Click here to save 20 percent on everything at Elsewares.

You’ll never get tired of hearing “Oh my god, where did you get that?”—whether it’s your eye-catching accessories, unique presents, or one-of-a-kind home decor. As long as Elsewares is at the top of your favorites list, you’re the coolest person in the room.

Elsewares’ passionate commitment to magnificent designs and the artists behind them means not only that you’ll score super-cool stuff on the site, but also that you’ll support independent artists and companies with a conscience in the process. Owners Ryan Deussing and Audrey Aponte scour the creative world for innovative apparel, accessories and home products from folks who practice healthy labor practices and focus on environmental sustainability. This treasure trove of conversation pieces is diverse, affordable and 100 percent guilt-free. For help navigating, check out the gift guides, where you can sort by price, recipient and recycled material. And take your time browsing the designer bios; you won’t recognize these names at first, but you’ll love knowing the backstory behind your new purchases.

We Adore: We can’t stop marveling over this sleek Josh Jakus Um Shoulder bag, an eco-friendly purse that unzips to lay completely flat, so it’s perfect for stashing in your suitcase when you need an extra handbag on your travels! (regularly $135, Store Adore price $108)

We Adore: Brooklyn designer Klaus Rosburg updates a Kitschy staple with reflective acrylic to create this hip Sonic Design Cuckoo Clock (regularly $95, Store Adore price $76)

We Adore: If you see someone diving into your dumpster and fishing out last night’s Chinese take-out, don’t be surprised if it’s eco-friendly designer Bryan Parks, looking to craft an elegant bowl out of recycled chopsticks (regularly $26, Store Adore price $20)

We Adore: Cheeky cards from Sidepony, like Hey There, Tiger and You Oughta Be Illegal are fun to send with or without a gift (regularly $3.50 each)

We Adore: The Kids at Elsewares section is stocked with items that are baby-friendly, but with an adult sense of humor—like this Hardboiled Robot Onesie (regularly $28, Store Adore price $22)

When I was first born, my mother used to have nightmares that she used me as a bookmark and lost me in a book. Perhaps her fitful sleep could have been averted had I worn Bumble Bells, a new line of audible anklewear launched by our friend Jill Katona. The expandable ankle bracelets have tiny bells on them, so wherever your baby goes, you can hear her ringing.

As Jill says, “If any of you know anyone who is having a baby, just had a baby, is giving away a baby, regularly misplaces their baby, or knows people who like to spend money on babies, please direct them to Bumble Bells.”

I’d like to add that folks who like to simply look at adorable babies should check out the site too, as Jill’s baby Maggie functions as Bumble Bells‘ (super) model.

Save 15% at Pink Olive Online!

Whenever I’m in the market for a baby gift, I head straight to Pink Olive, where Pop Art blankets, modern plush animals, gift books and sassy onesies celebrate new life. While it’s true that presents picked from here score a home run every time, the real reason I like to buy for babies at this Park Slope, East Village, and online boutique is that I can also sneak in a little bit of shopping for myself. Owner Grace Kang (a former fashion buyer) divides her store into categories she calls baby, gifts and getaway. Her mission is to pamper customers both growing up and already grown. So along with the meticulous selection of clothes, bath products, paper goods and toys for young ones (all marked by a classic, feminine sensibility), she serves up molded soaps from Gianna Rose Atelier, Gossip Girl-inspired headbands, novelty bubble blowers in teh shape of ice cream cones, swimwear and other delights.

We Adore: These animal shaped hoodie towels (regularly $45, Store Adore price $38) are my go to baby gift.

We Adore: And for me? I may just add this Kenneth Jay Lane Amber Pear Necklace (regularly, $110, one sale for $27.50, Store Adore price $23) to my personal jewelry harvest right now!

Click here to get your 15% discount at Pink Olive.

