Autumn Eco Throws

The trees here in Kansas City right now are AMAZING. Burning gold, plum, bright red, lime and gold. I'm in awe everywhere I turn. The colors were extra dramatic today against a dark stormy sky, it was a beautiful show of nature's fireworks. Not to be Debbie Downer, but I always feel like it's Mother Nature's last big hurrah before the winter hibernation. A big finale before things turn sparse, simple and blah. I'm trying to soak in all this color and was inspired to make some autumn colored throws for some of my favorite patterned blankets. Trellis, Gate and Triangles all got some new fall hues. Get 'em in the Happy Habitat Shop. Stay cozy!

Spotlight On: Kilim Pattern Eco Throws

If you checked out the latest Happy Habitat catalog, you would have spied the Kilim Pattern Eco Throw. I kept seeing so many cool patterned kilim rugs, and was inspired to make a throw.  Here's where some of my inspiration came from:

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To find one of these colorful beauties, check out Amber Interiors Shoppe or Furbish Studio-- 2 of my faves!

Digging deeper-- I looked at some different patterns: 

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And here's my take on it. I simplified a bit, since on a throw you don't always see the pattern as a whole like you would on a rug. You can find my version of the kilim patterned Eco Throw in the Happy Habitat Shop. Here are the latest colorways:

All New! Modern Eco Throws- graphic patterns for everyone!

Introducing the newest Happy Habitat patterns! Modern, graphic patterned blankets-- that are bright and POP! Or go muted and neutral, but still add a subtle zing to a boring room. As always my Eco Throws are made from recycled cotton-- so there's no itch and they can be thrown in the washing machine. 

Bentonville Arkansas-- who knew!?

Last weekend I took a quick trip with some friends to Bentonville Arkansas. Bentonville ARKANSAS. And it was awesome. Probably a strange and unexpected scene if you were following along on Instagram! Bentonville is a surprising hidden gem. There's old: the charming city square complete with a quaint Saturday Farmer's Market. And there is some serious NEW. Let's start with the hotel. I was not expecting my Bentonville accomodations to be anything like this:

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The 21c Hotel also had a pretty amazing museum (I call it more of a gallery). As you stroll through the lobby and restaurant, there are plenty of interesting pieces to look at. Some of them are interactive-- which I love. The restaurant (lounge shown above) was gorgeous and had some delish local food. Rooms were stark and modern, but oh so comfortable. I cannot mention 21c Hotel without saying something about the green penguins-- they are everywhere. And move from day to day. Luckily there was never a surprise penguin in our shower-- that would have given me a heart attack! 5 stars from me.

I could have just enjoyed the hotel, but we did meander through the 'art walk' trail to Crystal Bridges. If you didn't already know this--- Bentonville is the home of Sam Walton-- founder of Wal-Mart. Cyrstal Bridges was founded by Sam's daughter Alice. It's my guess that they were trying to klass-up the Wal-Mart name with some pretigious art and a fancy shmancy museum. Well, I think it worked. Crstyal Bridges is truly stunning-- there are panoramic views of the river from inside the Museum. The museum holds a permanent collection of American art from the 19th & 20th centuries. My faves were Lichtenstein, Warhol, and . Although it was a wonderful colllection, I almost enjoyed the architecture of the museum and restaurant as much as the art itself. Food at the Eleven restaurant was good, but made even better by the live music that echoed through the gorgeous space.

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Crystal Bridges Museum

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Eleven Restaurant at Cyrstal Bridges Museum

Here's my Instagram take on my Bentonville Trip.

Martha Stewart American Made Follow Up- MY WINNERS!

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I didn't win the Martha Stewart American Made Contest. But oh man did I feel the love. So much supoort and votes from y'all out there. Thank you for taking the time to vote every day! I was proud to be a part of the movement, and proud to see votes coming in.

As I was getting set up as a nominee, I was going through all the nominations to check out my competition, and I was worried! I thought no way am I going to win, there was such cool stuff out there-- and it got me EXCITED! I wanted to blog about all the amazing stuff I saw, but thought I'd wait til the contest was over (I didn't want my votes going elsewhere--- it IS a contest afterall!)

So now that the contest is over, I wanted to share some of my favorite nominees from the Design Category. 

Moonish truly blew me away. They are the #1 winner in my opinion. The designs are on trend, the product is beautifully executed and most amazing is the ingenuity behind it. I've never seen anything quite like this before. I have never seen a 'tile' made from wood-- that has real wood grain to it, and I've never seen a 'tile' that is installed in this way--- using magnets and adhesive. Genius!

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Simply gorgeous.

There are so many amazing options, check out their website to see more. I would love to do this in my dining room. I'm going to order a sample-- the only question is which one to get!

So congratulations to Moonish-- an inspiring american made company that is a winner in my book.

Look for more of my American Made nominee favorites to come in future posts.