SWEET TIDINGS: OLD TIMEY CHOCOLATES WITH A SENSE OF TRADITION

Photo courtesy Martha Stewart American Made

When it comes to the holidays, I like things to be old school. My mom has these amazing little wooden elves with long beards and pointy felt hats  from 1971 that I will not let her throw away. They may be on their last legs, but that sense of tradition coupled with the fact that it is a charming German wooden toy that they don't make the way they used to makes me want them to last forever. The same thing goes for holiday candy. The more throwback, the better. This fall, when I discovered Shane's Confectioners at Martha Stewart's American Made Event in Grand Central, I knew I had come upon something special. As the "oldest continuously-run confectionery in the United States", Shane's, based in Philadelphia,  has been cranking out handmade candies and chocolates since 1863. The chocolates shown above, a precursor to the Whitmans Sampler, have an eclectic mix of fillings from a bygone era. Filled with butter creams, fruits and nuts, this tasty mix is sure to bring up some holiday memories for you. Available through the Ebay store set up for American Made, they will arrive in time for New Year's.  Enjoy the array and the old timey packaging.

FANCY THAT: THE JEWEL-LIKE BOXES OF ADDISON WEEKS

As my mom is fond of saying,  to quote Benjamin Franklin, "A place for everything, everything in its place." If only it was that easy in a New York City apartment, if only.  I have a thing for decorative boxes, one of the easiest ways to put this phrase into action. They have the ability to elevate a setting, and add a design moment when set atop a stack of books on the coffee table or on the shelf of an etagere. They also create storage for small objects, a reason to desire them even more. The antidote to clutter, they provide a place to tuck away necklaces and stray earrings, as well as business cards that need corralling.  Taking snazzy luxe materials and transforming them, Addison Weeks, started by close friends, Southerners Lee Addison Lesle and Katherine Weeks Mulford,   creates decorative brass boxes encrusted with semi-precious stones. Brass is hot/hot/hot again. The gals also design terrific jewelry that my friend Holly Phillips of The English Room told me about. It is hard to choose just one of these boxes, since the slightly bohemian pieces look even more amazing together, sparking aplenty. My choice? The rectangular version with gobs of single stones covering the surface. It is a more is more statement, but on a coffee table, it will stand out from the sea of books.

Photo courtesy of Addison Weeks

A large brass box with dazzling Aqua Chalcedony pieces is lined in blue velvet.

The Bendall Box, covered in Ocean-blue labradorite.

A medium rectangular box with a rectangular Lapis on the lid

For stark contrast, a darker stone.

For earrings or desk necessities, a small square box with a blue turquoise on the top.

with a faceted Chalcedony...

or Moonstone...

A round box with teardrop shaped Turquoise.

Rose Quartz, Labradorite and Green Turquoise.

THE VAN WYCK HOLIDAY SHOP: GOURMANDS DELIGHT!

Photos courtesy of Overbey and Dunn

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas at the West Village's Overbey and Dunn. Just a year old, the vintage interiors shop invites designers to showcase their creative vision in a rotating installation space. Decked out in holiday plaids in red and green, the tiny New York storefront has been transformed into The Van Wyck Holiday Shop by the uber creative event planner, Bronson Van Wyck. Inside the Modern Wallace plaid festooned space, resplendent with taxidermy and antlers aplenty, nostalgia reigns. Van Wyck has gathered English antiques and ephemera, as well as everything to decorate for the holidays. Selling swags of greenery to the tree itself, the space gets visitors into the spirit. Then comes the entertaining part. Van Wyck got so many requests for his Champagne vinaigrette recipe from friends and event attendees that he decided to bottle it and sell it.  The perfectly packaged holiday provisions that include drink mixers come from his family's Arkansas farm, Arrowhead. Sales of the tasty drink mixes and salad dressings, all 100%,  go to help Citymeals on Wheels, the charity supporting home-bound New Yorker's. If you can't get to the shop, their beautifully designed website takes orders. Take a break from the everyday, and head over to the Pop Up at 19 Christopher Street till January 3rd.  It's like walking into an eclectic Englishman's lair, albeit a shoppable one.

Gold painted Magnolia swags rest on a gold framed mirror, a cozy camel leather sofa covered in plaid pillows encourages a seat for a taste of the Margarita mixer.

The tree and ornaments can also go home with lucky shoppers.  A Scottish flag adds a pop of blue canvas and white ribbon against all the festive red and black plaid walls.

  Photos courtesy of Van Wyck/Arrowhead Farms

Named after his family's Arkansas farm, Arrowhead Farms provisions combines clever names with delicious ingredients for merriment. Small batches and local ingredients add to the special nature of it all.

For the one that has everything but likes their bar stocked and their salad dressed, this Deluxe Decadence Set that includes Hellfire Club Bloody Mary Mix, Spitfire Margarita Mix, Entente Cordiale Vinaigrette a la Moutarde de Dijon, Gaius Julius Caesar Dressing, and Railcar Champagne Vinaigrette is the way to go.

Complete with a bit of history and folksy allure the labels and ye olde packaging speak to a more genteel time. Hellfire Club Bloody Mary Mix comes by way "Of The River Styx."

For the friend that likes their Marg, Spitfire Margarita Mix is potent.

You can purchase each item individually, as I did with the Champagne Vinagrette, or in a dressing trio including a Caesar and Moutarde. It is one of my favorite dressings to lightly coat Butter Lettuce. My package said Batch #1. Oh, the artisanal details!

To dress up your holiday fete, pick from Modern Stewart Dress or Fraser Red Modern dinner napkins available in a set of four. Add on a monogram for the personal touch. To really kick it into high gear, get the contrasting or matching tablecloth too.

Sometimes the simplest things make the biggest statement. Few things are as pretty as elegant Magnolia Wreaths with shiny green and matte brown variations contrasting. If you need to decorate for the holidays, this is a great place to begin. A wreath with gilded leaves as well as swags and greenery are also available.