is well worth a visit!