Style, books, decor, travel, life…
As spring gets underway, I’m really feeling these lovely shades of goldenrod/mustard/yellow. Something about these sunshine-y hues makes me smile every time. Just the thing to brighten a Monday!
Here are a few items I’ve added to my own home, or have been eyeing:
Next in my little series on makers I love and support, allow me to introduce Block Shop textiles. I love their products, and love their company ethos. Their Oxbow scarf is draped around my neck as I type this!
Block Shop is a textile studio run by two sisters based in Los Angeles and Jaipur. They design on paper, print with wooden blocks, and dye in small batches. And the best part? Not only do they employ local artisans and use vegetable and mineral dyes in keeping with local textile traditions, they invest 5% of annual profits in their Bagru women’s empowerment program.
Their website and Instagram have photos and videos that highlight the hand block printing process, which fascinated and delighted me. It is so easy to buy things with a click these days that I think our curiosity about making and creating has fallen by the wayside. Block Shop is doing a great job reawakening inquisitiveness.
Block Shop’s textiles are simple and beautiful, and I covet the serene simplicity of their woodblock prints. This bright and cozy corner designed by Emily Henderson is everything I want in a room. And I would fill my entire house with their pillows and quilts if I could!
With Block Shop textiles, I love that I can feel good about the products they offer. I can purchase a well-considered item to have and use forever, created by hand with time-honored methods. I hope you find a little inspiration in what they do, and perhaps something beautiful for your own home as well!
It’s Friday, and with Easter just a couple days away, I am ready for sunny spring days in the hammock. As I daydream about warm lazy afternoons, here are my picks for a patio refresh to make my R&R feel that much more stylish.
For years my ideal refuge has consisted of tea, a blanket, and a good book. This is the trinity, my ideal, the combination of things I most long for amidst the bustle of each busy week. This Monday, here is a round up to celebrate that favorite combination of mine. It may be a bit of a tease, knowing that I have a full work week ahead, but let’s just consider it motivation instead, shall we?
I’d love to curl up in this super-soft alpaca throw from The Citizenry, and I’d be doubly happy knowing it is fair trade from talented artisans. This mouse creamer makes me smile so much, and it would be a great companion to my ceramic mugs. They have an angled top edge, all the better to inhale all those lovely aromas from renowned tea merchants Fornum & Mason. I’ll use my trusty Bonavita kettle, for the optimal brew temperature every time.
Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore is a romp of a read, and a delight for people who love books about books! Mysterious, amusing, and thought-provoking by turns, I read this in a weekend.
All the Light We Cannot See, “about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II,” is on my list to read soon, and I can’t wait to dive in. By all accounts a beautiful novel.
The Builders was described to me by a good friend as “part brutal Wild West and part dark-edged fantasy.” Reading it was delightfully nostalgic, as though the Redwall novels of my childhood had grown up and gotten some extra bite. Yes, there are talking animals, but this is not a bedtime story. A thoroughly engaging read.
On the list of things I never thought I would be excited about, coasters were near the top of the list. Actually, they were never really even on the list, they were so incredibly far off of my radar. Coasters. Those unattractive things that people sort of politely and awkwardly feel the need to use if they are a guest in someone else’s home, and only if they catch a glimpse of them before setting down a glass, but otherwise never think about. And yet, here I am. Excited. About coasters.
–cue the collective gasps–
It all began with our new refrigerator. For the first time ever we had a fridge with a water and ice dispenser in the door, and a water line that was actually hooked up. (I know I am incredibly late to the game on this.) We had an easy and unlimited supply of ice for every beverage need. It was magical! Convenient! And soon, an annoyance I never could have seen coming. Dun dun dunnn…
In general I don’t add ice to my drinks at home — the chill from the fridge is more than enough for me. My dear sweet husband, however, was over the moon with our newly available ice supply, and filled his water glass with ice repeatedly and with great satisfaction. Enter… the puddles. All of a sudden, there were puddles of water on almost every horizontal surface in our house. I could not put down anything without a very high likelihood of it getting wet. Mail. An Amazon return label. My purse when I got home. A receipt. You name it. I had purchased some pretty marble coasters years ago out of an obligation to have something for when a guest looked around guiltily holding a glass aloft, but on the rare occasion they were used, puddles formed on them, too! And then eventually they dripped to create new puddles on the surface below.
