Christmas in our Home, 2015

This year I was lucky enough to have my mom here with me to decorate for Christmas!! We had so much fun going to HomeGoods and Marshalls to find unique ornaments, garland, and candles. (I promise I'm not sponsored by TJX)

Christmas decorating has a fine line between perfectly placed festive decor and red/green clutter.  I love for every little space or corner to have a little Christmas cheer on it but I also try to step back and edit, asking myself "is that pretty or just messy looking?" 

With a toddler in the house, I decided to leave most of the special ornaments in their boxes and replaced them with felt or wooden ornaments.  I also looked specifically for dark red, dark green and cream decorations. Our stockings were my inspiration which were gifts from Paul's mom Sandy!

Below are more shots from around our main floor of the house!

{a few nativity figurines that Roswelle can play with - the three wise men are not pictured}

{last year with Santa}

{I love plaid, and I'm thinking I will buy more of it when Christmas items go on clearance}

{Nothing is more festive than a table ready for a dinner party}

I really wanted a wooden Christmas tree collar this year for under the tree.  There were a few at HomeGoods but I didn't get to the store in time before they were all scooped up! So this year I purchased some Christmas storage boxes that hide the cords and skirt and will be good for ornament storage.  

A Fall Refresher

First - thank you so much for reaching out to me yesterday.  The facebook comments, messages, and texts really impacted me.  It's scary to put feelings out there, especially in a culture that puts on a perfect front, so thank you for making me feel supported. We are all going through something so we might as well come together and hold each others hands through it.  

As promised - a little post on a simple Fall update! I love changing the house to match the seasons.  A few weeks ago, on the first day of Fall, I went up to the attic and grabbed my Fall themed throw pillows (I forgot the blankets!) and started from there.  

The pictures aren't perfect (argghhhh I need to get my camera fixed!!) but they'll do.  Most of this change-up was free.  I switch curtains and lamps around the house, found throw pillows that I had stored from last year and added just a few Fall accessories.  When you have clean, neutral items and colors in a room, it is easy to transform the room with just a smidge of color.

our Fall-ish mantel: 

A brown bolster throw pillow, gold/mercury containers with rope detail and fall colored flowers.  My only plant in the house (still alive!), a ceramic cream pumpkin, and a simple twig wreath.

Above: our living room before I did the Fall refresher

The updated room: 

I switched out the curtains from Roswelle's room.  I was sick of the 2yr old polka dot Ikea ones that didn't reach the floor in our living room.  I switched the lamps from our bedroom.  New pillows to add some fall colors.  And the easiest way to change the feel of a room - a scented candle and coffee table accessories.

I'm debating on whether to fill the leaf dish with candy-corn (a personal favorite) or a healthier option such as pistachios... it's still empty 2 weeks later. 

  Curtain advice from my fav blogger Erin Gates of Elements of Style is to hang curtains as close to the ceiling as possible and to have the hem of the curtain gather slightly on the floor.  It draws the eye up, giving the illusion of taller ceilings and adds some drama.  

Roswelle's Nursery

The nursery was made possible by a lot of different people who loved Roswelle before she was even here.  I had the vision but I had little to do with execution.  Paul and his Dad, Ross, put up the grasscloth wallpaper and chair rail.  Jenny found the restoration hardware crib for me on craigslist. My mom gifted us the rocker.  My super talented girlfriend Sue painted the verses for me  - check out her website below in the details listing.  Paul sanded the dresser and fixed the broken drawers, my mom painted it.  Paul hung everything currently on the walls.  It was equal parts work and love that made this room a peaceful little palace for Roswelle. 

The bedroom will be shared by her younger to-be sibling down the road so I tried to keep the bones of the room neutral.  Pink is the accent color in the room but it goes a long way.  I've included all of the resources and details on almost everything in the room at the end of the post. 

And once again, thank you Mikhail for theses amazing pictures - see his blog here:

http://mikhailglabets.com/blog/

  I am so happy she will have these to look at and see all of the thought and care that went into her nursery.  

Rowelle update: she is still as happy as a clam.  She likes tummy time, looking at our faces and she loves b&w books! She will be 6wks old tomorrow <3

Roswelle sleeps in the moses basket every night.  We took the lining out for safety.  It has been the best since we can easily bring it into the bedroom, living room, kitchen, wherever we are at the time.  And the rocking stand is great; I definitely recommend for a bassinet.  

I love the verse above, and it definitely helps when I am trying to get her to sleep at 2am.  

