Slowly but surely

We are checking off our Priority List.  Do you remember the issues we were struggling with?  Here they are again:

Mattress	Front yard landscaping
Dining Room Re-do	Re-upholster Chairs in Liv Rm
Replace remaining 4 windows	Freezer

So since that post at the beginning of October:

1.   We have ordered the windows and they should be installed in the next couple weeks. 

2.  I’ve got the fabrics for the re-upholstering the chairs.  I have also selected the upholsterer and I will let you know how that goes!  Fingers crossed!!

3.  We have planted grass in the front yard and hoping the rain will bring sweet little green blades coming up from all that dirt!  We’ve decided to hold off on the mulch until the leaves have all fallen.

So 50/50 isn’t too bad for one month.  Or maybe it is.  Not real sure.  Funny how I felt like our 1st priority (the mattress) is still not checked off.  So I guess November will be the month for the other half.  Oh and by the way - thanks for all your comments and suggestions on what to tackle first.

What are you working on?  Are you trying to tackle any projects before the Holidays?

Dreaming of a Silver & Gold Christmas

I know you must think I’m crazy to be talking about Christmas when we haven’t even made it to Halloween.  But I’m girl who loves a plan.  You might remember my plan for Thanksgiving.  Well now my brain is on to Christmas. (This week marked the 2 month countdown.) 

So last week Crate & Barrel must have Christmas on their mind too – did you get your catalog yet?  It totally inspired me!  These were my favorite images:

Now I realize that I also love the whole mono-chromatic feel of this space, which I don’t have but I think I could immolate pretty simply by playing up the golds and bronzes that I already have in the space.

Loving these stockings!  They’re $20 which isn’t too bad for C&B.  We’ve had the same stockings for 10 years and they were from the Dollar Store, so it may be time to upgrade!  I love the pearl detail and the striped silk. 

I really like the silver wreath over the mantle as well.  I found a very similar option at Homegoods for $30.00 which is $10 less than C&B.

   

What a great combination of glass objects.  I must remember to pull out my different vases and hurricanes to work with this year.

I already have a good bit of silver and good ornaments.  But when scanning through the C&B site I found some more ornaments that I might “need.”

 

 

 

Well that’s the direction I’m headed for Christmas decor this year.  I really want to try and break out of my box this year and look at my Christmas decor with new eyes.  Do y’all ever get in the “same-ol” grove?  What are planning on doing this year – red & green / turquoise & silver?  Ooh maybe black and white??  Do tell!

Share and Share A-like

We had our Christmas Card making day this past weekend.  We had decided we wanted to set aside a whole day where we could really get into our creative mode.  So we decided on a space where we could spread out all of “stuff” and boy did we have some STUFF!  We had 2 cricuts, paper for days, stamps to fill a 24”x24” table, glitter from every color of the rainbow, embossing powder and gun, yards & yards of ribbon, brads, embellishments.  It was AWESOME!!!  I know you’re drooling – what can I say – I know how to pick my friends!  It was so much fun to be in a room full of goodies to choose from.

We had made the decision that we would just create cards and then if it was a “keeper” we would make 3 and share them with each other.  It was a great way to have a varied group to send out.

We are just working away!  Are you ready to see what we made??  I know the suspense must be killing you!

Ok here goes… 

       

I love all the different designs.  Each unique.  What’s your favorite?  Any requests on which one you would like for your card this year??  I’m still trying to decide which one I want to create multiples of…  so many choices.

Blair-ing Gold

One of the current projects I am working on is a client’s dining room.  We have already selected the new wall color and it’s already done!  We chose Blair Gold by Benjamin Moore.  Here’s a gander:


So we headed over to Crate and Barrel to shop for NEW furniture – oh how I love some C&B!  We definitely hit jackpot!  We knocked out table, chairs, buffet and rug all in one fell swoop!
For some reason I am not able to get the image of the rug on the mood board. We’ve selected this gorgeous rug :
 
And here’s the mood board to show where we’re headed…

MR din rm by eatdrinkanddecorate on Polyvore.com

We still need to select a new light fixture but we’re getting close to installation time!!  I am hoping we can get this finished by Thanksgiving?!?! 

Do have any major changes you are trying to get done before the holidays?

Christmas Card Inspiration

We had a really good time last week at Paper-Sources, Girls Night Out.  The theme was Christmas cards and we made 4 different cards using various techniques.  I’ll do a quick run down on what we did…

We started with a white cardstock fold over card for this one.  Using a paper punch we cut out circle or snowflakes.  (The snowflakes probably turned out a little cuter if you ask me.)  Then we used a small hole punch for the holes at the top for them to hang on our clothesline.  The clothespins and string were a really cute idea.  Although I think this card needed a little umph.  Maybe some contrasting color behind the clothesline?? 

Now this was pretty dang cute!  I love the combo of turquoise with red.  We stamped the candy stamps and the “peace joy love” in red and then used clear embossing powder on top and used the embossing gun to create nice texture. The red and white ribbon was very cool – it’s TAPE!  Using foam dots we applied the stamped items to the card.  And done! Oh but wait – did you see the contrasting envelope liner – nice touch huh!  Paper Source has templates for all their envelopes which makes it super easy!

