It’s Sunday so we’re kicking it off with something real fun: LINKS! Shocking I know but we like to keep you on your toes:) It’s been a year of a month already so just take it easy today and do something nice for yourself. But first, links…
This week’s home tour is an insanely charming Amsterdam tavern turned home. The space has so many wild quirks and design risks (check out the sconces above the bed) and is full of vintage character. It’s designed, styled, and photographed by Helma Bongenaar and it’s incredible – AMAZING JOB, HELMA!
From Emily: Two of my friends recommended these – TWO. They are washable paper towels. What makes them different than just rags is that they roll back onto a roll by sticking to each other. It’s more work for sure and they are an initial investment but so far I love them. Plus they are made in Oregon which makes me feel good.
From Caitlin: I’ve written before about my mom’s practical gift-giving prowess, but she knocked it out of the park this year with this flat-pack travel neck support. I’m a pretty frequent flier (clocked 26,000 miles in 2021 which wasn’t too shabby seeing as, uh, the world was/is ending) and this is SO much better than the inflatable pillow I’d been using previously. Full stamp of approval from me and such a great idea for any travelers out there!!!
Also From Caitlin: I made my first clothing purchase of 2022 and I’m so jazzed about it!! I grabbed this UNREAL, very literal scarf from a small business called Verloop Knits (seriously – you gotta look at it – literal) and I was blown away by their customer service. I made an error during checkout, emailed them at 11:41 PM to ask for help, and they responded and fixed everything by 7:43!!! In the morning!!! Verloop’s a sustainable brand that stocks everything from home goods to balaclavas and I feel like I’ve discovered the motherlode: cool products, kind people, reasonable prices, AND it’s all environmentally friendly. BIG FAN. 🙂
From Jess: For Christmas, my friend got me two amazing spray travel hand sanitizers that smell GOOD and take up almost zero space in my purse. I have the Bergamot and Eucalyptus ones. If there was ever a chic but actually awesome hand sanitizer it would be these.
Also From Jess: My jaw dropped when I first saw this dress and I think everyone should know about it.
From Ryann: Have you guys tried wordle yet?? It’s a daily word game where you have to guess a 5 letter word in 6 tries. It has really brought out my competitive side because every day I text my fiance to see if he’s solved it and in how many guesses. I don’t think he knows we are competing but we absolutely are. It’s also become a positive part of my morning routine and is something I look forward to doing every day. It pairs great with morning coffee and is just a good brain teaser to start the day with.
From Mallory: I’ve been craving wearing houndstooth lately (anyone else? lol) and I was SO thrilled when I found this coat on sale at Nordstrom. I’ve worn it every day since I got it!! It’s warm & stylish and I’m heavily into the style. I’ve been wearing it with these boots I got for Christmas (they’re $100 off right now!!) and it’s my go-to outfit right now. FYI, online it says that it runs small but if anything I think it runs normal/on the bigger side. It’s a looser fit on the body – I got a 2 and it fits my broad shoulders and incredibly long arms if you’re curious 🙂
Have a beautiful rest of your day and see you all tomorrow. xx
Opening Image Credit: Design, Photography and Styling by Helma Bongenaar | via Remodelista
Thank you for a different kind of house tour this week. So appreciated! Keep up the great work EHD team and thank you for all the awesome posts!
Target has small gray wash cloths in the kitchen section that are the perfect size, thickness and color. They have been a great addition to my mostly hand me down and gifted bucket of rags for all our every day cleaning. When I use paper towels now I am shocked at how inefficient they are.
I switched to the gray washcloths last year, too! I love them.
Over lockdown I made a resolution to avoid Amazon unless absolutely necessary and I discovered that most times you can search on Amazon then order online direct from the original producer or another non-Amazon seller, cutting Mr Bezos out of the loop (according to study by the US’s Institute for Policy Studies, he increased his personal wealth by 65 billion dollars during the period March 18, 2020 to March 18, 2021). It sometimes takes a bit of googling, and you will probably end up paying shipping that you may not have had to pay on Amazon, but so far the total price difference has been negligible and I know I’m supporting small and local businesses directly, not multi-billionaires. The satisfaction from this is worth the little bit extra, I can highly recommend it. So I did a bit of Googling, and you can buy the the 24 pack of un-paper towels direct from Marley’s Monsters here, and let Jeff Bezos fund his own jaunts into space. On the Marley’s Monsters website they cost $58, versus the $64 on Amazon – and all of this goes to them directly, with no cut for Mr Bezos. You may get free shipping on… Read more »
Herself … you’re my hero of the day!! 👏
Great work! 🤗
Amen, Herself. The shop I buy Marley’s from including their reusable toilet paper (sounds strange but with a bidet it’s one hundred million times better than throw away TP) is the Package Free Shop. https://packagefreeshop.com/
They’re a zero waste store based in Brooklyn that is my home base for improving my zero-waste game. They have sales all of the time (like right now 60% off) and you earn points when you shop AND they’re a small woman owned company. They’re the best! Keep it up, Em and crew.
Ooh, and way more fun patterns than on Amazon too!
