ThinkGeek.com

Geek Week here at The Bean continues with a truly nerdy (but in a good way) website: ThinkGeek.com. I continue to see items from this little web shop highlighted again and again in magazines and online resources, so I thought I'd share with you. As for how it go started, the website explains:

ThinkGeek started as an idea. A simple idea to create and sell stuff that would appeal to the thousands of people out there who were on the front line and in the trenches as the Internet was forged. ThinkGeek started as a way to serve a market that was passionate about technology, from programmers, engineers, students, lovers of open source, to the masses that helped create the behind-the-scenes Internet culture.

This website has a little bit of everything. From beaker shaped coffee mugs to runaway alarm clocks, you can pretty much find anything here you never knew you needed. Some of my personal favorites:

Super Mario Bros. Wall Graphics, $69. Oh Lord, please do not let me ever have a son. If I do, Mr. Bean will probably insist we nerdify him early by decorating his nursery in this!

Titanium Spork, $8.99. When a white plastic just won't do for all those sporking wars you are busy with during office hours.

Monty Python Holy Grail Killer Rabbit Slippers, $34.99. Sometimes Isotoners just won't cut it.

Ex-Boyfriend Jewelry, a site to seek vengeance..and pretty things

Happy Friday! What a quick workweek it's been! I feel like the days have really flown by - I haven't really had a chance to post anything aside from giveaway results since Wednesday!

I have a site to share with you today that I find a little tongue-in-cheek, a little sad, and a little vengeful! It's called Ex-Boyfriend Jewelry, and is an online marketplace where you call sell old jewelry and trinkets from your exes: ex-boyfriends, ex-girlfriends, ex-wives, ex-husbands, same sex-ex, etc. As the site explains:

Welcome to EXBOYFRIENDJEWELRY.COM - a site where you can buy/sell/trade and blog about all of those little reminders in your jewelry box that make you wonder “what did I ever see in him?”, or “where have all the cowboys gone?” You set your own price. You get it off your chest and out of your sight. Just because you don’t want it, doesn’t mean somebody else isn’t dying for it. Everyone’s a winner! Maybe you love him, maybe you never want to speak to him again, but either way, you’re ready to move on and make a little rent money in the process.

Here's an example of what you might find on the site. A girl is selling a pair of diamond earrings given to her by an ex-boyfriend. Her husband (yes, she's now happily married) doesn't like her wearing them and now is willing to buy her a new pair if she'll get rid of the ones the ex gave her! Valued at $1,800 by a jeweler, you can buy them through this site for $400! Even if you're not in the mood to buy some new sparklies, stop by sometime. It's a cute, perky site and a lot of the sellers on there are really positive!

Monsters!!!

Mr. Bean and I are what I like to politely refer to as "weird." We're a little goofy and sometimes our friends just shake their heads at us and laugh, but we have a great time and we don't hurt anyone with our oddness (at least I haven't received any requests to appear in court about anything yet). With that intro, allow me to introduce you to Mr. Bean's new office doodad, the British Lawyer Timid Monster:

Mr. Bean is always complaining that Etsy doesn't have enough "stuff" for guys (he wasn't nearly nearly as impressed as I was with the masculine scented bath fizzies I bought him), so I decided to go hunting for something for him. He's almost done with law school (graduation date = 5/10/09!), so I wanted to get him something attorney-esque. When we stumbled across the Etsy shop Trupinys, we knew we'd found "the one." We commissioned the seller to create a one-of-a-kind British lawyer Monster! We are not British, but figured that a British version of an attorney would look more lawyer-ish than just a monster in a business suit (which is what we thought of when we considered the American version). Check this guy out! Yellow legal pad, leather brief case, judge's robes, and a powdered wig! The details are incredible.

Although Trupinys also carries jewelry, crocheted items, and paper crafts, the Timid Monsters are what really drew us in. As seller Patricia describes, "Timid Monsters are fast becoming my most popular category. Strangely, they originated in an attempt to use up remainder clay. Now, I am constantly evolving their looks and personalities in an attempt to keep them fresh, new and unique. All my Monsters are baked clay and come with little handwritten biography cards so you get their little story with your order."

I did a search for "monster" in this shop and came up with 76 items! Prices start at just $2.25 so everyone can nab a little Timid Monster of their own (or you can commission Patricia to do a custom piece like I did). They come in all shapes, sizes, and colors (be sure to check out her sold items for previous Monsters, too!). Some of my favorites:

Did you notice that the last monster is St. Patrick's Day themed?! Be sure to check this shop out soon!

The Bean's Pick: Patina

Sorry I haven't posted yet today. I saw this 1/2 vintage, 1/2 mod glass vase in a magazine and had to hunt down the website behind it: Patina. Unfortunately I got sucked into their vortex of product goodness and forgot all about sharing this store with you!