The first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word Tuscaloosa? The University of Alabama? Football? Sunshine and southern accents? All that and more…but probably not shopping. As a fashion-obsessed student—and one of three equally enamored sisters, whose closets I have the benefit of sharing—I make it my mission to stand out from the blue-jeans-and-a-polo clad crowd. Though I’m a master at scouring the malls and I take occasional trips to the boutiques in Birmingham, I still long for more options when it comes to shopping. That’s why I was particularly excited for the summer. Not only would I be in New York, where there’s a sweet little boutique to discover on every corner, but I’d also be interning at Store Adore, the ultimate authority on shopping. After weekends spent trolling the streets of Manhattan and afternoons browsing the site (hey, it’s work), I found a few new favorites. Here are my top five:

1) LF

The pages of a teen mag come to life at LF, a chain of retail stores aimed at youthful women with a freewheeling style. Filled with unknown and up-and-coming designers, LF’s merchandise feels fresh, with an emphasis on layering, eye-catching accessories, and mixing unexpected colors and patterns. I visited the Spring Street location, and was thrilled with the rainbow of options and the laid-back customer service. Since the LF site is ecommerce (bonus points for browsing options according to press, bestsellers, trends, and celebs), I can shop from home for undone looks like the one below.

2) Giving Tree Jewelry

What better way to get inspired or send good energy to a loved one that with jewelry with an uplifting quote or message of love or good wishes? Giving Tree Jewelry, a comprehensive jewelry site that also boasts a gallery and shop in Cape Cod, devotes an entire section to jewelry with meaning. I love the quotes on these Jeanine Payer pieces: The necklace ($330) reads “Nothing is worth more than this day” and the ring ($550), which has pieces that move, reads “Keep not standing fixed and rooted. Briskly venture, briskly roam.” Best of all, Store Adore shoppers get up to 20 percent off everything on the site.

3) ABC Home

When my mom came to visit me here, the first thing on her to do list was to go shopping for the New York apartment that she and my dad just purchased. I found ABC Home on Store Adore (natch), and I adore the eclectic selection (a different design theme on every floor!). We browsed classic bedroom sets, organic bedding, Persian carpets, and handmade baby toys.

4) Pink Olive

Calling all mommies! A shop that serves both babies and grown-ups with adorable gifts and personal must-haves seems so obvious, but is surprisingly hard to come by. Owner Grace Kang set up her store, which has locations in Manhattan and Brooklyn as well as an e-shop, according to three categories: Baby, Gifts (candles, jewelry, stationery, and knick knacks), and Getaway (bikinis, books, coverups, spa products, and anything else you need from some me-time, even if you never leave your house). That means I can shop for my little girl (see the two of us below at the Store Adore party at Big Drop), get presents for my friends at home, and scoop up a little something for myself. I would love to see my girl in this cheecky tee ($38) and to get her this antique pedal car ($200). Store Adore shoppers save 10% on everything at Pink Olive too.

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5) Revolve Clothing

Any girl, but especially a college girl, needs her annual supply of jeans. Well the world revolves around denim at this extensive site, which boasts brands from Diesel to Antik Jeans to J Brand, plus the tops and tees (sports logos, Ed Hardy graffiti, to retro Mickey Mouse Club and more) to match. Even better, much of the site is on sale right now. While my closet is filled with Lucky, BKE, and Silver , what I’m craving right now is this pair of Ed Hardy with the colorful tattoo design ($198, on sale for $99) The white Diesel pair ($114, on sale for $57) also caught my eye also because I have been looking for a pair of hot white jeans all summer long. Revolve Clothing also offers work appropriate pieces and going out looks to round out a wardrobe, and from those my picks are the dress below by Joy Han ($283) and these super sexy pumps by Giuseppe Zanotti ($925)…

Returning to work after a long holiday weekend has us all feeling a little out of the box. Cristina’s shower drain became a muck-spewing geyser this morning (oooh! the grossness!!) and after a weekend in Nantucket, I’ve veered from my usual mostly black uniform towards a red and white sun dress of the sort you’d find at Lilly Pulitzer haven Tickled Pink. (Truth be told, it is what was at the top of my suitcase when I opened it up to unpack late last night and then thought better of it.)

