O Christmas Tree

Here's a little Christmas tree inspiration for those of you who are still tweaking. I'm clearly inspired by touches of red this year. It seems to be a common thread that I find in all of my inspiration pictures. I also love the simplicity of the decorating in these rooms, as if the holidays are part of the rooms, but haven't taken over. I'm enjoying not having every surface of my home dripping with holiday cheer. No regrets now, and I'm certain there will be no regrets once it's time to put it all away.




photos from bhg, country living and country home.

Christmas Part I

So much going on here and not much time to blog. I'm sure it's the same for all of you. I know you've been patiently waiting for Christmas pictures from me and I've been a slacker but I do have a good excuse: dead camera batteries and what seems like 427 cloudy days in a row to blame for my lack of photos. I hope to have more Christmas decorations to show you soon and I definitely have more holiday fun to share with you. I hope you are all enjoying the season.

Simple is the theme for me this Christmas. It's easy on the budget on easier on the stress level. Like most years I feel the time rushing past me so quickly & see all my grand ideas and projects slipping from my grasp.

At some point I will have to just embrace the fact that I'm not going to get it all done and relax. I hope that happens soon. I hope you are all being productive and enjoying the season.

Sweet Inspiration for the Holidays

I'm staying so busy around here. Cold days filled with Christmas movies, knitting, snuggling, sewing, baking and making. I'm working on a felt advent calendar that I hope to have ready for show in tell in a few days. While I work, I'm listening to my newest holiday CD, Christmas Songs by Diana Krall. I try to buy at least 1 new Christmas CD every year and this one is swonderful! You'll want to own it.

I thought I'd share a little decorating that's been happening in Miss Emma's room and share some wonderful inspiration pictures for the child in your life or just the child inside of you.

I think we will make some more paper chains to decorate her room before the holiday season is over.

Love this doughnut from Mahar Dry Goods. I gave little miss some vintage pink ornaments. Most people would think 6 is a little young for that but this girl so values things with a history. I love that she will grow up her whole life with things that are old and special.

This guy has been hanging on Emma's door every year since she was born. I can't believe this is his 7th year. Where does the time go?

(marthastewart.com)

I'm not too grown up for a tree full of ballerina ornaments.

Emma has a version of this on her dresser. You can see the pink star in the bottom of the top picture. It's a staple in our house. (from bhg.com)

I hope you are enjoying this holiday season and that your days are full of merry making.

Keeping it Simple

Last year I wore myself out during the holidays hosting all the holiday dinners and a few parties, as well. This year we're not hosting anything. We also aren't putting out every single Christmas decoration that we own. Our goal is to keep it simple and festive this year. There will be no buying gifts for anyone who isn't family.This also means no credit card bills in the mail come January. Aside from the girls' trees in their bedrooms, I'm only putting up one tree. I'm not even sure if I'm going to mail out Christmas cards. You know what I am going to do? Spend time with my family. Play games in front of a roaring fire. Bake cookies. Enjoy the holiday season. Do Christmas projects for the joy of it and not so I can cross it off my to do list. The idea of keeping it simple really appeals to me this year and pictures like this prove to me that I can do it without a large investment of money or energy.

Inspiration- Cozy Bedrooms

The time of year has arrived when I want more than anything to be cozy. Yesterday I heard the weatherman saw the four letter "s" word. Yes you heard me, snow. Now I love snow, especially when I'm in the house all snuggled up with my family, a roaring fire and a cuppa hot cocoa. All I can think about right now is warming up the nest and especially my bedroom.

My bedroom is the only room in the house that doesn't feel cozy to me. It's a very large room, too large for my liking which makes it harder to cozy up. With Christmas around the corner there isn't any budget for a bedroom redo but I figure it's never too early to start making a plan. I live for planning. I hope you enjoy these pictures that are inspiring me and maybe they will inspire you to make your neglected bedroom a little cozier too.

from southern accents

from cottage living

from coastal living


from coastal living


from bhg (this bedroom belongs to Holly at the my nest blog )

from cottage living

Falling in Love Again

I have a confession. We looked at a house last Friday in the Village. We fell in love. I've been unable to stop thinking about it. Of course who knows if we'll be able to buy it. A lot of things would have to fall in line in order for that to happen. We'd have to sell this house, make enough money from the sale for a down payment, have that one stay on the market til Spring, have them accept our offer, pass inspection blah, blah, blah.

Complicated, huh? Of course it's not complicated enough to keep me from imagining what I would do to that house. I'm collecting ideas in my head. Here's what my daydreams look like today.

And if nothing else, at least we know it's possible to find something in our price range that makes our hearts soar.

Cottage Style

What cottage is to me:

a little bit country

 (tumblr)

a little bit rock and roll

(unknown)

texture

(Country Living)

whimsy

(Country Home)

ironstone

 (country living)

slipcovers

 (Atlanta Bartlett)

pattern and color

 (unknown)

open shelving

(unknown)

painted furniture

 (Atlanta Bartlett)

On Sunday I fell in love with a cottage in the Village. I can't imagine that things would come together in a way that would make it mine but it did get me newly excited about owning my own little cottage and got me thinking about what cottage style means to me. What does it mean to you?

Getting Horizontal

I have a deep love for shiplap or horizontal wood walls.

I think they have lots of character and add tons of charm. Typically I like the boards wide. The wider the better.

Also, they hide a multitude of sins. We have a lot of sins in this house.

We have decided to try this technique inside the studio closet which currently is nothing but studs. And since we are terrible at drywall, and this is a diy level project, it seems like a good choice.

This will be our practice room because we also hope to do it in our master bathroom and in the mudroom.

I find it best to always practice in a less conspicuous place. We are getting started soon so if any of you have successfully attempted to get horizontal, I would love some tips.

The Fall Table

We are in the middle of the strangest Autumn I can recall. Our temps vacilate between above average highs and above average lows. I'm starting to think that we are going to skip right from summer to winter when the weather finally does make up it's mind. Let's be clear, that's not keeping me from pondering all things fall right now. I'm loving these place settings from Pottery Barn and Ralph Lauren. I can just imagine piling them high with comfort foods like pumpkin bread and apple crisp. That's well balanced, right? Well, maybe I'll throw in some homemade mac and cheese to balance things out.

You can go to the Openhouse blog to see the place settings I've been playing with at my house. I'm pretty sure I can mix and match enough pieces to have a different place setting every Sunday from now until Thanksgiving.

Inspiration Friday- Halloween Entertaining

I want to have a Halloween party very badly, but there just isn't time or budget for it this year. We have so much going on this month so I am gathering and saving up all of my ideas and next year I am hosting a Pumpkin Party. And you are all invited. Enjoy some of what's inspiring me while I get busy cleaning up this house for my company that's coming tomorrow. Have a great autumn weekend!

All pictures from www.countryliving.com except the last one which is from www.bhg.com.