Christmas | To Give + Get

Images via: The Moma / The New York Times / House Beautiful / Assouline / Haute Hippie

Everyone has been sharing their gift guides for the holiday season, so we thought we'd shine a light on a few items that have caught our eye this December. These are the perfect gift for any lady in your life. 

1.  Damien Hirst's mixed anamorphic cup and saucer set. This artfully inspired set of six espresso cups and saucers was produced in conjunction with Hirst's 2012 retrospective at the Tate Modern. The designs are direct reflections of his artwork, including Virtue, The Incomplete Truth, Beautiful Amore, Beautiful Cataclysmic, Doorways to the Kingdom of Heave, and For the Love of God.  What art lover (or tea taker) wouldn't want these? Available through the MoMa store here.
2.  You know we'd have more than one tea set on our list, right? This set by British designer Richard Brendon caught our eye in House Beautiful last month and is high on our list. These saucers are rescued from discard bins throughout England's finest antique stores and paired with bone-china cups painted platinum or gold. What a gorgeous, thoughtful gift.
3. Speaking of Damien Hirst, splurge for his collaboration with Alexander McQueen on a series of wearable art for the fashion house. With their gallery price tags, you just might want to frame them. Our favorite, shown above, is the Judecca. Available at Alexander McQueen stores and online here. 
4. Every gal loves a great coffee table book, and Assouline's SWANS: Legends of the Jet Society looks awfully inviting with its spreads of opulent lifestyles and exotic locations. Whether you're privileged or just a dreamer, this is the perfect book to inspire.
5. Clothes are always on the top of the giving and receiving list, but it's such a personal choice that it's often hard to find a good sartorial gift. However, Haute Hippie has the perfect mix of winter whites to hit the town come New Year's Eve. A gift that immediately gives, how 'bout that. 

billet-doux: The envelope please

billet-doux: A love letter, short and sweet. 

Our work inspires us everyday, but in order to live a truly inspired life, we have to look outside the box just labeled "tabletop" and channel our own creativity through the great work of others. Whether it's travel, fashion, art, people, or reading, this will be a place to share with you our inspiration du jour - what makes us smile or influences how we present our work. This is a  letter of love that will be at times important, at times whimsical, but above all else, a short and sweet way to point out what we love.

Up today, a few gorgeous envelope clutches that strike our fancy (we did say whimsical at times). Besides, we all need something to hold all those RSVPs. 

Images courtesy of one of our favorite sites: FEYT

Weekend Checklist: Best of Both Worlds

This weekend checklist does indeed include the best of both worlds. Whether it's a contemporary line from a timeless porcelain collection, the creative high-low genius of Neiman Marcus, getting schooled on fashion and nature, or reading novels and fun magazines, we're inspired by the yin and yang of the world around us. Check it out below.

1. Tabletop = Love here at POSH, so it was exciting when Laurel showed us the latest from Anna Weatherley.  The collections are hand-painted porcelain by artisans in Hungary and have a craftmanship unlike any other. What especially caught our eye where the classic colors (sky blue, ivory, periwinkle) that took a contemporary spin with nearly graphic-like scalloped edges, perfect for the modern mixing and matching of patterns. (Images via here and here.)
2.  Equally inspiring to us is art and nature. To our delight, this weekend we'll be planning how to catch up on two forces of nature to hit Dallas. First, the one and only Garance Dore will be at Northpark on October 25th. The illustrator turned photographer turned blogger turned fashion darling (and the other half of The Sartorialist himself) promises an afternoon of giggles and fondness for all things French. Second, the long-awaited opening of Klyde Warren Park is finally here! With an opening weekend featuring The Polyphonic Spree and Owen Wilson (to name just a few), you can bet these Friends of the Park can't wait to celebrate our first downtown park set to rival any other major city. October 27-28.
3. As always, the weekend is a time to catch up on reading. We're most excited about the latest endeavor from D Magazine - D Moms! We also can't wait to see what J.K. Rowling has come up with after leaving Hogwarts for adult territory with The Casual Vacancy. (During our recent trip to Paris, we saw literally hundreds of these books being bought in both English and French.) Last but not least, an icon in every sense of the word is discussed yet again in a book destined for our coffee table - learn more about the incredible world of the late Lee McQueen and the creative world of Alexander McQueen in Love Looks Not With The Eyes. 
4. Leave it to Neiman Marcus to give us the best of both worlds when it comes to the high-low of fun and fashion. "A legendary partnership" with Target gives us 50 exceptionally designed (and priced) goods while their now iconic namesake Christmas Book gives us fantasy gifts to dream about for years to come. Oh, Neiman's. We do love you. The Target Lookbook is here and the NM Christmas Lookbook is here.

Weekend To - Do: Pop Culture

Besides tomorrow being the official first day of Fall (!!!), there are a million awesome things to inspire you this weekend. Nothing gets us excited like the art world and pop culture, so we are sharing a few of our favorite things that will undoubtedly have you seeing life in a whole new light. Enjoy!

 1. NYC Tabletop Market is always inspiring, but the Prouna Jewelry Line made a distinct impression on POSH. Laurel loved the use of Swarovski crystals in these elegant and impressive tabletop pieces. Talk about #tabletoplove. Clockwise from top left: Diana tea cup and saucer, Adonis set, Diana pot. More Prouna here. 
2.  Elegant brands that push the status quo make pop culture more exciting. There are probably none who have done or do it better than Marc Jacobs and the late Alexander McQueen. From left: We love this Alexander McQueen Hummingbird rug because of its free and happy vibe and want it hanging on our walls. Another happy vibe: The windows at Louis Vuitton in NYC featuring a collaboration with the Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama. It's a favorite because we love when the different worlds of art collide, especially when the result is a happy world of polka dots. 
3. The Goss-Michael Foundation always has the most amazing exhibits. This weekend is no exception with the MTV Staying Alive Foundation's AIDS benefit, featuring the works of Dave White (top) and Chuck Elliott (bottom). Learn more here.
4. The book we can't wait to peruse? Doris Duke's Shangri La: A House in Paradise. Beyond the beauty and history of her collections, it's the women herself that entices us to put this on our weekend reading list.
5. Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has To Travel. Not enough can be said about this legendary editor of Harper's Bazaar and Vogue, so of course we're dying to see the documentary, which happens to open today!