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Favorite Indulgences

Since it’s been so dreary lately where I am, today I thought I’d share with you some of my own favorite indulgences. I try to be reasonable in most areas of my life (though it sometimes feels like my credit card bill tells a different story). There are a few things though, that I love and which over the years I’ve allowed myself to indulge in. Here are some of mine…and I’d love to hear yours!

Christofle Trays

Christofle silver trays. I love Christofle silver and in my dream life, I’d have an entire serving set of Christofle flatware and plates, and while I’m dreaming, let’s throw in some some killer Georg Jensen pieces too! Christofle makes really beautiful home and jewelry items – the craftsmanship and materials are always supreme.

Since I currently inhabit real life, I make do for now with some Christofle silver trays, which I have a small collection of. Pictured here are some of my trays from Vertigo collection – I adore the work of Andrée Putman, and this is one of her classic designs. My favorite trays are the small ones – I use mine every day to store my tea cups on, to avoid staining our counter tops. The letter sized trays are perfect for a tea mug or espresso cup and some chocolates on the side. A practical little luxury!

Chanel Red

Chanel red nail polish. I have an addiction to red nail polish, especially my favorite Chanel shade which I’ve repuchased several times already – Pirate. Recently however, thanks to a fabulous friend (hi Ava!) I received a massive collection of basically every Chanel red out there, and have been happily making my way through them. My new current favorite – Dragon (and I love the name, of course!).

The rest of my nail polish collection consists of Sephora Formula X shades, so the Chanel ones do feel quite indulgent. But they have great staying power I’ve found, and the reds are unbeatable. And, I just love Chanel’s beauty packaging in general. There, I admitted it!

Lacquer Boxes

Lacquer boxes. I have a thing for lacquer (some of you may remember from my Japan souvenirs post), and I loved these orange lacquer boxes when I first laid eyes on them. All the colors were cool, but I was especially drawn to these orange/black ones…I don’t know why, maybe because they strongly reminded me of a certain favorite brand? Hmm.

Anyway, I’ve slowly collected them over the years, and now I have almost every size they make. I bought mine at Gump’s in San Francisco, but they appear to be sold out – you can find the white and black versions (very chic) on sale here.

I use mine for storing my stationery, business cards, and for collecting odds and ends at my desk like lip balm and matches for my candles. I feel like I’m always in a stage where I have one too many lacquer boxes…yet at the same time I could always add one more. Is it a sickness?

What are some of your indulgences?

24 Comments

  • Reply
    amy
    January 19, 2016 at 8:55 am

    Beautiful indulgences, and I’m with you on the Chanel nail polish! Mine tend to be Diptyque candles (I am a candle addict, and these are my favorite), Tom Ford lipstick, and cashmere sweaters — the latter much due to your cashmere-buying advice. 🙂

    • Reply
      Katherine
      January 19, 2016 at 3:54 pm

      Raising my hand as a fellow Diptyque and cashmere addict!

  • Reply
    Whitney Farris
    January 19, 2016 at 9:04 am

    I indulge in many things. It’s truly a sickness for me, one that my husband has learned to deal with over the years.
    Scarves are one of mine. I have tons of them in cashmere and silk. Hermes, Ferragamo, Chanel, McQueen etc. They make me happy when I look at them and instantly change the look of an outfit.
    Another, coffee table books. I love reading them and displaying them throughout my house. They really liven up spaces.

    • Reply
      Katherine
      January 19, 2016 at 3:54 pm

      What are some of you favorite coffee table books? I’d love some recs!

      • Reply
        Whitney Farris
        January 19, 2016 at 5:21 pm

        Vogue The Covers. Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty. Chanel. David Webb, The Quintessential American Jeweler…..a few that I like the most

  • Reply
    tata
    January 19, 2016 at 9:38 am

    Bath oils. I love baths and good bath oils make it extra special. my latest has been the Jo Malone Red Rose bath oils. I usually don’t like the smell of Rose but it sooooo luxurious!

    Also fresh flowers, good quality candles, and earl grey tea and tea cups.

    • Reply
      tata
      January 19, 2016 at 12:00 pm

      OHHHH AND I SHOULD ADD one more!!!!! BED SHEETS!!!!! nothing says luxury like crisp white fresh linen sheets!!!

      • Reply
        Katherine
        January 19, 2016 at 3:51 pm

        You are so right! What are your favorite brands?

  • Reply
    Yumi
    January 19, 2016 at 11:07 am

    Almost too many indulgences to name if you ask my husband 🙂 But the areas where I really spend more than is perhaps reasonable according to my friends would be:

    1. Shoes. I own some terribly impractical and expensive shoes that almost never get worn and so I freely admit perhaps those are very indulgent (though also usually stress induced)

    2. Tea. I love wonderful fragrant tea and usually end up shelling out extra money to get the nicest I can find. Since you’re in the Bay area Katherine, I would highly recommend checking out Song tea – the space is beautiful and the tea is wonderfully curated!

