A few more gorgeous pieces that are on sale:

Printer’s Letter File Hutch

A selection of lovely baskets

The Harrison Lamp

Now, if you’ll excuse me, the Wyatt Table Lamp is calling my name…

**Just so you know, this post wasn’t sponsored or requested–I just noticed the sale going on and wanted to share it with you.**

Satin Ribbon Planner

This handmade monthly planner offers several clever features aside from that lovely woven ribbon cover–you can choose your start month, the wire binding means it can lay flat on your desk, and it’s filled with motivational quotes to enjoy throughout the year.

My Lavender Cottage’s Planner

Another spiral-bound planner so that you can open it flat, this one features a fun inside design and handy tabs to take you straight to the month you want. A wide variety of papers are available for the outer cover, which means you’re sure to find one you like.

Leather Hand-bound Planner

This lovely leather planner is a delightfully tiny size–perfect for purses–at just 3.75″ x 6.25″. It’s a two-page weekly spread style, so if your handwriting’s tidy, and you don’t have a lot of activities to jam into each day, take a closer look and see if this is the planner that’s right for you.

Desktop Planner

This clever desktop planner uses a wooden base and dividers to keep track of things and even has little pockets to hold smaller items. It’s solidly constructed, and handcrafted, and due to its design, reusable year after year. If you have a shabby chic style home office, this one might fit right in.

Weekly Eco Planner

This undated planner is loaded with earth-friendly details like the recycled banana fiber paper that makes up its pages, and the hemp cover. Plus, by being undated, it’s extra flexible. (Though, I always find my handwriting’s not good enough for an undated planner, personally.)

Have you picked out your new 2011 planner yet? Do you even use a planner? I’d love to hear what you look for when making your decision!

Besides that, I often like to work with the router unplugged to avoid the distractions of Twitter and Facebook completely, and when I go online to do research, it’s much more tempting to follow a rabbit hole than it is when I simply open up a book and look up the answer. So, those are my reasons for having a print reference library (I’d love to hear yours!), but what five books are on my most-turned-to list?

1. The AP Stylebook. I’ve mentioned my magazine  background, and it was my very first  internship where I learned the importance of a really good stylebook. They used AP, and I’ve stuck with it ever since. If you do any writing during the day, a book like this can help keep your writing style consistent so you’re not referring to Website in one paragraph and web site in another. (Though, I’ll admit, online, there are reasons to write it both ways, and I use email instead of the AP prescribed e-mail… So, in other words, use a stylebook, but don’t wed yourself to it.)
2. The Oxford American Dictionary (full set). I have all 20 volumes on my bookshelf, but really, any good dictionary will do. When I was a kid, I used to read the dictionary when I ran out of books, so I splurged. (Weird, I know. But, it was illustrated, if that makes this revelation any better.)
3. The Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus. I seldom use this one, but every so often, I absolutely must have a good synonym for a word, and I’m always glad I can turn to a print thesaurus instead of a web search.
4. Flip Dictionary. Billed as the book, “For when you know what you want to say, but can’t think of the word,” I find this resource to be far more useful than my thesaurus. I think it’s in the way the words and concepts are linked, so you’ll want to find the resource that suits your thinking style best (though, really, I don’t think you can go wrong by having both a reverse dictionary and a thesaurus on your shelf). This is the style of resource that I find is most lacking online.
5. The Elements of Style. The fifty-year-old classic continues to be a must-have writing resource. Jim Lehrer said, “Only something to actually write about trumps the list of what is required to put words together in some kind of coherent way.” Assuming you have something to write about , this book will help you assemble your thoughts coherently.

So, those are my five top favorites. What are yours? Or are you an internet-only kind of researcher?

***Links in this post are Amazon affiliate links which means you’re supporting GirlyPC when you use them to buy one of these books. We appreciate that!***

If you’ve ever snuck into the conference room to use the table in there (I did a lot of that at my first magazine job), or taken a project to the dining room, you’d probably enjoy a home office table as well.

These are my five favorite tables for the  home office.

The gorgeous Pottery Barn Montego Pedestal Table extends to 65″ long with the included leaf. That’s plenty of space for meeting with clients, or really spreading out a project.

It only comes in the one finish, which is a shame as I think it’d look especially lovely in a darker color, but look at that fantastic hand-turned base! Of course, the trouble with a table with a leaf is that you have to find a place to *store* the leaf, but I think this one’s worth the extra hassle.



