In Search of Shagreen

top to bottom: SKATEMODERNE's Grace Desk, 2 Door Cabinet and 2 Door Bar Cabinet

I'll admit it: I throw myself into projects with a vigor that can only be attributed to the insane. Planning a trip to the Caribbean? You better believe I've looked at every hotel on the damn island and have compared prices, reviews and even restaurant menus. In need of a new pair of boots? I've bookmarked dozens. Planning my October wedding was no different, and now that that exercise in obsessive-compulsive behavior is behind me, I've found something else to occupy my overactive mind — redecorating.

The first step was replacing our ugly TV stand (the husband's last vestige of bachelorhood) with a buffet that had been behind the sofa, which left us with an empty space in need of a pair of console tables. So off I went on an Internet furniture search, and you know what I discovered? Decently made, stylish furniture is expensive. Like really, really expensive. I suppose the fact that I've fallen hard for faux shagreen doesn't help.

Gingerbread Houses Commissioned by Vogue

Houses by (top to bottom) Amirah Kassem, Dylan Lauren, Will Cotton and Rachel Comey for Vogue

Vogue is serving up some sugary sweet style for the holidays with gingerbread houses that it has commissioned from four fashionable New Yorkers. Built by one of the City's top bakers, it's no surprise that Amirah Kassem's creation looks almost too good to eat, but houses by Dylan Lauren, Will Cotton and Rachel Comey appear just as delectable.

Happy holidays!

Midweek Covet: Holiday Edition

Marc by Marc Jacobs Sleeping Bunny Slippers ($198)

All I want for Christmas (or, rather, belated Hanukkah/Solstice/Festivus) are these Sleeping Bunny Slippers from Marc by Marc Jacobs. I've had a crush on MJ's ubiquitous mouse flats for ages but find them to be a little too cutesy for everyday, especially now that my 20s are behind me. But cutesy slippers? That I can do, and there's nothing more adorable than this pair in plush sherpa-lined velvet.

newGROWTH by CP Lighting

Christopher Poehlmann with his LiveEdge dining table and LED newGROWTH chandelier [via All Things Artisinal]

I can barely see the leafless trees through the snow squalls outside my window, but there is something infinitely warmer in Christopher Poehlmann's take on bare branches. The designer and welder's newGROWTH series for his own CP Lighting is a collection of nature-inspired chandeliers and sconces, handcrafted of aluminum or steel and completed with a brushed, painted, black-patina or powder-coated finish.

12 Shoes for 12 Lovers by Sebastian Errazuriz

top to bottom: "Gold Digger" Alison / "The Ghost" Valentina / "Jet Setter" Jessica

Revenge is sweet... especially when it comes in the form of shoes. Exposing the details of his past relationships (but thankfully not his exes real names), artist Sebastian Errazuriz is displaying 12 Shoes for 12 Lovers through January 6 at Melissa's pop-up shop in Miami.

With personal photographs and narratives accompanying such shoe sculptures as "Ice Queen" Sophie and "Hot Bitch" Caroline, Errazuriz created quite a stir last week among visitors to Miami's Art Basel.

Pantone Color of the Year 2014: Radiant Orchid

[photos via Business Insider / Modern Karibou]

Radiant Orchid reigns for 2014, according to the masters of the color wheel. Patone has named the vibrant purply hue its color of the year, which means you'll be seeing the shade splashed on everything from cameras to Keurigs.

Accents in nearly any shade of purple can add glamor to an outfit or a room, and Radiant Orchid is both cheery and sophisticated. Just don't overdo it, or you run the risk of veering into Barbie Dream House territory. Click through for ways to incorporate the color in both your wardrobe and your home decor.

Ellerman House's Wine Gallery and Villa Two

all photos by Ross Hillier

The winey Wednesdays of your college days just can't hold a candle to this. Taking advantage of its location near the vineyards of Cape Town, South Africa's Ellerman House hotel has announced the opening of its stunning Wine Gallery by architect Michael Dennett.

More work of art than wine cellar, the Wine Gallery serves as both a tasting space and storage for Ellerman House's 7,500 bottle collection of rare South African wines. Natural materials are polished, sculpted, carved or left raw to reveal the intrinsic beauty of each element and reflect the organic shape of the grapevines nearby. But the main showpiece is, no doubt, the corkscrew-shaped wine rack molded of carbon fiber and holding up to 15,000 bottles, which wends its way through the gallery.

Besides the temperature-controlled subterranean cellars and the tasting room, the Wine Gallery incorporates an interactive multimedia wine library, maturation cellars for white and red wines, and a brandy tasting lounge.

Fashion Simpsons by AleXsandro Palombo

Coco Chanel, Marc Jacobs and Anna Wintour by AleXsandro Palombo

This is silly and wonderful and just what we all need to get us over the midweek hump. Earlier this week, AnOther magazine introduced me to illustrator AleXsandro Palombo, who has given blue-haired betty Marge Simpson something of a high-fashion makeover. It turns out that Palombo's earlier work — Simpson-ifying some of the world's most famous (and infamous) fashion icons — is just as endearing. Check it out!

Meta Menorah by Lisa Slovis

Meta Menorah by Lisa Slovis available from Artful Home

Sorry for disappearing like that! While all of you were hopefully enjoying Thanksgivings filled with family and pie, I was fighting off the virus from hell. (Reminder for next year: Don't wait until December to get my flu shot.)

So, while I may have missed out on Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday, there's a once-in-a-lifetime occasion I refuse to let pass me by: Thanksgivukkah! Fortunately, we've still got a couple of nights left to celebrate the blessed festival of lights and leftover turkey.

I've found many gorgeous modern menorahs in the past, but this Meta Menorah by artist Lisa Slovis caught my eye for its organic shapes that seem to flow like mercury. The nine pewter and bronze pieces can be arranged and rearranged to create a different configuration for each night of Hanukkah, and those perfectly curly candles are included.