A welcome respite

We love this bit of time between Christmas and New Year's Day. It's generally peaceful and quiet being that so many people are still on holiday time, and it gives us a chance to do a bit of organizing and planning to feel "caught up" going into the new year. It's also a good time to reflect on the past year and consider where we'd like to go in 2011. We adore Christmastime and certainly will be sad to see it go, but the promise of a fresh new year is also quite exciting. What experiences or travels (or design plans :) are topping your list for 2011?

(image from Cottage Living)

Holiday heirlooms

There are so many beautiful and unusual vintage ornaments out there, and this old Czechoslovakian glass star ornament really spoke to us. Doesn't it look simple and lovely hanging on a door knob?

Stocking stuffers

We're all about stockings at Christmas time. There's something so fun about gifts that are small in size but big in thoughtfulness. First, I am coveting these pretty Martha Stewart pruners. It seems whenever I need to trim some flowers and such, the pruners are missing from the kitchen drawer (Ahem: husband). These ones are so special, he might just leave them alone.

Also, Field Notes in fresh colors. These adorable mini notebooks have great details. (They make graph paper ones, too).

There are few fragrances I can tolerate, but I LOVE the way this detergent smells. A little bit of luxury for the laundry room.

The calendar that just makes you happy!

What a brilliant idea for these colorful utensils - weighted handles and little built-in 'stands' so they stay elevated off the counter.

I can say from personal experience how much I love this little password-keeper notebook. No more unruly sticky notes or lost passwords!

Just one more full weekend of gift gathering is ahead of us! Whether you'll be shopping, crafting, making, baking, or even planning fun experiences to gift to those nearest and dearest, don't forget one of these every once in a while to treat yourself for all your good work :)

(Photo by David Daniels)

Wreath love

Loving the easy, imperfect nature of this wreath. Feels a bit undone, in a good way.

And the winners are...



While we love our vintage Shiny Brites and the like, there are usually a few new ornaments and accessories that catch our eye each season, ones that we feel would fit right in with Modern Cottage holiday design. Here, our top five eight :)

1. Above, platinum glitter twig, earthy and glam at the same time -- (I kind of love this one, too. It has a little mod/grandma thing going on).

2. Last year I spent hours online searching (to no avail) for modern-day white ceramic trees like these from ZGallerie. (They've apparently already sold out online but may be available in stores).

3. Cutest zinc tags. Love.

4. Handmade burlap ornaments. Simple yet brilliant.

5. These musical objects are a glossy-white take on an old-fashioned favorite.

6. We love the natural look of these scalloped trees, they're a great way to achieve some textural balance in your holiday decor.

7. Mercury glass birds. Need I say more?

8. Incredible handmade paper star urchin. And real statement piece. Can you imagine a tree-full of these?

So, why not fix yourself a cup of hot chocolate and crank up the Johnny Mathis? Happy decorating!

Inspired holiday design

While we have our favorite ornaments and accessories we bring out year after year, it's fun to change things up a bit and style them in different ways, or occasionally add new pieces to keep things fresh. One thing however remains constant: our desire to keep the overall look clean, simple and uncluttered. We had fun this year with a bit of ribbon in two gorgeous shades of green. We used them to perk up oversized mercury glass ornaments, to hang pairs of our moss wreaths, and to dress up vintage metal buckets with old-fashioned silver tinsel trees. We also used them to hang ornaments on our tree. And because ribbon is not terribly expensive (especially when purchasing by the yard) we recommend getting a really nice quality fabric or grosgrain ribbon if you can find it. We used about 15 yards total. A really simple, affordable, and customizable way to get a festive and cohesive holiday look in your home!