Hey, everyone!

Chanuka gift ideas are on the way! We're bringing together present suggestions for everyone, so keep an eye on this page and get ready to see the stuff you've been looking for, the stuff you had and somehow can't find, and, of course, the stuff you never knew you wanted.

To contribute your suggestions, links, coveted items, or newly designed products, email Uptownfrum@gmail.com. We're aiming for as many suggestions as possible, so keep the ideas coming!

Hemp and Silk Slouch Bag

Leave the backpack at home but actually carry what you need. I had forgotten you could do that.

The outside pockets would be great for easy-access stuff, like phone and datebook, with space inside for wallet, camera, and backup copy of Pride and Prejudice.

$69

I Miss You Card

5"x7"

$4

Blossom Coaster Set

She might still be eating dinner on her bed, with her glass on the bedside table, but she should definitely have a coaster to slide underneath it.

Next year, a decoupaged tv tray?

$12

Elizabeth Messina Lifestyle Photography

Wedding List

1. Dress
2. Photographer
3. Flowers
4. Music
5. Food

Long Sleeved T

Thick enough to be worn alone and with a reasonable amount of stretch, that's Gap quality. Super color selection and beyond reasonable pricing sold me-- I bought four. They'll be awesome for summer.

In stores, you get two for $30. Each, $19.50

Etched Glass Menorah

Steve Resnick made my menorah, which is indescribably beautiful and ethereal. I cannot wait to take it out every year and old drips only accent the splendid etching.

When you light it, it glows. It's one of my favorite things in the world. The most lastingly marvelous thing I have ever received.

$250

Ziptie Ring

In my house, we call these Succah ties. They thread through the millions of grommets at the top and bottom of the tarp to secure it to the frame.

This is the ultimate reward for years of Succah-building handiness.

$95

Micro Gear Earrings

Bright, true colors and an inventive design give detail to a pair of earrings that is really special.

Sharp futuristic design makes me feel like an MIT student. Or a RISD student.

Self-weighted so they don't need backs.

$27

Stendig Wall Calendar

For the short-sighted, the design snob, and the micro-manager.

$32.95

The Wellfleets

Summer on Cape Cod is wholly removed from every other place and time. There is less to do, people move more slowly, the gravel paths are paved in broken shells and the ditches by the side of the road are filled with sand. There are, of course, the galleries and shops, the one-stop place for food and postcards, but most of all there are the beaches.

These plates capture it. It's a great way to live on the Cape all winter long. Being a Wellfleet girl, myself, I cannot resist them.

$15

Cole Haan 'Air Joey' Sling

For those who are not content to sit at a restaurant all night long. Stylishly flat, but still light and feminine and uptown, Nike air technology suggests that you're willing to have more fun, that you'll be standing up and perhaps even walking.

In date-language, we call that a swish.

Half off! Now $81.90

3 Ring Mahogany Earrings

All of these architectural earrings are unique and interesting to look at. This three-ring style is a cool take on the usual one-hoop design, but there are overlapping stars and swirls and Frank Lloyd Wright-worthy circles, too.

Thin wood perfectly cut then varnished, it's not something you can pick up anywhere.

$38

Burberry Bracelet Watch

What I like about this watch is that the face is integrated into the bracelet so that it won't catch on shirt cuffs. This also means that it will not interfere with all of those tennis bracelets he's going to get you.

Alone or surrounded, it's gorgeous, classic, and rewarding to give.

A splurge, yes, but not too expensive to be out of the question for a big graduation, a promotion, or a well-deserved bonus.

$475

Double-cloth Boulevard Coat

A splurge whose flat, stylized, sculpting seaming will never go out of style. Cream wool glows.

$298

Love Locket

Simple can be perfect. Pick out the loveliest pictures you've got and have them printed in black and white. Cut them out, slide them in, and get ready for tears.

Uptown Frum's informal polls show that this is the most romantic gift of all time.

This locket is special because it is bare and pure (do NOT have them monogram it) and has space for four photographs.

$80

Moleskine Pocket Day Planner

Two months away from '08 and I'm ready. With one soft page per day, this new version of my favorite little black book is going to help me get organized.

