This past week we celebrated Earth Day and in honor of that I think we should all re-think the way we use and waste paper. Although it may seem like the whole world is going digital, people will always need to write notes. In my house, we keep a notepad and pens in the kitchen for jotting things down.

This habit (among many others) was passed on to me by my mother and I am certain many others could say the same. So when I saw this notepad and its smart, green design I thought I would start a new tradition and maybe you can too!

Yoyo Ceramics is a dynamic company founded by a female chemist. They create innovative and artistic designs for the everyday needs of your home. The Ceramic Notepad is a perfect example of their extremely functional yet surprisingly attractive creations.

Each comes with one pencil (or you can order a set with every color) to write on the ceramic with, which can be wiped or washed off easily. You can even throw it in the dishwasher! The hole through the top completes its cool, modern look and holds the pencil to keep the pen and pad together for convenient use.

While I still plan to keep my new notebook in the kitchen, I will make much better use of it and vow to leave my husband a cheesy love note every now and then. The best part? When I make my notes, I will no longer feel guilty about wasting paper!

Then adorn yourself with your own — Zodiac sign that is. Laura James is heralding the comeback of these celestial symbols with her chic, vintage-inspired designs. Her charms come on necklaces or bracelets and both have that cool, inherited look.

Personally, I’m a proud Libran who, as the constellations dictate, is a little vain, very giving, craves attention, loves the finer things in life and is most happy when in a relationship and creating balance.

Buy one for yourself and wear your astrological icon on your sleeve. Or, give a friend one for her birthday…what better way to show your love of her than to celebrate her sign? These would also make a great gift for a new mommy who wants to celebrate her newborn’s stellar significance! After all, this is an ancient science so why not get the stars aligned and wear your birthdays’ influential elements like a badge of honor!

Whatever happened to the simple pleasures in life? Taking a leisurely walk on a sunny day, a home-cooked meal, or a hand-written note? Walks now accelerate into shoving other pedestrians out of your way, home-cooked meals are made in someone else’s foreign kitchen, and hand-written notes are typed and sent through cyber-space.

But it doesn’t always have to be that way.It has now become a lot easier to reinvent the time-honored tradition of the hand-written word with the help of Carrot and Stick Press.

Sure, there are a lot of stationary companies out there, but Carrot and Stick Press’ products caught my eye with their cool collection of colorful journals, placemats, photo, table and folded note cards.  The company was recently founded in 2000 by two dedicated grad students who turned their love of playful prints for every occasion into one they could share (and we’re sure glad that they did!)

Do you ever feel like you are not in control of the contents of your own handbag? It’s exacerbating to always feel as though you’ve left something behind. For me, it can be one or any combination of the following: keys, wallet, makeup bag, one of my two blackberries or my indispensable Ipod.

This scenario happens as often as it does because I own (and like to utilize) my rather large collection of totes, hobos, shoulder bags, satchels and clutches. And like most women with a lot of handbags, I usually want to wear a different one each day (or at the very least every other day). Unfortunately this involves the frustrating task of shuffling the contents from one bag into another.

Let’s be honest ladies, with all the crap we carry around this can be a very time consuming process. Such an effort can be a major deterrent for the bag-switcher and prevent us from showing off all the sacks in our arsenal.

Enter the VIP (Very Intelligent Pocket)Bag.

This efficient little wonder will make the bag-switching process effortless. It neatly compartmentalizes all your daily necessities into one, pretty little pouch with pockets galore so that when you switch you don’t sweat. With the VIP Bag we can finally carry around “everything but the kitchen sink” and still be organized.

This is very big news for me and although we try not to make Miss Know It All NYC-centric, this event is too important not to announce. If you’ve ever traveled to the UK and London specifically you most likely know about TOPSHOP. For those of you who don’t know, this British retailer is best described as a bigger, better version of H & M. Its also slightly more expensive, but for good reason – their designs are not only better, the clothes are better quality.

You don’t need to be in Manhattan to shop TOPSHOP…they have a very successful website that is easy to navigate. Their most identifiable designer is Kate Moss whose lines are always exciting and very “on-trend”.  They also feature collaborations with a rotating crew of cutting-edge designers, most recently with Jonathan Saunders and Preen.

TOPSHOP NYC is located at the intersection of Broadway and Broome in SoHo. If you can’t make it to the store, hit the website to get your TOPSHOP fix immediately: TOPSHOP.com

Photography has always been a great love of mine, and I wish I knew about GreatBigCanvas.com to cover the naked walls of my first apartment while moving in. The site is home to larger than life panorama shots of major cities and landscapes printed on canvases that definitely make a modern statement and liven up any room in an affordable way.

I love these two prints below, the first of bustling Times Square in New York City, and the second of the lower part of the iconic Eiffel Tower in Paris, because they’re not your average scenic shot, but rather give an edgy and fresh spin on the two classic (and my personal favorite) cities.

It gets even better. You can personalize your wall art and make your own photo canvas with CanvasOnDemand.com. All you have to do is upload one of your personal photos, choose the size of the canvas, and you’re all set.

For someone like me who has a collection of thousands of photographs from countless destinations (especially my beloved Paris and NYC), why not become your own photographer and artist and proudly display your pièce de résistance on your wall?

Whether the photo artwork is your own personal masterpiece, or someone else’s new-age look on the world, your wall will definitely no longer be left in the buff and will be happy to house the sizable addition.