I’ve never thought of coat racks as being sexy. In fact, I always thought of them as decidedly unsexy, what with them standing around all covered in coats that definitely don’t match the decor.

That’s why I was pleasantly surprised by these modern coat racks and coat hooks over at Chiasso. Take a look and leave a comment to let me know which is your favorite if you get a chance. Mine is the Jaxx Coat Rack.

Jaxx Coat Rack - All of these are gorgeous, contemporary coat racks, but I love the Jaxx coat rack because it reminds me of being a little kid and playing jacks.

The Metro Modern Coat Rack is a cute alternative to the Jaxx coat rack, and I love the umbrella holder.

The Lakota Coat Rack - I’m not sure why this isn’t called the “Teepee Coat Rack”, but regardless of what they call it, it’s kind of cool. One of my biggest pet peeves about coat racks is that they fall over easily if you don’t balance the weight (or if you have kids around), so this looks like a much sturdier alternative to some of the others.

And finally,if you’re more of a coat hook person than a coat rack person, either of these would be awesome:

The Flip Coat Hook - Simple, understated, and super cute.

The J Flex Coat Hooks - Incredibly simple, understated, and easy to forget. Use it for bulky enough coats and I bet they’ll look like they’re floating independently on the wall.

Dear ThinkGeek,

I’ve decided that we should go steady. I’ve toyed around with other geek websites, but it’s very clear that you’re the one for me. To show you just how much you mean to me, I’ve shamelessly modified a poem just for you…

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways…

Ahh, screw this. If I were a poet, I wouldn’t be shopping at ThinkGeek. I’m not sure what I’d be doing exactly - maybe sitting in coffee shops with a Moleskine while trying to look mournful and wise at the same time?

Instead, I’m hanging out at home browsing your Flux Capacitor replicas, your extreme caffeine products, and your hilarious geek t-shirts.

Any chance you could sell me a social life, too?

Click here to visit my beloved ThinkGeek…

Coming from a small and traditional town, I always thought of fireplaces as these enormous, built into the wall features that have to either be constructed along with the house or added at a cost of many thousands of dollars.

Apparently, that’s no longer the case.  In fact, you don’t even need a chimney anymore.  These modern wall “ambient fireplaces” give you the ambience and warmth of a traditional fireplace without the need for smoke ventilation, gas lines, chimneys, or dirty logs.  They run on bio-ethanol fuel, so it’s safe for use indoors.

My personal favorite is probably the “Wave Ambient Fireplace“, but I like them all.  Which one would you buy?  Note: you can click the pictures to go the original retailer and view more images.

Wave Ambient Fireplace (Above)

Moda Ambient Fireplace

Flame Ambient Fireplace

I’ve seen a lot of tiny, cheap versions of British Phone Booth Cabinets, but this one is actually very nice.  At $750, it’s a little pricy, but it would look really neat in a lot of different rooms.

The interior shelves are adjustable, and it’s also lit from the inside so you can highlight the contents if you so desire.   You can get it here at SkyMall if you like it.

British Phone Booth Cabinet
Price: $750
British Phone Booth Media Cabinet

I’ll admit, I’m not the most Earth-friendly girl that ever lived. I make way too much trash, I use beauty products containing who-knows-what kind of chemicals, and I often drive when I should be walking. Still, when I find ways to change my life that are both beneficial to the planet and my lifestyle, I try to take them.

After a recent visit to my grandmother’s house, I’ve been seriously considering a rotary clothesline. In case you’re not sure what that is, refer to the picture below. I helped my grandma take in her towels this weekend and they smelled amazing. Not only did she not pay to run her dryer, but her towels ended up smelling like fresh air - and not the perfume-y, manufactured fresh air that I get with my dryer sheets.

You can get them at this link, and the three-arm models start at $132. Four arm models are a little more, but if you do a lot of laundry, it’s probably worth it.

I’m not saying I’ll be hanging my thongs out to dry any time soon, but I think I could definitely use a rotary clothesline to save money in electricity and dryer wear and tear, plus I’ll be getting ultra-fresh clothing that’s just a little bit better for the environment.

I’ve been helping an old friend shop for wedding favors over the last few days, and it’s actually kind of exhausting. She’s a blonde white girl from a small town, and he’s a Chinese guy with a very traditional family. Because their familiar really wanted to do just one wedding, she’s in the market for two sets of favors for the reception - one with an Asian theme and one that’s more US-traditional.

Her initial thought was to put some cute crane origami favors next to some bluebird favors, but her fiancee quickly informed her that he’s Chinese, NOT Japanese. Oops. Eventually, she settled on these cute double happiness candles instead. Since her wedding colors are red, black, and white, I think they’ll look especially nice.

You can get these candles (and other Asian wedding favors) at Beau-Coup.

I’m a huge West Elm fan, but I feel like everyone I know shops there and I’m always afraid I’m going to buy a $3000 piece of furniture and then see it in a friend’s place. Luckily, I came across Chiasso, and most of my friends avoid shopping there because they like to see things there in the store.

Chiasso’s website is fun - you can see some examples of their products below, or just click here to browse on your own.

I’m especially fond of the salt and pepper shakers you see above. They look great on my table, and they also look spectacular on the counter next when I’m cooking (I have a stainless steel kitchen).