Look for a bunch of stores to, well, pop up in Harbor East during much of December. Dresscode by Gita, Patrick Sutton Home, and Di[e]ce (pronounced “deece”) will set up temporary digs in the bottom of the Legg Mason building at 199 International Drive. Dresscode owner Gita Chowdhury proposed the idea of the pop-up shop to Michael Beatty, President of H & S Properties, after seeing them all over London and New York. The idea being that a pop-up shop gives a customer a small taste of a shop that isn't normally in their neighborhood. Gita thought that Harbor East would be a great pop-up location for her Cross Keys jewelery boutique. Michael really liked the idea and they figured the holidays would be the perfect time to do it. Gita's been working with Michael's wife Natalie Beatty on transforming the very bare space—so, they've kept it minimal: hemp, natural colors, metals, wood, and corrugated cardboards. You can visit Gita's blog at dresscodebygita.blogspot.com to follow the...

Today is Cyber Monday—the kick-off for online shopping. Folks use to wait until Monday when they were back at work on their high-speed Internet to order goods, according to NPR. (back before, you know, we had Internet on our phones.) I'm hoping to do a good portion of my shopping online or at local shops. I love the holiday buzz at the malls but hate fighting for a spot. Plus, freezing my butt off between shops in Hampden or Federal Hill or Fells is part of the fun. In honor of Cyber Monday I'm posting five of my favorite online places to shop. And starting tomorrow I'll offer one gift suggestion a day—that didn't make it into the gift guide—that'll get you through Chanukah, Christmas, or whatever you celebrate.  And please—send along your favorite web sites too!

1) etsy.com

2) curiosityshoppeonline.com

3) orkposters.com (e-mail and tell them to do a Baltimore poster)

4) fredflare.com

5)...

Refined Chicago-based jewelry artist Carla Reiter will be in town this weekend to exhibit her pieces at the Walters Art Museum's Jewelry Fair, which runs Friday-Sunday. Known for her elegant and ethereal hand-knitted designs, Reiter will be marking her third consecutive appearance at the event. The designer, who often fashions darkened silver, gold, and copper into her original pieces, originally trained as a sculptor as the University of Indiana. Today, she works out of a small studio in the Windy City where she creates all of her unique designs by hand. "I'm not an artist who is directly inspired by nature or architecture or anything like that," explains Reiter. "I look at all kinds of things and they percolate around in my head and then I get an idea to make something. I get interested in a particular shape, or a stone of some kind, and I want to see what it would look like on a body. It always comes down...

Feel that chill in the air? It can only mean one thing: It's holiday shopping time. Starting tomorrow and again Friday, December 4th, the merchants of Mt. Washington Mill will host "Around the Mill." From 5-8 pm, shoppers can relax with wine, refreshments, and special discounts at all the Mill shops (Holly G Boutique, Gore-Dean, Home on the Harbor, Amazing Glaze, Whole Foods, Starbucks, Mt. Washington Wine Company, and the just opened Dogma- Life with your pet.) Pick up a mill pass from any of the participating stores and get it stamped from each one as you visit. (You don't have to pay anything to earn a stamp.) Leave your pass at the last store and one shopper will win a $250 gift basket chock full of goodies from all participating Mill merchants. —Rebecca Gregg