Have you ever heard of Fran’s Chocolates?  I hadn’t either, until out-of-town friends of ours had a tiny little box of gray salt caramels in dark chocolate tucked away in their refrigerator.  Shortly thereafter, I noticed Fran herself (and the very same caramels) featured in this month’s Martha Stewart Living as one of the Tastemakers – that is, a select group of culinary artisans across the country turning out incredible food.   

Just drool over this description from the Fran’s website –“soft, buttery caramel dipped in 64% dark chocolate, finished with a sprinkling of gray sea salt.”   Do you have any idea how incredible that is?  If you haven’t had one, the answer has to be “no” – because the gray salt caramels are literally one of the tastiest things I’ve ever eaten.  The tiny sprinkling of sea salt on top is the perfect compliment to the sweet, buttery caramel – basically, perfection in a bite.  Decadent.  Divine.  Delicious.  I could go on, but I’m making myself crave another caramel. 

Now, having polished off that first little box (not all in one sitting … although I could have!) and working on a new stash generously brought as a hostess gift by the same friends, I am hopeless addicted.  Of course, I’m also thankful that – with pool season quickly approaching – Fran’s Chocolate’s are not more readily available in Charlotte.  Fortunately for me, the caramels are only a phone call away – to our friends, of course!  But – if you aren’t lucky enough to have someone so geographically desirable – Fran’s also takes orders via an 800 number … and will exercise appropriate precautions to ensure that your chocolate arrives safely even in spring and summer’s warm weather.  Trust me – you will not regret ordering.  I would ordinarily suggest that you order several extra boxes to give as little gifts – hostess or otherwise – but I see two main problems with that.  For one, the caramels are designed to be enjoyed by a certain date – presumably so that they are at the peak of their fabulousness – so you wouldn’t want to store the caramels for months at a time.  More significantly, I wouldn’t trust myself to have that many extra boxes in the house.  I’m just guessing that they might somehow disappear prior to said gift-giving occasion!  You, however, may have a little bit more willpower …     

Oh, and once you’ve ordered – if you need a little something to tide you over until your package arrives – I highly suggest the sea salt brownie petites at Trader Joe’s.  It’s the same concept, only in baked goods.  Maybe it’s just something about the sea salt?   Whatever it is, I don’t really care.  All I know is that chocolate + sea salt = ecstasy.  And now, if you’ll excuse me, I think I’m going to get another caramel …

Wondering how to create a home that is both elegant and livable?  Call me at 704.953.6096 or send me an email at traci@tracizeller.com to discuss how I can help! 

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I smell a bad breakup.  And I'm assuming that Lowe's is the jilted lover.  Let me back up for a minute ...

So I went to Lowe's with the Groovy Mom this morning.  We've got some great carpet options for her entirely renovated home from another store in town, but we wanted to make sure we'd done our due diligence and there wasn't anything better for a lower or comparable price.  While I was there, I was hoping to pick up some more spray paint (yes, it's a do-it-yourself story in the making) and a fan deck for the Martha Stewart by Valspar colors.  I've never specified any Martha colors, instead sticking with Benjamin Moore and Sherwin-Williams.  But Jenny (of the Little Green Notebook) seems to be a big fan of the Martha colors, especially when painting furniture, so I wanted to pick up a fan deck for reference.  I circled the paint section twice in search of the Martha display.  When I didn't spot it the second time, I asked the Lowe's employee behind the paint desk.  He said something to the effect of, "I think her colors are still in the system, but we've pulled down the display."  

So now, I was curious!  Thanks to the magic of the iPhone (I love you, Apple), I quickly learned that Martha has a new deal with Home Depot.  Per this article, Martha will be selling all sorts of goodies at Home Depot, ranging from outdoor sets to closet organizers to other general decor.  Now, this doesn't sound all that strange when you realize that Martha's deal with K-Mart (for her Martha Stewart Everyday line) expires in January 2010.  But what on earth does that mean for her deal with Lowe's, which exclusively carried her Martha Stewart by Valspar paints? 

I'm guessing it doesn't mean anything good ... at least not for Lowe's.  I couldn't find any information about when Martha's contract with Lowe's expires or more importantly, what will happen to her colors!  When you check Martha's own website, you still see a hyperlink at the bottom of the home page, in the "Shop" section, entitled "Martha Stewart Colors at Lowe's."  But when you click the link, you get a big fat nothing.  Same thing with the "Paint" section of her site.  It sure looks like everything's hunky dory until you try to click the "learn more" links, which also take you to a big fat nothing.  When you go to the Valspar at Lowe's website, and then search "signature colors by designer," Martha is nowhere to be found. 

I find this all verrrrrry interesting.  Martha is acting like everything is fine, while Lowe's is attempting to erase every indication that she ever existed in their stores.  Yet there's no press release or any information about what is going on.  Someone is maaaaaaad!  I can't wait to get the skinny on this ...  In the meantime, does anyone have a Martha Stewart fan deck for me???? 

Photo from DailyComedy.com.  Thanks to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers for the title of today's post!

I am totally mad about these fabulous handmade storage boxes!   We all know how I feel about organization, so when you combine fashion with organizational function, I am over the moon ... not even to mention the fact that aqua and red has been my favorite color combo for about two years now.  Credit Martha, of course - I stumbled across these boxes while flipping through her latest magazine.  Of course, Martha even includes a template to print labels for your boxes.  She thinks of everything.  Be still my beating heart.  

The boxes are available at Bell'occhio, a specialty shop in San Francisco.  The shoe box and letter box sizes are currently out of stock, so order now and get on that waiting list!  I won't be surprised if you are tempted to add just a few more things to your shopping cart while you are there ... maybe these faux bois place mats (love!), handmade caramels or perhaps the letter press bon mot cards (love, love!) ... although I must say that this necktie creeps me out a little bit. 

I'm not the only one totally in love with aqua and red.  Check out this Martha Stewart Weddings article from a few years ago ... and a few brides who appear to have been inspired!   Aqua and red don't do much for you?  Check out Bell'occhio's other choices, including pink/gold and green/navy.  I could totally see the green/navy version looking all preppy chic in Kate Spade's house!

By the way, September is a really good issue.  Martha Stewart Living is usually a little bit too happy homemaker for me - it's envy, really; I love design and some crafts, but I just don't cook! - but this "Special Decorating Issue" was right up my alley.  

Photos from Martha Stewart Living and Bell'occhio

Roses are on sale at Harris Teeter for $5.99 per dozen with your VIC card, so make like Martha (Stewart, that is) and enjoy a gorgeous centerpiece this weekend!  Your friends will think you hired Carolyn Shepard ...  

Photo from 1-800-Flowers.com