It’s time to thank the birds for all of the beauty they bring to springtime. They provide sweet songs and can make your back yard a pristine natural habitat full of color and life. What better say to say thanks than by giving them a home of their own? There are lots of architecturally striking birdhouses – from classic to colorful to contemporary — available online. The fanciest ones aren’t cheap, but they can make a strong and decorative statement in your yard. The most important factor among them isn’t appearance, though: They must be tough enough to provide safe shelter in any type of weather. Given that, the birdhouse has come a long way from a box with a hole in it atop a pole. This amazing Wrension Bird House ($185, pictured) looks more like a mansion and provides a luxurious home “for common cavity dwellers.” The classic white Flat Birdhouse by Lazy Hill will look great on a pedestal, and comes with brackets ($209, on sale). Birdhouse artist Karl Goldsmith is a master builder whose love of American historic architecture is reflected in his incredible birdhouses, including this Early New England House ($900). His work has been featured in Landscape Architecture Magazine and Traditional Home. This Country Nest Garden Serenity Birdhouse ($87.95) comes with its own white picket fence and painted in weather resistant latex paint. On the other end of the style spectrum, check out these ultra-hip Egg birdhouses ($135) by J Schatz which not only come in a sexy color palette, but the egg itself is made of finished, glossy earthenware designed to withstand the roughest storm.

Not long ago, I essentially ruined my favorite shoes by walking too close to a fast-advancing tide: While I was gawking at some rich guy’s ocean-front property, a salty wave soaked soles I shouldn’t have worn on the beach to begin with. If only I’d been wearing Mion’s Flood Tide Shoe (about $107 at Zappo’s), I could have kept walking nonchalantly. Made for places too grubby for real shoes and too slick for flip-flops or bare feet — an algae-covered boat dock, for instance — the Flood Tide boasts a sole with plenty of traction and a peculiar rubber composition that, as the company puts it, “literally cannot absorb or retain water.” Inside the rubber shell is a mesh “bootie” that’s removable so the parts closest to your feet — namely the foam bed that adjusts to the shape of your foot — can be aired out thoroughly. The whole shoe slips on and is secured by a strange single-lace design that takes some getting used to but ensures you won’t lose the togs when (maybe this never happens to you?) your kayak capsizes.

Think of old 78 rpm records, and — if you know anything about them — you probably envision old Tin Pan Alley singers, ragtime bands or other early Americana that hasn’t aged all that well. But those styles were only part of what got documented in the early years of recorded music, a fact demonstrated wonderfully by a new release called Victrola Favorites ($48.97). On two CDs, the set’s curators offer rare records from around the world: Congo to Japan, Egypt to the American South. The compilation flows surprisingly well, considering how, say, a Oaxacan percussion performance is likely to lead into a trilling cowboy yodel. Within the span of 10 minutes, you can hear the bells of Big Ben, a blues shouter’s description of Christ’s crucifixion, and a Portuguese account of the Tower of Babel. It’s one discovery after another; even hardcore music buffs may only recognize one or two of the 48 artists here (early jazz bandleader Don Redman, for instance, or bluesman Blind Boy Fuller). And if the aural overload isn’t enough, the set’s packaging is similarly rich: It’s bound in a red hardback book full of photos of the colorful labels affixed to the original records, the picture sleeves in which they were wrapped, and the illustrations that advertised them, nearly a century ago, to the very first record collectors.

