flowers for friday

  flowers for friday, the holiday addition. The other night I wired together some evergreen branches  to make this wispy little wreath. A long sprig of pink pepper berry and a yellow velvet ribbon for embellishment. a voila´

a few collected bottles rounded up on this pewter charger and filled with different sprigs of evergreen, vintage ornaments and candles 

hope you have a fun filled weekend ahead. 


xx

Soon

 ........

winter table

a winter tablescape so soft it whispers. it looks like it would be such a magical setting for a big gathering 

friends and family this holiday season. the white & blue seem an unexpected but welcome choice. 

 I especially love how stunning it looks with the evergreen tree at the corner of the table  

images via: olof jakobina 

monday mood board

yesterday in the fabric store i watched in awe as the girl in front of me pulled bolt after beautiful bolt from her stack. moody deep blues, stripes and checks, sheer window pane white and soft creams of various tones. I found myself thinking about her choices for the rest of the day and into the evening. 


Such lovely choices. I have no idea what she was going to use them for but I imagined a pretty line of new spring clothes, a bit girlie but perfectly casual ~ who knows but her choices became my inspiration for this monday mood board. 






bowls, chocolate bar, cups and saucers, buffalo check, whisk & spoon, stripes & silver, wine cups. 

flowers for friday

its the time of year when not much seems to be growing, so i always love to force bulbs. I finally got around to ordering some from here & put together my little planters this year from a collection of vintage jelly molds. I have some others up in the shop if you would like to make your own. they fit perfectly on the windowsill and its well worth the little bit of effort. 

I also came across this idea and just fell in love with the whole look. Don't you love that cool marmalade jar with the lip?! haven't seen one like it before. As I have something similar to each of these vessels already in the house I might make up something this weekend. 


What are you up to ? 


images: cottagefarm, wit&delight 

Gense

I love when something I have purchased for the shop leads me to a whole new company. such is the case with this little set of chic swedish cocktail forks. I liked them for their sleek design and for that extra long center tine, but the name on the back, gense, lead me to a company I have not yet encountered. 


In production for over 150 years they have produced some pretty smart pieces over those years. 
below are a few of my favorite contemporary designs, all available from Fjorn (a beautiful scandinavian design site)

all images via fjorn

Gluten Free Pumpkin Bread

• this bread is a treat for breakfast, spread with a little cream cheese for an even tastier morning. The recipe can also be made with regular all purpose flour. measurements are the same, just omit the 
• • • xanthan gum 
• 
  
• 1 stick of butter, softened 
• 3 cups sugar
• 3 eggs
• 3 cups all-purpose gluten free flour
• 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum 
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh grated cinnamon
• 1 teaspoons fresh grated cloves
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh grated nutmeg
• 1 (16 ounce) can solid pack pumpkin
• 
  

☛ ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

• 1. 
     
• 1. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar and beat until smooth. In a separate bowl very lightly beat eggs then add it to the creamed butter and sugar; mix well. Slowly sift in flour, baking soda, baking powder and xanthan gum; stir into creamed mixture just until moistened. Stir in pumpkin until mixture is smooth. *I begin to add fresh grated spices slowly tasting the batter as I go. the above measurements are only approximations of how much spices I add to any one batch of batter. When you are happy with the level of spice, Pour into two greased and floured pans (remember to use GF flour for this step) 9-in. x 5-in. x 3-in. loaf pans. Sprinkle top liberally. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until bread tests done.

little bits of light

do you ever find you've got something on the brain and you see it everywhere and think about it a hundred different times during the day? well i have tiny lamps on the brain. I keep finding myself scanning places and photos for these tiny bearers of light. And I love that I have been finding them in the most unexpected of places. 

images: the inspired room, archive for the international, a thoughtful eye 

around the house

a few scenes from the east coast

 and of course the darling of it all, queen meabh 

sasha seamour

i recently stumbled across the website of Sasha Seymour, a prop and food stylist from the toronto area. Im loving the dark moody still lives. They so remind me of dutch paintings. I feel like rarely do you see a photography with so much piled into it so perfectly. Usually they just end up looking cluttered to me, but these are so beautiful in their simple decadence. 

winter whites

i love forcing bulbs at this time of year in answer to those dark winter days. they are such a pretty way to bring a bit of life into the house and couldn't be more simple care for. a few pebbles in the bottom of a pretty low dish, nestle the bulbs on top, add a bit of water just to the bottom of each bulb and wait. 

i love the selection of paper whites and amaryllis at White Flower Farm

kitchen bulbs, paperwhites, bulb bag, amaryllis alfresco, lima amaryllis 

Cottage Farm: A Winter Collection

i hope everyone has had a lovely week. i have been having a wonderful time on the east coast seeing family and friends. It has been an amazing vacation thus far. Im excited to get back to san francisco and put up my holiday decorations. Have you done anything special for the holidays yet?

There are some changes to the look and organization over at Cottage Farm and lots of new items being listed as part of the winter collection. look for them over the next few days.   

monday mood board

images: peony, roast chicken, paper houses, pewter chargers, table setting, lights, hair, kitchen, trees 

flowers for friday

this arrangement from studio choo captures perfectly the transition at this time of year. The weather here in San Francisco has definitely taken a turn and im finding it a bit hard to adjust to the afternoon darkness. I have been remiss here on the blog but inspiration seems to be eluding me these past few weeks. Im eager for the thanksgiving break - to head home to new england and visit my family. It will be nice to have everyone around the table. what are you plans? 


also, if you are in the bay area - don't forget to come say hi tomorrow at the New Taste Marketplace! 

New Taste Marketplace

Cottage Farm will be participating in the New Taste Marketplace this coming saturday. It will be filled with amazing food vendors, artists and a certain vintage shop. Get a jump on your holiday shopping - 
and this event helps support the local food bank. 


hope to see you there

LA road trip

this weekend we made a little trip down to LA for a friends wedding. I hadnt been on a big long car ride for so long & I love road trips! so on friday morning we packed the car, grabbed some coffee and we were off.  It was a fabulous (but way to short) weekend. I loved my trip to the LACMA. Its one of my most favorite museums and the California Design exhibit was the cherry on top! 

crazy amazing fonts ~ 

I cant wait to head back !!

sneak peek

whats to come at Cottage Farm