This Wisteria Spindle Leg Table in blue has a delicate, fairy tale look. It’s perfect for smaller spaces as it’s just 22 inches deep.

Because it’s hand-finished, each piece feels more one-of-a-kind than some mass produced furniture and that gives this table the air of high quality wood office furniture. The legs are also quite elegant and would be right at home in an office with less modern furniture.



Looking for something more modern than the first two? How about the CB2 Silverado? With it’s sleek silver “sawhorse” base and clear glass top, this one will be right at home in a modern home office.

Round tables look lovely with hanging pendant lights, and I think the designer-recommended Firefly Pendant Lamp might be just the ticket to keep the sophisticated industrial look going.



The stylish drop-leaf Harvest Table from DWR would look smashing in a home office–it’s got simple lines, and a space-saving shape which means you could push it up against a wall when you don’t need all that sprawling room, and pull it out when you did.

I love drop leaf styles because then you don’t have to find a safe place for the table leaves.



The counter-height Umbria table from World Market has space-saving storage underneath with the two shelves. Its compact square size (44″ x 44″) means you could tuck it neatly into a corner, and it would make a fantastic mailing station. Whenever I have to do a mailing, I always high tail it to the kitchen island (after cleaning it carefully, of course) because its so much more comfortable to do that sort of work standing up, with a counter-height surface. If you find yourself doing projects standing up and slouching over a table or desk, this table would be a perfect upgrade to your home office if you have the space.



What do you think? Would a table have a place in your home office? Or do you work in a room (like the dining room) that has one already?

Since I’m a fast typist (100+wpm), it’s important to me that the keyboard not hold me back. It’s also important that it not look beat up too quickly–which, since I do a lot of typing… That definitely happens (I’ve rubbed off half the letters on my Mac Laptop’s keyboard…).

The Vaio comes with a really excellent keyboard–it has just the right amount of spring, and has enough extra keys to let me control the computer from a distance (but doesn’t have so many extraneous keys to distract from the keys you really need). I’ve had it for well over a year and its still going strong. It does take (4) batteries which is a little annoying, but I use rechargeable ones so that at least I’m not tossing them regularly, and I’ve found they last quite long–probably at least 3 months with near-constant use.

So, tell us about the keyboard you use right now–is it awesome? Annoying? Are any of the keys broken? Sticky? Keyboards are an oft-overlooked office tool that make a big difference in both typing speed and efficiency (when I’m using a sticky keyboard, typos become way too common). And I’d love to hear about your favorite!

Intriguingly, many shops offer great selections in an unexpected place: the kids department. I know, your office needs to be professional… But I think you’ll agree that these cheery choices can keep a room grounded without being stuffy. Here are some of my favorite rugs, whether your home office decor is traditional or sleek, or (of course) unabashedly girly.

The Retro Ring Rug in brown is even on sale. With its graphic appeal and lovely texture, this rug from Pottery Barn is a great choice for a more earthy home office.

The Soft Spot rug from The Land of Nod comes in gorgeous, fresh colors you don’t often find in rugs. Sure, the pink is a surefire way to reveal your girly side, but don’t let that stop you from making such a bold statement. If you’d rather stick with something more neutral, the pastel blue is gorgeous, as is the green (plus it comes in really neutral, but un-stuffy brown and beige).

The Initial Rug from Restoration Hardware’s Baby & Child is a classic in pink or blue. The contrast of the chocolate brown makes a sleek style statement, making the rug equally at home in a traditional or more modern office space.

This week, I invite you to consider those kids accessories for more than just kids rooms–you might just find that’s where you find just the right accessory to revitalize a space just like these rugs would invigorate a home office.

Here are the latest ones to catch my eye while I’m on the hunt for a new coffee cup–if you have a favorite, by all means post it!

Mustache Mugs

Mustache Mugs

Turquoise coffee cup

Turquoise coffee cup

Coffee for Two

Coffee for Two

Traveling Coffee Mug

Ceramic travel mug

Of course, a coffee mug doesn’t *really* make the coffee taste different, but it certainly can make the experience of that morning cup (or afternoon cup) considerably more enjoyable. In fact, a good weighty cup, to me, is reason enough to choose one coffee shop over another (and not just because I cringe every time I toss a disposable paper cup).