With spring break coming up, it’s a good time to start thinking about sun protection. Everyone knows the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays can damage your skin and increase your chances of skin cancer, but too many forget that serious fact when they’re having fun outdoors. If you’re forgetful about slathering on suntan lotion, clothing that is sun protecting is more readily available these days, and it’s cheaper than ever. This clothing has been treated with a chemical sunblock during the manufacturing process; many are tightly woven, which also increases their blocking capability. Most of these items have an ultraviolet protection factor of 40, 50 or higher – your plain old white T-shirt has a protection factor of 7, and if it’s wet, that drops to 3. The Skin Cancer Foundation recommends several makers of sun protective garments. (You can download a list of companies and products which have earned their seal of approval, as well as learn skin cancer prevention tips, at www.skincancer.org.) SPFStore.com is one of those companies. They have T-shirts, sweatshirts and hats, as well as aqua shirts and other swimwear. One of SPFStore’s most popular products is their cotton T-shirt for men, women and children, in all sizes and colors, short-sleeved or long-sleeved. These cost from $12.95 to $29.95. SPF Store sells children’s aqua shirts too. A long-sleeved floral print water shirt is $36, while a short-sleeved, more sporty-looking shirt is $30. A men’s long-sleeve Tuga swimming shirt, great for snorkeling or a long day at the beach, is $40 and has a sun protection factor of 50. Another good site recommended by the Skin Cancer Foundation is Coolibar.com. Their men’s Sun Escape Shirt is a dressy, long-sleeve shirt, available in a variety of colors, for $59.95. All of the Coolibar items have a protection factor of 50 or higher. The Coolibar women’s embellished beach shirt is a pretty white coverup for beach or poolside for $79.95. Of course, even with these clothes, you still need to sunscreen for the uncovered parts of your body. But if you or your kids squirm with a long all-over lotion procedure, these could help get you to the pool a little faster. 

Forget men – I fantasize about flooring. My dream floor? Cork, of course. Cork flooring used to be hard to find and outrageously expensive. But now, it is not only more widely available but also competitive with tile or hardwood in pricing. Cork choices go beyond that bulletin-board tan; check out the stunning installation photo gallery from Duro Design, and you’ll see why I’m floored by the beauty of cork. Cork is durable (lasting 30 to 50 years), easy on the feet, and sound-absorbing. Best of all, it’s Earth-friendly, since cork is bark shaved from the cork oak tree, which re-grows the bark after harvesting. Frank Lloyd Wright was onto this in the 1920s; he used cork flooring in many of his houses. Cork comes in tiles or planks and can be either glueless or glue-down. For a basic no-glue cork tile, see APC Cork’s Apollo Blend at Fast Floors (sale priced at $1.99 per tile). Da Vinci’s collection of glue-down tiles at Black River Flooring shows cork’s versatility in color, pattern, and price ($1.99 to $3.60 per square foot); check out the striated Evora tile. You’ll be floating over the price of the glue-down Lisbon Cork planks from Lumber Liquidators ($1.19). For convenience, Black River offers an amazing array of glueless floating-floor options that don’t even look like cork, such as DaVinci’s zebra-striped Tigris ($5.05; pictured above), the confetti-like Arguim ($5.65), and the marbled Lunar ($5.95) or APC’s geographical Cronus Night ($5.19; pictured right) and Odysseus Rose ($5.19). The most unusual take on cork is the Jelinek mosaic made from recycled wine corks; it can be stained in whatever color matches your décor and can even be used in showers and saunas ($20 at CorkStore.com). Cork comes unfinished (which may require waxing) or sealed with various finishes; for a primer on cork, visit Globus Cork Floors. That does it; let’s rip out the carpet!

