"Deck the Halls" 2011

Still no Michael yet.... so I'll take advantage of this extra time I have and share our Christmas decorations with you all! :)

This tree hasn't been set up twice in the same home! Our first Christmas we were in our apartment in Chicago, then our Chicago Condo, then our Pampa "apartment" and now our Pampa home! :) Phew! Maybe we can stay here until at least January 2013? :)

I've even got some Christmas gifts wrapped already! I'm telling you people - I'm ready for this little boy to come!

A "context" picture for you so you can see the corner the tree is in. :) Taken on Sunday afternoon aka: "Football viewing time." Brad put up with me opening the curtains so I could take pictures during Lu's nap - what a nice guy! :) 

Our nativity is set up on the buffet - a great central location where we can enjoy it multiple times during a day. Lucy will stand and look at it saying, "baby" or "Baa." :)

Our Christmas Tablescape - silver and red. :) I had everything except the silver beads (Ikea) and reindeer (isn't he so very friendly? Crate and Barrel, a happy-birthday to me treat.). The flowers are a "You-can-do-it-babe!" gift from Brad - he sure  knows how to cheer up this preggo lady. :)

 

 These happy snowmen are happily situated on the "sewing" desk - adding some Christmas Cheer to the front room. 

They make me smile. :)

I'm much happier with my Christmas wreath than I was with my fall one - I had a piece of garland that I attached to a metal wreath form and then put picks and gold (shatterproof) ornaments on. I had everything on hand already so this was a great project - Cost, $0!! :) Love it when that happens!

We also spent a Monday decorating the outside of our house - we have pretty outdoor lights but I haven't gotten around to taking a picture of them yet, I'll try to capture one before Christmas is over and share it with you - I think we have the most cheerful house on the block, but I may be a bit biased. :)

Well friends, I really hope the next post is a birth announcement! This weekend is a full moon - some say that there are always more babies born on full moons than other times of the month. I have no idea, but I wouldn't be upset if it worked out that way! :) Also I think it would be fun if Michael was born on 12-11-11 or 12-12-11 (I have a thing for double numbers) but again - I would NOT be upset if he came earlier!! :)

Autumn Adornment

Although our weather in the Texas-Panhandle isn't cooperating with the calendar, I've brought fall into our home despite the high of 91 that is predicted for tomorrow.  :}

I'm starting with my fireplace hearth (even though my dining room is where the party is really being held) because I'm linking up to The Lettered Cottage's Fall Mantles Party! It's my first blog linky-party - and I'm excited to be participating! :) 

 

   The plant and red-fire-bird were joined with a few pumpkins and an owl ("hoot hoot!") because, what says fall like pumpkins and owls? I've had the orange pumpkins for a few years, but found the green one a few weeks ago at our local Tuesday Morning - I like how the shape/color is different than the other two, but it has the same finish!

Close ups of the two sides. :) A little something Orange/Green/Red on both :)

Ok, moving into the dining room:

 My kitchen cart has this cute candle holder (a gift from my mom-in-law) complete with apple cider tea-lights, I get a waif of them whenever I walk by. Makes me smile. :) 

 The buffet has a symmetrical look this season, I'm liking the simplicity of the candles surrounded by corks (this is how I used the hurricanes for the first year I had them, so it is a little sentimental for me).

One of the few decorating things Brad brought into our home when we got married were these rock-bottomed name-place-holders (You can see the "rock" base below). :) I hadn't used them until now, but I had fun making some cards with fall themed words on them - this one says, "Thankful."

This pretty gold bowl was a gift from a couple from church, and I filled it with my traditional fall dried-bean-mix adding a few pine cones and acorns my sisters collected for me when we were in San Antonio (Thanks Laura and Anna!). A fun mix of things that make me think "fall" with no other purpose than making me happy and occupying my cat (apparently? I've found a few acorns in corners and under furniture since this has been out).

Now the table, seriously - this makes me happy.

 I LOVE IT. :)

A few gals from church make fun of me because every time they have come over to my house I have had a different centerpiece. I told them they need to come over more often! :) But what can I say, I get board and like to switch things up! I don't have money to go get manicures/pedicures but decorating is just as relaxing for me, I'm a strange cookie and I'm be the first to admit it. :)

I bought the table runner last winter from World Market, it was on clearance for $10 (I think? I can't remember clearly at this moment) -I've been saving it for fall and was a little afraid I would forget about it, but thankfully I did not! :) It has a dark plum background and a "garland" of white roses, pears and leaves.

 

Here is another name-place-holder, this one reading "friends." Joined by a candle holder from my great-grandma Ivance and a thrift-store votive. 

 The great wooden bowl is another thrift-store find, this one from Lititz PA from my recient trip to visit friends. I was really excited when I saw it, thinking it was handmade in an exotic country - I picked it up and saw a "made in china" sticker, oh well - maybe not a one-of-a-kind piece, but it has been a fun addition to my house. :) The bowl is filled with pears, which aren't real but have fooled many people so far - they are another thrift-store kind hailing from Minnesota. 

