Dear Santa...

Can't resist sharing a few items on my list this year, starting with these chairs for the little guy. If you're gonna have a little kid's table and chair set in your great room, it deserves to be stylish, does it not? I super love these. They totally stack together, too. Hoping one of these days I'll come upon a vintage pair for a song since they aren't currently sold in the US.

Also this stonewashed linen shower curtain. Beautiful, simple, modern. Huge bonus: comes in Extra Long! The Fog color is perfect.

Modern 3-tier stand. I love the idea of mixing this playful piece with more classic and rustic serving pieces. Alas it's out of stock till next year. That makes it tough on Santa.

House numbers. Oh, yes, the search is still going...I have a very specific vision and really don't want to settle. These ones are great (and a steal!) but this company doesn't ship to the US. Hmmm it seems my list is not easy!

Oh, Brook Farm General Store. It's always something with you...like these stripey baskets. How do you know??

Can't wait to show you what Santa's going to bring the little guy this year (I mean, I have an idea that is....we'll see if he delivers :)

Stocking stuffers

 Office supplies excite me. I suppose because I am generally an organized person. When I was little I loved those days I went to work with my mom and got to rifle through the supplies drawer... paper clips, color-coded stickers, notepads and the like. Fun! Ok, so maybe I was bored a lot and had to entertain myself the best I could. So much has changed since then in the world of office supplies. A few companies have figured out that they don't have to be boring - and in fact, can by thrillingly stylish and modern. I recently ordered some seriously great loot from Poppin.com. They've had a couple amazing holiday promotions, plus their items are reasonably priced to begin with. Even their packaging is adorable (including the cardboard insert below). Of course, I shopped strictly from the white section of their site. All-white scissors?? I am in love. I told husband, "Hands off!" I better not catch him opening up a shipping box with these beauties ($11).

Truly any of these items would make fantastic stocking stuffers... and aren't stocking stuffers at least 50% of the joy of Christmas morning? I love thoughtful gifts in small packages. Here we go:

These coasters - white melamine, hence they function quite well as intended, or as indestructible stacking toys for the little guy. Yes, the glass monogram ones we have had for years got the ax (that is they are being stored until he gets past his must touch/drop/shot-put everything I can possibly find around the house phase). Four for $10. Hooray! 

And I really like these to-do pads. 10 tasks per day keeps things manageable. You know, as long as a couple are really, really easy. $6 for 300 sheets.

I once scoured the internet for all-white pens. Nothing. Well, here they are, when I wasn't even looking! (Of course). So pretty. These babies were actually free with my order thanks to a promotion (normally $12/dozen).

I got a giant box of these fresh, modern file folders for $9. Now all those papers bundled by binder clips can be neatly concealed in these.

Oh, little white staple remover. Could you be any cuter? $2.

And I love a clear ruler ... it's much classier than the purple and gold Huskies ruler that I got as a freshman in college. I can probably safely retire that one (or pass it down to our little Husky). $7.

So to all you fellow neat-freaks and office supply lovers ... you will totally get your fix at Poppin. Creating a happy workspace is a big deal! Because a pretty, organized work space makes you feel like you can accomplish anything :)

Holiday project #3: Leaping Reindeer

Ok, so this one was relatively easy... simply hunt down three happy little Rosbro reindeer in good condition, purchase, receive, and display. Aren't they the sweetest? I really love the mod shape.

Holiday project #2: Photo Garland

 This was one of the most fun projects... I had visions of garlands dancing in my head and this is where I ended up, with inspiration coming from these amazing little clippy-hooks, and a desire to use  nostalic-feeling, winter-wonderland-y photos. I relied on my trusty ball of twine and super-fancy 1/8" hole punch (I think it's 1/8 ... maybe 1/4 who can keep track) and started hunting down some of our own favorite winter time pictures. I used lightweight matte photo paper and lightened the photos a bit to give them a slighty aged look. The white borders were easy thanks to my paper trimmer (best invention ever) and I left extra white space at the tops to give the hole punch some breathing room. It definitely feels festive but at the same time pure, simple, and beautiful... which I guess you could say is our guiding theme this holiday :)

Holiday project #1: Fun with Paperwhites

So we're hoping to tackle a handful of decorating projects this Christmas. So far, so good with the first two (yes, we've tackled TWO so far!)  I've always loved paperwhites and with a little research discovered they're quite simple to "grow" indoors. We purchased a few bulbs from our local nursery and set them up in individual canning jars with some rocks we collected from the beach just down the hill from our house. Ideally you stick a bunch of bulbs together in the same container so they grow in a nice, full, bunch. However I had this notion of setting them up in the jars, and there isn't much room. We'll see how we do. It's an experiment. I just adore the jar trio though. We got them all assembled mid-month, so they should be blooming around the middle of December. Can you believe we were that organized? :)

Growth chart

I know I featured one in this post a while back, but ultimately we chose this burlap growth chart (also from Etsy). The shop owner was kind enough to modify the font style for us since we wanted something a bit simpler and more modern (big surprise, I know). We are SO happy with  how it turned out, and it now lives cheerfully in our mudroom (so far with one marker on it from about the 14-month mark :)

Calm before the chaos

Have I mentioned I love this time of year? Especially now, before the frenzy of the holidays kicks in. The colors outside are beautiful, things just feel relaxed and peaceful, and we've got the giddy anticipation of Thanksgiving and Christmas just around the bend. I captured this moment the other day and it just makes me melt every time I see it.

