From Breakfast Room to Boudoir, Penthouse to Pool House…and everything in between!

A sampling of the Lafco "House and Home" Candle Collection

(l to r: Master Bathroom: Marine, Game Room: Blue Bamboo, Media Room: Spike Lavender)

How you doing on candles? Let me guess – you’ve got a few choice ones scattered around your place? A couple on the mantle for decoration, your new favorite one on the coffee table, a few votives near the bathtub (because you envision yourself taking baths by candlelight)? And then a drawer or cabinet full of the ones you’re currently sick of. Something like that, right?

You may even go through phases with candles. I know I have! Discovered them initially for my college apartments. Then I went on to work at Pier 1 Imports for a while. And let me tell you – the last thing a candle-loving 21-year-old needs is an employee discount on candles. Let’s just say I amassed a collection! Then on to Party-lite candle parties. . . It was out-of-control there for a while. And then I lost interest in candles.

Sure, I’d still sniff every candle in a store (and still do), but for the longest time, nothing “wowed” me. “Practical E” was always in my head telling me I had plenty of candles at home to light and love.

Then along came the “House and Home” Collection by Lafco.

Before I commence with the love fest, I should get this off my chest: these were part of Oprah’s “favorite things” last year. And I got a little uppity because I figured everyone would think that I jumped on the Lafco bandwagon because of Oprah. No people, no. In the most immature, obnoxious way, I’m here to say, “E discovered them first!” But thanks, O, for agreeing with me. :)

Annnnywayyyyy….the candles! You know I’m going to say they’re great and worth every penny! They are soy-based wax candles, with a natural cotton wick, housed in a wide hand-blown glass jar (approx. 4” x 4”) that’s pretty just sitting there doing nothin’. A 16oz candle will yield about 90 hours of burning. Retail is $55. I currently own “Kitchen: Cilantro Orange.” I tend to move a lot and it’s made sense in every kitchen I’ve had it in. And you know why it makes sense in every kitchen? Because it was designed for the kitchen; it’s in the “Fragrance Floorplan.”

Yes! You heard me! There is a Fragrance Floorplan! And let’s pause for a moment to discuss the Fragrance Floorplan, shall we? Um, it’s F-a-n-t-a-s-t-i-c! I need you to picture me reaching through your computer screen, grabbing you by the shoulders, and sticking the Fragrance Floorplan in your face. And then I’d tell you to take a good long look at it, concluding that yes, it’s the coolest thing you’ve seen all week! (Link to the coolest thing you’ve seen all week – when you’re done reading this – below.)

I’m going to go ahead and put this Fragrance Floorplan up near the tippy-top of my “loves.” Other companies may woo you with fragrance and packaging (which, don’t get me wrong, will often work for me), but Lafco doesn’t stop there. The Fragrance Floorplan gives these beautiful candles a story. They were thought about and planned for. They were incorporated.

As if all of this weren’t enough, a sub-group of the “House and Home” Collection is the “Dream Home Candles” Collection. Oh yes, a candle for your ski lodge, a candle for your beach house, a candle for your ranch house, and a candle for your treehouse (yep!). On and on the options go…..

So, buy yourself a Lafco candle. Buy one for a friend. Lafco candle(S!) would make a GREAT housewarming gift - - you could buy for several rooms of the house and put them in a great basket! Or, best of all - - buy a TON of them for a wedding gift. I am waiting for just the right people to get married so I can gift them a boat-load of room-specific candles, setting the tone for their blissful, tasteful, beautiful, Lafco life together. (I’m corny, but I’m serious!)

The very least you could do is follow this link so you can see the Fragrance Floorplan in all its glory, hovering over all the rooms, then moving on to see the “Dream Home” collection. Look. And Love.

The "Fragrance Floorplan": http://www.lafcony.com/hh/floorplan.php

- E

p.s. If you find yourself in New York City, visit the Lafco collections at Santa Maria Novella on Lafayette St. in SoHo. It’s a beautiful store full of beautiful things!

PB + J [J is for Justin]

Oh, Justin - - you and your nut butters! You and your squeeze packs!

Take any kind of food. Divvy it up and make “travel-size,” “to-go,” “snack-size,” or “minis” and I’m probably going to buy it. Why? Well, because it’ll probably make my haphazard lunch-packing easier. And they make portion-control, well, happen….

So there I am, about a year ago, taking my time in the aisles of a giant, clean, quiet, Whole Foods store near my new home when I get to the peanut butter section. Keep in mind that I force myself to buy the organic, natural stuff now because I’ve been convinced, but I remain annoyed that I have to keep the stuff refrigerated (I don’t like how it hardens and isn’t as easy to spread). And I turn a sour face every time I have to stir a layer of oil with ¾ of a jar full of what amounts to dry nuts. But I digress. Back to Whole Foods, circa July 2010. I find these:

That’s right - - little packs of nut butters. Multiple flavors. Squeeze ‘em instead of stir. Fridge not needed. Justin – you rocked my shopping cart that day! And for the past year, I’ve never not had a box of Justin’s Nut Butter in my cupboard!

I’ll skip past the convenience factor; I’m sure you get it. Instead, let’s get to the flavors. (By the way, the company’s high standards mean the highest quality, locally sourced, natural and organic ingredients for you.) The Almond Butter is available plain, or with chocolate, honey, or maple. The Peanut Butter is available plain, or with chocolate, honey, or hazelnut. I’ve tried them all and can’t think of a reason why you shouldn’t do the same! My favorite is Honey Almond on toast. But I also really enjoy Maple Almond on a banana. I was reading about “Team Justin” on the company’s website. Lance Gentry (President of the company) likes to put Maple Almond Butter on cinnamon rice cakes. Now that I know cinnamon rice cakes exist, I’m going to hunt them down so I can try this!

And it turns out I am going to belabor the convenience factor. . . How great that you can throw one of these in your bag, along with a banana, apple, rice cake, crackers, etc. and go?! As soon as I reach my desk in the morning, I forget that I have food shoved in my bag so things that won’t spoil on me are great! Remember how I said I hated having to deal with the oil/nut separation? Well, herein lies the genius of the packets: I give that little pack a few squeezes and done! Moms – this is a no-brainer. Picnic-goers, same. Portable protein; it’s perfect! Ooooh, and here’s an added tip – when you’re at the grocery store and you see the little boxes on display that the packets come in, I don’t know how the grocery store people feel about this, but I shuffle packs around and leave with an actual box full of the packs I want. Easy storage/display for you once you get home!

Individual 1.15oz packs retail for about $1 each, and I always find them at Whole Foods. For those of you who enjoy a good old jar of peanut butter that you can dig a spoon into every once in a while, Justin’s got you covered. Sixteen-ounce jars range from $6 to $10, depending on the flavor. I see the jars at most mainstream grocery store chains these days.

Time for some links:

#1 On Justin’s “Nut House” page, scroll down to the bottom of the page and take the very brief survey they link to. YOU COULD WIN A CASE OF NUT BUTTER!!! I think it would be really cool if one of my readers won because not only would they enjoy their prize, but it would prove that people read this blog of mine and actually follow links. Let’s see who’s actually still with me! [insert smiley face]
http://www.justinsnutbutter.com/nuthouse.php

#2 Here’s a link to “Nuts Near You”:
http://www.justinsnutbutter.com/shop.php

#3 Here’s a link to the Justin’s e-store (where I discovered that they now carry Justin’s Peanut Butter Cups!!!):
http://justinsnutbutter.elsstore.com/

Ok, you know what to do! Enjoy!

- E