If you’d like to receive it…
December 5, 2012
chances are you know someone who would like to receive it as well. Small personal indulgences are a great start when putting together your gift list. Most of us have what we want or need but sometimes hesitate when it comes to purchasing for ourselves something small that is pure pleasure. These are exactly the items we need to help get us through tough economic times…or really just take the edge off, no matter how simple. When gifted, items like those I have selected here are really most welcome. And, to make a simplequietmodern exercise of it, see if you can select an item that crosses age and gender lines and purchase in multiples. That was easy…check , check , check and check… four down…
Small batch Ginger Syrup for a kick ass Moscow Mule.http://www.morriskitchen.com/product-lists/ginger-syrup
Something “green” for the skin touched with the essence of Winter.http://www.shopterrain.com/gifts-under-50/winter-greens-bath-collection/productOptionIDs/bd0459cc-8958-45c4-b120-330bd8a8856a
A holiday bud vase providing that great shot of red everyday of the year.http://www.heathceramics.com/cook-dine/bud-vase.html
The perfect ice cream bowl in a quiet matte glaze. http://www.heathceramics.com/cook-dine/cafe-bowl.html#p68
From where the craze started, Sprinkles, gourmet cupcake mixes.http://www.sprinkles.com/cupcake-gifts/cupcake-mix/
Modern wooden spreaders to spread it around.http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/search/search.jsp?searchPhrase=wooden+spreaders
Bourbon barrel maple syrup to glaze up some bacon.http://mikuni.myshopify.com/collections/all/products/tonic-01-tuthilltown-bourbon-barrel-matured-maple-syrup
Purl Soho Learn to Knit kit. If they’re knitting, they’re not texting you.http://www.purlbee.com/the-purl-bee/2012/11/13/new-purl-sohos-learn-to-knit-kit.html
Flip a coin…
November 29, 2012
because you won’t be able to decide. Leucadendron and kumquat or Silvertree and succulent rosettes? Both of these magnificent creations designed by Flora Grubb and Susie Nadler of Flora Grubb Gardens will make quite a simplequietmodern statement this Christmas whether you’re keeping it for yourself or gifting it to someone special. How much fun to inject some of this modern California artistry into a traditional mid-west or east coast setting? With either of these choices it will be a Christmas you ( or the recipient ) won’t soon forget. I’ve got the quarter….OK , call it!
Skirting the issue…
November 26, 2012
here is never the answer. Neither is an old bed sheet tossed around the base of your Christmas tree. Enter this woven tree skirt. It does the job of camouflaging the tree stand, and it does it with simple quiet style…especially if you are going the natural route. Around the base an untrimmed fir as illustrated…you are done and done. Or, if you must, dress it in simple white lights and a sprinkling of cones. Lovely.
Where are my keys?
November 14, 2012
In this bowl…by the door. A simplequietmodern solution to one of life’s great annoyances. Place this bowl from Manor Fine Wares …cut , hollowed and polished from a large river rock…on your entry table and the mystery is forever solved. And, with plenty of room for your sunglasses as well. Done and done, a two-fer! Or, perhaps it could be put to use in your dressing area as a receptacle for your watch and pocket change. Surely this would be a most welcome gift for someone on your list this Christmas so you might as well order up two.
White Paper Packages
November 8, 2012
There is nothing like white tissue and jute twine in the simplequietmodern gift wrap arsenal. Half the fun of opening the gift is the accompanying sounds of crisp tissue, crackling cellophane or the snap of a glossy paper. If you start with the basics…a ream of white tissue…a ball of jute cord…and the free bits that Mother Nature herself gifts us…you are ready to settle into your night of distinctive gift wrapping. If there is an item that needs a bit of a special touch or simply needs to be addressed differently you can add a double-faced satin or grosgrain ribbon ( white, charcoal or darkest brown would be the way to go) or a roll of clear cellophane for that icy gloss to your supplies. Best of all, most everything you’ve used is not only cost sensitive, but easily available and reusable or recyclable. It doesn’t get any more simplequietmodern than that.
Hindsight, as they say…
November 5, 2012
is 20/20 vision. If you could see that clearly you would have been gathering up the vintage glass ornaments and trims of years past from your wish list during the seasons where Christmas was the last thing on your mind. Now that the “crunch” is clearly visible , time available to scour the local flea markets and antique shops is narrowing or non-existent. Enter Plan B, like this vintage inspired wreath from Terrain, created from an assortmnent of ornaments that recall your fondest memories of Christmases that have come and gone. Perfect… the look you want…now, and an anchor for all of the new (old) pieces you’ll be scouting out starting in January. Right? Or are we going to go through this again next year?
Feeling a little Hollywood Regency? These bottle brush trees can help you capture that…perfect for that MidCentury Christmas feel. Spot a few around, turn up the Dean Martin Christmas album and transport yourself to 1966. Ahhh, swanky.
Fall Back
November 2, 2012
Now we’re moving into the graying image that is Fall’s second act. Changing intensities of light, neutralized color,texture and material will be peaking my interests and guiding me creatively through the next two months. Turning the clock back an hour seems like a simple action, yet the very next day everything looks different…quiet somehow. A “palate cleanser” perhaps before we gear up for the holidays that lie ahead.
You might try a visit to these links for some additional Autumn inspiration.
Really, is this the look
October 24, 2012
you’re going for? Thanksgiving will be here before you know it and you will be entertaining family and friends with 2 bare wires sticking out of your dining room ceiling… still. Pretty. Why is making this decision so hard when there is a simple solution…a George Nelson Bubble Lamp. Classic, simplequietmodern (since it’s introduction in 1947) …and available in enough shapes and sizes to be the perfect lighting selection for a dining room of any size or style direction. Get the scale right and the quiet statement will be deafening. So there you have it, decision made.
http://hivemodern.com/pages/product951/modernica-nelson-bubble-xl-bell
If you’re lucky,
October 18, 2012
while out for a country ” color tour” this month you might just happen upon some of these. What appears at first glance to be the remnants of a tennis ball “spill” along the roadside turns out to be one of my Fall fovorites…the Osage Orange. I look forward each year to collecting them for use as a seasonal decoration, filling bowls or vases with their bright chartreuse color and appealing texture. In a temperate interior they can easily last for 2-3 months providing not only a great burst of color but naturally repelling spiders in the process.
It’s not too early
October 15, 2012
to get those holiday plans committed to paper. Lists for invitations, cards to be sent, ingredients to be purchased or projects around the house to complete…it’s all easier to accomplish once you have committed it to paper. That makes it real, do-able…and you have a punch list to strike off as each task is complete. By the time December 1st comes you’ll be so far ahead of the game you can easily roll with the punches of a changed plan, or relax with a smart cocktail as you await the magic. 
simplequietmodern 