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Do you like stuff? So do we! Stuff for the mind, for passing time, for sharing, for yourself, for fun. Mariva's Guide brings you interesting, innovative, beautiful, entertaining and useful products, web sites, articles and images -- in other words, this, that and the other thing.
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designer gift wrap
Half the fun of a gift is the packaging — and all the better if the wrapping paper is unique. If you’re lucky enough to have this unique designer paper, would you use it to wrap a gift — or would you frame and display the paper itself?
Posted February 21, 2006 by Mariva in arts, decor, gifts, home
vintage products, brand-new
Ever feel nostalgic for products or supplies that you remember from childhood, but haven’t been able to find in years? Your search may be over. The Vermont Country Store offers a wide variety of products that your parents or grandparents used — all brand-new and recently manufactured. How is this possible? The proprietors get permission to re-create vintage products as close to the originals as possible — including design and packaging — and bring them to market for another generation of consumers. If you’re not in the neighborhood of one of the stores in Weston or Rockingham, Vermont, you can order vintage games, classic New England apparel (warning: not for the fashion-conscious), long-lost fragrances and even food and beverages online. If you can’t find what you want, let them know, and they’ll consider re-creating it for you.
Posted February 15, 2006 by Mariva in bath & spa, business, decor, edibles, fun, games, gifts, home, innovations, kitchen, resources
Fresh Pink Jasmine
I made a special trip to Pure Beauty in the Castro to purchase its last inventory of the Smoothies hair claws that I like so much. (The Rake, Chunky Square and Skate claws are my favorites for quick, no-fuss updos. And check out the Trap Claw, which features a patented hidden spring that makes your French and faux-French twists look more elegant.) While I was there, the employees were busy clearing out the old "beauty supply" items and replacing them with chichi "beauty boutique" stuff. I decided to scope out the higher-end merchandise.
Posted February 3, 2006 by Mariva in bath & spa, beauty, gifts
Vermont Teddy Bear
I can’t imagine a sweeter Valentine’s Day gift than a personalized teddy bear — especially one from the Vermont Teddy Bear Company (sister company to the PajamaGram Company), which makes high-quality, hand-crafted, fully jointed huggable friends that are guaranteed to last a lifetime.* As the company name indicates, each teddy bear is made in America, specifically in the Green Mountain State of Vermont.
To make your gift even more special — now that the original "-gram" communications service has ended — consider sending a Bear-Gram, which includes a bear of your choice, delicious gourmet chocolate and a personal message printed on a colorful gift card — all encased in a fun gift box, complete with an "air hole" so that your bear can get fresh air on his or her journey. You can choose from over one hundred Valentine’s Day Bears, including the "Heart Throb" bear pictured here.
Posted February 1, 2006 by Mariva in decor, edibles, fun, gifts, holidays, home
Macy*s Valentine’s Day pretties
I love Macy*s. So chic, yet affordable. Get your sweetie a nice gift for Valentine’s Day — or better yet, get something for yourself! Jewelry, lingerie, fragrance, gourmet gifts, ties and cufflinks, electronics — it’s all here. Plus, you can find a nice selection of pretties for under $25.
Posted January 26, 2006 by Mariva in edibles, fashion, gifts, holidays, jewelry
Minimus travel-size products
When you’re away from home — whether spending a lot of time at the office or going on a picnic or a trip — you’ll appreciate Minimus. Here you can stock up on a plethora of individual- and travel-size products, including food and beverages, laundry supplies, personal care and over-the-counter medicines. You can also purchase preassembled kits and care packages of snacks, mini-meals, personal supplies and medical kits — some specifically for men, women, college students, air travelers, campers and even cold and flu sufferers. Many kits make ideal care packages for military personnel. And speaking of the military, the preassembled package called the "military field kit" — comprising an emergency blanket, a small flashlight and a rain poncho — is something you may want to keep in your car or home storage area.
Posted January 24, 2006 by Mariva in edibles, gifts, health, home, resources, travel
Katamari
Knowing that I have an addictive personality — at least with regard to the "soft addictions" — I do my best to stay away from treacherous time traps like Freecell Solitaire. And if I owned a game console that could play Super Mario, I’d probably never see the light of day. 
Posted January 18, 2006 by Mariva in entertaining, entertainment, fun, gadgets, games, gifts, home, innovations, news
Thermos Food Jar with Folding Spoon
Archie Bunker once mused, “You got your Thermos here, see? You can put coffee in it and it stays hot, or you can put beer in it and it stays cold, right? So my question is, how does it know?" Clearly, Archie never grasped the concept of insulation; nonetheless, Thermos products — three decades ago — worked so well that they seemed like magic.
Thermos has been updating its line of products, including its signature beverage bottles. The container featured here ain’t your parents’ Thermos. This lightweight, double-wall vacuum-insulated Food Jar with Folding Spoon comes with a stainless steel folding spoon that fits neatly into a storage compartment, which, by the way, has enough room to hold condiments and other small items. The Food Jar keeps your meal hot or cold, just the way you (and Archie) like it — and it looks cool to boot.
Posted January 13, 2006 by Mariva in gadgets, gifts, health, home, innovations, kitchen, travel
patchwork wood frame
This patchwork wooden frame looks like the hand-built exterior of a tropical beach cabin. This might be because, according to the product description, the frame is handmade in Thailand, using recycled wood from old boats, houses, schools and buildings.
In the print catalog, the colors look even richer. That’s an actual turquoise you’re looking at. Keep in mind, though, that because each frame is one of a kind, designs and colors vary slightly from frame to frame. Fits 4" x 6" photos.
Posted January 12, 2006 by Mariva in arts, decor, gifts, home
SleepTracker alarm watch
Oh, gosh, I have trouble getting up in the morning. I usually "negotiate" with my alarm clock for several snooze periods until I finally turn on the lamp and groggily make my way out of bed. Or I give up entirely, turning off the alarm clock altogether, too half-asleep even to think the words "forget it" consciously. Then the cat comes in and vociferously demands breakfast. There’s no way I can sleep through that — and once I’m up, I’m up for the day. While the cat is an effective alarm clock, the waking experience isn’t the most pleasant.
Sound familiar? Maybe it’s not our fault. The alarm clock wakes us up by the time of day (an external factor), not by the best time for us to wake up naturally (an internal factor). Aren’t there some times you wake up more easily than others, regardless of whether you’ve had your requisite hours of sleep?
Posted January 9, 2006 by Mariva in gadgets, gifts, innovations, resources
