Oh, boy…someone hide my credit card! Just discovered cool & contemporary online shop: Gretel {via Oh Joy!} and immediately fell in love with their entire collection!

The funky-chic red and yellow pedestal servers by Iacoli & McAllister are a little outside my price range, but soooo very cool… They’re made from refinished vintage candlesticks and topped with a hand-finished Corian round. (Due to the vintage/hand-made nature, each pedestal design is unique.)

Many more favorites from Gretel are pictured below… starting with porcelain Marie Antionetta serving bowls by DMK, and the Vitamin Container Bowl by Muuto, which features “three separate spaces meant to hold different fruits and vegetables (and their vitamins)”.

Colorful melamine serving trays by Isak:

Flourish tray and dinnerware by Thomas Paul:

Pretty & contemporary drinkware & dining pieces:

And last but not least, adorable Lovebird and Leaf cups/containers, also by Isak:

Visit gretelhome.com to check everything out!

For the next 7 days, (in addition to our regular posts), we’ll be featuring a special “Deal of the Day” from Cambria Cove!

Each deal will feature a Cambria Cove gift idea + a promo code for 20% off the featured product. Each promo code is good for 24 hours – from 12:01am ’til midnight on the day of the feature, so be sure to check back daily!

We’re kicking things off today with one of my personal favorites from the website – these fun Red Waffle Cone Sundae Glasses by Maxwell and William…super cute for everything from cookies ‘n’ cream to hot fudge sundaes… with a cherry on top! (set of 4)

USE PROMO CODE: hostess1 TO GET 20% OFF! (Expires at midnight tonight!)

*****

We’ve got a wonderful – and super generous – new Surprise Giveaway for you today! Cambria Cove, a beautiful gifting website that strives to create “The Exceptional Gifting Experience“, is offering up $250 Shopping Sprees to TWO lucky readers!

If you’re on the market for gifts for loved ones, holiday decor, or new kitchen & dining finds for holiday entertaining (or everyday entertaining), you’ll find tons of great ideas at Cambria Cove.

Pictured above and below are some personal favorites (from gift ideas, entertaining finds, hostess gifts, and bar accessories), and there’s much, much more to check out on the website. (Details on how to enter at the bottom of this post.)

Modern servware ideas… I just LOVE these Red Waffle Cone Sundae Glasses – they’d be so cute garnished with candy canes for the holidays!

Cool bar accessories… from Monogrammed Cooler Glasses to a pretty Copper Grape Leaf for your (or your party hostess’s) favorite bottle of vino!

Creative gift ideas for the holiday hostess:

*****

HOW TO ENTER:

• Post a comment here telling us which item(s) from the Cambria Cove website you think are especially fabulous – or would love to get if you win!

• Giveaway ends Wednesday, November 18th at midnight PST. The 2 winners will be chosen randomly and announced here as soon as they’ve accepted the prize. Good luck!!

These new Oliver Appetizer Plates from cb2 are so random & fun! I love it when kitchen & dining products step outside the box like this… mixed media black & white hand sketches of little “doodle dudes” with color photos on slim rectangular white plates. Great conversation starters at your next party… or a fun hostess gift idea for the design-forward party guru! ($2.95 each at cb2)

Pictured above: doodle dude + green olive. Pictured below: doodle dudes + champagne cork & food/tooth pick =)

This week’s Surprise Giveaway is all about entertaining! It comes from Gallery 19 – a fabulous website for party lovers & hostesses of all sorts of occasions – from holidays to birthdays to everyday dinner parties and beyond!

There’s so much great stuff at Gallery 19 site…it was really hard to narrow down what to feature in this post! You’ll find everything from paper tableware, gift wrap, and gift ideas to stationery, serveware & home decor, and much more. And today they’re offering up a $100 Shopping Spree to a lucky HWTM reader to spend as they please on the Gallery 19 website!

A few personal favorites are pictured above at below… At top: various hand-painted napkin rings, spreaders, and serving dishes that come in an array of fabulous colors!

Directly above: various products from the colorful PARTY ON Birthday Collection.

Pictured above: a few of the many stylish paper plate designs… and pictured below: Halloween party products for your October celebrations!

Here are a few of Gallery 19′s humorous gift ideas, which include magnetic notepads, purse pads, coffee mugs, wine stoppers, & more…

And just because they’re way too cute, I couldn’t resist featuring these fun Barnyard Collection items too… =)

HOW TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY:

• Post a comment here telling us which product(s) from Gallery 19 look especially fabulous to you!

• Giveaway ends Tuesday, September 1st at midnight PST. Winner is chosen randomly and will be notified via email Wednesday, September 2nd. Good luck!!

Announcing Rosanna’s Third Annual Tablesetting Contest and Summer Sale! This fabulous contest is underway and open until August 31st, 2009.

