Like so many lovely and marvelous things, I was introduced to Farmhouse Pottery via my friend Meredith – and immediately put one of their pieces on my wish list. Their elegant, rustic pottery is deceptively simple, but instantly recognizable. (I think it’s that unglazed bottom!)

I’m not even sure if they knew about my wish list, but when my in-laws visited Farmhouse’s workshop and store in Woodstock, Vermont a few months ago, they came home with a beehive crock for me! I probably looked like the heart-eyes emoji when I unwrapped the box :) It’s been the most beautiful spot for cut flowers, like the prettiest leftovers from the V9 launch party, above.

Fingers crossed I’ll get to visit their workshop myself some day, but in the meantime, I’ll follow along with their GORGEOUS (but also real-feeling) Instagram feed and add more pottery to my Christmas list! Starting with this and this :)

Any marvelous discoveries y’all have made lately?

My birthday is coming up at the end of the month, and though I have a full wish list, one item has moved to the very top — and I’d be thrilled if it was all I received! That item? A painting from my new favorite artist, Erin Gregory.

After much debate, I settled on “Birthday Party II,” above, but it was a tough call between it and my second favorite, “Efflorescence 8,” below.

And here’s a look at my painting of choice in a gorgeous room (that wallpaper!):

Photo by Kate Osborne via Style Me Pretty

I can’t believe how well it fits with our house’s colors. If I’m lucky enough to land this beauty, I’m planning to hang it above our fireplace. For a long time I wanted Michelle Armas’ famous canvas for that spot, and while I still love it, I think Erin’s flowers make me even happier (and are less expensive, to boot!).

Here are a few of my other favorites from her:

Finally, I have to give credit where credit is due – I discovered Erin via Morgan Trinker’s home tour on A Beautiful Mess. Here’s an Erin painting in Morgan’s gorgeous home!

The full tour is worth a look – super inspiring!

P.S. More of my favorite artists.

I was running an errand at the mall the other day (always a dangerous beginning to any story). The West Elm storefront happens to be on the route between my usual parking spot and the store I was headed to, and their window display literally stopped me in my tracks. Their summer collection is seaside-inspired, and it’s speaking my language.

I just… I can’t… it’s SO cute. Bravo, West Elm. You have hit the nail on the nautical head. Thankfully, our house’s color scheme does not include primary colors, or else I would probably buy one (or more) of everything. Even so, I think I’m going to have to purchase those striped salad plates for outdoor dinners – too good!! Here are the rest of the pieces:

Row 1: Beach buddies trays ($29) | Outdoor hand-drawn stripe pillow | Printed pom pom scarf ($31)
Row 2: Outdoor anchors + buoys pillow ($31) | Nautical outdoor plates ($19) | Outdoor hand-drawn color block striped pillow ($31)
Row 3: Sling chair ($79) | Multi stripe picnic throw ($39) | Nautical paper dinnerware ($4-$5)
Row 4: Nautical garland ($12) | Lobster destiny serving platter ($32) | Nautical stripe towels ($9)

Any favorites from this collection?

Well, friends, Christmas has finally wrapped up in the Ayer family! Yes, you read that right. My whole family wasn’t able to gather in December due to work and school schedules, so we declared Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend our celebration. The older I get, the more I understand that it’s not so much about when you celebrate, but the people with whom you celebrate!

The highlight of our weekend, however — beating out opening presents, many rounds of Mexican Train, and chasing my 13-month-old niece — had to be the enormous bonfire we lit in my parents’ backyard. My Dad disassembled the playground he had built 25 years prior and that we had spent thousands of hours playing on, and we sent it off in style with 20+ foot tall flames. It was a sight to see. We even roasted marshmallows in the embers after it had been burning for 12 hours!

Thankfully no neighbors called the fire department. In other news, we are making progress on our foyer! You may remember it from our house tour, when it looked a little empty:

It was sporting our beloved nautical chart, but that was about it. Over time, we hope to add a multicolored vintage rug, replace the light fixture, and add some sort of storage or seating. Many moons ago I came across a particular beauty on esalerugs.com, and fell in love:

I would click over to it multiple times a week for several weeks, until the sad notice popped up that it was being shipped to a (lucky!) client. I continued to look over the options every so often, but never saw something I loved quite as much – until this one appeared!

From my time spent browsing the site, I knew it was the one, and at 50% off, it fit within our budget. I showed John, and miracle of miracles, he immediately agreed! He must have know it was the one, too :) Here’s a peek at it in our house!

It arrived within a few days, and we’ve been super happy with the quality so far! Highly recommended. (And tip: if you’re not buying it at 50% off on this site, you shouldn’t be buying it!)

Now that we have the floor layer in place, I’ve moved on to the next! We’ve been debating whether to add a dresser…

Unknown, Seventh House on the Left, Better Homes & Gardens

a console table…

Young House Love, BHG

or a bench:

House Tweaking, Recently, Design*Sponge

John is leading toward a bench, but I like the idea of having a surface. We’d likely combine either with hooks on the wall and a shoe tray. Here’s a bit of inspiration for either scenario!

Mirror, tufted bench, boot tray, console table, flushmount light, dresser

Which would you choose? Do you have one or the other set-up in your house, and do you like it?