We discovered fullbloomtea.com last year around Mother’s Day, and are proud to have them on board as a sponsor this week. To celebrate our love of teas (and mom’s love of teas) they’re offering Shelterrific readers a 10% discount. Just enter the code Shelter10 at checkout. (Btw, another great use for the teas — party favors. Allison R. passed them out her b-day party last summer and they were a big hit. Enjoy!)

Leah lauded Stumptown Coffee Roasters in posts about her recent trip to Portland, and I can vouch for the altogether tastiness of this coffee. The one Stumptown location in Seattle is about 20 minutes from our house by car, and though there are probably 100 places that are closer (this is Seattle, after all) we make special trips to pick up Rwanda Musasa coffee to make at home. You can order Stumptown online to enjoy at home, no matter where you live. It’s smooth, it’s free trade, and we love it — so much so, we sent bags of it to friends at Christmas. Cheap? No. Good? Oh, yeah. –Mary T.

We loved the idea of these Oxo ice cube trays so much, we put them on our wedding registry. But alas — the reservoirs are so shallow, we tend to spill more water on the floor than we freeze. And while we thought the lid would allow us to pop out a few cubes at a time without getting a bunch on our laps, you can’t snap it on before the water is frozen, or you end up spilling more water everywhere. And when the lid is on, it’s not that easy to get individual cubes out. (Looks like a few Amazon reviewers have had the same issues. And some suggest that maybe I’m just ignorant in the ways of ice cubes.) So what item were you hoping would work great, but it ended up just taking up space? –Mary T.

We spotted this clever sweetener on The Food Section blog the other day and immediately thought of all the times this would come in handy. Think about it: Holdable honey! How much better (and better for you) would it be to have honey in the office, at picnics, on long car rides, than plain ol’ sugar packs? Made by Honibe on Prince Edward Island in Canada the drops are made from a hundred percent natural honey, and come in two flavors — plain and lemon. $12 per box of twenty.

When we saw these mugs by Sami Rinne at Design Milk, we had to share. So simple, kind of subversive — we love ‘em. Good for us that Design Milk also shared where we could buy them. See more of Sami Rinne’s work here.

With major life events comes an endless supply of alcoholic beverages. Tell someone that you’re getting married or that you’ve just moved into a new apartment and bottles upon bottles of wine — some of it sparkling if you’re lucky — mysteriously appear in your kitchen. With four bottles of champagne and months until New Year’s Eve, I knew it was time to conduct a cocktail experiment with my bubbly booty and the spare ingredients of my poorly-stocked liquor cabinet (Cointreau, tequila and beer). Here’s how I fared.

Poinsettia
1/2 oz Cointreau
Champagne
3 oz cranberry juice
Mix the Cointreau and juice in a Champagne flute. Top with Champagne.
Verdict: A yummy cran-orange fizz. For extra orange flavor, add a splash of OJ.

Black Velvet
A traditional black velvet is a mixture of a stout beer (I used Guinness) and sparkling wine. Many recipes call for 1:1 ratio, but I opted for about 1/3 beer and 2/3 Champagne. Pour in the beer first and allow it to settle. Top off the flute very slowly with champagne or risk a brown volcano.
Verdict: Super tangy and not completely unpleasant. Only for the brave.

Champagne Margarita
2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lime juice
1 oz. tequila
1 oz. Cointreau
3 oz. Champagne
Mix the Cointreau, tequila and lime juice in a flute. Top with champagne. (Too strong for your taste? Add Sprite.) Verdict: A boozy take on the classic margarita. Hangover assured.

Do you have other champagne cocktail ideas (or just a tried-and-true headache cure)? — Ashley P.

Reader Susan R. has decorating dilemma. Any ideas for her?

What on earth can I do with a fifties pink bathroom if I don’t want to go retro? Replacing the sink, toilet, tub AND the wall and floor tile aren’t an option right now. I can paint walls and moulding, and replace towels and curtains. What can make the pink look modern? Thanks for suggestions. — Susan R.

Everyone owns a Mr. Coffee coffeemaker at some point in their life. They’re small, compact and get the job done without busting the bank. But this new edition, released in honor of the well-named machine’s 35th Anniversary, may appeal to not just the practical, but design nuts too. It’s create by the design company, Altitude , and has a subtle 1970’s vibe. We also like that it’s brown, as opposed to black or white, the standard kitchen appliance colors. If you’re in the market for a new coffeemaker this year, Mr. Coffee may just be your man. Click here to see at amazon.com, $75.

There’s been a lot of talk this week about how all the bottled water we’ve been drinking is really horrific for the environment. The New York Times reports it takes 1.5 billion gallons of oil to make all the plastic water bottles American use. So while drinking bottle water is considered both chic and good for you, eco-savvy consumers are starting to look for another option. We love these Insanely Pretty Reusable Water Botttles by Sigg, and with an in-house filter (Angela uses an under-the-counter PUR filter in her kitchen) attached to the sink, it’s be easy enough to fill up and bring your own. We are going to try to remember to do this, especially when we go to the movies or on long drives (when we often make bit stops for a bottle of Fiji). Another option is to get a crock and set up your own cooler at home. (See Allison’s example here). What about you? What kind of water do you drink? Straight from the tap or you an Evian-devotee? Fess up!

When I was a little girl, I wanted to grow up and be like Jane Goodall. I’d set up my own private jungle with stuffed animals in my bedroom and try to communicate with them. Needless to say, I still have a soft spot for Grand Dame of environmentalists, and was thrilled to discover Green Mountain’s Gombe Reserve coffee, grown by local farmers near the boarder of Gombe National Park where the Dr. does her research. The coffee provides farmers with an incentive to protect the preserve, and economic stability. $17 for a 12 oz bag. Click here to see more info. — Angela M.