Enter… the sale email from Bloomingdale’s. They had a clearance sale going on, and I spied some cute pink and grey mosaic tile-looking things that turned out to be Thirstystone coasters. They were adorable! They were only $9 for a set! They absorb the condensation instead of creating puddles! I am now the overly-excited-but-also-very-satisfied owner of a new set of coasters. They are solving a problem I never knew I would have, and they are doing so very prettily. And so, coasters of all things? They have now moved solidly onto to list of things I take a weird satisfaction from. If you, too, have an odd desire for excellently functional coasters, you can find them here. And while you order those, I will be setting my mail down without fear.
–cue the collective sighs of relief–
I’m so smitten with this Etsy print, Nadadora II by the talented Blanca Gomez. It would pair beautifully with a tinted mirror for an entry, perhaps one of these lovelies below?
So much good art out there, and too little wall space!
This weekend I took a few days off and headed to San Francisco, where I spent one delightful and inspiring afternoon at Heath Ceramics. I wanted to bring everything home! then figured it would be easier to just live in their glorious store! Spoiler: I finally settled for a pair of beautiful items to bring home and some lovely photos to share.
Founded in Sausalito, California, in 1948, Heath Ceramics products are handcrafted by skilled artisans in small runs in the Bay Area. They believe in “making good things for good people—the right way,” which is a philosophy that I love and support 100%.
On this day of love, I thought I would post an ode to my first love: reading. I have been an avid reader for as long as I can remember, and devouring books was one of my great joys as a child. Here are a few places I’d love to curl up and read, along with the book I’d likely be engrossed in. Enjoy, and happy Valentine’s Day!
From the green velvet chair to the perfect blush paint up the stairwell, I love every bit of this little study nook. The warm wood, gold accents, and mix of greens are perfection. It would be the perfect place to settle in and take notes on The Vanishing Princess.
Jenny Diski explores femininity in quietly subversive ways throughout this collection. Her stories are luminous, dark, and sexy by turns, and by the time you reach the end, you’ll realize she’s turned convention inside-out without you realizing it. You’re through the looking glass, and not at all unhappy to be there. An incredibly thoughtful read.
This moody bedroom is the perfect place to curl up and explore the feminine psyche. Perfectly rumpled linen bedding? Check. Clean white accents? Check. Plants and pottery? Double check. All you need to add is a cup of tea and some poetry by Jeanann Verlee.
Verlee’s work is striking, honest, and beautiful in Said the Manic to the Muse. Each poem is a slice of womanhood in all its complex, labyrinthine power. A volume to ponder.
This eclectic, light-filled room would be the perfect place to linger. The juxtaposition of the sculpture, ceramics, and modern painting is a delight, and the herringbone flooring paired with that beautiful wood cabinet? Be still, my heart! Amidst the slanting sunlight, I’d relax with A Gentleman in Moscow.
Perhaps my favorite book I read last year, Amor Towles’ rich prose delights with every turn of the page, and the cast of characters glows against the backdrop of a Moscow that changes over decades. While I usually read quickly, this was a book I savored.
Happy reading!
Voilà! As a followup to my new desk plans I shared last week, here is a peek at the final result. I am so happy to have a more functional space — and it is much more inspiring, too!
In other news, I am converting back to a laptop after many years with just a desktop, and it is such a game-changer (she realizes sheepishly). Internet browsing in bed! Look, I’m typing in the living room! Sometimes it is the little things.
This lovely sentiment is on my mind today. Only a week until Valentine’s Day!
Pink&GreenMusings 