Martha + Home Depot

Like her or not, the woman's a genius. I personally admire her for the incredible brand she's developed and have adored her style and product line for years. Her latest endeavor is a comprehensive kitchen line at Home Depot - cabinets, hardware, counters. Quite brilliant, really. We even love this bin pull, and we are very particular about our bin pulls. Now, at the beginning of a project, we assemble our own distinct vision- I'll cook things up in my mind's eye- and then search tirelessly for the pieces to bring our vision to life -- whether they exist or not. Martha's line, however, I think will be especially great for those who aren't so visual or design oriented, but know what they like and want a cohesive look.  By the way, did you ever see the homes and interiors she designs with KB Home? Really beautiful and thoughtful.

(Photos from Home Depot)

Autumn's arrival...

It is officially autumn! Here's to crisp air, crunchy leaves, scarves, and hot cocoa.

Organic experiment

As the other half to Modern Cottage, my husband doesn't get quite as excited as I do about things like cute calendars or laundry hampers (although he does appreciate their Modern Cottage sensibility). So, we are dedicating this post to a topic that he has been very excited about: The exquisite lushness of our entire landscape as a result of using organic fertilizer! It was an experiment for us - new house, brand new yard, why not? I will say it took some patience... there were a couple of times he was ready to go back to his non-organic regimen. However, time passed and the little organic food chain/ecosystem got stronger and stronger :) He's found we don't have to water as much, either. We owe it to a product made by Hendrikus Organics, a local company. Have you had similar results going organic?

Calendar love

I just noticed that Snow & Graham's 2011 calendars are out in stores... Wheeee! I love these. They're just one of those simple things that makes me happy. The desk calendar (shown) is my favorite, though I will admit I use a cute metal easel for it instead of the plastic case. The designs for 2011 are fabulous, I especially love the hydrangeas which look exactly like the ones in our yard that have bloomed madly all summer. So why not treat yourself to a bit of cheer? Or keep it on your holiday gift list...they are great for giving, too.

Going green

Modern Cottage eye candy: Waring's classic blender in retro green, mini latte bowls (love these for ice cream), a jadeite pitcher, a pale green alarm clock, and a linen pillow in Kelly Wearstler's Imperial Trellis.

Laundry list

Call me crazy, but I've become a bit obsessed with laundry hampers recently. Boring subject you might think and I can't really argue, except I just feel there is no reason a laundry hamper can't be stylish and beautiful, in addition to being functional. As the laundry (inevitably) got piled up on the bathroom floor these past weeks, my motivation increased and I became more and more determined to find that something beautiful does indeed exist... enter the wire laundry "hamper" from Pottery Barn. At $89 it is quite pricey for simply holding dirty laundry. But it is so beautiful... Our closet is one of  my favorites places, and why shouldn't it be just as cheerful and thoughtfully decorated as any other room in the house? My functional criteria were as follows: roomy enough to hold one full laundry load; easily removable remove liner bag to take to laundry room; narrow enough that I could fit three in a row along one wall of the closet. The PB one makes the grade on all counts. Now if only it would go on sale...

Labor (Day) of love

We picked up these beautiful, minimalist frames on sale at Pottery Barn nearly a year ago with the intention to create a simple and classic photo wall. I am happy to report that as of this Labor Day, we finally created our wall! Apart from taking the time to carefully choose and quality-process some of our best-loved photos, it really wasn't too difficult, thanks to the use of a leftover roll of painter's paper... we cut pieces of paper to the sizes of each of the frames then taped them up on the wall to determine our ideal placement and spacing. Once that was set, the ooks went in, paper guides came down, and up went the frames! We chose to create a smaller grouping with predominately "caught-up-in-the-moment" photos (i.e. life is happening and a camera just happened to capture it) using the same style frames in two different colors. The result is fresh, modern, and makes us smile each time we pass by.

Welcome, September!

I'm not quite sure how it's already September, but I think if we can incorporate a fraction of the sheer exhilaration demonstrated by Scout, above, time may slow just enough for us to soak in the last bit of summer. Though we do really look forward to fall time - it's our favorite time of the year! Crisp, cool air and gorgeous sunset-colored foliage. There's just something fresh and meaningful in the air. What time of year makes you feel the most gleeful?