Sometimes you don’t set out to start collecting things, but it happens anyway. That’s been the case with us and coffee table books. Of course, they’re not just coffee table books, but books that are not only beautiful to display but full of imagery and words that inspire. Personally, I want our coffee table and shelves full of books we actually like to pick up and read every now and again.

Below, I’ve rounded up some books we have and love, some books on our radar, and some vintage options too!

Our collection is equal parts vintage and new. Anytime I’m at a thrift store or antique shop, I always make sure to look through the book section. There’s almost always a few treasures to be found and if you don’t find yourself at a lot of vintage shops, you can still get your vintage fix on Etsy, eBay, Chairish, or 1stDibs! We have these books and love them, and just started collecting these books after seeing them on Instagram.

Books we have and love

Home Decor & Design

Vintage Books

Special Interest Books

shop more of our vintage books below

Honestly, it feels wild to be decorating for Christmas again. For some reason, the last year has flown by so quickly that it’s hard to comprehend that it’s time to break out my trees and garland from storage. Since I never got around to sharing a post on our Holiday decor last year, I figured why not share now. After all, my favorite sources are still the same!

Our last apartment was quite a bit smaller than our new spot, but I feel like we did a pretty good job of bringing a bit of holiday cheer into every room without overwhelming the place. Since we didn’t have the space for a large traditional tree, I opted for skinny alpine trees (all faux) and I have to say, I LOVE them and cannot wait to find a spot for them here.

Terrain is my favorite spot to look for trees, unique garlands, and other special accents that aren’t as easy to find elsewhere. Most of our bottle brush trees are from there as well. I purchased a few fun new things this year including some of the Concordville Dutch houses and the BEST stargazer lights. All my finds are linked below!

My Terrain Picks

Besides our skinny alpine trees, my favorite Christmas decor find has to be these linen stockings! For a few extra $$ you can have them monogrammed. The colors are PERFECTION and the quality is top-notch. I just ordered the pink one with a C (for cats, duh) and I cannot wait to get it in the mail.

One of the most charming holiday decorations IMHO are village houses. I started collecting a few different styles last year and love the spread them throughout our place, creating tiny little Christmas villages. The colorful row houses set is sadly no longer available to purchase, but I’ve linked similar below!

Holiday Village Houses

I can’t talk about our holiday decor from last year without talking about the floating candles, now can I?! David and I DIY-ed them last year for Halloween but loved them so much that we kept them up through Christmas and NYE. I’m constantly asked how we did it, but instead of going into detail here, you can find the process plus materials used in this article.

Just like last year, I’m looking forward to putting up A LOT of cedar garland. We get the real stuff since it smells so good, has the loveliest drape, and the price cannot be beat. Still, there are some amazing faux garlands available, some of which I have my eye on — linking those below!

I’ve recently fallen head first into a love affair with shopping on Etsy. I spent over 10 years with an Etsy store, but never shopped on Etsy for myself during those years. Probably because I never had extra money to spend on shopping outside of necessities.

Since we’ve been social distancing, I realized that now more than ever, it’s important to support small shops and so many of them are on Etsy. For me, every single sale on Etsy made a huge difference. Sometimes it meant if I was able to pay a bill on time or not. For this reason, I have a special place in my heart for shop owners on there and want to help them as much as possible! For me, that means shopping on there when I can and sharing shops with you all.

I’ve shared some Etsy finds over on Reserve Home a lot over the last few weeks, and you all seem to love them! So I thought I would fill you in on what I’m favoriting right now. Hope you enjoy!

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1 — Alabaster fruit! I just got my own set, and love them so much.

2 — This shop has so many incredible vintage and collectible posters. Some are art posters, and some are vintage advertisements. All work beautifully as artwork for your walls.

3 — In an attempt to cozy up our place, I’ve been on the hunt for table lamps. I absolutely love this cutie.

4 — This shop has a ton of unique ceramic vase options. I have the beige option above in my cart right now!

5 — A more affordable poster shop and one with many incredible prints like this Matisse exhibition poster. The colors are right up my alley.

6 — I’m currently on the hunt for an antique pier mirror for our living room, and in my search I’ve come across some truly beautiful pieces like these.

7 — My new favorite Etsy search terms behind “marble fruit” is “lamp to lay” … how pretty is this delicate fixture?!

8 — My beloved donut vases are currently sold out from H&M, but this handmade spin on them is even better!

9 — I cannot believe I’m sharing this, since there’s only one and I want it. Badly.

10 — Etsy is THE place to find handmade ceramics. This shop has a variety of dinnerware and drinkware to choose from, all in beautiful colors.

11 — No explanation necessary, right?! WANT.

12 — While the wooden fixture in our dining room is discontinued, there are so many similar options on Etsy. I particularly love this shape, but this shop has a ton of options!

13 — This shop is so beautifully curated, I can hardly handle it. The texture on this vintage vessel is gorgeous.