Patina has a little bit of everything. They have more than 30 shopping categories ranging from standards like "At Home" and "Necklaces" to more unique areas such as "Ticky Tacky Fun" and "Momiji." Some of my favorite things I found:

1. Bohemian Tea Towel, $6.95
2. Salt and "Peeper" Shaker, $10.95
3. Dream Journal, $16.95
4. Fringe Dot Vase, $48.00

Okay, off to go drool over their goods some more.

Java Juice Extract - coffee concentrate

Here’s something I hadn’t seen before: a liquid coffee extract.

Java Juice is a triple coffee concentrate that is extracted straight from the bean and combined with a bit of triple filtered water. It was created in Venice, California to solve the problem of weakening espresso by icing it. It’s coffee extract that to me resembles mud and comes in quart-sized bottles and a more portable 0.5 ounce package. For people who don’t want to brew coffee, Java Juice is a single serving coffee miracle and comes in Original, Decaf, French Vanilla, and Hazelnut. You can find these packets on Amazon.com - each serving ends up costing about $2.20.

I like their slogan: Simply Rip it, Drip it, and Sip it. And I was also highly entertained (and shocked) by the following info I found in their media kit:

Java Juice could save you money. Consider this:
If you spend $3.75 per day (the average cost of a commercially produced espresso drink)
Multiply that times 7 days = $26.25 per week
$ 26.25 per week = $105.00 per month.

Check out the savings over the course of a coffee drinking career.

$105.00 x per month invested at a rate of 10% annual return =
1 year = $ 1,260.00
2 years = $2,526.00
5 years = $ 6,300
10 years = $12,600
15 years = $ 18,900
30 years = $37,800
40 years = $50,400

Wow, now I will feel VERY ashamed of my meager savings account when I next run to Starbucks for their oh-so-delicious chai lattes!

Ugly Dolls

Mr. Bean was in New York City last week on business. Every day he would call me and say he was going to bring me a special treat, but that he couldn't decide what to get me (he didn't really go for my idea, which was, "If you can't decide, why not buy me lots of things?" Har har). After he arrived back in California, Mr. Bean handed me an FAO Schwarz bag with a soft, odd-shaped noggin poking out of it. I reached inside the bag and out popped...before I continue, Ladies, you may think your man has spoiled you with stuffed teddy bears and Chia Pets, but I am here to let you know that you haven't been truly loved until he has given you an Ugly Doll!

Anyway, in the bag was my very own Abima, an Ugly Doll whose tag reads, "Abima is out of control! He's got his hand in the cookie jar, and his mind on the next adventure, which is probably going to involve bouncing off the walls and knocking over expensive stuff. He only knocks over the expensive stuff. Not to worry though. Abima is very protective and would always watch out for you. Are you scared of the dark? So is Abima! Oh. Anyway, Abima loves to visit his favorite cousin Wage. They look like they could be related, right? Maybe he's your cousin too."

(photo: Abima watching TV and drinking all of my Diet 7-Up) Ugly Dolls were born from the minds of two artists in love, David Horvath and Sun-Min Kim, as a drawing of a playful orange character known as Wage. In 2001, when David's soon-to-be wife and creative partner Sun-Min had to return to Korea, he sent her many "I miss you" letters with his little Wage character drawn at the bottom. Sun-Min sewed Wage into a plush doll and sent him to David as a surprise gift. David asked Sun-Min to sew a couple more for the Giant Robot store in Los Angeles and they sold out in one day! A very excited Sun-Min sewed many more and those sold just as fast! Sun-Min and David then began to pull more characters from the Uglyverse, and today these award-winning characters are available in a variety of sizes and styles!

I am not the only one taken with Ugly Dolls. One of America's First Daughters, Sasha Obama, also likes her Uglies! To learn more about these lovelies, visit their website.

V-Day Alternative: Bittersweets

Although I consider myself to be a cheesy person full of cheesy sentiments for Mr. Bean (and equally cheesy tastes for the ways he spoils me), I also have a great appreciation for all things sarcastic and tongue-in-cheek. In celebration of this streak and of anti-Valentine's Day, I give you Bittersweets, a new product from Depair, Inc. Their description was so on the mark that I have shared it word-for-word below. Enjoy (and click the photos to enlarge)!

For most, there is no crueler day of the calendar year than that of Valentine's Day. While a tiny fraction of the population can look forward to a holiday of wine and roses, poetry and song, the vast majority of us can anticipate a day of nausea and grimacing, trauma and grief. A day in which minutes seem like hours, and hours like days, as we reflect sorrowfully on yesteryear's romantic indignities, today's loneliness, and the unknowable but certain heartbreak that will be visited upon us repeatedly in the years to come.

