I am so over the moon happy that I started on my little blog adventure. I had absolutely no idea that it was going to take me to so many fabulous places and let me meet so many amazing, inspirational, kind and fun people (yes, that would be you!) . Thank you from the bottom of my heart for being there and for pushing me along!

You are constantly on my mind dear readers and I can only hope that I give you a little bit of inspiration and joy the the same way you generously give it to me.

I also want to send a special thank you to the talented ladies Joni Webb, Linda Merrill and Megan Arquette (I call them the Blog Musketeers) behind the must-follow industry blog forum “The Skirted Roundtable“. In their Podcast  with the title “Favorite Holiday Decorating Blogs“, they seleceted a few blogs and discussed their holiday blog posts. And Splendid Willow was one of them! What an honor for little me to be recognized and included in such good company! Thank you! Make sure to follow their always very interesting design discussions in the new year.

Oh, just one more thing. My dear old Mom back in Stockholm has a really great sense of humor. (And I’ll miss her this Christmas). She once found these (slightly intoxicated?) hand made Santa’s helpers at a Christmas Fair in the Old Town of Stockholm. I think they are supposed to sit in planters. I put them in antique books in my dining room. They crack me up every time I see them! (This would be the Holiday decor I would pick if I for some odd reason only got to use one).

Enjoy the season, stay safe, laugh and have lots of fun!

I will see you again next year – on Monday January 4th, 2010.

Peace & Love,

I have for some time been drooling over the creative projects coming from the husband and wife and designer couple Robert and Cortney Novogratz who The New York Observer once called the “disturbingly handsome couple”. With their interior design company Sixx Design, their interiors have been featured in numerous of magazines and blogs and yesterday the lovely & creative Cristin at Simplified Bee reminded me once again of them and their new book (which BTW is her latest fab giveaway, so hurry over!).

For over 10 years they have been designing and developing hip and stylish spaces, turning not so loved properties into incredible homes. (They also work with commercial projects including hotels).Not only are Robert and Cortney immensly talented and creative they are also proud parents of 7 (yes, 7!) beautiful children. And their interiors reflect that. Nothing is stuffy and contrived. Their lovely rooms are always beautiful and interesting – and fun & playful. And peope, that is where I feel I am heading myself.

I often hear that I have a good eye for design and that I mix old with new well and add personal and unexpected twists to my interiors. I would like to beleive that. But for the last couple of years I have started to change my attitude and style a little bit. I so crave more humor and playfulness. The more I work with design the less I become interested in the look and much more interested in the heart.

The Novogratz ’ are such a good reminder of that. Talk about personality and heart! Their homes are havens for all people – tall and small – and animals. They are so good at mixing vintage and flea market bargains with really highend objects. And they always make sure to incorporate lovely art. Take notes, people!

Love those vintage light fixture, the great mix of chairs and the garage doors facing the fountain!

Images via Sixx Design,  Simplified Bee , Emma’s Blogg and The NY Times.

Most for her – and some for him….!

These items I am passionate about myself. Hopefully you can find some inspiration here too. (Or maybe I am the only one left out there who has yet to buy some gifts. Wouldn’t surprise me a bit…) Happy day lovely blog friends!

1. Design House Stockholm Bicycle Basket, 2. Pink Cameroon “Juju” Headdress, 3. 18K Wishbone Necklace by Jennifer Meyer, 4. Linen pincushion, 5. Dachshund pillows, 6. Leather passport holder, 7. Montblanc Rollerball pen, 8. All-clad fondue pot, 9. Prada cosmetics bag

My terrific blog friend Laura with Laura Casey Interiors alerted me to today’s blog support driven by the lovely blog La Dolce Vita. The effort is to generate awareness in the blogsphere for a worthy cause  – the wonderful charity called Pencils of Promise – that seeks to help end our global education crisis. I am definitely lending my support and my voice to the initiative.

Did you know that in this world there are 75 million children without access to even the most basic education? Pencils of Promise seeks to end that statistic by partnering with local communities and organizations to build early education schools in developing nations for some of the world’s most impoverished and undereducated children.

Through collaborative efforts of sustainable development, Pencils of Promise works to place a pencil in the hands of every child with the hope that it will be the first step towards self empowerment and an elevated quality of life.

