I Tweet. Therefore, I read.

No joke.

The other day I was an unwilling victim to a man who insisted on explaining that "real men don't Tweet."



In that case - and following that unimpeachable logic down its weedy and dark path - it might be of some use to point out, especially to those giving gifts to the kings and queens of the social media game this year, that indeed, not only do real men Tweet, they also read. And promote literacy.

The Chardonnay and Pinot Noir made by Crushpad for Biz and Ev, founders of Twitter, Inc. under the Fledgling label made their way into my home this week as Blushing gifts. 100% of the cases sold will promote literacy. 100%.

These Hostess gifts are among the greatest I have known: In a class with the highway I was gifted, and the bottles of Absolute Boston for the Charles River Conservancy Charity.

I don't know what's in the bottles and I don't care. 1. I would serve it shamelessly to a table of hideous wine snobs and glare at them with daggers in my eyes if they chose to remark on its quality (although, knowing what I do, I can assume it is delicious). 2. I don't care if Biz mixed Concord grape juice and vanilla extract together and called it a Pinot - because it is the right thing to do.

It's on my bottle list now so don't come by if you're a real man who doesn't Tweet.



To you, Biz and Ev; real men who Tweet. Well done.

Order it here, by the palate.

You think. And then you give.

Host and hostess gifts fall into two categories: Brilliant. Boring.

I have a friend who puts a great deal of thought into the gifts she brings; they are nearly always books, but sometimes they are also magazines on a topic upon which I like to read from overseas; British and French decor mags, an underground fashion thing, what have you. All of them brilliant.

Plants and greenery of any kind: Brilliant.

Then sometimes I get cocktail napkins. Yawn.

In the last two weeks I have spotted these two books I will be pleased to give to the modern hosts who are gardeners (or at least have one) and healthy eaters. While they may not seem right up the same alley, indeed, one leads to another.



Landscaping with Fruits and Vegetables, Fred Hagy, is a beautiful book that should have a place in every home: Borders and gardens full of organic produce. This is not a fad, in fact it was a war-time method of survival here in the United States and now it should be a pesticide-free method of the same.



Ani's Raw Food Essentials, Ani Phyo - now hear me out - is another instructional, glorious text for a new way of thinking about food (and those autumn borders filled with cabbage, see above). The Raw Food Movement is not one of my favorites only because of the way it appeared on the scene - too often presented with snobbery by the sanctimonious. But seeing past all that nonsense, if you can, it is the best way to consume food for so many reasons: Clean, unadulterated, easier, faster - I could go on and on. As much as the movement on the whole may annoy the mainstream cook, host, and consumer, the message is perfectly simple and critically important: Just plain good food. It can't miss: Just take the cooking oils out of your life and see what happens to your skin. Trust me, I know.

Give thoughtfully, ya'll.

Matters of the heart

Don't send flowers, chocolate, and Hallmark cards.

I have said this to my Husband since the beginning. If something has to be done, then make it last; a climbing rose or a rare peony bulb. Something which will live on and not cause weight gain. And not a card: Just write me a note. The commercial conquest that is Valentine's Day has always left me feeling taken advantage of by retailers.

But I realize there are relationships where, if a Valentine's Day were marked with a hand-written note and a dusty flower bulb, there might be open warfare. So, what makes us different, makes us beautiful, no?

Some assistance for the gentlemen in avoiding a war of the roses, then.



Bell' INVITO, Letterpress Valentine's


Leontine Linens, Trapunto Lingerie Cases


Gump's, Cranberry silk dupioni rose photo album


Gump's, Pink Croc alarm clock


Bernard Maiser at NYBG, Engraved butterfly notecards


Botanica Magnifica, Portraits of the World's Most Extraordinary Flowers and Plants
by Jonathan Singer, W. John Kress, and Marc Hachadourian

Last minute shopping: A sport for the clever

Oh, Baby. Say it isn't so. Say you did not not not leave this shopping thing until now. Oh, my.

Alright, because I adore you, I am here to help (hopped up on a dose of caffeine so inadvisable and grotesque I hesitate to mention it lest you think my style has been taken prisoner by Starbucks - but no problem, hold me down, I've got you covered). Let's hope these fine retailers are nearby...


Kate Spade, Westbury Opus, at Nordstom, and on mark down.


