Serena & Lily

I loved getting the new Serena & Lily catalog and seeing all of the new amazing fabrics, bazaar treasures, designs, and decor items.  I especially loves Serena's new kitchen. I'm so loving her banquette and shelving. I'm quite obsessed with banquettes and am wanting one for my kitchen nook in a bad way.

Oh! and check out those amazing pillows. Wowzza!

Before & After Kitchen Ideas

Love these before and after photos of kitchens from Architectural Digest . 

It is always fun to see how people change rooms and change taste.

Love this unique cabin pitch in the ceiling. And I am such a huge fan of interior brick! 

When building our home, I had plans for similar brick, like the picture below, 

in our breakfast nook. But when it got to the end, we had to cut costs 

and that is one of the things that went... maybe someday!

Holiday Gift Ideas from Modern Palm

It's that time of year when we all start thinking of the perfect gift

for the wonderful people in our lives.

Here are just a few gift ideas from

Modern Palm

that might be perfect for a special someone in your life.

Everyone could use a stylin' apron, oven mitt, and tea towel, right!?

For your mother, grandmother, sister, friend or that someone who just loves to bake,

we have several designs so you can pick the perfect style of apron.

Oh! and there are also oven mitts and tea towels to match.

These unique designs come from Scandinavia, where we have found fresh

colors and designs like the European bonsai, 1950's dandelion, modern astrid,

eclectic poetic, woodland habitat, charming aviary, graphic floral margot,

ethic medalian neema, and botanical souvenir.

There is something for everyone to love and enjoy!

Aprons, oven mitts, and tea towels make a great gift individually,

or you can combine them to create a lovely gift basket

and include your favorite recipe or cookbook.

We hope you are enjoying this  

wonderful season

and as you prepare for the holidays,  
don't forget all of the unique and wonderful gifts 
that can be found at

Modern Palm!

Kitchen Love

{ via here}

I have kitchens on my mind this week.  Particularly since we've been doing a few little projects to freshen up our kitchen (pictures to come later).  I didn't have the full use of my kitchen for a few days, and it is amazing how important the kitchen is in a home. We are truly blessed with modern conveniences.  I never realized how dependent I was on a simple sink... well, not entirely true. When I lived in Africa for a bit, and we had to fetch our water from a well, then carry the water in buckets, on top of our heads, up a steep hill.  I REALLY missed the convenience of running water and a sink at that point in my life... but that is a different topic.

I really veered off topic this time. Back to kitchen love. Here are a few inspirational kitchen's that I find rather lovely.

 {via here}

{via here}

This is one of my all time faves. Just love the citrus color palette.

{via here}

{via here}

{via here}

I really like the look of white kitchens, but I like punches of color in the kitchen. 
This photo above is amazing, but it could use a punch color.

Banquettes

Via Palmer Weiss

I love and adore this space.  Seriously LOVE.  

I really want to have a banquette built for our little breakfast nook.  Mr. D and I have been talking about doing this for quite some time now, but after collecting these pics over the past year, and I'm more determined than ever.  Now, I only need to get Mr. D to see how much we NEED to do this. :)

That kitchen below is just a dream! I think that banquette is such a great size and love the retro table!

via ElizabethKimberly Designs 

via Coastal Living

I really like the black and white stripes. Oh! And the floor. 

 

a bench on both sides is fun- just like a restaurant.

 

Love the wall gallery and love how long the bench is with the circular table.

Also, notice the storage.  I always love extra storage.

 

Just like the first photo, I'm loving the green and yellow. 

One of my must haves when we built our home was interior brick.  

The plan was to do the brick in the kitchen and breakfast nook.  By the end, the cost over-rode 

my dream and we never did it.  I still hope to someday.  

Why the story? Love the rock in this nook, however I would do my red brick.

Isn't that circular window fantastic?

via my design folder (but forgot to label where from. sorry)

Giada De Laurentiis at Target

 

 Giada De Laurentiis is Target's newest celebrity addition.  

She has an exclusive line of bakeware, cutlery, cookwear, utensils and gadgets. 

Go here to see her new line:  Target

She will also be having food products which include pasta varieties, pasta sauce, fresh pesto, and light vinaigrette's.  I'm excited because I love Target and I love Giada's show and recipes.  

I love anything Italian! Yummy!
  Click here to see her recipe for Gorgonzola Porchini Mushroom Rissoto.

Amazing Hand Soap

My sister-in-law gave me this amazing hand soap and lotion.  When I say it is amazing, I'm really not joking! Every-single-time I wash my hands and put the lotion on I take a mental trip to the Mediterranean.  

I have the Fleur D'Oranger, but every other Savon de Marseille soap I have smelled are fantastic too.

Also loving their graphic and simple packaging. 

You can find it at Modern Palm Boutique, which is a fantastic online boutique!

I'm Sooooooo Lovin': Green Cooking Pots

 I have admired from afar a Le Creuset french oven for quite some time, but with the hefty price tag, I have never passed the admiration stage.  Well, how happy am I to find a wonderful new line of ecofriendly cookware called Greencookingpots . The owners and creators, Cafe and Mica, say that their enameled cast iron product "absorbs heat and distributes it evenly, making for very efficient cooking, whether it is the slow braising of meats or the simmering of soups. They can be used on any heat source including the oven for casseroles or the making of bread."
Their fetching resemblance to Le Creuset  is just the icing on the cake. And speaking of cake, you can bake one in the shape of an apple or pumpkin, since these can withstand the heat of the oven. 
Besides specialty pots, the collection includes grill, roasting, and saucepans; Dutch ovens; and skillets in red, orange, yellow, green, and blue.   
These could not be more fun and fabulous!

KitchenAid Cook for the Cure

My parents got us a Bosch mixer for our wedding.  It has worked perfectly and has been a fantastic mixer for us...however, I just love the look of the KitchenAid stand mixer.  I have had this on my list of wants for quite sometime.  It is hard to justify getting one when there is no need for one, but I can still admire them, right?  Now, if my Bosch would just break! :) (D-Man would be appalled that I just said that).  The problem with getting one is how would I EVER decide on the color?  Here are a few that I think are quite fun...

OK, so back to the original topic.  In addation to these great colors, KitchenAid has added Pink to their collection in honor of breast cancer awareness.  KitchenAid will be donating a portion of the proceeds to the Susan G. Koman for the Cure in conjunction with their pink products. What a great way to help a good cause and add some fun to your kitchen. 

In the Kitchen

Found this "squeal with delight" site that has so many great products! These aprons are so exciting and would make kitchen time so fun! There are so many designs and colors to choose from at Jillie Willie. They also have darling children aprons!

I thought these bags were fun. I think I should get one for my daughter's overnight bag.

These groovy gloves would make doing the dishes so doable!

And these? How cool are these?! You put them on as your slippers, and clean the floor as you're running around your house. Smart thinking!