Rachel and I have spent the last few days combing through the New York International Gift Fair. For anyone who has never been to the gift show, it's a huge display of gifts and home furnishings from more than 2,000 manufacturers, spread across 3 separate locations in New York City. And, while it's been an exhausting few days, the gift show is a great place to get ideas and see the latest trends. So, Rachel and I thought we'd take the next few days to share with you some of the trends and products that we noticed.

Shells: Hot or Not?
As I was walking through the gift show, I noticed how many people were showing shells and shell motifs. Everything from artwork to throws and pillows to tabletop items incorporated shells or images of shells. I found this a little surprising for two reasons. The first reason is because summer's almost over and the second one is because just last week I was reading the August issue of Domino Magazine and, according to Domino, collections of shells are a decorating don't. So tell me what you think, are shells hot or not?