Author Archives: Shira Abel Shvo

Store Review: Sue Fisher King in San Francisco

I had heard so many wonderful things about Sue Fisher King from my friends in SF that I had very high expectations when I went to go check out the store. The store didn’t disappoint.
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What an eye. So many wonderful accessories for the home in one place.

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We’ve Been Hacked!

In case you’re wondering what happened to the site –…

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CONTEST: Sterling Pear Keepsake Chest (US only – sorry)

[This contest has now ended.]
Christmas is now over and the New Year is here. It’s time to reorganize and get things sorted. To celebrate the ending of the holidays and the ending of quite frankly a rather meh year for many, we here at Tchochkes thought it would be great to begin 2010 with a stunning Sterling Pear giveaway.
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One of the owners of Sterling Pear, Janet Hayden, is someone I grew up with in Huntington Beach, CA. and she’s one of the nicest, most positive women you’ll ever meet. Seriously. So nice, that she’s willing to give readers of Tchochkes a  discount of 15% off your entire order on www.SterlingPear.com by using the coupon code “TCHOCHKES10” at checkout by January 31, 2010 in addition to this months raffle contest.

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Hannukka, Chanuka, Hanukka, Channuka

I love transliteration, don’t you?
The festival of lights are upon us, and as so far no one else has written about the holiday (and we have how many Jewish writers on this site?) I guess I will (and I’m probably the most secular of the Jewish bunch…)
It’s Hannukka. On the first night (last Friday) we had friends over with their kids and I made sweet potato latkes (brilliant recipe that you really don’t need to be Jewish to enjoy – eat them with sour cream and apple sauce – however you will probably need more eggs if you use free range organic that aren’t the size of American Baseballs). The kids played, I cooked and right before we were ready to eat we lit the candles on the menorah. The lovely, home made menorah (or Hannukiah as it’s called here) that my son made in kindergarten, which melted that same night and is now unusable.
Which is why I’m now showing you alternatives to the homemade menorah.
LED_Motherboard_Menorah
Actually, that’s not true. I’m showing you menorah’s cause that’s what we have for Hannukka. I am not a “holiday tree” believer (it’s a Christmas Tree folks, you want to have one, fair enough – but please G-d call it what it is. And for those who argue that it came from the Pagans – the Christians have been using it long enough to call it their own. Leave them be.)

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Home Tour: The Unexpected from the Jerusalem Homes from Within

Every year during Houses from Within people open their homes to complete strangers. And occasionally, their neighbors who weren’t approached to open their house want a bit of the action – and open their homes too. These are typically the the unforgotten unsung heroes of the proletariat. Older people alone looking for some recognition living in simple design with a smattering of kitsch.
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Todays post is for them.

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Lonny Mag

The new issue of Lonny Mag is live and it is AMAZING!Lonny Mag is an online magazine created by a group of editors, writers, journalists, etc living in NYC. As the media is dying and our favorite magazines are going with them, the people of Lonny Mag sought to find a solution to the problem and launch an online magazine. Literally – turning pages and everything.  Which is nice, but…
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Before I start the swooning I would like to give one serious complaint. The issue I posted a link for is the second issue. No where on their site did I see a link to the first issue. This is extremely limiting. Part of the point of the internet is to have information available when you need it and you can store whatever you need. It’s so counterproductive and counterintuitive to take your content off. I wasn’t pleased to find it gone.

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Data Fail

My lovely wonderful and caring husband decided to change the…

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Book Review: Speed Decorating by Jill Vegas

Speed Decorating, by Jill Vegas is more than just a book about getting your home “show ready” in a week. It’s a book chock-filled to the brim with good basic design advice and tips on the most effective way to get a home DIY redesign done.
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It includes tips on how to disguise a wonky sofa (hide it with a suzzani) as well as the sequence for your DIY.
One of my favorite blogs, Apartment Therapy, did their own review a month ago. Since they focused on the main points of Jill’s book, I’m focusing on the images and tone.

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Hotel Tour: Nina Cafe Hotel, Neve Tzedek Tel Aviv

Imagine Paris in the 50’s – but luxurious (because Paris post WWII was hardly luxurious, but it was sexy, dark, smoky and stunning). That is Nina Cafe Hotel in Neve Tzedek, Tel Aviv.
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A long long time ago (About 17 years now I think) I spent a summer in Paris. It was AMAZING. I stayed in this little bed and breakfast in the 5th Arrondismont. The place was cheap – but it was charming and the feel of it was magical. Nina Cafe Hotel has the same feel of charm and warmth but add cozy and regal (and yes, you can combine the two and make it work).
Here is a video I took when we entered the room (you can’t see the video from the feedburner email.)

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Reader Question: What to do with a front entry way?

My girlfriend Sara Eisen actually sent me this picture ages ago. I always meant to get to it – but never did. Until today.
Sara hates the “balatot” (terrazzo) tiles in her front entryway, but getting the area re-tiled isn’t currently an option. So she asked me about cutting out an area of the tiles and putting in decorative tiles instead.
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