In a nod to doing things a little bit differently, I’d like to draw some attention to a shopping category we typically don’t pay much attention to at Store Adore: babies. Here are three sites I’ve been alerted to recently that at least to the uninitiated (ie. everyone in our offices) look pretty damn cool.

1. Nomie Baby

Sick of spot cleaning (with limited success) the “do not machine wash” cover of her car seat every time her baby spilled formula on it, intrepid mother of three Katie Danziger knew there had to be a better way. Her removable car seat cover is super soft and padded for baby and treated with a wicking material that makes it water proof. It comes in sizes for infants and toddlers in several pastel shades ($34).

2. Milkshop

When we officially launch Baby Store Adore, this site will be first on our editors’ list. If offers all of the best brands for adults (C&C, Calypso, J Brand, Tocca) but in “mini me” sizes. Welcome to my new baby gift resource.

3. Toto Knits

These soft sweaters and blankets are handmade in Kenya by local women. The safari sweaters couldn’t be sweeter, and by buying one means you make a difference in the lives of local artisans.

I was reading a blog post today about the Home of the Future: bags of flour implanted with radio frequency tags, so that when you bring them into your kitchen, they project onto the counter a list of recipes that you can make with the other items in your pantry; doorbells that display an image of your guest right onto your cell phone. (Confession, the writer of the post was my mother, CBS News Correspondent Rita Braver.)

That got me thinking about Fashion of the Future–specifically, clothing that multi-tasks. The post talks about a “Closet of the Future,” with clothing pieces that will project laundering instructions and suggest coordinating pieces when you hold them up to a mirror. (I’d like to meet the hip engineer who writes that algorithm.) But don’t go running to your neighborhood Banana Republic just yet–these advancements are still quite a ways off from mainstream distribution.

I did, however, just learn about an exciting new futuristic fashion development that’s already in production. Cabana Life is an apparel and accessories collection with built-in sun protection of 50+ UV — and it’s actually really cute! The company was founded by skin cancer survivor Melissa Marks Papock. After giving birth to her daughter and learning that regular clothing only provides SPF protection of 6, she was inspired to create a sun protective line of clothing.

Cabana Life utilizes materials that have been treated with patented UV cutting agents to produce beachy sweet designs for kids and adults. My picks are the reversible bucket hat ($42) for adults and children (the other side reverses to a solid shade), a delicate kimono dress for little girls, and a two piece swimsuit for boys ($54). (It sure beats chasing them around on the beach with a bottle of sunscreen.)

I’m glad to see that the future is now.

When my friends have babies, I am tempted to them a sweater. Or a necklace. Or something to say “Congratulations for shoving this watermelon out…It must have hurt! And since everyone is swooning over little Ethan (or Mason, or Madison), I’d like to give some kudos to you.” It turns out, however, that this simply isn’t done. (It’s kind of like giving someone jewelry or a t-shirt or a scarf at her wedding shower. I’ve done it before and everyone looked at me as if I had eaten all of the tea sandwiches.) So it’s baby gift or bust.

I’ll do anything to avoid Babys R Us (leave the years’ supply of diapers to a more practical friend), but since discovering Pink Olive, I’m actually pretty excited for the next time someone pops out a little Peyton (or Riley or Morgan). A former contemporary and denim buyer at Barneys, owner Grace Kang opened Pink Olive to pay homage to the art of gifting. Since she couldn’t find an appropriate retail space, she first launched online in late 2006, opening a store in the East Village in 2007 and another in Park Slope in early 2008. Her concept–a charming and meticulously thought out selection of gifts geared towards not only baby, but also grown-ups and travel–has caught fire.

Each and every shelf is so addictively merchandised, with gifts for all types playing off of one another with humor and charm. Here, I can scoop up the stuffed piggy and check off the baby gift, stumble upon a keepsake jar for mom’s blond moments, and reward myself with a Cool Change coverup and zebra flip flops for a job well done.