L'Occitaine, Home Fragrance in Verbena and Rose, retail finder for the US and UK here.


I would love a really heavy throw. Ideally, it is in 6-ply heavy gauge cashmere. However, if I step out of Wonderland for a moment, Pottery Barn does a fine job of creating things under which one can nestle and nestling is something I believe in.
Pottery Barn, assorted throws


It's gorgeous and every home needs one, if not for it's actual purpose, then for a dozen others. Williams-Sonoma, The Martini Pitcher

Williams-Sonoma, Nespresso Automatic Espresso


Williams-Sonoma, Children's cookie and cake decorating set


Apple, iPod Touch


The Bolter, Frances Osbourne, available at Barnes and Noble; "Perhaps nothing is more seductive than the fascinated contemplation of distant shames." writes one reviewer of a granddaughter's biography of Idina Sackville's romp through men and Kenya. At the top of my read list...


The Museum of Innocence, Orhan Panuk, available at Barnes and Noble, "One of the trickier subjects in fiction is that of the hapless suitor, besotted with love, locked in a lifelong obsession with a woman he can neither leave nor have. Yet, for all the perils of that soupy scenario, great literature has come of it. F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote memorably of just such a man in "The Great Gatsby"; William Styron, in "Sophie's Choice"; Gabriel García Márquez, in "Love in the Time of Cholera"; and Mario Vargas Llosa, in "The Bad Girl." Now, adding to those triumphant chronicles of the lovelorn, comes Orhan Pamuk's mesmeric new novel, "The Museum of Innocence." - Marie Arana for The Washington Post


The Imperial Cruise, A Secret History of Empire and War, James Bradley, available at Barnes and Noble. James Bradley, author of Flags of our Fathers, recalls the diplomatic mission that President Theodore Roosevelt sent Secretary of War, William Howard Taft on in 1905. Traveling across the Pacific, Bradley reports that Taft made 'secret and unconstitutional' agreements on Roosevelt's behalf that permitted Japanese expansion into the Philippines and Korea and denial of a once promised protection of Korea by the United States.


Nigella Christmas, Nigella Lawson, available at Barnes and Noble. I am certain Nigella needs no introduction...

Good luck in these last moments before the festivities begin, my hopes are with all of you for a fabulous holiday.

Blushing letters: The blade

Catherine,
Can you recommend a very fine knife for my boyfriend?
Thank you,
Ellen
Irvington, NY

Ellen,

I wish I could. Firstly, I don't know the first thing about hunting or fishing knives though I certainly have a few colleagues on the style list to the left who could help if you really must produce a knife for these purposes. If you refer to kitchen knives, I am equally stumped.

This is the thing about knives, Ellen: On my kitchen counter, atop my cutting board is a Henkel's top grade carbon steel chef's knife. When I move, among the first questions I ask of Josh is always where my knife is located; my knife is critical to all that occurs in the kitchen, the center of our home and lives. When I stand in another kitchen and I am handed another's knife, I turn it around in my palm, feel for it's heft, look over its blade, and then miss the feel of my own knife. My friend, Becca, gave me my knife before I was married but allowed me to handle all the best knives available and to pick the one that spoke to me. I could no more select a knife for another than I would pick the art that hangs on their walls. It is intensely personal and entirely individual.

For hunters and fishermen, the same applies: I've a friend who fillets enormous fish with something not much larger than a paring knife. And another who de-joints with a cleaver while I use a chef's knife. A lot of this has to do with one's build and strength; I like a more substantial knife blade which allows me to do a little less work at the shoulder when dealing with meat.

When your boyfriend touches his knife and lays it across his palm, he will know it instantly and in darkness. Don't look at the price tag, don't remark about it being the ugliest one on the wall. Just buy the knife. It is what it is; a hand does not make aesthetic distinctions, the mind does, and in the instance of a primal tool it makes only pointless distinctions. In the end, the knife's work is elemental and primitive, best to leave your head out of it entirely.

All the best,
Catherine

Hostess gift style: Painted dreams

The finely detailed custom cookie work of the astonishingly talented SweetAmbs for parties, weddings, and showers. So gorgeous they should not be edible.

