Carrots, Cottontails & Creativity....

Out this month is a book by American landscape designer Marta McDowell, who lends a snapshot into Beatrix Potter's inspiration for her imaginative children's books. An interview with the New York Times reveals that McDowell's trip to Hill Top Farm (Beatrix Potter's home in England) was a moment of a creative awakening for the book, as she meandered through an overgrown yet fragrant sea of summer roses, sunshine and gooseberries. You can buy Beatrix Potter's Gardening Life: The Plants and Places That Inspired the Classic Children's Tales here. How lovely! Explore Beatrix Potter's 17th-century Hill Top Farm, here.

WSJ House of the Day

It takes a lot for me to get excited about a house, and when I do, there is no turning back. Part of my morning routine includes scouring the WSJ House of the Day section and I was pleasantly pleased to see the Ocean State get some love. The home above, is currently on the market in the lovely town of Little Compton, Rhode Island. I've spent a great deal of time in this particular neighborhood, having grown up just a town over. The ease, stillness and beauty of the area is inexplicable to articulate, it's simply a very special part of our country. The home would make a wonderful summer home, I hope someone scoops her up soon!

Mott & Chace of Sotheby's International Realty has the listing.

I Mean.....

Jessica Chastain just landed her first VOGUE cover this December and my jaw just about dropped when I saw this photograph. Although this isn't the cover, I am perpetually taken by how Jessica epitomizes true Hollywood glamour. It takes a rare breed these days and she sure as hell nails it, over and over again.  Looking forward to reading the full article.

The Gift That Never Fails...

My Father is the King of practicality, particularly when it comes to gift giving. One Christmas, he gave my boyfriend at the time a jug of windshield wiper fluid for "driving in the cold New England weather". I was horrified.

Growing up, we had both a fireplace and woodstove in our home. The woodstove provided significantly more heat to our house and was also the inspiration for a rather interesting maple syrup making experiment (which may or may not have involved tapping our neighbors' trees).  Every late Fall, my family and I would spend hours stacking firewood for the season. I quickly learned the value of quality firewood and especially, kindling.

One of my favorite "never fail" seasonal gifts is L.L.Bean's Fatwood Sack. The kindling comes in a burlap sack and is the perfect practical component to a warm winter fire. It's a great gift to bring to friends that have fires in their home, or if you're headed north to Vermont and other snowy states for a ski weekend, you'll make instant friends after a cold day on the slopes. Dress the bag up with a fun ribbon and voilà!