We're also starting on a new project, which is always a lot of fun with ideas swirling as the final vision starts to come together. A renovation and addition to what was once an old fishing cabin (built in 1900!). We'll post more as we get underway.

Hope you enjoy these next couple of weeks! I'm thinking leisurely strolls, salted carmel lattes (yes I've got  my own recipe down, and thankfully Starbucks is always happy to oblige), and crisp fall air. Oh, and being able to complete pretty much any task or outing crowd-free :)

First look - Holiday



Ok, I'll admit it... I've been scoping out this year's holiday assortments online to see what's new and exciting. I have some ideas up my sleeve for our own unique spin on holiday decorating this year, but I do love this lighted tree from Restoration Hardware. I'd put it in one of the many old galvanized buckets we've collected over the years, like this one from Etsy. I know, it's not even Halloween yet. It's just that I really adore Christmas and everything that goes along with it... and it's fun to start gathering inspiration early! I'll have more great finds to share in the weeks to come.

Is it really October?

Of course this year was a blur, but the weather is also throwing us off - it's been a beautiful, extended summer and we have been soaking it up. Rain? What's that? I'm sure we'll be reminded soon enough. In fact, I'm pretty sure we'll be reminded later this week! But, until then, we are enjoying it. I was almost surprised to see leaves falling since to me it felt like an overnight occurrence. We made sure to get out to the pumpkin patch on a nice, dry, sunny day (vs last year when it was a bit muddy and mucky).  Here are our winners. Of course we got one our favorite white variety, but this year we came across these pretty greenish-grey ones too, very petite with curvy stems. They look great on the front steps, do they not?

Modern Cottage birthday

Over the Labor Day weekend, the little guy turned one so we threw him a bash in the front yard. Fortunately lots of his friends were in town for the holiday so it was a great crowd up on the porch and spilling into the lawn. We kept things simple and pretty with the only real 'theme' being about those relaxing final days of summer...

The food was simple: Fresh squeezed lemonade, delicious turkey sandwiches made by a local shop,  fruit skewers, peanut butter sandwiches (no crusts, of course), and a quinoa salad with tomato and cucumber. Oh, and for dessert: cupcakes!

And we couldn't resist these when we noticed them in the beer aisle... the light blue label was perfect. Good thing they tasted good, too.

Party favors included adorable handmade paper pinwheels found on Etsy, balloons tied with cotton cording, and white beach balls. We figured the little ones would need something to entertain themselves during the party, and thought the beach balls would fit the venue perfectly. It was hilarious to watch the kiddos walk up the front steps, immediately catch sight of the balls scattered across the lawn, and make a beeline toward them to begin gleefully kicking them around the yard.

All in all it was a fantastic party and the little man had a blast!

(Lovely photography by Kristine)

Hey

(from Etsy)

At last...(those little things)

We finally took care of a little detail item on our list that has always bothered us and we are SO glad because it looks great! Doesn't hurt when there's extra motivation (our painter starts prepping Monday for new exterior stain and new trim paint!). So, in addition to adding a few small missing trim pieces at the edge of the soffits around the first level, our awesome carpenter Tim took care of some very unfinished-looking, way too big drain openings at the upper deck (meanwhile the little guy supervised with great interest in his noisy saw...)

 

 

Here is what they looked like before:

We've  been in the house long enough - and through enough crazy rain and snow storms - to know the upper deck doesn't get that much water draining off, and Tim still left plenty of room, just made the openings much, much smaller. He simply replaced that entire board, and come next week, it will get fresh stain along with the rest of the house!

Next on the list: new front door hardware (be gone ornate bronze handleset!!) :)

Funny

I love this little notepad. From someone creative in Germany, available on Etsy. It cracks me up. This is my motto these days... my short term memory is a bit shot since baby arrived. But, my wise friend (and mom of two) promises it will return soon after baby turns one ... which is right around the corner! Let's hope she's right. In the meantime, I will write down all the things.

Trunk love

Love this from CB2.

Moss art

My jaw dropped open when I saw these in the latest Viva Terra catalog. Well, first I thought, "Oh, wow, they're selling versions of the little craft project husband and I did a few years ago... how funny!" And then I saw what they were charging... $200-500?! That's when my jaw dropped open. I couldn't wait to tell the husband their price for reindeer moss and hot glue (well, that's what we used) in a frame (we used a canvas ... but you could so easily use a frame and remove the glass!). Anyway... if you like the look, I highly encourage you to make your own, it only took us about ten minutes.

Here's our version as seen in some earlier posts:

First, as a little chartreuse pop above the guest bed in our last house.

And now as a hit of green at my workspace in our current house.

We do have a thing for green, but like to avoid anything faux as much as possible... this is why we really love the reindeer moss - real + zero watering is a good thing. And our piece cost less than $30 :)