by Landis Carey on May 13, 2013
What was up with this week? Was it as insane for everyone else? Was it all the rain? The anticipation of summer or just the slight disorientation I feel from spending far too many hours in the pottery studio? Whatever it is, it’s left me exhausted, dreaming of those activities that represent simple living.
But why, when I think of simple living, do I automatically think of a time that was supposedly more quaint than our modern world? Why do I think of my childhood? This week on Re-Nest I featured a mini round-up of swings to make you feel young again. I need that: I need to feel that light living. So, here are five images to inspire…
by Landis Carey on May 13, 2013
Have you ever walked into a home and thought: “oh, how charming is the old woodwork” or “listen to the floorboards squeak” or perhaps it was more like “there’s not enough closet space in this house for me.”
Yes, I understand. Even though these are usually the reactions of the people on House Hunters, I can generally understand where they’re going with the complaints and wide-eyed stares. We live in such a house; it’s not an extreme version where you must duck when walking through the doorways but it certainly is not a newly-built home with open-plan living and tall bright spaces. So, I’m here to chalk-up the challenges and loves I have for our old home.
Challenges:
- Closet space
- Small dimensions make choosing furniture challenging. There’s no way I could go to Pottery Barn and purchase a dresser or couch. Furniture designed for the modern, open-plan home just doesn’t work in the dimensions of our ancestors, who when our home was built weight an average…
Loves:
- Charm
- Separate living spaces, meaning not one giant open plan room, means having privacy and quiet from the television and not always having to see your messy kitchen.
by Landis Carey on December 14, 2012

Exciting update this week from the pottery studio…the new logo for Landis Carey Heirloom Wares looks fantastic! Yup, friends, that’s the brand new name for our line of pottery. Mint Peach served its purpose but after our collaboration with the design duo You + ME* the decision was made to dive in and update our brand. It makes the most sense for long-term planning and design development. And most important, I finally got the guts to put my name on my wares. I guess that’s the crux of the story…I wasn’t brave enough before, but now I am.
But don’t worry, Mint Peach is here to stay. It’ll always be the name of our blog and it’ll also soon appear on a line of boldly-colored wares being developed for a local retailer.
I hope everyone has a great weekend! We’ll be around town setting up for our Holiday Pop-Up Shop. Details to come.
(Image: Landis Carey)
by Landis Carey on December 12, 2012

A favorite joy of holiday decorating is leafing through our collection of holiday cards, taking note of how much our friends’ children have grown and reminiscing about this card or that one. And each year we add the new ones that arrive to our collection. We enjoy them in the present and will read them many times in the future.
Holiday cards can be displayed in just about anything—a basket, a ceramic bowl or even on a cork board in the kitchen—the point is, keep ‘em and enjoy ‘em for years to come. It’s such a sweet tradition!
How do you display your holiday cards?
(Image: Landis Carey)
by Landis Carey on December 10, 2012

On Saturday we decorated the house for the holidays: Nutcrackers are on the mantel along with our thrift store Christmas moose (is there such a thing?) and the house smells a bit like pine. As we dressed the tree, we pulled out the tulip-shaped tree skirt I made a few years ago, and when I realized I love it now as much as I did then, I knew I had to share it with you all!
I never blogged the project here at Mint Peach since that was before its time; instead, it was originally posted on Apartment Therapy. Here’s the link to the full DIY: How to Make a Tulip-Shaped Burlap Tree Skirt. And the best part…the materials cost no more than $15.
I hope everyone had a great weekend! Who else pulled out bins of holiday décor?
(Image: Landis Carey)