Menswear Wednesday: General Knot & Co.

I'm a sucker for a good looking tie. I think I've already done at least a couple of posts on men's neckwear since A Pop of Style's beginnings, but I have a knack for finding small, independent businesses who've dedicated their career to creating a genuine, well-made product.

General Knot & Co. is my latest find... a company out of New England that has such an interesting founding story: two guys that met while waiting for a train to New York, and decided to start a business. Here's how you know their products are "the real deal:" every tie is made in limited quantities, and each tie comes with a numbered card that designates its place in the collection. Talk about one-of-a-kind.

Sugo di Pomodore (Tomato basil sauce)

The bad thing about making your own sauce from scratch: once you do it, every store-bought jar of sauce tastes horrible. Such is the case with this recipe below. But the upside is, it's super easy to make (and not all that expensive!) This recipe is from a restaurant cookbook, that hopefully I'll get to make more dishes from in the near future. 

Sugo di Pomodore (Tomato basil sauce) makes two quarts

- 3 24-oz. cans chopped tomatoes, preferably Hunts
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 6 medium size garlic cloves
- 1/3 cup tomato puree
- 2 cups fresh basil leaves, loosely packed, coarsely chopped
- 1 1/2 tbs. coarse salt
- 2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
- 1 Tbs. honey or pinch of sugar (optional)

In a food processor/blender, puree the olive oil and garlic. Pour the mixture into a medium size sauce pan and heat over medium heat. Be careful not to burn the garlic. Stir in chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes. Stir in honey and fresh basil. Makes about 10 cups.

A Pop of {cheap} Style: Triangle strand necklace

Although I love Bauble Bar and all of the beautiful pieces they offer on their site, splurging on $30-$50 necklaces isn't exactly within my budget right now. I've been a fan of their Pave Tab Strand since it first came out, and was surprised to find something very similar to it at Forever 21. Of course, I gave in to it's $13 price tag almost instantly, and although it may not be as bright, big and shiny as the Bauble Bar one, it works nicely as a layering piece, or as an easy way to glam up a simple t-shirt! 

xxo

Menswear Wednesday: The new 'it" lunchbox

So long, metal lunchbox, you're just not cool anymore. In fact, you haven't been "in" since the days of 10 cent milk cartons and lunch periods in my school cafeteria where I'd trade my Snack Pack for a Fruit Roll-Up. Apparently, graduating to paper bags just doesn't cut it anymore either.

Let me introduce: the reusable waxed canvas lunch bag. 

I guess you can assume these lunchbags are suitable for both men and women, but there's something about the look of them that calls for men to stop buying their lunch (or attempting to pack it in a blue grocery bag) and start bringing it in these. Its constructed of waxed canvas, so you can bet its durable enough for heavy tupperware, bottled drinks, etc. 

Whats even better is that it's reusable (aka, great for the environment!) and even has a stylish touch to it. 

Find them at the Etsy store PegandAwl, along with a few other really neat things.

xxo