ThisNext Blog

Will Jonathan Adler ever cease to amaze us?

We love his clean white ceramics - but how happy are these stripes?

Something else that makes us happy: the super cute entertaining and modern design blog Hostess With The Mostess…just about as peppy as the Adler ‘stripes’ collection she discovered. 

Shopcasting matters because you give meaning to products.

Check this ensemble by

The Glamourous Librarian:

A Pucci bucket hat isn’t just the spring’s take on the famous print. It’s the perfect sunshield, and the yellows and greens of it play up your favorite purple tank.

Shopcasting means being able to discover a variety of products, so you find the right product that says what you want about you.

Shopcasting means burning “I (HEART) NYC” T shirts in favor of this Brooklyn Industries “Skyline” T, as discovered via TEEES.

We know products have deeper uses and meanings than what they were originally designed for, which is why shopcasting matters.

Take this Fendi brief, for instance:

Is it a designer murse, or a deal clincher at your meeting with future clients?

Discovered via My Fine Wardrobe.

World Changing, one of the best-known of the green blogs, takes us beyond organic wines and palm nut ale, to an actual, hops beer that’s not only from sustainable sources, but actually supports sustainable causes. Kew Brew is made with varieties of hops grown at Great Britain’s Royal Botanic Gardens. Sales of the beer support Kew’s international Millennium Seed Bank Project, a huge and hugely important seed bank project that’s doing important conservation work every day. What an opportunity: to do well in two sustainable ways, and still have a decent pint (or two).

Our shopcasting network exists because sometimes cowboy boots are still calling to you, but you really need a new pair of sneaks.

Adidas cowboy boots discovered via Fashion Chronicles.

Beth of (oddly enough) The Beth Chronicles is a ThisNext kind of person, who expresses her blindingly cheerful personality in everything she says, buys, wears (she’s a t-shirt junkie)…and even drinks from. Check out her recent adventure where a friend of her, in true THisNext fashion, found the perfect coffee cup – the right size, the right shape, the right everything…but found it at a local restaurant rather than a store. And no, they didn’t steal it: they asked to buy one and got it for $4.00. They even had their choice of pink or blue. Now that’s totally ThisNext: knowing what really calls to you, and making it your own (without shoplifting).

ThisNext exists because products tell people about who you are.

Sometimes literally.

Nameplate necklace via Jessica, of Punky Style.

Say it loud, say it proud: CarScoop: A site dedicated to the car fanatic. And who isn’t a little fanatical about the 2007 MiniCoopers, which somehow manage to combine cool and cute into one tiny car.

ThisNext is the platform for your conversation about your conversation pieces.

So let’s chat.

Says Liv to Shop about this Banana Republic ring:

“It’s a great conversation piece and won’t suck up your entire paycheck. Simple is best when wearing rings or other jewelry like this. Dress around it and keep any other jewelry you wear clean and simple.”

Vivid1’s blog, Excessive Velocity, is unusual in a number of ways: she’s one of the few females who blogs about motorcycling (and she actually owns three bikes: a Ducati 900SS a Honda CBR 954RR and the beautiful Ducati ST3 shown here)…she has equal enthusiasm for bicycling as well as motorcycling…and she takes great pictures not only of her bike, but of the country Illinois countryside she tours on all sorts of wheels. Here’s a woman living the ThisNext dream every day, and when we’re in the market for a motorcycle, we know exactly where to go.

Worthwhile is more than just a magazine – it’s a whole media company that believes “ it’s impossible to have a meaningful life without meaningful work.” The whole venture is built for people “seeking a more personally fulfilling and socially responsible route to business success.” And Worthwhile has a group blog, Out of Our Minds, that covers everything from sustainability to passionate work to making a difference and more. On line and on paper, it’s – wait for it! – worthwhile.

ThisNext usually likes to bring good products to everyone’s attention, but once in a while even the finest pics turn imperfect. The learn-as-you-go Mom of Life Without Instructions recently talked about a really good idea that just didn’t quite work: Crayola® Color Wonder™ Markers. “”They seem like a good idea, right?” she said. “Markers that only draw on the special Crayola® paper and don’t mark or stain anything else seemed like a great idea to me for a slightly spastic and unpredictable but creative toddler.” However, the product has an unexpected flaw: “After a couple of months my child’s formerly vividly colored drawings are fading to a washed-out grey. I know that he’s no artistic genius (at least not yet!) but these were some of his first drawings and I had planned to keep a few of them around for, oh, say forever. Now, as they fade to what look like dirty water stains, not so much. Back to good old-fashioned pens and mess for us, I guess.”