I didn't realize how many thrift stores, from all over the country, contributed to this table until now.  :) 

Here is # 3 of 4 name-place-holders - this one reading "Family" Something about fall just makes me thankful for my family, maybe it is the upcoming holidays or the start of school, but it happens every year. :) 

My trio of wooden candle holders don't match perfectly, but coordinate perfectly - one of my favorite looks. The one in the front left was made by my dad in his high school shop class! :) My grandma gave it to me a few years ago and it it one of my all-time favorite things. The tall candle stick is from Ikea - love that place. And the votive-candle-stick....

...was a Amarillo thrift-store find, I purchased it alone and it wasn't until I was putting together this centerpiece that i realized it holds my (Chicago thrift-store) votive holders perfectly! Sarah was very happy upon discovering this - it's the small things.

 Have you set your "fall" table yet?

The autumn adornment doesn't stop there - no my friends - I have a little touch of fall in my front room too! (I have told myself that I am not allowed to buy anymore "Fall themed decor" but must have fun with what I have until I have more surfaces to decorate.) :)

 My new sewing table, when it's not in use, provides a nice surface for a few little things.

 My cute pilgrim couple, another gift from my fabulous mom-in-law, make me happy.  I realize they may not be for everyone - Brad thinks they are kinda creepy because they don't have eyes. 

I hope you enjoyed the fall tour of our home - I'm hoping the weather starts to cool off soon, but until then I'll just keep burning my apple cider candles and pretending it is crisp and cool outside. :) How have you welcomed fall into your home?

Summer Table

If you know me well, you know that I like to switch up my table centerpiece with the seasons (and sometimes more often than that!). This changing in decor sometimes even overflows to surrounding spaces - currently, our buffet or kitchen cart.  As I was yearning for fall the other day (sweatshirts, crisp mornings... football), I resisted the urge to switch out our summer decor for autumn stuff because I realized I hadn't taken pictures of our summer dining room to share with you. Plus, it's August.... I think I need to wait til mid-Sept before bringing out the pumpkins.

Two things that pop into my mind when I think of summer are 1) Sand and 2) Shells or in a single word, "Beach." This was my inspiration for our Summer Table 2011.

Ta Da! 

 I filled my hurricanes with sand, centered a blue textured candle and surrounded it with shells - the day after I did this (no joke) one of my favorite blogs did the same thing in an apothecary jar! I felt so creative and "fashion forward" (As they say on Project Runway - yes, I'm addicted). :)

 A bird's eye view of the hurricane. I'm so over my previous mind-set of: "I never burn candles because I want to use them over and over again." As you can see we have enjoyed these candles this summer - love dinner and candlelight. :) I used an old table cloth that had been badly stained to make the table "runner" - I liked the simplicity of the shorter length of cloth and I've really enjoyed the plaid tone on tone fabric.

Moving onto our kitchen cart:

 I found this cheese cloche for $3 at a thrift store. It even has a marble bottom. I KNOW!

 We haven't used it for cheese yet, but the shells are enjoying their summer home (they told me so).

Buffet time:

  I found two buffet lamps 70% off at Kirklands in Amarillo earlier this summer! I love the ambiance they provide to our dining room - perfect for our buffet. (I think I need to raise the picture between them about 3 inches, to help with the "Triangle" effect) I'm also playing with the idea of painting a large canvas (like 2.5x4ish) to place here, something a bit industrial with text on it (I'm currently thinking 1 John 3:18). We will see. 

The summer beachy theme continues to the buffet, I put some sand in a shallow bowl and filled it with some of the larger shells I have in my collection. All of my shells were given to me by "Grandma" Reed - a sweet neighbor who truly functioned as a grandmother to us kids (we lived 20 hours from biological grandparents) when we were growing up. She had a shell collection that we were not allowed to touch (I think one of us broke a sand dollar at one point - if my memory is correct) but I would spend a lot of time gazing at them. She knew how much I loved them and when she moved into a nursing home, she gave them to me. I have loved having reminders of Grandma Reed around my house this summer - such happy memories. 

So that's our Summer 2011 dining room. :) Do you have any summer decor that comes out every year? I haven't done the same thing twice (yet) with summer decor (Click here to see our Summer 2010 table) but I have loved the sand/shells so much - you may see them again next year. :)

The 4th of July

Happy 4th of July to you and your family! 

To celebrate the holiday, we bought matching shirts at Wal-Mart this morning (does that make us red-necks, hopefully not).

4th of July, 2011

(Side note: my baby belly has made an appearance - I'm 17 wks)

For some comparison, here we are a year ago:

4th of July, 2010

So much has changed!

Our little baby is now a little girl! :)

Here is our holiday table centerpiece - we are having some friends from small group over tonight, there will be 11 of us total. Hamburgers, brats, watermelon, chips, veggie tray and brownies - I can't wait!!!!

Hope you are having a great day! Happy Independence Day!

