It was with a renewed commitment to keep unnecessary items out of our home that we picked up the VivaTerra Holiday 2008 catalog this morning. There were plenty of beautiful things to look at -- but we were keeping an eye out for things that were beautiful and useful.

And, we found a few things of interest ...

First, in the image above the jump, we have three mango wood cutting boards ($119). They are on the expensive side, but we really like the rounded edges and the oval shapes.

Here is an African grass market basket ($49). This could be used for storage purposes in the home -- and, actually, it looks light enough to carry to the farmer's market.

This Succulent Cube Garden ($79 - set of 3) is an attractive way to bring some green into your home. And, although they look heavy, VivaTerra promises that they are lighter than wood.

And, last but not least, these Organic Cotton Spa Towels ($9 - $44). If they're even half as soft as they look, we'd be thrilled with a set.