Can’t quite manage to gulp down the eight glasses of water everyone - especially those of the athletic ilk - need daily to stay happily hydrated? Teacherwoman at Running For Me recently asked her readers to share their tips on reaching optimal water intake. A few of our favorite recommendations:

From Nesse: “i actually like all waters, plain and flavored, and try to drink 32oz before lunch and 32oz after lunch, i don’t always make it, sometimes less, sometimes more, i think the key is always having it with you, at your desk, in the car, etc.”

From Annette: “Water - I love it! For those who don’t… . my friend adds powdered Crystal Light to her water. To add to what neese said about the lemon, some people like to add cucumbers to their water, too - refreshing! And then there’s always fresh brewed iced tea - yum!”

From Denise: “I ALWAYS drink two glasses of Powerade before each run and seems to work very well. I then make sure I have 16-24 oz of sports drink AFTER the run too, then 84 oz or more of water until I go to bed. I do consume it and it helps.”

That old (and eternal) blogger’s game of “Five Things” can tell you a lot about a person…though if you’re a regular reader of Call Me Soccer Mom and Die, Christina’s frank and funny blog about her struggles and triumphs as the proud mother of two, you already know plenty about her.  Still… without Five Things, relayed to her by fellow blogger Manic Mommy, we wouldn’t know that she’s addicted to Trident Gum…or that the most important thing her her purse is Bath and Body Works’ Cool Citrus Basil lotion.  She wouldn’t be caught dead without it, even when she’s hiding from the kids.

Confirming our suspicion that all running bloggers are crazy for Asics, two more have joined the gel-cushioned ranks. First there’s Shore Turtle, who just picked up a new pair of Asics Nimbus VIIs (shown below). And then there’s Yumke at A Whole Lot of Soles, proud owner of the Asics GT-2110 (for marathon-training) and the Gel-Nimbus VIII.

The rampant Asics love is probably best illustrated by one of Shore Turtle’s commenters, who chimes in: “I LOVE my Asics, I think I want to buy a whole crate of them because they’re just so comfy!”

When it comes to product reviews, there are few accolades higher than the old “I gotta calm down or I’m gonna go pee myself” (recently exclaimed by Spence at Two-Thirds The Venture). The object of her excitement? The Triathlon Backpack by Rocket Science Sports, a dream birthday gift for any triathlete. Built to satisfy all your running/swimming/biking needs, the backpack features a helmet compartment, ventilation-promoting padded back, rain cover, and multiple compartments to house all your triathlon gear.

What does a triathlete’s diet look like? Keryn at ChickFit visits “tri-nutritionist” Niki and discovers a meal plan created to promote slow, steady weight loss through portion control and smart food choices. Although “Niki doesn’t normally put her clients on meal plans because most people will follow plans without learning about how to eat correctly,” she’s started Keryn on a “food group type plan” with a calorie goal of 1,600. Here’s the breakdown:

-Milk - 2 servings at about 90 calories each

-Veggies - 2-4 servings at about 25 calories each

-Fruit - 3 servings at about 60 calories each

-Bread/Starch - 6 servings at about 80 calories each

-Meat/Protein - 4 servings at about 50-100 calories each

-Fat - 5 servings at about 45 calories each

You wouldn’t think twice about dropping a few clams on boutique spring water or using high-end booze in your cocktails, but when you use common tap-water ice cubes in the mix, it kinds of defeats the purpose, no? VittlesVamp pointed us to these Icerocks spring water ice cubes. Just freeze, peel and serve for the perfect, pure refreshment.

File that under: Why didn’t we think of that? 

Twelve praline-filled milk chocolate bullets. One has chili pepper in it. Spin the wheel, pick your bullet and …

… no matter where it falls, that’s one bullet I’m willing to bite. 

Via The Thorngrove Table.