Home for the Holidays | Part I

Holiday decorations and I have a bit of a love hate relationship. I absolutely love how they look and the way they make our home feel especially warm and cozy but let's be honest, they are a lot of work! Growing up we were not allowed to decorate for Christmas. My sister and I are Jewish as is our father and my mom is Catholic. My father would not allow my mom to have a stitch of Christmas in the house! We couldn't even put white lights on our house and it wasn't until I was 18 years old that my sister and I put our feet down and insisted that our mom have Christmas tree that I really started decorating for Christmas! 

Fast forward a few years and then some and we now fully decorate our home for Christmas; complete with two Christmas trees, my husband's holiday village from his childhood and other meaningful objects that we've collected along our journey together. It's really important to me that our home feel festive for my husband, our friends and family. For as much work as the decorations require the amount of joy that they bring, especially to my husband, and the memories that we make during the holiday season make it all beyond worth while. 

My goal for this weekend was to at least get our trees up and some of the inside decorations done. The eight foot tree in our living room fits beautifully into our large bay window and the only piece of furniture we have to move is small side table! The eight foot tree in our great room is an entirely different story! More on that later possibly? Needless to say we managed to get both trees up, and lit this morning and in between giving our two Saint Bernards baths and other some other errands I also managed to get some of the more prominent decorations up. 

I've mentioned how important it is to incorporate meaningful objects into any design and one of the things that I love to do is to use objects in ways that perhaps they weren't designed for. For example I have this coaster by Ben's Garden near our front door that I use as a small decorative piece. I have several of these with different sayings on them and change them out throughout the year. 

Last week while I was popping into Whole Foods I came across these adorable petite Rosemary trees. I added some miniature ornaments and a festive bow. Its the perfect size and it smells wonderful, and after the holidays I'll transplant it to our garden and have additional fresh rosemary for cooking. Full disclosure the Rudoplph the Red Nosed Reindeer towel that is placed in our guest bathroom is probably the kitschiest piece of our holiday collection, but it wouldn't be the holidays in our home without him! 

Let's just say there aren't many Hannukkah decorations and I'm not one for clutter so over the years I've found a few special Menorah's. This one is my favorite. I love the symbology of the tree and family and this one is made from iron with a particularly beautiful patina.

 I am hoping that tomorrow I will be able to get the ornaments on our trees and the remaining decorations up! 

Cheers, 

Molly 

The Great Bathtub Debate

To stand or to build, that is the question? In the past several years freestanding bathtubs have made an extraordinary comeback. There are many variations and designs, they range from extraordinary simple to incredibly ornate. The tubs themselves, as well as the plumbing fixtures that accompany them, can be stunning and are often designed to become statement architectural features. While there is no doubt that some of these freestanding tubs are works of art, I don't find them to be very practical.  

First and foremost there is no where to set anything! Part of the allure and stunning aesthetic  of a freestanding bathtub is exactly what the name says, it's freestanding and therefore intended to stand alone, This poses a challenge if part of taking a bath is the experience of taking a bath. For me this includes bubble bath, or bath salts with essential oils, a candle, my book and maybe a glass of champagne!  With only a small lip to most freestanding tubs there is simply nowhere to place anything.

Don't get us wrong, a freestanding tub can be stunning when centered in a large window or even in the middle of a beautiful bathroom but seldomly are the tubs themselves located in close proximity to a towel rack. Nothing is worse than getting out of the warm bath and having to walk more than a step or two to get your towel or tracking water across your floors!  Some people are okay with freestanding towel racks and don't mind having something else out on their bathroom floor. My personal preference is to have towels elevated and away from the floor, it makes cleaning the floors themselves easier and also helps to keep towels clean and fresh. 

Don't get me wrong, I am by no means a fan of the 1980's enormous built-in tub with a deck the size of an aircraft carrier, but I do prefer a built in tub to a freestanding tub, especially if you plan on using your bath tub more than a few times a year.  There are so many beautiful materials that now come in slabs that the built-in tubs bathtubs of today have the ability to be sleek, elegant, and practical. Pictured below is one of our favorite built-in tubs from the former Foster Residence located in Malibu, California. 

In order to be practical freestanding tubs require accessories such as a thoughtful accent table or stool and well placed towel bars. If one realizes the additional requirements from the very beginning of the design process and accounts for said needs then we think a freestanding tub can be a jaw dropping element of a bathroom. However,  if a design is created to look pretty and lacks practicality then to us it's more of a vision than design. As with any good design it's all in the details, so whatever your preference may be there's a thoughtful way to make it as beautiful as it will be functional. 

Cheers, 

Molly

Thank You...On the Go!

Writing thank you notes is probably one of my favorite things to do! I know this sounds silly and ridiculous and it probably is but I love writing thank you notes! A handwritten note is such a kind and thoughtful gesture. Not only is it an opportunity to literally say "thank you," it's also a way to connect on a slightly more personal and intimate level than an email or text message. 