14 — Decor that doubles as art.

15 — The cutest little ceramic shell trinket box.

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Excited to put together another list for you soon! xoxo

Collecting and making paintings is David’s (for the lack of a better word) passion. Before I met him 9 years ago, I could enjoy art, but I didn’t know much about it and certainly didn’t own any of my own. This quickly changed after we met and moved in together. All of a sudden, most of my new friends were artists and as they were only a year or two out of college, they would trade in art ALL of the time. I say all of this to explain that while we have bought some of our art, a lot of it was traded for one of David’s paintings years ago.

I get a lot of questions about where our art is from, so I wanted to share who made the pieces we have, as well as share where I like to look for artworks now. Original art can be pricey, but I think having even one or two original pieces of art and then mostly prints (or photos or wall hangings, etc..) is important to create your own unique home style and also for supporting independent artists.

I get asked about certain pieces often, so I thought I would walk through our most asked-about pieces and give you the info on each. If there is something I missed that you want to know about, comment below!

No. 1 / David, my fiance, found this large frame abandoned on the street (jackpot!) so he came home and painted a large scale watercolor based on this Matisse painting.

No. 2 / people often think this is a print, but our Happy Birthday piece is actually a painting! It’s by Kansas City-based artist, Amy Kligman, and yes, David did gift it to me on my birthday. Though it just happened to say “Happy Birthday” aka it wasn’t a commissioned piece.

note: the print behind the hanging chair is from my friend Jan’s shop.

No. 3 / the silver foil piece behind the hanging chair here is by Mike Erickson. We just framed it and moved it to where Happy Birthday has been for years. It’s allowed us to see more of our wall moldings!

No. 4 / David bought this from his friend and old classmate, Brook Hsu when we first started dating. He had it professionally framed (so adult for a 21-year-old! ha) and we’ve had it on display ever since. I never see us putting it in storage, we love it that much.

No. 5 / you can see our newest painting on the left! “Pinkie” is by one of our closest friends here in Brooklyn, Carly Wilhelm. Her work fits our aesthetic to a T.

No. 6 / the yellow number on the left is a collage by our pal, Madeline Gallucci. On the right, two small paintings by Matt Jacobs.

No. 7 / The Marx Bros poster here was a vintage find at River Market Antiques in Kansas City, Missouri… my hometown. : )

No. 8 / a print from Fy! — all of their prints come framed (you can opt to order just the print as well), so we like to get prints from them so they are already framed and ready to go. The frame quality is top notch.

No. 9 / The painting on the left is by Brandon Dean, a good friend of ours and incredibly talented architect!

No. 10 / from left to right: the small piece on the shelf by Dennis Helsel, yellow collage by Madeline Gallucci, painting on the wall above plant by me (!), “I’m Tryin” from Brooklyn-based artist, Nathan Schultz, and framed painting on the far wall is by Kansas City-based artists, Max Crutcher.

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Alright, that’s everything we have out right now. We have quite a few pieces tucked away in storage. Hopefully, we’ll own a bigger place someday that will allow us to show them off!

When looking for art to buy now, I love looking at Tappan Collective, as well as Etsy for unique pieces. If you live in a smaller town, I recommend heading to some local art openings to see what artists in your city have to offer! I realize they may be on pause right now, but it’s a good thought to keep in mind for the future.

Living in a small NYC apartment means that when we have friends over for a movie night or to celebrate a special occasion, we gravitate towards the living room since it fits the most guests, and tends to be where we can all cozy up and enjoy conversation. Having said that, we recently had a few close friends over to celebrate the start of Fall (yay!) and since I knew we would end up in the living room anyway, I set up a delicious spread for my guests to enjoy that evening. It turned out so beautifully, I had to take a few snaps - sharing those below!

I partnered with Harry & David to upgrade our spread and believe me when I tell you, it was GOOD! We’ve been so busy with our kitchen renovation, that the idea of prepping food and drink for even a small gathering sounded like a bit too much to take on. Harry & David has launched a new collection of distinctive gourmet fare, created for everyday entertaining with elegance and ease - Harry and David Gourmet. Their selection of gourmet food and drink makes it a breeze to host any event, big or small. From their website, you can design an occasion tailored to your specific budget, as product offerings range from $10 to $400. I didn’t have to make a single trip to the grocery store! Everything arrived beautifully packaged and ready to be enjoyed. GAME CHANGER.

I love incorporating sparkling wine when celebrating, so we had to try the new Harry & David Sparkling Wine which includes light citrus aromas, notes of crisp apple and pear, and just a hint of fresh grapefruit for an elegantly clean finish. mmmmm.

Everything was devoured so quickly, I’m glad I took a few photos of the table setup before our guests arrived! Huge thanks to Harry & David for making this event not only a breeze to put together, but beautiful and delicious as well!

Is your mouth watering yet?!

This post is sponsored by Harry & David. All opinions, as always, are my own.