Pass It On

It's coming upon the gift giving season. Mother's Day, Father's Day, graduations and weddings loom and each beg for the perfectly selected gift.

In an age when it’s hip to re-use and recycle, re-gifting is also making a comeback, although not in the traditional “get rid of something you don’t want” sense. Today’s version of re-gifting consists of sharing or passing along something that’s meaningful to you. I'm especially happy to see this tradition return, as many of the decorative items in my home have been given to me as gifts or have been passed along from someone who knows I have a passion for decor. I would always rather have something that carries a story than something brand new.

While it takes no less time to choose, the perfectly selected re-gift can be more memorable and meaningful than something newly purchased. For instance:

• A bottle of wine from your cellar
• A piece of a collection that’s meaningful to you. When I got married, my mother-in-law’s sister gave me a beautiful gift: she added to the collection of teacups my mother had given to me over the years with a cup and saucer from her collection of flow blue china.
• A book that you’ve enjoyed. Write a passage in the front of the book about what you enjoyed, and pass it along to someone you think will like it.
• A plant or tree that you’ve nurtured. When my daughter Katie was born, a friend gave me a tiny Christmas cactus that was an offshoot of a plant she received when her last baby was born. Now I’m about to pass along an offshoot to one of my friends who just had a baby.
• Something someone’s admired. I once admired a friend’s enamel butterfly pin, and on my next birthday, she gave it to me as a gift.
• A stack of magazines on a topic of interest. A stack of vintage National Geographics is a perfect gift for a 10 year old boy.
• A Christmas ornament from your collection.
• A collection of letters and photos.
• Something from your family. My husband wears a lapis Polk family crest ring that will someday be passed onto our son, and I wear his grandmother’s diamond ring that will someday be passed onto one of our daughters.
• Something that feeds someone’s interest or talent. If you have an old manual typewriter, pass it on to someone who shows a talent for writing.

Practice with the upcoming gift giving season, then you'll be a pro when Christmas arrives.

Maria Callas Is My Soulmate

I'm lucky to have one of those jobs that lists "getting inspired" as part of the job description, and occasionally I just hand an entire day over to the idea of inspiration. Friday was one of those days.

My friend Christopher prepared an agenda of 25 inspiring places to visit, starting with the San Francisco Flower Market, and ending with a warehouse full of french antiques that used rickety old shelving as it's only merchandising technique. In between there were approximately 25 other visits around the city of San Francisco. As Christopher, Pallavi and I traipsed across the city and back (and then back again) we saw beautiful things, met interesting people, and ate delicious food (like the cappuccino and apricot/anise donut at Four Barrel that got our day started).

As I search for ideas that I can apply to my daily work, I always keep a corner of my mind open for ideas that I can apply to my home, or things my family would like. Friday was a good day for that. For example:

Start your day with flowers if you can. It makes everyone happy.

Even the most utilitarian corner of your house can be beautiful. I've never seen packets of Equal look so pretty.

If it's meaningful to you and your family, it's art.

Everyone works better after taking a break for some ice cream.

Remember and share the stories of the things in your house. These guys could have talked for hours about each of the products in their shop. That's one of the big differences between visiting a chain store and visiting a small privately owned store. And it's one of the big differences between a model home and a warm and comfortable family home that's been built over a lifetime.

Old and beat up is OK. Just like with people, the richness of life experience can show in the things you choose for your home. My red leather chairs aren't worn out, they're wise and experienced.

If you've got a skill or talent in your family's history, keep it alive. One store we visited, The Parish Trust, dedicates its existence to collecting and curating antiques from dead and dying industries. The store was a treasure trove of manual typewriters, vintage cameras, and other items my children might not even recognize in twenty years.

And last, in case I or anyone in my house has forgotten:

Why Wait For Someone To Send You Flowers?

Like most women, I love flowers. Like most women with a house, a husband, a job, and three kids, I don't have time to spend arranging them. I've learned over the years to appreciate the beauty and simplicity of a bunch of dandelions in a jelly jar, or the functionality of a white pitcher in place of a crystal vase. I've even used an empty lemonade bottle for some leaves Katie collected on one of our nature walks.

Rather than waiting for someone to send you flowers, buy some for yourself. You can create a chic and simple arrangement that will make you and your family smile.

Simple Steps to a Greener Home

I'm always looking for good advice on making my home healthier for my family. In that pursuit, I recently purchased and viewed Danny Seo's Simple Steps to a Greener Home. I thought I'd read pretty much everything on the the subject, but was pleasantly surprised at how much interesting and useful information I learned. Following is a review of sorts for those looking for some good advice:

If you’re looking to gain a broad view of green design in a short amount of time, this DVD is perfect for that. If you’re more interested in delving deep into a specific category like how and where to shop for organic bedding, you won’t find all you need here.

This DVD is a small time commitment (a little over an hour) and features a compilation of green living tips that cover five areas:

• Building Green
• Eco Accessories
• A Natural Bedroom for Better Sleep
• Using Sun Power
• Re-use and Re-define

Overviews of each category are pretty general, but also manage to highlight some good specifics and interesting artisans along the way like the men at Scrapile in Brooklyn who use discarded scrap wood from construction projects to make beautiful and unique furniture.

Danny Seo, a lifestyle expert who's made a name for himself as an author and the former host of Simply Green, is an engaging host who has a thorough and fluid understanding of the sustainable market. Rather than appearing scripted, he seems to be chatting off the top of his head about easy ways to make your home a little greener. Like a good friend who you trust for good advice. The host uses simplicity, sustainability and affordability as his touchstones – concepts that are near and dear to the heart of anyone attempting to be a little greener without going broke or crazy.

The DVD effectively uses a text box in the lower right of the screen to highlight technical trivia bits that lend credibility to what the host is saying. For example, in a segment about using plants to clean your indoor air, the screen displays a statistic from NASA comparing indoor air pollution to outdoor air pollution. Very convincing.

The portions I found most useful were:

• · Recommendations on choosing low VOC paint
• · Advice on choosing indoor houseplants that are low maintenance
• · How to choose a natural pillow for your bed

Portions I found interesting, but not as relatable were:

• · A tour of an organic farm that uses sun power
• · A tour of a factory that makes toilet paper from discarded scrap paper

Don’t skip the special features – there are some simple and fun DIY projects that are worth trying.

You’ll come away from this DVD with a superficial understanding of the materials available in the market, the chemicals to avoid, and a list of easy things you can do to make your home a little greener. You’ll also come away from this DVD wanting more information on the portions that piqued your interest. And you’ll wonder if that recycled toilet paper is really a good idea.

Like Mother, Like Daughter

As I wrote a few weeks ago, (see "Let the Inspiration Begin!" posted January 12th) my family responded to some complaining I had been doing by building a little workspace of my own for me.

A short time later, Katie decided she needed a workspace in her room. JP has his office, Jack has a desk, Andie has a desk, Mama now has a desk, so it's only fair that Katie should have her own also. Taking our inspiration from my new office, we created a cute little workspace for Katie in her room using her play table, a little chair, and a few other things we had hanging around the house. An hour or so of organizing and moving a few things around and voila -- twins!