Never mind that Valentine’s Day came and went without any bling hiding between the Godivas. Spring is coming – go ahead, take the initiative and add some sparkle to your life, specifically your right hand. In case you haven’t heard, cocktail rings have made a comeback. Also known as dinner rings, right-hand rings and statement rings, these baubles are meant to be big and in-your-face flashy – that’s what makes them so much fun. Shopperati found a delicious array of gorgeous rings waiting to adorn your fingers at Ross Simons, including this 11.5-carat amethyst ring accented by diamonds in 14k white gold ($595). Or maybe you’d prefer the mellow yellow of this 9.6-carat lemon quartz and diamond 14k ring ($175). If you have a big appetite for carats, check out this vintage-inspired 20-carat smoky quartz ring in yellow 14k gold ($250). Vintage purists will be delighted with the large selection of extremely reasonable one-of-a-kind estate pieces including these exquisite floral rings. We could not decide which was prettiest – this 1970s amethyst and diamond floral ring ($1,276, pictured) or this lovely opal and diamond floral ring ($716) from the 1960s. In the end, you may be drawn to the more reasonably priced florals like this 1970s ruby and gold flower ring ($316) or this 1960s 18k yellow gold and pearl ring ($396, pictured). But if you’re looking to treat yourself, then these diamond floral rings from the 1950s are the way to go. Good luck choosing between the .75 carat diamond flower ring or the even blingier 1.40 carat style. The ice was also nice at other retailers such as Ice.com, Bailey Banks and Biddle, David Yurman and even department stores such as Nordstrom and Macy’s. Go ahead, make your day. You can blame it on spring fever.

We’ve cleaned our hands with dainty seashells and bas-relief roses in guest baths near and far. Most of us have become accustomed to translucent bars of soap that have toys, swirls of color, or other tiny objects embedded in them. Well, we haven’t seen anything until we’ve been to Skinsations, where the soaps not only are handmade and decorative, but are amazing works of art available for a few dollars each. Your visitors will think you’ve left a valuable heirloom in the loo when they see a molded masterpiece like Mother With Children, a four-ounce circle for washing up that contains the level of exquisite detail found in a fine cameo. This one shows a woman, her children, their dog, and an English country backdrop ($4.25). Or consider The Swan, a clear bar of fragrant soap upon which swirling white calla lilies dance with a cluster of white curls ($4.25). Your guests might just mistake it for marble. Equally impressive are the Celtic Cross soaps, which take floral motifs and build them into bi-colored disks pretty enough to wear. At Soapylove’s Glycerin Soap Gallery, the offerings look so delicious you’ll want to eat them. Check out the Petite Soap Favors, which look like petits fours (75 cents each at Soapylove’s Etsy site). Drool over the Neapolitan Soapsicle, which is scented with vanilla, chocoate, and strawberry, just like its real-life counterpart ($8 at Pink Olive Boutique). A great-smelling, handcrafted soap treat waiting for our hands is as good a reason as any to freshen up.

For years, Britcoms were tucked away in late-night time slots on PBS or end-of-the-dial cable. Now you can have the best of the Brits in your DVD rack. Start out with the cult classic Father Ted, chronicling the antics of a band of wayward Irish Catholic priests who live in their own personal purgatory called Craggy Island (pictured). Father Ted: The Holy Trilogy ($60.99), the definitive five-disc DVD set, was just released on Feb. 19. The world’s longest-running sitcom is Last of the Summer Wine, which follows a pack of lovable old-timers spending their golden years living out their second childhoods. Look for Last of the Summer Wine: Vintage 1976, the DVD release of the 1976 season, this March ($18.69). In As Time Goes By ($153.98), Dame Judi Dench and Geoffrey Palmer play two lovers who reconnect late in life after a 38-year separation. By the time you get through all six seasons, the characters will feel like old friends. If your tastes are more Sid Vicious than Dame Judi, revel in The Young Ones ($53.99), in which a quartet of college-age losers unleash hilariously destructive chaos in their filthy London flat (it’s the comedy equivalent of a safety pin through the cheek). But even that may not prepare you for the self-centered, boozy, and drugged-up divas Edina and Patsy of the side-splitting Absolutely Fabulous ($106.98). Relative newcomer Ricky Gervais paints a wildly funny, sometimes bittersweet picture of office life in The Office ($39.99), the inspiration for the hit American series. Gervais’ latest is HBO’s Extras ($49.99), in which he plays a neurotic dreamer working his way up from two-bit extra to TV star; the show’s sly humor benefits from the unflattering cameos from big-time stars like David Bowie, Sir Ian McKellen, Daniel Radcliffe, and Orlando Bloom.