Maybe also a little daily journaling?

$14.50

Long Bias Skirt
Set vintage brocade, cotton, and raw silk against a black tee shirt and scrunched black boots. It'll be twice as pretty in spring with a white on white embroidered top and thin ballet flats or sandals. Fine gold chain bracelets.

Handmade in the brit tradition, you're getting the real thing.

$125

Uptown Frum On Location

~Flourish~

We're here because we love online shopping. We love the convenience, the creativity, the instant connections with people who make stuff. Sometimes, though, it pays to go out and see what brick-and-mortar businesses are up to. There's nothing like entering a beautiful shop, admiring unique displays, and talking to the creative, innovative people who make it all happen.

Flourish :: 1105 Central Ave :: Wilmette, Illinois

Earlier this week I visited Flourish. Not only was the bright, sunny shop filled with gorgeous home ware and accessories, the way it was arranged inspired a fun, light-hearted shopping experience. Glass display cases, baskets, and freestanding white wire storage units made me want to pick things up, try them on, or smell them, as the case may be. The pink hallway holds sale merchandise and the green is filled with framed art. Monogrammed photo albums fill a wicker tray and chandeliers dangle from the corners of bookshelves. There's really something for every taste and gift-giving budget.

More than anything, a visit to a store, especially such a beautiful one as Flourish, allows you to see what's new, what is going on in the design world, and what awesome people are doing to make it their own.

This would be so pretty above a bathtub or even a nightstand.

Get one for each sink so you can take off rings when washing dishes or pumping out hand lotion.



They're designed to hang from necklaces but they would make sweet zipper pulls.

Flourish
1105 Central Avenue

Wilmette, Illinois 60091

847.251.7141

8 Bookplates

Un-fussy vintage digital collages are always interesting, but these are very nice, printed on textured paper and gummed on the back.

I have left the image at left unlinked so you can click to see the texture and quality up close.

Contact the artist for customized bookplates .

$8

Chiyogami Pendant Necklace

Distinctive east-west construction, handcut glass, and beautiful old paper.

$20

Hey everyone,

I've been having some computer difficulties this past week and apologize for the silence. The new feature is indeed gorgeous and will be appearing sometime in the next couple of days!

Meanwhile, feel free to email me some cool stuff you found! Send it over to Uptownfrum@gmail.com and then I'll put it up for general enjoyment.

Giant Charm Bracelet

Nicola Malkin fuses interior design with fashion so that we can express our style in new and different ways. Fun, right? Finally professionals are discovering why everything in our closet strangely matches our decor.

I, upon grabbing your attention with a bauble the size of a two year old, take this opportunity to drop a hint about the incredible new feature coming to Uptown Frum early next week. I will only say that we have taken a field trip and you will get to enjoy the beautiful results. See you then!

Nepalese Convertible Mittens

Today is the coldest day in seven months and I have run errands, pumped gas, walked and drove and darted from school building to school building. Each of these requires the quick in-and-out quality of mittens with fingers and flaps. Good for holding keys, swiping credit cards, jotting things on post-it notes, and deftly pushing door combinations.

Will not, however, guard against paper cuts.

$22

Bent-Ply Bamboo Serving Tray

Satiny and environmentally responsible,

it's beautiful, clean, well-considered design.

$60

Pod Ottoman

One as a sidetable, with or without a round glass top.

One in the garden under the tree to banish the whole dirt-in-the-seams-of-your-jeans thing when you stand up.

Two with a rectangular board over the top as a bench at the foot of a bed or in a big window.

And one in the bathroom with rolls and rolls of towels in the bottom that can be sat on when blowdrying hair.

$178

Indigo Denim Wrap Dress

1: Wear with a vivid JCrew turtleneck with long sleeves and a purple velvet ribbon headband.

2: Wear with a slim black t-shirt, black patent AK shoes, and a cranberry satin clutch.

$68

Snap Laptop Wallet

Workingclass Heroes presents a laptop case with mac-like minimalism.
Tactile feel, easy retrieval, and strong snaps.

$49