Lovely, aren’t they? They are approximately the size of poker chips. With winter coming on, I’ve begun to question the wisdom of owning three sets of coasters, none of which is big enough to support a mug.

I’ve been poking around Etsy trying to resolve the situation, and here’s what I found:

Felt Coasters

$40 from Olive Brown

Red and White Star Coasters

$20 from Umbellifier

Concrete Coasters

$18 from G Design

Felted Wool Coasters with Bowl

$76 from Papaver Vert

Matryoshka Doll Coasters

$18 from The Sea Within

Blackboard Magnetic Coasters

$22 from Purpose Design

Shortly, I realized that chastening my family for using dishtowels to wipe things up was insane. I solved the problem by gradually replacing our utilitarian dishtowels with pretty ones, and breathing more deeply when people used them for their intended purpose.

The upside to routinely staining dishtowels is that I can spend more time lusting after the handmade versions on Etsy. Hello, darlings:

Hand Printed Linen Tea Towel

$12 from Leanne Graeff

Oranges Flour Sack Kitchen Towel

$10 from Ink Lore

Orange Chrysanthemum Tea Towel

$12 from Flower Press

Ice Cream Lollies Tea Towel

$16 from The Mr. PS Shop

Big Breakfast Tea Towel

$16 from The Mr. PS Shop

When you’re having cocktails on the deck, it’s such a very long way to the kitchen. We thought about getting a mini fridge, but decided a bar cart would be so much more civilized, and versatile. We picked up a cart at a flea market, and now I’m figuring out how to equip it:

Ona Pitcher

$27 at Crate and Barrel

Rosle Boston Shaker

$50 at Amazon

Six Pack of Bird Dishtowels

$84 at Art Goodies

Scissor Cut Ice Bucket

$45 at Crate and Barrel

Bamboo Bar Board

$9 at Greenfeet

Mr. and Mrs. Jones Juicer

$90 at Pure Modern

We didn’t own a wine rack until we were married, mostly because we were spending our wine-rack money on actual wine. Now that we have a little cabin near the wine country, storing our wine in cardboard boxes feels like an affront to the community.

Is your wine sitting upright on a high shelf in your warm kitchen? That’s not what I want for you, my friend. Here are some wine rack options for folks who like their corks moist, their wine aged, and their afternoons lazy.

Random Wine Rack
$75 at Anthony David Oliver

Bottle Wine Rack
$45 at Inmod

Linden Street Cherry Road Wine Rack
$149 at JC Penney’s

Nexxt by Linea Cava Wine Rack
$91 at Amazon

Moonbeam Alarm Clock
$16 at Houdini Wine Rack

This is our collection of clocks that don’t work.

We bought the middle one at an antiques market in Buenos Aires. Then my husband went to China on a work trip and brought back the dazzling Communist Ballerinas Clock–which, clearly, is one of the most perfect objects made by human hands. The one with the little holes along the sides is from a road trip my friend Melissa and I took to Portland a few months back

I love every one, mostly because they come with such good memories attached, but sometimes I wish I had an actual alarm clock. One that told time.

With that in mind, I’ve been hunting for vintage-inspired alarm clocks that can do amazing things. They tell you what time it is! They wake you at the proper hour! It’s a brave new world, my friends.

Retro Alarm Clock
$77 at Revive Home

Assorted Wind Up Clocks
$10 at Pearl River

Linden Street Square Bronze Clock
$20 at JC Penny’s

That ’70s Retro Alarm Clock
$19 at Digital Gift Store

Moonbeam Alarm Clock
$35 at Bitwise Gifts

I know what you’re thinking. But where’s my fully functioning Communist Ballerinas Clock? My friend, I feel your pain.