When cruelty and holidays collide, the weak-willed find solace in self-pity and comfort foods. And now, Despair Inc. is pleased to announce that we've combined BOTH into a radical new offering.

Introducing Bittersweets® - The Valentine's Candy for the Rest of Us.Like the ubiquitous candy conversation hearts, Bittersweets® are made of flavored, chalky-tasting sugar and sport a message on their face. But unlike other candy hearts, ours are stamped with bitter musings and mockeries perfectly suited to the dejected spirits of those who will spend the holiday alone, or wishing they were.

Messages recalling an almost forgotten, unbearably painful memory of being dumped. Or perhaps of a dysfunctional, psychotic ex-girlfriend or boyfriend. Or of that cruel-hearted girl (or boy) in elementary school who rejected your valentine solicitations, informing you that Jake (or Holly) was "so totally way hotter."Now available in THREE unique collections- "Dejected," "Dysfunctional," and "Dumped"- with each featuring up to 37 unique sayings each!

"Dejected" sayings include: I MISS MY EX PEAKED AT 17 MAIL ORDER TABLE FOR 1I CRY ON Q U C MY BLOG? LOSS LEADER A FINE WHINE MOMMY ISSUES DIGNITY FREE DORK MAGNET PURE NAUSEA WE HAD PLANS MAIL ORDER SETTLE 4LESS I'M HOT INSIDE

"Dysfunctional" sayings include: ANNULMENT I BEEN CREEPIN HE CAN LISTEN GAME ON TV CALL A 900# P.S. I LUV ME DO MY DISHES BOOTY INFL8N PAROLE IS UP! AWFUL INLAWS SUB PRIME I WANT HALFRETURN 2 PIT NO FIX 4 DUMB RATHER DRINK MUTUAL DISGUST

"Dumped" sayings include: I GOT SOBER HE FIT U FAT U LEFT SEATUP USED U 4 FUN JUST A FRIEND BACK 2 KENNEL DORKA PHOBIC U HAVE A BLOGRUSSIAN BRIDE CELEB8 THX2U DOG IS CUTER TRADIN YOU INFORGET WE MET KISS A FROG SHE IS 22! HE HAS A JOB

Truly, Bittersweets® are the perfect gift for you OR for someone you love, especially if that special someone is one who doesn't want to hurt your feelings but just doesn't feel that way about you but still wants to be friends so they can torment you with stories about their crushes on someone who doesn't appreciate them like you do, can't love them like you can, and actually takes pleasure in corralling a herd of fawning "just friends" behind themselves as they indulge in one self-destructive relationship after another, with no hope of ever finding true love, despite an army of souls eager to lavish it upon them. (You know what we're talking about.)

Supplies are limited. But the pain that accompanies them may not be.

Available in six different flavors, including: Banana Chalk, Grape Dust, Nappy-Citric, You-Call-This-Lime?, Pink Sand and Fossilized Antacid.

These little jewels are available for $9.95 each, or buy the set and enjoy them all for $19.95!

Shopping Pick: FredFlare.com

If you are looking for a single store that carries several trinkets you never knew you wanted until now, visit Fred Flare, a New York-based store that started in 1998 when the creators started selling a single product off the back of a bike in SoHo. Their products have been featured in magazines like Elle, Marie Claire, and People, and include everything from accessories to clothing to things that are...well, kind of out there. A few things that caught my eye:

Who doesn't need a toast shaped wallet? $15

Frozen Smiles Ice Cube Tray, $10 - My question: Whose teeth did they use as a model?

Pickle Bandages, $9 - also available in steak, pirate flags, and more!

Pet's Eye View Camera, $50 - I am a total pet nut and am actually intrigued by this gizmo! You attach it to your pet's collar when you leave for work and it will take pictures every 1, 5, or 15 minutes for up to 40 images. So you can stalk your pet! Excellent!

Bacon Floss, $9 - YUM?

They also have a few pseudo-normal items that are worth taking a look at, including an extensively quirky gift selection. This weekend Fred Flare is having a free shipping sale on any size purchase (normally $7.95 unless you're spending $75+), so stop by their store and check it out!

