Hostess with the Mostess™

In collaboration with the National Palace Museum of Taiwan, Stefano Giovannani designed this fun "Chin Family " collection for design-forward Italian housewares company: Alessi. Pictured above: egg cup, salt & pepper set, kitchen timer, and king & queen spice grinders (click here to view all). Pictured below: king & queen bottle caps.

Are these "OrienTales" monkey & banana-themed products the cutest thing ever or what? The collection includes a sugar bowl, creamer, salt & pepper set, and bottle stoppers portraying the "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" proverb. Created by Stefano Giovannoni for Alessi and available at unicahome.com.

On the lookout for gifts for dad? Check out my Father’s Day Gift Ideas post over at Celebrations today to find some ideas or to share ideas of your own.

You won’t find any boxer shorts or coffee mugs emblazoned with "World’s Greatest Dad", but you WILL find cool things like a turtle-shaped tool that creates the perfect "black and tan" and clever grilling tools that help to keep burns at bay!

Don’t you just love super creative companies that make gifting so fun? I can’t wait for my next friend to announce their engagement, because I’ve already discovered the perfect congratulations gift! This 2-carat cup is just the cutest thing ever - with a handle that looks like a sparkly diamond ring and adorable packaging that looks like an oversize ring box - all you see is the ring when the box is first opened up! Available at shopmodi.com for $16 each.

Speaking of creative cups, here are a couple more witty ideas from shopmodi.com… the Predator or Prey 3-piece tea set turns the table on the whole "cat and fish" relationship and puts the cat on the inside of the glass for once! ($22/set)

And the Gun Mug pictured below features a clever trigger handle and encourages you to "kill time with a cup of coffee"! ($16 each)

Winner Update 6/10:
This giveaway is now closed. 832 comments - WOW! Thanks so much to everyone who participated!  And the randomly drawn winner is…comment # 420 . Congrats, Lauren ! You will be contacted via email to work out all the details. Hope you get lots of use out of your fabulous new party stuff!

Happy Monday! I’m excited to kick off the new week with a fabulous giveaway from The Merry Martini , a fun company that offers unique products for stylish entertaining & gifting and encourages you to "Live, love, and celebrate everything! ".

Speaking of celebrating… The Merry Martini is going to make that even easier for a lucky HWTM reader…because they’re giving one of you a Macbeth Collection Party Tray and Party Tub , customized in the patterns of your choice ! The metal party tub ($75 value) is perfect for serving chilled drinks, and the party tray ($68 value) is guaranteed to make any dish more appetizing… or double as stylish home decór when the guests aren’t around!

(Details for how to enter the giveaway after the jump…) Read more →

Martha Stewart recently came out with a new line of floral arrangements designed exclusively for 1-800-Flowers , and I think this collection does a great job at bringing something new to the world of flower delivery! Several of the designs feature unusual florals, like the Lotus Pod Bouquet pictured above, which is a modern mix of Lotus Pods, jade green roses, ‘Kermit’ mums, green hypericum, and salal.

Even better are the unique styles of vases & containers offered in the line, which include an Asian-inspired, ceramic Bamboo Groove vase (pictured above) and a chic, matte ceramic Faux Bois ("false wood") vase , amongst several other styles .

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This pink suede jewelry/keepsake box from Godiva is a fun twist on your typical box of chocolates! I received one of these keepsake boxes as a gift recently and loved it (Thanks, Lisa!). The quality of the box is great, and the truffles are, well…already gone! If that’s any indication of how they tasted! Great gift idea for Mother’s Day or a loved one’s birthday. ($65 at Godiva )

How is it possible that Mother’s Day is already this coming weekend?! The year is truly flying by! If you’re still on the lookout for cool gift ideas for Mom, check out our Mother’s Day Gift Guide for unique tableware, contemporary vases, personalized stationery, modern floral arrangements, and more!

MoMA Store always showcases fantastic, design-forward products, but there are a few pieces I recently stumbled upon that also stand out as especially clever… Read more →