A little bit of Christmas

I've been having a good time getting out my Christmas decorations and going to town with them! Here is a little bit of what I've been up to...

These are snow balls I made with paper mache and glitter...


The fireplace mantle...

I hung snowflake ornaments from the curtain rod in the dining room...
The centerpiece on the table is a trifle bowl filled with ornaments...

This is a little dresser in the foyer that was my hub's great-grandparents'. I repainted it white and distressed it a few years ago...

Ornaments in an urn that I found at a yard sale this summer...

Hubs made this built-in bookcase for me earlier this year. It used to be a doorway that we now have blocked off...

Now I just need to work on the outside of my house! Enjoy your Christmas preparations!

Here comes Christmas!

I haven't done a stitch of Christmast decorating yet, but these pictures by our friend Martha are inspiring me!

I typically start my decorating right after Thanksgiving, but right now I'm in the full swing of redoing my bedroom (painting, rearranging furniture, etc.). So my Christmas trees, ornaments, and wreaths will have to wait a few more days.

I think the color palette this year will be red, silver, and sparkle! (is that a color?)

Can't wait to get started!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Growing up!

My baby turned 18 months old today, so I decided to take some photos to mark the occasion!

So fun...

Oprah Goodness!

Holy Moly! Did any of you see Oprah today? Wow - it was just my cup of tea!

She showed homes of people who are just regular folks - and they did amazing things with their houses for not a lot of money. They look like they are right out of a design magazine!

So inspirational! And gets my creative juices flowing!

To Ikea & Beyond!

This week I spend a wonderful, child-free day shopping with these lovely ladies...

My sister-in-law Heather, my sister Sara, and my mom


We started our day at Ikea and can I tell you? That store sings to me. Really. (Thank you Andrea for the introduction!) It is so chock-full of fun things at such low prices that I can hardly control myself. So I thought I'd share my goodies with you.

These are hanging baskets that I put beside Avery's changing table. What a great way to keep stuff out of her reach! Awesome idea.

Here are some pot holders that I really didn't need but at 97 cents for the pair, who could resist? I mean, really.

These are cute storage boxes that I put on my shelves in the office. The whole wall is covered with shelves, and it's challenging to keep them looking organized, so these will help to keep some unsightly things hidden. I love all the designs and colors they had. And so cheap...

I also got a lovely duvet cover for my bedroom, but I won't show pics till I have the bedroom finished - sorry! (oh, the anticipation)

Next we hit Restoration Hardware, which is just so perfect. Love the clean lines, muted colors, everything about this store. I could've been in there all day. Although it's too pricey for me, that won't stop me from using lots of their ideas! :)


We also perused Pottery Barn which, obviously, is just lovely. Saw Martha's new collection at Macy's (nice but not super-impressive, in my opinion). And ate dinner at The Cheesecake Factory. Can you say calories?? But so worth it.

What a great day!

Sweetness

Since Beth has been on my back about entertaining her with another post, I thought I'd do a generic "I Love My Kid" post. :)


She's been my little angel that past few weeks...well, not always an angel, but she keeps me preoccupied and adds much needed sweetness to my life...


I've been doing much better in the past few days and feel almost back to my normal project-making self! A huge project is in the works, in fact - our sad, boring bedroom. I have lots of ideas swirling in my head, and I can't wait to see the final product! I'm hoping to get it done in the next month or so. Of course, I'll be sharing all the pics with you guys!

Thanks everyone for your very kind comments in the past few weeks. I really appreciate each and every one. I've learned so much about needing friends and family to support you, and also how to deal with and relate with a grieving person. (at least, I've discovered how I need to be cared for when I'm hurting) It's been interesting.

So anyway, I hope you all have a great week!