gifts for gardeners 2

Hi everyone!

Here is a second group of etsy gift ideas...

1. Hand sewn tote and tools , may be monogrammed

2. a pack of 30 wood markers

3. an adorable 2015 wall calendar

4. a handmade journal for taking note of successes, failures and garden designs

5. love this test tube vase that is flexible

6. a vintage watering can with a great shape

7. cute raffia tied fruit gift tags

8. holiday cards in a botanical font

9. great linen garden dungarees 

For some more ideas I posted the other day, go here...

Thanks for visiting!

Cindy

etsy gifts for gardeners 1

Hi everyone!

The holiday season is upon us. 

Here are a few ideas for handmade gifts for gardeners found on etsy...

1. pretty vegetable gift tags tied with raffia made in the UK, so charming!

2. beautifully made garden tool and rack, birch handles, carbon steel, great reviews, what gardener would not want this special gift? 

3. a batik kitchen towel in the happiest color for grey winter days

4. vintage French enamel pitchers make perfect indoor watering cans for houseplants, this one is such a pretty blue

5. By Golly Bard is one of my favorite etsy artists, love this maidenhair fern print

6. gardener's soaps with cornmeal, shea, coconut oil, all the good stuff

7. an assortment of micro green herb seeds includes dill, radish, cilantro, flax, mustard greens and clover, ready to plant with instructions in reusable metal tins

8. a pretty linen pinafore apron is great for gardening, this one is made in Canada, it criss-crosses in the back

9. these embroidered veggie linen kitchen towels come in pairs and are made in Asheville, NC, a perfect hostess gift!

Happy gift giving! 

I have some more ideas for gardeners, will post a second group soon.

Thanks for visiting!

Cindy

two books for gift giving

Hi everyone!

Time to start the holiday season with some gift ideas.

Our daughter works in advertising at the digital magazine Apartment Therapy and its sister site, The Kitchn. The Kitchn released its first cookbook this fall and it makes a wonderful present for a new cook, a young couple or anyone wanting to reorganize and update an outdated kitchen with modern recipes, design ideas and equipment. It is so much more than a cookbook. 

Here is the description of the book by authors Sara Kate Gillingham and Faith Durand....

"The Kitchn Cookbook is not just a big collection of recipes (as much as we love them). Half of the book is devoted to all the other things that make cooking so essential and engaging, like principles for organizing your kitchen effectively, and the best tools to buy. We include 10 real-life kitchen tours, from sleek and modern to worn-in and friendly, and we offer tips and natural solutions for keeping the kitchen clean and tidy.

Only after your kitchen is ship-shape do we dive into food. We talk ingredients — meat, seafood, produce, pantry, and beyond — and we include 50 essential techniques for developing your own cooking skills and learning how to cook without recipes.

The 150 recipes are of course a big chunk of the book — but they're not just recipes brought over from the site. There are some perennial favorites, retested and rewritten (watch for some new flavors of that famous banana ice cream!), but most of the recipes are all-new, offering you healthy, homey cooking with little splashes of elegance."

It is stylish and practical with inspiring photographs throughout, I highly recommend it. Also their daily email updates are fun to receive, always great ideas and recipes. You can purchase The Kitchn Cookbook here on their site, also available at West Elm stores here and all the regular book sellers.

Next up is Inspired by Tradition/The Architecture of Norman Davenport Askins. It features fifteen homes by Atlanta architect Norman Askins. Known in the South for his traditional residential designs, he designed the remodel of our cottage 10 years ago and we are working with him on some ideas for an addition.  

It is a beautiful book! His architectural styles are quite varied. A Caribbean inspired home on Sea Island, GA

a mountain home in North Carolina

his in-town Italian villa in Atlanta 

and many more. The details in his designs are inspired and make each home unique. Here are just a few of my favorite images I took from my copy... the book has beautiful interior design and garden inspiration as well.  

This is such a pretty work space.

A perfect mountain porch.

 The most cozy warm mountain kitchen...

He uses metal doors in a traditional sunroom.

I love how an alcove becomes an elegant dining room in this Atlanta bungalow.

Photos from The Kitchn, West Elm, Norman Askins and my iPhone.

Thanks for visiting!

Cindy

perfect gift for a gardener

Carolyne Roehm, master gardener and lifestyle author's newest book is titled Flowers. It is filled with over 300 photographs she took of the flowers in her own gardens. She talks about the book, her home and gardens here...

Purchase Flowers here.

etsy stocking idea 4...mens grooming

Etsy is a great source of handmade shaving products for men. My husband and our sons tend to be traditionalists in the grooming department, they use shaving brushes with shaving soap. I purchased several Basil Lime Shaving Soaps made with olive oil from Smith Family Soapworks for stockings this year. They also make a Sandalwood scented soap.

A handmade shaving brush would be perfect to include with the soap. California woodworker Pat Camara makes these beautiful shaving brushes in your choice of 20 varieties of wood and many types of badger hair.

Smith Family Soapworks creates shaving soaps for ladies too. Love this Lavender Shaving Soap and their Olive Butter in my favorite fresh Lemon Verbena scent would be nice to try.

etsy stocking idea 2...linen apron

For a favorite cook, love this perfect linen apron made by Studio Patro in San Francisco. Why not roll it together with a beautiful maple wooden spoon handmade by Chicago woodworker Tim Pursell?

Just for fun, add in this fun Studio Patro dish towel too!

little gifts

This morning I prepared some small gifts to give. As I was doing that, I received some small gifts too. I am giving wristlet key chains in cute patterns made by Abby Frey to ten of my soccer lady friends that I have been sitting with all these years as we watched our sons play. Pairing them with pretty sticky notes made by Michelle Brusegaard. The boys are seniors, their final season has just ended. Sad.

As I was wrapping the presents, I spotted a splash of pink in the border out the kitchen window. Needed to put my boots on and check it out. A brave pink clematis, clinging to its tuteur, decided to put on a show right before its bedtime. It stands out among the leaf covered bed. 

Green Jewel Echinacea at the other end of the bed is still hanging on too, despite a week of temperatures in the 40's, ten inches of rain and several days of high winds from Hurricane Sandy. We leave a blanket of leaves on all the beds to protect and enrich the plants over the winter. Most years we are covered in snow most of the winter, with the exception of last year when we experienced several melts. We will see what this year brings. The perennials and ground covers pop though in the spring, the leaf cover decomposes, enriching the soil.

As I am writing this, another little gift just appeared! Can you tell what it is?

Sunlight! 

Something we have not seen in 8 days! Have a warm cozy weekend everyone! Hope you see some sun! 

stylish serendipity photos

Anthro gifts

Stumped for a special gift? Just head to Anthropologie! You can always find something special there. How about...

an adorable set of greeting note cards  paired with a beautiful pen?

a  unique tumbler for a friend's bath or bedside paired with a bottle of sparkling water?

an all natural bar of soap (purchase also supports charities) paired with a bamboo soap dish?

a pretty opalescent bracelet wrapped in a handmade drawstring bag?

 or  paired with a pretty plate to place jewelry on a bedside table

or a brass topped chemist's jar filled with a favorite candy?

or  a sweet apron for a little girl, paired with a cake or cookie mix and silicone spatula?

or a funky cheese knife, paired with a favorite block of cheese and a few Honeycrisp apples?

or some fun sticky notes paired with a set of thin tipped markers?