The Bean's Pick: Uncommon Goods

This pick is one of my favorite online stores (and I also love their catalogs that come in the mail). Meet Uncommon Goods, an online store based out of Brooklyn dedicated to bringing you "creatively designed, high-quality merchandise at affordable prices." Visit their website and you'll find everything from home decor to baby onesies to garden gnomes. Browse through their items and you'll see their focus on offering a number of "green" products, many made via fair trade practices (they sell a number of repurposed products such as photo frames made out of old magazines, vases made of old windshields, and clocks made out of vintage camera bodies). Their website features a review system where buyers can rate products for quality, price, value, etc. Perhaps my favorite thing about Uncommon Goods is their Better to Give program, where customers gain the opportunity to contribute a portion of their purchase to a non-profit organization. Not bad! Some of our favorite items:

Lumen Oil Lamp Shadow Projectors $48; candle refills, set of 2 for $5
The #1 item I am craving from Uncommon Goods right now! Invented by artist Adam Frank, this modern little oil lamp casts an enchanting shadow from a tiny, stainless steel tree. As the flame flickers, the shadow of the tree moves like a light breeze is rustling its branches. A unique twist on a normal candle. Comes with two containers of odorless, clean-burning liquid wax that last 17 hours each. Available in five styles (from left to right): Cedar, Nest, Magnolia, Pine, and Bloom. Made in Brooklyn.

Gnomes-be-Gones with Gnome $125
How can you not love this? Your average, everyday garden gnome being carried away by two creepy, metallic critters with sharp teeth and no tongues. Excellent!







Bingo Clock $35
Made with reclaimed vintage bingo cards from a church in Pennsyvalnia. Very cool!

Recycled Multi-Color Wood Frame $48
A picture frame made from recycled wood from old boats, houses, schools and buildings in Thailand.




If you don't see anything that piques your interest here, I recommend you still check them out. They basically carry all sorts of cool things you never knew you needed!

P.S. Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day!

Sock Monkey Love

As a child of the 1980s, I don't remember having one of these sock monkeys as a kid. I was at least a teenager before I ever saw one, but I fell in love with them instantly and even sent sock monkey themed holiday cards out a couple of years back. According to experts, sock monkeys became popular in the early 1900s when mothers began using old work socks to fashion dolls for their children, and the rest is history! As a tribute to these lovable toys (and to Polyvore, a free, easy-to-use web-based application for mixing and matching images from anywhere on the web), here are some wearable sock monkey items and accessories for all of your fashion needs. Click anywhere on the picture to go to an interactive version of the photo on my Polyvore profile. Once there, you can click an item to learn where to buy it!

Sock Monkey by thesweetjellybean

Ecosphere (a safe alternative to being known as The Plant Killer)

I am not much of a green thumb. In fact, one might describe me as the serial killer of plants. Allow me to describe the recent death toll:

A) Late October 2008, Trader Joe's

Me: Oh look, their basil plants are on sale! Let's get one.

Mr. Bean: Sweetie, we don't really own plants. You kill them.

Me: This one will be different!

The basil plant was pronounced DOA in late December.

B) I've always found bonsai trees to be so peaceful. The idea that it takes 7 years to grow many of them to be a foot tall amazes me - what patience! I think they're truly beautiful and so does my cat. Or so did my cat...when he chewed off all the branches of my bonsai, swallowed them, and later regurgitated them all over my bed. Not good.

C) I have killed not 1 but 2 (TWO!) orchids within the last 9 months. The first was a gift from Mr. Bean in May as a consolation prize for him having to be gone to work over the summer (and a "thanks for tolerating my hell-like law school semester" treat, too). That one was dead within 3 weeks! The second one had served as a centerpiece for a banquet at my office, and they gave them to the staff. It lasted nearly 6 weeks, which is probably for me worth a lifetime achievement award of some sort.

D) Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree! How about Oh Dead Mini Christmas Tree? That's what the 9" pre-decorated minitree that I bought from Home Depot was BY THE TIME I GOT HOME FROM THE STORE! I was living in Dallas at the time and it was about 25 degrees and raining, which is uncommon in that area. My work shoes were soaked through, so of course I had the heat on full blast in the floorboard area...where the tree was. Poor pre-decorated minitree. By the time I got home and set you on the counter, you looked like a survival from the California wildfires times 2. Even the little fake ornaments were singed. RIP, you crispy-critter branched tree.

E) Okay, so I know a goldfish really doesn't count as a plant, but I have killed enough of them to where I believe they should make the list of my carnage. Some of them lived long enough for me to name, many did not.

But fear not! I have found the perfect solution that the folks at GreenFeet guarantee that even a plant and pet idiot (yes, that would be me) cannot kill: the Ecosphere.

Ecospheres are a totally enclosed ecosystem – completely self contained and self-sustaining miniature world. Inside each Ecosphere are active microorganisms, bright red shrimp and algae, that sustain each other in filtered seawater. Because the unit is a self-containing ecosystem, you never have to feed the life within. The Ecosphere is easy to care for too. Simply provide your sphere with a source of indirect natural (or artificial) light and enjoy this aesthetic blend of art and science, beauty and balance. Because the life within the Ecosphere utilize their resources without overpopulating or contaminating their environment, the Ecosphere requires no cleaning and only minimal care.

Note the three phrases that I underlined! So animals and plant life in one setting that apparently is indestructible. This is perfect for me!