Given the speed of light at which life seems to move I used to find myself wanting to write thank you notes when I was dashing about, or when traveling and so some years ago I put together a little "Thank You On the Go," pack. I actually have two of these, one that I carry in my car and the other that I carry in my flight bag. 

Thank You On the Go | Everything You Need! 

1. One set of generic thank you cards and envelopes. 

2. A few cards and envelopes of your personalized stationary.
*I carry my personal stationary in the car and a combination of my stationary as well as our family stationary in my flight bag. 

3. Stamps, I always try to carry two choices, but let's be real any stamp will do! 

4. Pens. I like to include a calligraphy pen for addressing the envelope. As you can see from the picture above I am NOT a calligrapher by any means but it's always nice to get something with a little extra pretty. 

5. Addresses, or access to them! This may seem trivial and silly given that I'm sure your phone like mine is essentially my entire life, but believe it or not I don't keep every address in my phone. I do however have a complete address list that I can access via Dropbox on my phone and I cannot tell you the number of times I have been grateful for my ability to pull up the zip code I can never remember or the house number that I always want to write backwards! 

6. Business Cards | Sometimes because the context of your interaction may not be typical or the recipient of your note may not have all of your contact information. If and ONLY if it's appropriate it can be thoughtful to include one. 

Toss the above items into a Ziploc bag and away you go! 
 

A few of the places and people I have written thank you notes to on the go...

The DMV | Yes you read that correctly. This is a long story for another blog post but the short version is that after several trips in a single day, a few phone calls between the CA DMV and the London Vehicle Licensing Agency I was incredible grateful for the assistance that one woman provided me. When I handed her the note on what I was hopeful would be our last encounter she nearly cried and told me that no one had ever thanked her like that. She had worked for the DMV for nearly 30 years! 

The Concierge & Hotel Staff | There have been many trips where either the Concierge, House Keeping or a particular staff member have gone out of there way to make our trip memorable or more comfortable. It's always nice to let them know that those details, accommodations, hard work etc, did not go unnoticed. 

Gratitude and kindness are like glitter, sprinkle them ALL AROUND & EVERYWHERE YOU GO!!! 

Cheers, 

Molly

Live what you love!

My husband sometimes thinks I'm crazy because I love to curate and style everything, but he's realized that it's something I truly love to do! Last week we decided to enjoy a quiet evening at home, the weather was lovely and it was the perfect opportunity to relax together and have a little wine + cheese in the backyard before we began to cook dinner.

I could have easily taken some crackers from the pantry, sliced some cheese and thrown it on a plate and been done, but what's the fun in that! Instead I grabbed a simple white tray and thoughtfully placed some cheeses, a couple of types of crackers and a few other goodies. Given that this was an impromptu decision we didn't even have some of the items I would usually have included when making a charcuterie board. Don't ever worry if you don't have "everything," that's what improvising is all about and chances are you will be the only one that knows or notices! The entire process took only a few minutes more that it would have if I had just tossed everything on a plate and it's the small details like this that create ambiance and make something as simple as enjoying wine together a memorable experience. 

I always try to consider what kind of experience can I create, whether it's for a dinner party, a gala or even just my husband and I in our backyard on a random Tuesday.  My husband works incredibly hard and I really wanted him to truly relax and for us to just unwind and enjoy some time together, so I made the charcuterie board, turned Sonos on with his favorite XM channel, grabbed some flowers I had sitting in our kitchen and my favorite vessel for chilling wine + champagne and headed outside. My husband is ALWAYS in charge of the wine selection in our home so that was his duty for the evening. I arranged everything outside and with wine in hand, my husband turned to me and said, "Sweet Pea, you always make everything so beautiful!" I knew I had succeeded, my husband was able to relax and together we had a wonderful evening.

Cheers,

Molly 

Be a thoughtful guest!

Being a thoughtful guest is always appreciated by your host and let's be honest it's also just downright polite. My mother always told me, "Never to show up empty handed!" Even if it's as casual as dinner with friends in their home never forget to show your appreciation. 

What makes a gift thoughtful?

FLOWERS | A lovely gesture but always be sure they are arranged and in a vase if possible, especially if it's a dinner party or gathering where you know your host will be busy. 

A CANDLE | Candles can be wonderful and yet also slightly tricky. Not everyone enjoys the same scents and some are stronger than others. When selecting a candle it's always a good idea to choose something you know is a subtle scent. 

One thing that's paramount to us at Bond Daws Design is health! Did you know that even candles can put your health at risk? Most well made candles these days are made utilizing safer health practices, but always check to make sure that your candles use a cotton or paper wick, are scented using essential oils and made with 100 percent soy, beeswax, coconut wax or a combination without paraffin.

CHAMPAGNE + WINE | Of course we had to list Champagne first! A nice bottle of wine or champagne is also a thoughtful gift, especially if you know your host enjoys a specific type or brand. Remember that you are brining this as a gift and therefore the bottle should never be chilled, slightly cool from being properly stored if being given from your own collection is just fine! 

At the end of the day it truly is the thought that counts! 

Cheers, 

Molly 

P.S. Don't forget to promptly send a handwritten note of thanks following your lovely time together!