Some goodies have arrived lately in my mailbox that I wanted to share with you all, so here we go. First up are some gorgeous trivets from Canadian designer, artist and printmaker Lorraine Tuson. Her patterns are sooooo fun, and this one is my favourite. It’s called Fingerprint Flower as it started off with her own fingerprint! She currently carries lumbar cushions, coasters, table runner, pouches and a few others, all made from 100% wool felt. While I plan to use my trivets just for decoration they have a cork backing so they don’t slip and are water repellant and can be easily spot cleaned. She is selling her products at one of my favourite shops in Toronto, Green Light District Design, if you want to go check them out in person. We spoke about some new projects she’s working on and I’m super stoked to see how they turn out! 

This first book I received is total eye candy and a perfect coffee table book you’re going to want to flip through a couple dozen times. Out East: Houses and Gardens of the Hamptons is published by The Vendome Press, is written by Jennifer Ash Rudick with photos by Tria Giovan.

Out East captures the enduring appeal of shingled houses, modernist oceanfront designs, artists’ compounds, and Montauk surf shacks. Jennifer Ash Rudick, a long-time Southampton resident, leads an insider’s tour of more than 25 houses, cottages, and pool houses. Tria Giovan, a Sag Harbor–based photographer, captures extraordinary gardens, verandas, lakeside pavilions, farmhouses, and converted barns. This book is fabulous because it features such a wide variety of decor styles: from super traditional, to country, to mid-century modern and Scandinavian. This book has only been out since July 4th so go get yourselves a copy – trust me you will love it!

The next book is a fun, instructional book titled Miniature Bonsai: The Complete Guide to Super-Mini Bonsai published by Tuttle Publishing and written by Terutoshi Iwai.

This is a great book for anyone like me who is fairly clueless on gardening/plants as it provides complete details on how to successfully create mini bonsai planters. They are so adorable!!! Miniature Bonsai reveals the Japanese art of super-mini bonsai gardening. As rewarding as full-scale bonsai cultivation is, mini bonsai is affordable, easy to learn and kind to your busy schedule. It’s a complete gardening experience—a plant raised from seed or cutting, carefully potted, grown and maintained over time—a world of green in a pot no bigger than a demitasse or a thimble. From mixing the right growing medium to choosing the perfect pot to displaying your mini bonsai, this Japanese gardening book gives you basic techniques and valuable tips to help you grow miniature flowering trees, pines, maples, oak, juniper and other varieties of tiny trees and potted plants that are readily available and last for years.