Welcome to the Christmas season, everyone!  The giant plastic candy canes erected in the park outside my apartment on November 1 are now officially allowed to be there (I’ve been giving them the silent treatment), and I am opening the doors on not one but two advent calendars.  I love advent calendars.  Whee!  Anyone want to sing carols?

Of course, there’s the dark side of December, too.  This part of the year for me usually ends up being a mad scramble to buy gifts for my friends and family and get them crammed into boxes and shipped everywhere they need to go, while imagining that I am going to start making Christmas cookies and sending them to people at any  moment.  In an effort to help out folks like me whose shopping does not begin until December 1, today I thought I’d share my favorite places to shop for, well, stuff.  Stocking stuffers, quirky gifts, things for people for whom you’re afraid to buy a serious gift but have to get something…  you know what I’m talking about.  It’s easy enough to get on the internet and find what you’re looking for if you’re looking for something specific.  If you have no idea?  That’s a lot harder, particularly if you don’t want to spend a ton.  Here are some of my favorite sites to pick up interesting little gifts and inspire me to fill out the stockings.

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Future Flora Lamp at MoMA Store.

This week the online shopping roundup continues to the big world of furniture and home goods.  Naturally, clothing ourselves is key (not to mention required by law), but everyone likes to live in welcoming surroundings too.  Today, I’ll cover some of the best sites on the web with which to clothe your place.  Admittedly, my decorating tastes slant slightly toward the modern, so the roundup is slanted accordingly, but with luck there’ll be a little something for everyone. My favorites after the jump!

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Swirl Barware from CB2!

Let’s hear it for summer weather!  It may not be summer just yet by official standards, but the summer weather has definitely started to put in regular appearances, and a tall cool drink on a rooftop bar or on a sunny balcony is starting to sound better and better.  I’m a sucker for summer parties — I’m seeing guacamole and Alton Brown’s corn dog recipe for this year.  While, okay, I don’t need new glassware to have my summer party, and probably plastic cups would be fine and less hassle, I’m loving all the colorful, festive glassware out there that’s just perfect for a tall iced tea or a cool mojito.  Here are a few of my favorites.

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Kimberly McDonald at Twist

This week’s installment in our online shopping roundup brings us to jewelry. This, admittedly, is one of my big weaknesses.  I looove jewelry, and I particularly love interesting design.  The online stores I’m going to share with you today aren’t the place that you go to for a pair of nice diamond studs.  Yes, they’re classics, but that doesn’t require a store to have an eye for design, just a jeweler with an understanding of the four C’s and a good source for diamonds.  If you’re looking for that kind of thing, you can get it readily enough at Blue Nile or one of the other obvious vendors.  What I’m talking about here is places that will have jewelry that’s interesting, that not only will look good on you, but may be a conversation piece at a cocktail party (and not that “Wow, that stone is huge!” conversation we’ve all heard after someone gets engaged), and that frankly, is enjoyable to look at for its own merits. After the jump, some of the best places to look.

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