Happy weekend everyone! I recently found a really cute etsy shop that makes beautiful artificial plants – they’re made from reused fabric so no plastic in sight and pretty earth-friendly all in all. They are absolutely stunning pieces of art and come in a variety of sizes. I thought you all might appreciate them too 😉 The shop is on a short holiday at the moment but you should absolutely check them out – I desperately want some 😀 https://www.etsy.com/de/shop/FrondescenceShop?ref=nla_listing_details
W.o.w.z.a!!
Fabulous find!
Yes to Wordle – I’ve only been playing for 3 weeks but I’m totally hooked! That and the NYT Spelling Bee are daily must-dos for me.
Wordle 211 2/6
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Ryann … “I don’t think he knows we are competing but we absolutely are.” Too funny and cute!!!🤣🤣
I get bummed with Amazon everything.
What’s the possibility of finding the same item at an alternative purveyor??
We all know that convenience comes at a cost to the employees (decent wages, meal and toilet breaks anyone?), not to mention the insane packaging and travel miles. Just sayin’.
We need to BE the change we want to see in the world.
OMG … that house tour! I thought of Emily’s delft bkue tiles lust straight away! 😀
Jess, that dress is a piece of art!
Ooooh…..and those NOTpapertowels are fab-u-lous!!!💞
Even better when you buy them direct, as per Herself’s suggestion!
If you sew, or know someone who does, making reusable towels is easy peasy. I’ve made them for my daughter–one side flannel, the other a gauze-y cotton.
So many fabulous details in the old tavern–the spoon chandelier?!!
That house tour is the bomb. So creative and inspiring. Love that the historical elements were all salvaged from other houses in the neighborhood. And the colors! She seems to use several different but similar shades of blue and green in the same room. The whole house is like an extension of her coffee bowl collection.
Almost everyone I know is hooked on Wordle.
Did you notice there is reusable toilet paper, too? Ew
Reusable “toilet paper” is generally intended for use with a bidet, so you aren’t wiping off anything gross, just drying the area after it’s already been cleaned. They are also often called bidet towels.
For frequent flyers- are you doing carbon offsets? I’d LOVE a roundup of the best carbon offsets to use to mitigate climate impact of airline travel.
Yesssssss!!!!
Flying a lot might be braggable for some , but what abput the environment?!
Was thinking the exact same thing! One flight per year, America!
Love the UNpaper towels. So easy to use and it really does seem like I’m doing something good for the planet.
What a great house tour! I particularly admire the kitchen, and I love that none of the quirky cabinets match each other but that they’ve all been unified with a coat of paint and stacked to fit the space. What a refreshing change from our HGTV-influenced ideas of perfection.
BEST home tour yet! Thank you! I didn’t know that I needed cafe au lait bowls in my life!!! Googling and shopping Etsy now! Can’t wait to enjoy my first caufe au lait in my vintage bowl!!
Just ordered Marley’s Monsters Unpaper towel for my shop, in eastern Washington. I love that I never know when I will be made aware of the next hot/rational item out there! Their towels are a perfect fit for our little “eco conscience” home products area. As a former “west sided” ( that’s you too, Emily!) I was astounded at the preponderance of plastic, styrofoam, etc in the groc and rest industries here. Thankfully,Washington is getting better, almost to Oregon standards.
FYI, on the wholesale site I ordered from, Marleys scored a 5 out of 5 in reviews from retailers (yes, retailers rate vendors) High praise.
Western Australia banned single use plastics (like plastic plates, cutlery, drinking straws, helium balloons, etc.) from Jan 1 this year. We banned pladtic shopping bags a couple of years ago and nexfvyear it’s a big crackdown on plastic packaging (single use coffee cups and lids, polystyrene, etc.).
So prpud pf pur govt.
I got these for Christmas, and they work so well. No more wadded up sheets. https://wadfree.com/
I have these Wad-Free Bed Sheet Detanglers, too! They are amazing and have seriously cut my laundry time in half if not more! I bought them a year ago before they were on “Shark Tank”. Seriously everybody needs these!
Wad-Free has been a total game-changer in my family. My kid and husband got these for me with a note that I cuss at the sheets too much when they would gobble everything else in the load. These Wad-Free prevents the big sheet roll and I don’t have to untangle the sheets every 20 minutes. Now when my kid wants to play I can do that instead of camping out in the laundry room tending to the sheets!
Emily should do a piece on Wad-Free! They are a small company invented by a mom and made in the USA.
Oh how I loved this week’s home tour! I love a euro-eclectic home with history and personality like this. I live in a an old cottage in Maine and while I do not have the collections of this home-owner, I appreciate honoring history of a home, while making it practical for contemporary life. The colors used in their home are also two of my favorites – blue and green! They are so calming, close to nature, and I use them as neutrals along with a soft white.
Caitlin, I got a beanie from Verloop for Christmas and I love it so much! I think I have a big head because my Carhartt beanie gives me a headache if I wear it for too long but this one is perfectly soft and stretchy and doesn’t give me any headache!
Thank you Ryann for the Wordle rec! My husband and I are now hooked and look forward to it every day!