Recipes from an Anglo-Thai Table of Beauty and Mystery

The cookbook which catalogued the legendary offerings of the parties in the darkly mysterious, magnificently beautiful, and tragically remembered Jim Thompson house in Bangkok is now available in English and French, as well as the original Japanese edition. This would be a welcome host or hostess gift for those who admired the textiles and design style of Jim Thompson, and those are - or might be - curious about the man and his social circle (part myth, legend, and tragedy, but all silky style).



House of Jim Thomson.

Hostess style: Matte nail color

As reported by everyone and their dog: Matte nail color is the must have for the fingertips this season.

As reported by no one other than moi, this is the chicest of the new-comers: Matte Velvet by Zoya.

In checking out their site, and noticing as much purely by coincidence, there is an endless number of hostess stocking stuffers as well. Ah-hem.

Host gift style: A little luck never hurt

Bridle leather and the No. 1 shoe, customized with their monogram, I say fabulous. But then again you know, I am hardly objective when it comes to equestrian inspired items for the home.

A fun and completely unexpected host or hostess gift...

Here.

For guests (and dirty stay-outs)

May I introduce to my new objects of thoughtfulness?

This...

includes two or four of each of the following:

Anti-Bacterial towelette
Deodorant towelette for Women
Eyes & Lips Makeup Remover towelette
Hydrating Lotion towelette
Lens Cleaning towelette
Makeup Remover towelette
Minty Mitt (Dental Finger Mitt)
Nail Polish Remover pad
Shoe Shine towelette

add it to this...



and your guest is covered for anything they might need. Fabulous for a wedding welcome bag, your travel kit, even fits in your clutch... should you happen to find yourself not at home, or something.

lafreshgroup.com

Beauty on the Bar: Paul Smith for Evian

Looks great with the mixers on the bar and a few bottles make a glam hostess gift.

Paul Smith for Evian, in limited amounts until Christmas.

Hostess gifts: Better to give and receive

Just a few of this season's best hostess gifts for every price range...


Agraria Trio, Charleston Gardens


Perfect for mimosas and gardening fans: Fern and Frond Champagne Glass , New York Botanical Garden.


Olive wood pen, Kate's Paperie (also on incredible markdown right now).


Low Country Luxe Candles: Enchanting southern-imspired scents which burn forever and a company which gives back.


Makeup brush roll in coral, Smythson.

My fickle friend, the summer wind

A perfect summertime Hostess gift or guest room touch: Voluspa, Limited Edition, Soliel. Like summer, gone before you know it.

Things of Beauty: Gianna Rose Diffusers

Gardenia and Jasmine ceramic floral diffuser

A few drops of the scented oil onto the porous ceramic flowers yields days of gardenia and jasmine. For the Hostess, or your self, no? Gianna Rose Atelier

Orchid and Honeysuckle

Up my sleeve

Sometimes one needs an alternative host or hostess gift. I mean, you've exhausted the wine options, or the host does not touch the stuff, or you just want a change. Here are a few old and new tricks hanging around my sleeve.

I will always appreciate your hand-written recipe, no need to buy anything.


Tupelo Honey never crystallizes and is the smoothest most delicate honey most will ever encounter, Savannah Bee Company.



A columnar apple tree, great for gardeners and terrace-sitters alike, is a tall gift to give but a thoughtful one that keeps on giving. They come in sets of two... one for me... gardeners.com

Give the gift of a wildflower meadow - or, small patch. Mixed seeds are available at Vermont Wildflower Farm by growing zone. You can even buy a pound inexpensively and split it into gift containers (the Hostess wishes she had that kind of fortitude)...

Fresh creamline milk, coffee milk, and/or cream in real glass bottles fresh from the dairy. Our local fave is Ronnybrook (their creamline is pasteurized but not homogenized thus avoiding any raw milk issues) which is now known the world over for its flagship store in Chelsea Market located below Food Network.


A bottle of really wonderful olive oil will never go unused. Grada Bresciano D.O.P. Extra Virgin, Avanti Savoia.

Cooks and connoisseurs might enjoy white truffle oil, Avanti Savoia.

Cafe du Monde coffee gift basket. Good coffee from a city that could use your patronage.

Journals particularly pertaining to entertaining (guest books, wine or entertaining journals) are always fabulous. William Sonoma.
The personalized embosser is a favorite of mine. William Sonoma.

A cookbook from a city he or she loves or is planning to visit... remember to write a personal note inside the cover.

Nautical coasters personalized for the map location most important to their world.
nationalgeographic.com