The Giveaway:
In conjunction with the contest, Rosanna wants to give one lucky HWTM reader a jump on the competition with her lovely Pasta Italiana Collection – so she’s giving away a fantastic set valued at $175! This surprise giveaway includes: 4 Pasta Bowls, 1 Large Pasta Serving Bowl, and 1 set of 4 Dinner Plates in the winner’s choice of  lovely Grass Green or chic Black. (Details on how to enter the giveaway are at the bottom of this post.)

The Tablesetting Contest:
For all the details on how to submit your tablescape for the chance to win up to $500 in Rosanna gift certificates and merchandise, visit Rosanna’s blog. (No Rosanna dishes are necessary to enter the contest.)

Here are a couple of my favorite entries from last year’s table setting contest:

To check out Rosanna’s 20% off summer sale go to: www.rosannainc.com.

***

HOW TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY:

• Post a comment here telling us which item(s) from the Rosanna website you think are especially fabulous – or would love to see on your own table!

• Giveaway ends Tuesday, July 14th at midnight PST. Winner is chosen randomly and will be announced Wednesday, July 15th. Good luck!!

Winner Update 6/23: This giveaway is now closed. Thanks so much to everyone that entered! And the lucky, random winner is… Commenter # 683 – Kathy S, who said, “I love the Love Letter Necklace and Birthstone Charm. I’d buy one to commemorate each of my granddaughters. They’re beautiful!” Congrats, Kathy!

*****

Cambria Cove’s Surprise Giveaway was definitely a hit the first time around, so I’m guessing you’re REALLY going to love having them back – with DOUBLE the prize value this time! That’s right… this gorgeous online shop (that features everything from stylish entertaining essentials to spa products to personal accessories) is back with a $200 Shopping Spree giveaway this week!

The {very lucky!} winner can spend their $200 however they like at CambriaCove.com – but since we’re mid-June and this is HWTM after all, I thought it would be appropriate to highlight some favorites from their Summer Entertaining section in particular today. Here goes…

I scream, you scream…

*****

HOW TO ENTER:

• Post a comment here telling us which item(s) from the Cambria Cove website you think are especially fabulous – or would love to get if you win!

• Giveaway ends Tuesday, June 23rd at midnight PST. Winner is chosen randomly and will be announced Wednesday, June 24th. Good luck!!

I don’t know what it is, but I’ve just been loving BRIGHT green this year – from lime to kelly to grassy hues!  Here are a few favorites from Z Gallerie… and – added bonus: they’re all on sale! I just picked up the Green Giraffe Tray ($19.99) recently and it’s just downright fabulous in person… especially when “topped” with French Martinis!

Also pictured here: Kai Lanterns ($12.99 -$29.99), Bird Napkin Rings (so cute! – $2.99 ea), and 10″ Casablanca Lanterns ($7.95 ea).

(TIP: – Even if something is sold out online it might still be available in stores. I saw lots of stuff in-store recently that’s listed as out of stock online – including the Casablanca Lanterns!)

Serve cocktails in style with this fabulous Monogrammed Lucite Tray from Dabney Lee at Home! ($120) This hip, personalized tray also makes for a great home accessory or unique gift idea for weddings or new nesters…. and just check out all of the great customization options…

Pictured below – more favorites from the Dabney Lee collection: Monogrammed Recipe Cards + Box ($80), Monogrammed Drink Coasters + Box ($80 for 125), Monogrammed Wall Art ($120), and another great gift idea: Monogrammed Playing Cards + Box ($50).

To check out the complete Dabney Lee collection – visit dabneyleeathome.com.

I came across an image of these “Squishy Bowls” in this month’s issue of Real Simple (June 2009) and was instantly intrigued by both the name and mod look. You can use these bowls to serve dishes like pasta & salad on when your on a picnic/at an outdoor BBQ, then squash them into your bag for hassle-free, space-conserving transportation on the way home. They’re made of food-safe silicone, easy to clean, and come in fun colors like Tangerine and Tomato (see bottom pic).

A little investigation into the company behind these bowls – Guyot Designs – revealed lots more “smart+cool” designs like the Squishy Bowls. For example, the Firefly accessory turns your wide-mouth water bottle into a lantern!

The Firefly lid is retro-fitted with an LED light that spreads a warm glow throughout the bottle, and you can control/adjust the levels from “nightlight” to “reading light”!

Save money, save the earth: Guyot’s TapGuard accessory (pictured below) replaces hundreds of disposable bottles. Add it to your widemouth bottle and you’ve got carbon-filtered water from any safe source!

Speaking of “green bottles” – check out these Stainless Steel beauties:

According to Guyot, “Every bottle we produce carries 100lbs of verified green house gas emissions reductions- making our bottles not just carbon neutral, but carbon negative!.

Next up: The Utensils: “a functional way to bring everything you need from the kitchen to the trail”. Twirl your pasta, sip your soup, spread on the PB, or cut your food – all with this handy set. Also available in a Microbites version for kids!

Check out guyotdesigns.com for more cool products like these. (All 5 available colors of Squishy Bowls pictured below.)