    3. Anything with Corgis. I have two corgis and if I see any paraphernalia with corgis on it, I am guaranteed to buy it no matter the cost and the lack of practicality.

    • Reply
      Katherine
      January 19, 2016 at 3:53 pm

      Thank you for the rec for Song! I’ll check them out. I love Corgis too, one of our neighbors has one and it’s my highlight to see him running down the street!

  • Reply
    Kneen & Co
    January 19, 2016 at 4:20 pm

    Wonderful post. At Kneen & Co we completely agree with your inclusion of Christofle as an indulgence! It always makes us happy to find people who appreciate the beauty of this brand, you have impeccable taste. We proudly carry Christofle, checkout our many items https://www.kneenandco.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=Christofle

  • Reply
    Cassie
    January 19, 2016 at 5:27 pm

    Chanel nail polish and Tatcha skincare are two indulgences I have zero problem splurging on. That and fresh flowers. I don’t have them in the house all the time, but I love the way they perk up a room when I do!

  • Reply
    Anonymous
    January 19, 2016 at 5:31 pm

    Beautiful pieces!

  • Reply
    Anonymous
    January 19, 2016 at 5:32 pm

    I splurged mainly on facials and skin care products this year!

    • Reply
      Katherine
      January 20, 2016 at 5:58 pm

      Thank you! And splurging on facials sounds heavenly!

  • Reply
    minju lee
    January 19, 2016 at 9:08 pm

    Shoes, leather, silk, cashmere, and skincare products! I work in a lab setting, plus having a short boyfriend stopped me from buying extravagant heels 🙂 nowadays I live in my Everlane loafers but I still dream of having killer heels (sophia webster, giuseppe zanotti, etc)..

    Supple leather for just about anything. Leather jeans, jackets, shirt, shoes, bags, etc..

    Cashmere and silk for shirts. I used to have a thing for silk pants but after a disappointing purchase of rather expensive & fragile Zimmermann silk pants, silk pants obsession has since ceased.

    And skincare products! I also hail from Berkeley (go bears!) so I swear by the Body Time products which are native to Berkeley. I travel to Korea frequently, and during my last visit, I spent $200+ on korean beauty products! Woops! 🙂

    • Reply
      Katherine
      January 20, 2016 at 5:58 pm

      Go Bears indeed!! I laughed at the bit about a short boyfriend. Silk and cashmere shirts are a worth splurge!

  • Reply
    TC
    January 20, 2016 at 5:54 pm

    Fine china and glassware! I am on a constant search for just the right plates, bowls, cups, saucers, etc… I want them to be thin enough that they’re translucent yet still be very strong, and I’m very particular about shapes. I have so many sets now that my husband keeps an eye on these rather than my shoes!

    • Reply
      Katherine
      January 20, 2016 at 5:59 pm

      I know that you have exquisite taste so I’d love to hear your recommendations for your favorite everyday china/glass as well as your special pieces!

  • Reply
    Rachelle
    January 21, 2016 at 12:26 am

    Personalized stationery and high quality, nicely weighted pens, silk or linen sheets. Also vintage lamps and handblown glass vases.

  • Reply
    Ava Lon
    January 28, 2016 at 7:19 pm

    Dear Katherine,

    I love Christofle! I especially love the trays you have and that is a gorgeous tea cup as well, so lovely! When we were last in Paris (a long, long time ago) we ate at Les Ambassadeurs and the flatware matched the Vertigo trays above. I remembered asking the servers there where their flatware was from and they said, “custom Christofle,” and ever since I have been searching every season to see if they have in fact maybe started to make something similar…. 🙁 Sadly no. Though Hermes has a somewhat similar style in their Attelage flatware.

    Indulgences – gifting friends 😉 little luxuries that you know will bring a happy moment to their day…Chanel makeup, heck, Chanel & Hermes-anything pretty much is a guaranteed smile-maker. 😀 Let’s face is, everyone always has some sort of frustrating-unexpected-unpleasant-chaos going on in their lives all the time and it’s nice to know someone thinks of you enough to gift you something unexpected and a bit luxe is so heartwarming…well, that’s my theory anyway. 🙂

    Would love to see your tea cup collection – looks so gorg!

    🙂

    x
    Ava

    • Reply
      Katherine
      January 31, 2016 at 1:26 pm

      Thanks Ava, and I shouldn’t be surprised that you are a fellow Christofle fan since we share so many similar tastes 🙂

  • Reply
    Ava Lon
    January 28, 2016 at 10:20 pm

    Whoops, I meant to add this as well, if one were so inclined to do a little DIY,

    http://www.containerstore.com/s/medium-lacquered-rectangular-box/d?productId=10031035&q=lacquer%20boxes&sort=meta:high_price:D::::F

    the Container Store sells a similar but far more budget friendly version that one could with a bit of painters tape and some black paint make something similar for far less. But honestly, the Container Store boxes are fine as is granted not as luxurious. 😉

    • Reply
      Katherine
      January 31, 2016 at 2:55 pm

      This is such a cool DIY idea! I’d love to try it.

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