Blogs

Sure you can make a nice cocktail in your plastic cup you have in your cupboard, but if you are looking to offer your guests unique looking glasses to sip their dry martini in, these Club Martini Glasses from Sagaform might be up your alley.

Each set has four glasses, two of them shades of blue and the remaining two shades of green. Made of hand-blown glass and looks great with your favorite drink or sitting on your bar or kitchen.

If you need a nice cocktail shaker to compliment these glasses, Sagaform has one for the job. This polished stainless steel shaker is simple and sophisticated. Includes the strainer.

Since the dawn of toys, a favorite among children has been items you can use to build. Be it a house, castle, rocket ship or boat, kids love to use their imagination to build structures the way they see them.

Legos are a classic example, and when I was a kid Lincoln Logs were really in. Then there were K'Nex. What makes Magna-Tiles different is that there are a variety of geometric shapes that snap together with magnets. Building is easier and yields more creative constructions. Because they're translucent, you can show off your creations by putting them in some good sunlight.

They come in a 32-piece set and a 100-piece set.

Low and behold, a fun twist on a Holiday tradition.  This is a great metal spiral wreath that can hold all those Holiday cards you get in the mail this time of year, and if you dare a photo or two.

We have a few of these left at Helix, so come stop in and check them out in person!  We've got a lot of our Holiday inventory in, so feel free peruse our ornaments and greeting cards while you're at it.

Remember, remember the 5th of November with Fred's Murder Ink Pad in honor of Guy Fawkes Day!

If I am going to sip on whiskey, I am usually looking to have a relaxing drink.  It's a nice thing to nurse for a while on a porch with friends.  With a good whiskey glass (and some whiskey stones to keep it cold and not water it down) I can drink with a little style and have something to play with when I can't seem to sit still.

If Jack Torrance were around today and used a laptop instead of an old school typewriter, he definitely would use this sleeve to slash stash his laptop! This sleek black vinyl case fits up to a 15" laptop and has blood red stitching around the zipper area. If you look closer at the embossed typewriter image, you can see that he's already started typing "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy." Don't go crazy because of losing your deepest, darkest secrets due to a broken laptop- just keep it in this padded sleeve!

For many people the zen stone garden represents a search for inner peace and a time of meditation.  It has a rich Japanese history that is quite interesting if you ever look it up on wikipedia.

I can see the similarities, but when it really comes down to it I just find the zen stone garden (that you can actually buy) is just great for letting my mind wander.  Perhaps that is how I reach my "inner peace," but I've always thought of it as a good escape from having to think about anything but lines in sand.

If coloring books are just for kids I never got the memo.  Charley Harper's coloring book features 30 pages of the most architectural looking animals and scenes you've ever glanced.  He uses precise, mathematical lines and geometric shapes to construct playful images that would make even the most reserved grown-up want to break out a box of crayons and hit the deck. With depictions ranging from tractor chasing giant chickens to lovey-dovey giraffes, it's a perfect pass-time for both young & old. And- when you're ready to hang your masterpiece on the fridge or give it to a friend, the pictures are printed on one side only so you never have to choose between two!

The human body is so wild! Just think of all the things it does to keep you living and moving and breathing- without any formal education! With this 3-D anatomic human torso puzzle you can really get a sense of how things fit together in there, and you don't even have to go to the morgue! Now you can spend many happy hours taking organs out of a torso, and putting them back in. What could be nicer?

If you're anything like me, you love your whiskey. Nothing better than that smooth burn as it goes down. I generally like my whiskey neat, but sometimes a little chill is great. What I DON'T like is when the ice melts and waters down the whiskey. Not a problem now with whiskey stones from Helix. These soapstone cubes, quarried here in the US in Vermont, come 9 to a pack. You keep them in the freezer in the drawstring bag provided, and drop a couple into the glass. Problem solved- your whiskey stays chilled but no watering down! Helix has these in stock now, so grab a pack for yourself or a friend!