Oxo Tot

We are big fans of Oxo Tot, Oxo's line dedicated to little ones as they learn to use utensils and bowls and what not. Their product line is not cutesy or over-embellished; rather it's modern and sleek, while still feeling playful and fun. We have all of these items, except for the booster (I just think it's so well designed, and have a feeling we'll be ordering it in soon enough). The Oxo Tot product line definitely stands out among all the other brands from an aesthetic perspective, and I love to give praise to the companies that "get" the appeal of style and simplicity in product design for kids' stuff. Well done! 

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)

Modern Cottage mailbox

Love at first sight. To make it perfectly Modern Cottage, I'd paint the flag pale blue or white. Can you imagine??

Happy workspace

We decided recently to freshen up our office. It had become a bit cluttered and messy, and just wasn't a place we looked forward to using. So I did a super edit! Anything that wasn't serving a purpose or that simply felt busy/distracting/clutter-y, I found a new home for. I also plan to have a long shelf added in the closet for easy access to papers and such that require immediate attention, and this way they won't stack up on my desk! And I got the husband one of these cool boxes from Container Store for his desk, so that when he's done working for the day, he can stow any papers and notes inside and have an instantly cleared off desk. And he uses it! Bonus. I mentioned wanting to create a little collection above my desk here, and this is how it turned out. We rigged the two-photo hinged frame to hang vertically and think it's really fun this way. A couple of similar but not matchy frames keep it fresh. And the mossy piece of 'art' was a little project we completed a few years ago (husband couldn't believe I'd never used a hot glue gun :) Unusual? Sure... but you know us, we're all about green (you may recall seeing it here at our old house). Now we love working in here and instantly feel more sane organized. Got to take advantage of that organizational energy when inspiration strikes! Hope your workspace is happy, too :)

Modern Cottage picnic

It's been ages since we went on a picnic, but this past Mother's Day, we did just that! It was a gorgeous sunny day and so nice to just relax on a blanket by the lake with some yummy snacks.

It got me wanting to have more picnic afternoons, and these items would be so perfect...

From top: Martha Stewart melamine dishware, waterproof blanket from Etsy, cooler and flatware from Crate and Barrel, and a tasty-looking turkey caprese sandwich recipe also from Martha. Now I just need to hunt down a great beach umbrella!

Sun faded beauties

We're all about white here at Modern Cottage ... particularly with flowers. But one of our three prized peonies starts out blooming almost hot pink. I chose it because I wanted an orangey color to contrast the the two white varieties (and didn't realize it would be quite so pink at first). The flowers don't actually go from pink to orange until they are almost ready to fall off the stem. However, I have to say I think these peonies look their best when they're at maximum "bloomage" :) They look relaxed and sun-faded, like they've enjoyed the perfect summer: lazy days at the beach, bare feet in the grass, savory al fresco dinners off the grill... (if flowers could enjoy these things, that is). It's  not really possible of course - A, they're flowers, and B, we've only had a couple days of summery weather so far. But maybe it's the promise they hold for a summer like this to come. I know, I know, I am a bit obsessed with the peonies. I don't talk to them or anything. But they really do make me happy! Plus there's just something extra pleasing about bringing fresh flowers from your own garden indoors to enjoy.

A pop of sunshine

I got a little yellow fix. Just an empty San Marzano tomato can I spray painted, nothing for the husband to have fretted about. So sweet with these flowers, is it not? And when my peonies open up, those babies are so going in there.

Yellow fixation

I don't know what's come over me but I've recently become fixated on yellow. Not pale, subtle yellow - bold, golden yellow. The husband is not sure what to make of it. He is giving me concerned looks. Have you ever felt more cheerful when you wear yellow? I think it's a real thing. So maybe it's stemming from that... a desire for sunshine and all-around good cheer. I think it can make a great pop of bold color in an otherwise clean and simple Modern Cottage. I'm not talking walls of it. Just a few hits. Like these pendant lights from West Elm. Hello! Such a steal on sale. I feel dangerously like stockpiling them for future projects. Speaking of hello ... this hello sign is exceptionally cheery as well.

On Saturday I came across a Winston Churchill quote ... to me it's a great sentiment to live in the moment and appreciate and enjoy what is happening in our lives now. So I (cheerfully) printed it out in sunshine yellow. Then I framed it. I'm not making this up. Here's the proof:

I'm planning to create a fun art grouping in our office and thought he could join in. Ah, but I didn't stop there. Nope, I also picked a can of golden-yellow spray paint. I figured if I could get a little hit of yellow I could work my way out of  Anxious Design Mode (that's when one's brain works overtime designing and re-designing in one's head, with inspiration and ideas jostling around willy-nilly in mass chaos). I have some ideas about where I might use it (husband is worried) and when I figure that out I'll report back. Who knows, it may be a fleeting fixation... but a $5 can of spray paint never hurt anyone. Here's hoping your week is filled with sunshine, too!

Springtime indoors

You may have noticed by now our affinity for cheerful greens throughout our Modern Cottage designs, whether used in accessories, indoor/outdoor plants, or both. We especially love our indoor plants which add such life to a space and look extra fresh and glowy when the sunlight pours in on them. We like to house them in great vintage finds, like this old metal tub. Old buckets (galvanized, enameled, etc) work well, too. And these bright blooms are modern and playful. They have a pretty long life span for cut flowers!

Easter egg experiment

We realized late last night we had forgotten the Easter egg dye at the store earlier. And, of course everyone was sold out (we had hoped to get something all-natural). So, we took to the internet thinking there must be some homemade methods using foods and what not and found tons of ideas. We went with a few recipes from Better Homes and Gardens in the end:

We got yellow eggs using tumeric; blue eggs using red cabbage; and gorgeous green eggs by mixing a separate dish with part of the yellow/tumeric mixture and part of the blue/cabbage mixture (it turned an odd dark orange in the dish, but the eggs still dyed green). They all came out a little different, some with spots, some pale and uniform.

I was certain the cabbage dye was going to turn the eggs purple, but indeed they dried blue!

I think they are stunningly beautiful (as far as Easter eggs go :) and now we are super excited to color eggs this way each year.

And here is the little pail our guy used for his first ever egg hunt... (assisted by Dad, of course :)

Happy Easter!

Modern Cottage Mobile

We really wanted something minimalistic yet beautiful and interesting for baby's mobile. It's been quite a challenge hunting down baby items that are simple and stylish. I knew from the moment I discovered this photo mobile I was on to something good - clean, modern lines and grippy little clips which allow total customization! We considered black and white family photos but with the photo wall we planned to create above the changing "cart" I was worried this would feel too photo-heavy and overall too busy. Enter these super cool bright green grassy looking spheres (yes, that's their official name :) that I purchased at Molbak's, one of our favorite garden stores. They have a huge gifts and housewares section and these cheerful little guys were sold in packs of six. The mobile's grippy clips grasped their spiky plastic blades securely, resulting in a modern, playful mobile that added the perfect hit of green to go with Scout's silhouette and the green glass vessels on top of the armoire.

(Photos by Kristine Sitko)

Punchy doors

We decided to keep two of the existing exterior doors ... one being this lighted door (because I thought with some sanding and a fresh coat, it could be quite charming) and the other being the garage door (because I knew we could tie them together with paint, and it's a fire door). The color turned out perfectly! It adds loads of personality and makes the whole place feel a lot more modern and stylish then plain white doors would. You may recall the outdoor sconces from this post ... yes, we planned to use them indoors from the get go, and they add such amazing modern ambiance and interest. The oversized look is perfect for this space, and throughout the rest of the room (more to come on that). Well-played, sconces! By the way, here is what these doors looked like before: