I believe that showing up to a dinner party with a bottle of wine in the black plastic bag from the liquor store will be appreciated just as much as showing up with one in a fancy cellophane gift bag. However, I think if you decided to give the bottle inside one of these funky little birchwood cylinders by Roost, it would be appreciated on an entirely different level. There are three different sizes to accommodate the varying bottles used for wine, champagne, and dessert wine. I just love the clean lines and the simplicity of the leather cord closure. Pick one up over at Velocity Art & Design for just $10-$15. –Erica P.

Find more hostess-giving insight here and here.

I’ve been infatuated for quite a few years with the woven and spun vinyl rugs, runner, and placemats made by Chilewich. They’re not only beautifully designed, but highly durable and functional. The only caveat was the prices that some of these woven vinyl placemats and runners were going for. Well, they’ve developed a new pressed vinyl technique — one which, according to them, reinterprets “an outdated manufacturing process that is fast becoming a completely new design language…the pressed vinyl designs are about half the price of the woven designs.” Something we can all get happy about! Find all the pressed vinyl placemats ($7-8) and runners ($28-35) at Burke Decor. –Megan B.

1) Your idea of dream gardens is dreamy. T Bone says: “My dream garden would have dinosaur shaped hedges and a fountain in the middle with a huge statue to Ares. Also there would be plenty of ribs served.” For other great, if not quite as lofty, garden dreams, click here.

2) There’s no good camp food without good camp coffee. Michelle says: “I’ve recently become an Aeropress convert, and it’s ideal for camping. Cook’s Illustrated said it beat a $400 espresso maker in their tests.” Mmm, coffee. See more camping and cooking tips here.

3) We’re not the only ones with fruit fly problems…and solutions. Megan solved her fruit fly problem, and you added your solutions, too. Kate says: “I can only add that I wash any fruit and vegetables that I keep on the counter very thoroughly as soon as I get home. Bananas, avacados, melons, everything, especially around the stem end. It only works if you don’t have any fruit flies around to begin with, but that alone seems to be working wonders for me this summer, even with a big bowl of uncovered nectarines and peaches.” Find more fruit fly fixes here.

4) Apparently you’ve lost a wallet or two. Lynda likes Sarah’s roundup of ingenious designs from Dynomighty, and adds: “Now if they could make a wallet that has a honing device, that would be perfection.”

5) There are tricks we’ll never be teaching our pets. Trust us. The Fur Fighter post is still inspiring comments, like this one from DJ: “My mother had a friend who had trained all of her cats, of all animals, to lie still and be vacuumed with the hose attachment every day.” We’ll stick with less potentially deadly methods, thanks!