 

This is a beautiful stamp!  We added some stickles for added depth. Simple and beautiful!!

Our last card had a shabby feel.  Again simplistic but I am coming to learn that simple is sometimes best!  I am in LOVE with this “Merry Christmas” and what a sweet little tree too!  We used the chalk inkpads with both of these to give a softer look.

So after our night of getting great ideas for Christmas cards, I am officially on the hunt for what my plan will be!  We are planning a whole day of crafting so I’ve got to figure this out ASAP!

If you aren’t up for making your own you could always hop over to Paper Source and order your Holiday Photo Cards from them!  AND you can get 10% off right now until October 31st!  One more thing marked off the list.  Just click on the picture below to go straight there!

What a find!

So you’ve met my Aunt before here.  But what I may not have mentioned is that she’s a MAJOR yard saler.  She can sniff out a deal better than a hound dog can find his next kibble and bit!  A few weeks ago she came upon a BRAND NEW Kitchenaid Panini maker and Belgium waffle iron and got them BOTH for $20.00.  So when she called me to say she had found some upholstery fabric at a yard sale – I hightailed it over there!

And she wasn’t kidding either.  She had come upon the mother load!  Apparently this very nice lady’s son owns a furniture manufacturing company and she gets all of the COM (customer’s own material) leftover fabric.  There were some gorgeous patterns!  And you may remember I need some fabric for these chairs:

I wanted a solid fabric for the rattan chair and found a great nubby gold fabric with just enough yardage!  Check it out…

I really like the tone of the fabric with rattan, so SCORE!!  Oh and I haven’t told you the best part of the story…  That sweet lady with all the fabric was selling them for $2.00 a BOLT!!!!!!!  I know, it’s inconceivable!  It didn’t matter if there was 1 yard or 15 yards - $2.00 a bolt!  The re-decorating gods were smiling down on us.

Now for the other retro – chair I am really feeling a houndstooth pattern, I found this fabric last weekend at this great little shop over in Southend, Modern Fabrics.  It’s definitely not $2.00 a bolt but I feel like since I lucked out on the other I can afford a little more and get exactly what I want.

You may have caught a glimpse of another fabric behind that pretty gold…  Let me give you a better look at that:

 

Isn’t that funky cool?  It’s taupe, gold and turquoise embroidered kinda sorta.  I loved it when I saw but didn’t know exactly what I would use it for.  When I got it home and started looking around I thought it would be a great addition for window treatments in the living room with the new upholstered chairs.

I’m loving the combo!  The orange pillow is from the sofa and I already have some turquoise pillows I can bring in to pop up the color.  My newly painted turquoise lamp is perfect for the space as well!  I feel a plan coming together!!  Don’t worry I’ll show ya the finished product as soon as it is…  FINISIHED!

Have you found any great deals recently?  Where do you find your fabric?

Planning for Turkey

In case you didn't get to hop over to Country Chic Cottage when I guest blogged last week, I thought I would share my thoughts for our Thanksgiving tablescape here as well.

For my plan this year I thought I would start with a fairly neutral slate – a taupe tablecloth:


To add some different texture I pulled out one of my scarves and used it as a table runner.  This is a great way to make use of different items and give them a dual purpose.  So don’t just go to your linen closet when decorating your table make sure to check in your closet, your scrap fabrics, etc. 

For the center of the table, I added one of my bamboo placements for the base.  This creates a stronger statement and will give your eye a break from the runner and the actual centerpiece.  The vase I am using has some nice size but doesn’t have a lot of visual volume.  I added some artificial leaves that adds color and texture.  You could definitely use real leaves but I am placing an orange pillar candle in the center so I thought it would be safer with the artificial leaves.  This also allowed me the opportunity to add some height under the pillar candle so it would sit up nice and tall.  Beside the center vase, I placed two votive holders that have a leaf motif, these normally live in the den (don’t forget to “shop” the whole house for items to use!)

So it’s coming together right?  And we’ve spend $0.00 so far!  YIPPEE!

Okay – on to the place setting.  I LOVE white dishes!  Why, you ask.  Because they go with everything – every season – every decor.  So I knew I would be using our simple white plates but wanted to add a little drama and contrast with the napkins.  Enter lovely chocolate brown:

I took the extra time to iron these bessies’  it’s totally worth it for the finished look.  Oh and here’s a tip:

** spritz your linen / cotton napkins with water so they are moist – put in plastic grocery bag and put in the fridge for 20-30 minutes.  Use a nice hot iron and you’ll have beautifully ironed napkins**

Ok back to our regularly scheduled program:  I wanted to be a little creative with my napkin rings and to play off the whole “thankful” theme. I wrote different things that I am thankful for:  “faith, family, friends, dessert.”  You get the idea.  I used some sale tags that I happen to have in the craft drawer. Of course you could also use this same concept for place cards as well.  Super simple & super cute!

  Add in our glassware and silver and we officially have a dressed table!

So what do you think?  Do you have a plan yet for your Thanksgiving table?  Are you hosting or will you be going to someone else’s home??