Details with product links:

Wall Color: Benjamin Moore Acadia White

Grasscloth Wallpaper: American Blinds 

NT33708

Dresser: owned and repainted Benjamin Moore Harbor Grey, pearl finish

Crib: Restoration Hardware- found on craigslist

Rocker:

Pottery Barn Wingback Convertible Rocker

, Natural Flax Belgian Linen

Paintings: by So Sue Me -  

https:\\sue-sardinia.squarespace.com

Bedding:

Serena & Lily Tess Crib Collection

Gold Book Shelf: Ikea

VITTSJO

Wall Shelves: Ikea 

Stenstorp

Area Rug:

Overstock nuLOOM Sisal Rug

Curtains:

Overstock Herringbone Curtains

Ottoman: Owned & covered with a gifted sheepskin

Round Mirror: Ikea

Stockholm Mirror

Lamps: Homegoods

abc pillow:

Etsy: pilosale shop

Pink Sash: personal item from wedding dress

Lace Drape over crib: Personal Wedding Veil

Moses Basket:

Restoration Hardware Trellis Moses Basket

(on sale!)

A Fresh, Clean Start

I love decorating for Christmas.  But I love taking it all down just as much - or at least I did this year.  Maybe with the baby on the way I felt the need to get our house in order just a little bit more than usual.  We took our Christmas decorations down before New Year's Eve and it honestly felt really nice to start the year off with a clean, organized house.  Of course one of my focal points was the mantel, there is very little on it now and it makes me really, really happy. 

{view from Christmas}

{view from New Year's Day}

I bought a 2014 Rifle Paper calendar at a little shop in San Fran when we were there.  I love the prints each month and the colors work really well with my decorating style.  Typically you would frame or hang a calendar, but for now, ours is resting high up on the mantel. 

{I love all of Rifle Paper Co. calendars - bought the Secret Garden one for my mom as well!}

Below are a few months I'm really looking forward to turning to this year: 

{Our baby's arrival month and Washington D.C. happens to be the location of Paul's and my first date <3 }

{our little one will be a few months old - maybe we will take a ferry ride over to Nantucket for my birthday in July}

{would go back to San Fran in November every year if I could}

Some other updates:

Paul and I are feverishly preparing our house for sweet pea's arrival.  We are both leading a few projects that we plan to complete before April 7th (3 months from today!!)  I'll be posting the finished results I'm sure, and maybe a few progress posts in between.

Nursery: all me! I've been on overstock, wayfair, craigslist, ikea, etc to be able to furnish her room on a reasonable budget (with a few gifted items as well - thanks mom!)  I have it all planned out and will hopefully be able to share it soon.

Basement: Paul is leading the way on getting our dark green (god-awful) tile floor replaced with a warmer, brighter hardwood.  I plan to paint the walls and set up the guest room down there for my mom's visits that are sure to become more frequent.

Light fixtures: It's time to replace the fixtures the builder selected 13 years ago with some that fit our home's style a little better. A few are arriving from overstock next week!

Paint: We are in the middle of picking out paint for the entire house.  It hasn't been painted since it was built and is in desperate need of a fresh coat.  I actually enjoy painting and plan to do one room at a time.  

oh and a Gun License: Paul wanted me to add that he is currently lining up classes and exams to obtain his MA gun/hunting license so he can go hunting with his Dad this Fall and get our daughter some local grassfed meat for the winter!

That's it for now! and by the way - War Eagle! SUCH a great season - unexpectedly :)  

Already excited for next season!

Book Shelves

Last night I rearranged our bookshelves!  I decided to rearrange them by color - so each cubby has a specific color. 

{before - the shelves have looked like this since we moved in}

{after!}

and because everyone loves before/after - here is the head-on view.

A few of the squares were lacking....we needed more of specific colors.  Then I had the idea of incorporating shoes!! What better way for two girls to show off their favorite pairs of shoes!? Instead of shoving them in our limited amount of closet space, they are now beautifully displayed for all to admire. :)

{blue box}

{leopard box - yessss}

{yellow box}

{gold box}

{purple box}

{and finally the Orange box - which I read is the color of Spring/Summer!}

My creative/decorating juices were flowing - so I moved on to yet another bookshelf.  We didn't have much left over to decorate with - so I pulled out all of my favorite shopping bags and displayed them.  A girl's apartment is the ideal place to display shoes, jewelry, and shopping bags as art/decoration.   I have a few more ideas for this bookshelf - but those will have to wait a little while!

Marcia and I really loved how it turned out - what do you think? 

Ps. Two things: Marcia's last name also starts with a W - so the giant W works for the both of us! 

And I apologize for the yellow coloring/fuzziness of the pictures.  I haven't quite mastered my photographing at night...I'm much better with natural sunlight.