HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Wishing you a year filled with health and happiness! 

My Top 3 Favorite Products of 2011

The theme going around the blogs seems to be favorite posts, favorite projects etc...so going along with that idea I thought I would share with you my 3 favorite products of 2011 and a few photos of projects I did with them...

#1 - Gloss white spray paint

[The reindeer was orignally bright gold and now is a crisp, bright white]

[Harry and I painted a ton of ornaments for our advent calendar.  This is one of them that used to be gold also]

[And the NOEL stocking holder that also used to be gold is now a crisp, bright white]

#2 - Burlap fabric

[Stockings made out of burlap and silk/quilted fabric with grosgrain ribbon and buttons that can be changed out]

[On the Christmas tree as bows and even the tree topper which you can see more of here]

[An accent pillow I made out of burlap was given a couple ruffles of jersey material and a grosgrain bow]

#3 - Decorative edger (by EK)

[Each chair in the dining room got a cardstock cone filled with boxwood clippings from my back yard, and a tag finished with the edger and reindeer names.  I also made all the gift tags like this but forgot to take pics before they were all opened!]

[Love the banner that I made from a Jennifer Rizzo.com tutorial you can find here]

I already have ideas for these and some other fun products for 2012 and will share along the way! 

* I will be linking to:

Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage

Weekend Wrap Up Party at Tatertots and Jello

 

Jen

The BEST Broccoli EVER!!!

I had to share this super easy recipe that you know is delicious when your husband says "you didn't make enough broccoli"!  I found the recipe (and picture) on Pinterest (you can find it by clicking on the "Pinterest" button on the right side of this blog, it is under the mmmmm...section!)  It is a Barefoot Contessa recipe called Parmesan-Roasted Broccoli. 

SERIOUSLY, YOU MUST TRY IT!

Enjoy!

xoxo
Jen

Thank You!

A big thank you to Julia at Hooked on Houses for featuring our home in 20 Very Merry Rooms Decked Out for Christmas! And to DeeDee at ddzine for the sweet introduction!! 

Also, I will be linking today to Tuesday's Treasures over at My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia...


xoxo,
Jen

A mantel for the stockings please?

So I am kind of known in my family for coming up with ideas that they say can not be done.. but really they should know better by now, saying that makes me even more determined to do it!  So one day not to long ago the following conversation occured.. and it went something like this...

(Me) "I need a mantel to put our Christmas stockings on..."

(Husband)  "Well we don't have a fireplace so put them on the stair railing or something..."

(Me)  "I know that, I was thinking you could just build me one.."

(Husband)  silence, and a look of oh, no..here we go again...

One weekend, one call to my Dad for "assistance", and a few trips to Home Depot later....

"Alright I got the wood you wanted, now what?"

"Yes you heard right, a "fireplace", yep right there!" 

 I always forget to take more "during" photos...

The final product, and I LOVE IT!!!  It was so much fun decorating for the holidays, and it really "warms" up the room (no pun intended)!

Linking to:

Thursdays Are Your Days at 52 Mantels

Thrifty Decor Chick - Before and After Party

Jen

Parties, parties and more parties!!!

I am linking today to www.theinspiredroom.net for the 2011 Holiday Home Tour.  What better way to see the beautiful holiday decor around the country than from the comfort of your own home!  Maybe you are still in your pj's, drinking a cup of hot chocolate (if you haven't had Williams-Sonoma hot chocolate you are missing something magical!) curled up under a blanket with the fire going...ohhhh I wish it would snow!  ENJOY....

Holiday Home Tour!

Don't miss the virtual Holiday Home Tour hosted by Jennifer Rizzo.....If you haven't been following be sure to check out the beautiful homes she has featured all week, as well as the link party open house starting December 12th! .

Time to party!!

I absolutely love decorating for the holidays.. especially Christmas!  So here are a few shots of our holiday home.  The theme this year was natural and re purposed...I tried (although not 100% successful) not to purchase anything new this year.  I hope you enjoy this view into our home as much as we enjoyed creating it!

LINKING TO:  (Don't be late to the party!)

french country cottage
thriftydecorchick
 theinspiredroom
hookedonhouses
southernhospitality
homestoriesatoz
myuncommonsliceofsuburbia


So what are you waiting for it's cold out there!  Come on in.....

Our living and dining rooms are the first ones you see when you enter our home.  I was debating about putting ornaments on the little tree in here, but I decided I liked the simplicity of the tree in a basket. I added the faux fur on the chairs to give the leather warmth..

Harrison loved the little paper mache reindeer at the craft store, but the bright gold color was definitely not going to work, so I painted it gloss white and gave it a little burlap bow for some texture. 

I kept the dining room simple with natural elements like the sticks in the urn draped with vintage inspired garland and extra large marshmallows filling my Gramma's old cookie jar...

Harry and I spent a fun afternoon creating these little snow globes out of mason jars! 

Leading down the hall past the powder room....

....and into the family room where our main tree is this year.   I love having it in a room where we spend most of our time. My Gramma had given me an ornament from all over the world every year since I was born. It is always so special to put them on the tree each year, and I have started that tradition for my son and husband too, so they put there own ornaments up each year.  But I also like to add a different element to the tree and as this year was "natural" I decided to add some burlap, twigs, feathers, some sparkle with silver beeded garland, and a moss covered letter "B" for our tree topper.  I think this is my favorite tree so far!

I continued the natural theme under the tree by just using some burlap fabric as a tree skirt and softening it up with a fur throw on top of it. 

This is the first year I have had a mantel to decorate and it was soooo much fun creating it! I had a "stocking making party" this year and a few of us made new stockings for our families. I made ours out of burlap and silk for the girls (well me and my dog, I am outnumbered as far as humans go!) and burlap and a quilted fabric for the boys. I also found in my basement a NOEL stocking hanger I used years ago in my old house but it was also bright gold so I painted it gloss white. 

And lastly a view of the front of our house.. the only thing missing is the snow!!!  Each window has a little candle light in it also that I make my husband plug in when I work at night so I can see it when I get home!  He huffs about having to plug in 9 little lights but I think he secretly likes it too when he pulls up the driveway!!

Thanks for stopping by, and may you have a wonderful holiday season! 

xoxo,
 Jen