Fixin' Up Friday: Progress in the Decorating Department

Last week, my mom's upcoming arrival lit a fire under my bottom to get some stuff on the walls and decorate a bit. And with the arrival of spring, I wanted to "springify" the house a bit. :) (to see the house before all the progress - click here)

In the past, I've always forgotten to decorate for spring - Easter sneaks up on me, and before I know it the pastel-pallet is no longer applicable. Thankfully, this year, I remembered to pull out all my fun decor. :)

Let's start our tour in the front room.

This space is pretty empty (and I kinda like it) but functions as a big entry way right now. Eventually we will have a piano in this room and may be a chair or two or small couch. But for right now, our pennies need to be saved for new couches for the living room. :)

Our two bookshelves anchor this side of the room, because Brad has almost all of his "studying" books at church in his office, space has been freed up on the shelves for me to put some picture frames and decor. I even have my cook books out here right now, since my kitchen/dining room doesn't have a place for them right now. :) You may recognize the plant stand from here and the lamp has moved into here from the living room because of a new lamp (keep reading to see it). :)

(Pet-peeve: The shelves are different colors, we bought them at different times and Target changed the shade of the color between purchase 1 and purchase 2. Boo. Paint may be an option in the future...)

Ok, let's go down the hall to the master bedroom,

A close up of the wall. Wedding pictures, our invitation, some love penguins, a (fake-but-looks-so-real) rose and memorable little boxes make a nice grouping.

The dresser. Brad gave me the jewelry box for my birthday (the first year we were together) the Lladro piece has a fun story behind it:

Years ago my Great Grandpa Ivance was shopping and bumped this statue while browsing. He ended up buying it and gluing it back together. As my family was helping him move this was one piece that went into the "give-away" pile. As I was looking through the pile I grabbed it up! When I lived with Bill and Nina Knuth for a few summers they instilled in me a love for Lladro and I thought it would be years until I could own a piece of my own. I rebroke this pretty lady's arms, took off the old glue and tape (with finger nail polish remover and cotton swabs) and re-glued her together, the results made me happy! The cracks were much less evident and I felt comfortable making her a centerpiece on my dresser. She is not perfect. But I love her. :) As we think about what we want our Master Bedroom to be, I think I would like to go to a lighter color pallet in the future, perhaps using this lady as inspiration. :)

Onto the other side of the room:

I am still thinking through what I can do above Brad's side of the bed (left) to balance out the off-centered window and hide the electrical box.

I moved my apothecary jar onto my nightstand per Brad's request, he felt he was going to break it on his side. :) I like waking up and seeing one of my favorite things, so I was happy to oblige. :) I painted the picture, a copy of this, with my friend Linsey one summer.

To see Lucy's room, click here.

The guest room, still a little sparse - but functional. :)

Ok, back to the dining room. :)

Our buffet is no longer lonely, but has a picture to keep it company. :) I'd like to make a longer runner for the buffet (burlap? canvas? or something else neutral), the proportions are off a bit with this one, but hey - it was free. :)

A bit of Easter fun, candy anyone? :)
(ohh that rhymed :) )

I hung the pictures in the same arrangement they were in in Chicago (tried to find a picture to show you - is it possible I NEVER gave you a tour of our condo on Leavitt?). I liked the grouping, and it works well on the wall.

Our spring table. Look, Lucy even has her bunny bib out! :) (Secret: I'll give a tutorial on how to make those decorative balls soon. Shhh... dont tell ok?)

The living room doesn't have too many decorating changes (other than the south wall! lol - that's a bit different now than it was during the last home tour).

My mom gave me this end table, which I think was given to her by her sister Joy. I love family furniture pieces (especially when they are free!). I've been loving this table, it gives me a place to set my drink in the evenings when we are relaxing - the right side of the couch is mine, the left is Brad's. Yes, we assign seats in the living room. :)

The left side of the living room is lookin' fine with that treadmill, am I right? Oh the price I am paying to (try to) stay in shape. :) Eventually we will get a screen to hide the ginormous equipment. As for now, we fold it up and push it against the wall when we have company.

Attention north wall. You will soon be attacked. Prepare yourself. (I can't wait to get that paneling and wallpaper down... but one project at a time Sarah, one project at a time.)

And meet the Lucy corner. It has expanded. Quite a bit. (See the progress we are making on the wall? :) A few more coats of mud left, and then we can PAINT!!)

And there is the new lamp, we got at IKEA in Dallas. Love that place.

Brad likes the changes I have made, but Lucy isn't so sure:

Just kidding! She loves them too, she even asked me, "Mama, when will you be done taking down all that paneling?"

That's my girl. :)

Well, I hope you enjoyed the progress tour. We are no where near the "after" status, but we will make sure to take lots of "during" pictures to document our journey toward it. :)

Do you like the changes? Or do you feel like Lucy, in that picture above? Has spring sprung in your neighborhood? Have you decorated to bring in the new season? If not - it's totally fine, I'm a little obsessive - maybe even OCD - about changing my decorations, I like things to be new and different. :)