Last December, the Pencils of Promise team visited a small village in Laos and by July 2009, they had built a new school for the village children who started attending classes on September 1st. This month, Pencils of Promise will be opening their third school and they hope to open the doors to education for more children in 2010.

{The First Pencils of Promise Class Outside of their School}

The Blogger Collaborative Project will benefit the females students of Champet, a village in Laos that is home to the only high school in the area for surrounding villages. In order to attend this high school, the students must leave their families and homes to live in dormitories. These dormitories are worlds away from our Western boarding schools. These precious girls are living in unsafe dormitories which consists of make shift bamboo huts in order to get an education. 

The goal for Bloggers Taking Action today: To build safe, legitimate housing for the female children of Laos in order for them to have the opportunity to further their education. Currently, some parents are unwilling to send their kids to school because of how dangerous the bamboo dormitory huts are. This dormitory Pencils of Promise hopes to build will accommodate about 200 Laotian girls.   

What can you do to help?                                                                     

Many of us often forget the very important task of giving back to those less fortunate. In the spirit of this holiday giving season, I hope that you will consider giving back by donating to Pencils of Promise. The donations collected through our initiative will go towards building a dormitory & library for a high school in Laos, which is the only secondary school in the area.

The dormitory will house 200 high-potential girls currently living in bamboo huts in Champhet, Laos. We have the opportunity to make an enormous impact if each of us donated just $1. And if you’re able to give more it would be greatly appreciated. ($35 will buy bookshelves for a classroom, $50 provides pencils for on year, $100 will pay a teacher’s salary for three months and so on). 

You can donate via paypal here or via this link. Every little bit helps and together we can make a difference! If you would like to stay informed about the difference Pencils of Promise is making, be sure to become a fan on their Facebook page.

I made my donation today. And I hope you will do the same. Peace & love, Monika.

I haven fallen hard for these stag wine stoppers (the owl is also cute) from Pottery Barn. I am loading up on a bunch myself. Together or without a bottle of wine they make for perfect hostess gifts. I can see a cluster of them on bottles at a buffet table. A simple but festive decor on any kind of table. $12/each. (They show them as no longer available on-line but I just called a local store and they put a few on hold for me. They seem to be hot commodity!)

I can never get enough of Swedish white rooms (although I don’t have one single white room in my own home. How is that for being a true Swede! But I have several light gray rooms if that counts!). Just looking at these images calms my somewhat stressed december/holiday nerves. And as always I love mixing old with new. It makes for such wonderful contrast. Don’t you agree? Happy weekend wonderful blog friends!

All images via Skona Hem

Happy Monday wonderful blog friends. Are your homes all decked out for the winter holiday yet? With us going to California for Thanksgiving and now little William’s broken arm (Thank you so much for all your wonderful e-mails and calls & gifts! You have no idea how much they mean to the whole family), we have not managed to even get a single little pinecone inside the house, until this weekend. The house finally smells and looks a little festive. Here are some images that might inspire you to to try something new this holiday.

Love everything in the image above. So my style. (Image via Elle Interior)

Images via: Homes & Gardens Uk

Images via Martha Stewart Living

Image via PointClickHome

I love, love, love this image with the branches in the vase and the carefully selected ornaments.

Images via House & Home

I am running around like a holiday stressed otter right now and on top of everything our amazing and precious boy, 2 year old William, fell down and broke his arm yesterday, with 2 bones more or less sticking out. Needless to say, I am a distraugt and emotional wreck and should probably just pull the covers over my head now when my lovebug William is happily sleeping away. 

But I have a few moments so for a little personal downtime I’ll share some gift ideas with my wonderful & loyal readers. I mean, Christmas is literally around the corner! So, here are some gift ideas for younger ones. I really don’t think you can go wrong with any of them. (More gift ideas will be coming for  “Her” and “Him). Cyber hugs to you all!

1. Robeez Skating Penguin (Limited edition), 2. Labyrinth, 3. Recycling truck, 4. Animal Croquet, 5. National Geographic Globe, 6. Mini American Girl Doll, 7. Girl Mouse in a Matchbox, 8. Wooden Parking Garage, 9. Jelly Cat, 10. Book “The Gift Of Nothing“, 11. Maileg Brother & Sister, 12. “Animals of the world” Floor Puzzle