Fall Decorating

Before I start decorating for Christmas on Friday, I thought I would share my fall decorations with you first.

 

My first project back in September was to create this Jute Wrapped Monogram "Wreath" which was long overdue on the DIY Pinterest list. I got the inspiration from Chelsea who writes the Two Twenty One Blog. My felt roses don't look quite as good as hers but after a while I just wanted to be done with. I may fix them in the future but for now, they work! 

 

 

my DIY pinterest board

Back in the summer I bought two old soda crates from a work acquaintance who is an antique dealer on the side, and I found some use for this one which has shelves. My mom gave me all of these gourds and pumpkins that she bought but couldn't use. So I put the two great finds together for this fall ensemble.

 



It's like fall literally threw up on my sideboard but I love it! I just wish I had more shelves in my house to spread this stuff out on so that it's not all crammed in one place.

I went a little crazy printing out beautiful phrases and bible verses I gathered on Pinterest. You can find these on my Pinterest Board called Printables & Downloads.

Here's another one I placed on the counter top for a nice reminder...

Fave Find Friday: Thanksgiving Table Setting

Just a warning, all Fave Fridays in the month of November might be fall or Thanksgiving related. It's one of my favorite times of the year! My husband and I share some wonderful Turkey Day memories together and we both enjoy cooking our annual feast.

I also love decorating for Thanksgiving!! I will share my own personal fall décor with you in a future post. But for now, here's some great table inspiration from one of my favorite sites, Joss & Main where one of their events today is called A Festive Feast. By the way, you will have to sign in to view the event but you can easily connect using your facebook page.

What a great color combination, don't you think?

I'm a little partial to Carolina Blue so pairing it with an orange place mat can make these beautiful plates a practical set for the entire year.

Paula Deen 16 Piece Whitaker Dinnerware Set in Aqua $62.95

Happy Fall Ya'll!

Hello, November

from TheLaurenCollection on Etsy
So cute, click here if you want to buy.
 

...and Hello, Holiday Season! Also, hello again readers. It's been a long time but I assure you this is the last of my long breaks on the blog for a while.

I got a new lap top on Monday night and I'm ready to get back to blogging! Although the new Windows 8 might drive me crazy first.


How was everyone's Halloween? I had a ridiculous amount of Halloween Candy for Trick or Treaters. Unfortunately because the neighbors on my street didn't participate, some of the kids decided to skip our street altogether. Anyone want some candy??

Fall Decorating

As Halloween rapidly approaches (where did October go?), I thought I would get into the Fall spirit by figuring out how I'm going to decorate.

No, I haven't done this yet. New home ownership will do that to you, plus working 40+ hours a week. I haven't even bought our pumpkin yet!

I found plenty of inspiration on Pinterest to decorate this fall, and maybe in the next few days I will get to some of this.  If not, I'll save it for next year.





Happy Easter!

Wishing ya'll a Happy Easter!

Courtesy of thegogreenblog.com

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Don't forget to wear your green today :)



Resolutions

Well, hello 2011! I certainly hope you live up to expectations!
As I say goodbye to 2010, I'm reminded that every year has it's ups and downs... it's how we choose to handle those that truly define us. During the downs, I rely on my faith in God and His strength to get me through. The sun will come up tomorrow and I believe you just have to handle things one day at a time. During the ups, I try to enjoy every moment and give thanks for what God has provided. This year I have so much to be thankful for as I married a wonderful, loving man and we were able to take two honeymoons, one of which was my ultimate vacation desitination in Kauai, HI. I just hope we have more ups than downs in 2011.



found on flickr-dryicons.com


Now I'm going to change gears to resolutions. While I never set actual resolutions there are things I hope to work on in the New Year. Like I said in my previous post, I hope to be more eco-friendly in 2011. I think I might write an entirely seperate blog on this one in the future. I also hope to grow closer to God and since I'm finally settling back in NC... I hope to find a church to call home. This is more of a short-term goal, but I need to get rid of the weight I gained during the Holidays. Say no to cookies! But more long term, I hope to exercise on a regular basis. It's so hard for me to stay motivated. Grr!
I have more goals but I'll stop there, we could be here all night. Personally, I'd rather go watch some bowl games. Hope everyone has a wonderful, exciting and blessed 2011!

Merry Christmas!

courtesy of dryicons.com

Wishing you and your family a Merry Christmas! On this Christmas I'm reminded how God can change your life so fast. In one week we have moved home to North Carolina (which I will have to blog about when I have more time), welcomed a nephew (from a distance who was born on Christmas Eve in Pittsburgh), and my sister-in-law got engaged yesterday in Tampa! What an exciting and eventful week! We are thankful for all of the wonderful blessings in our life and looking forward to the New Year! God Bless!

Christmas Classics

With just five days away from Christmas, I want to know what your favorite Christmas movie is?

My personal favorite

Personally, I love the animated stuff: A Charlie Brown Christmas, Rudolf & Frosty. My mom recorded a tape of the trio back in the 80's so you can imagine that the commercials are almost just as fun to watch. Is it wrong that I don't love the non-animated classics like "It's a Wonderful Life" or "A Christmas Story?"

An Etsy Christmas

As you may know, I adore Etsy. And this is a great time of year to shop etsy for unique gifts and decorations. Here are a few of my favorites this holiday season. Click on any of the pictures to go directly to the seller's page.




Rusted Tin Snowflake: NestaHome Phoenix, AZ

 



Mitten Ornament: RedRavenNest
Vineland, NJ



Christmas Apron: LoveDoversClothing: Los Angeles, CA




Burlap Seashell Shabby Christmas Wreath
TinkersCottage- Topsail Island

 



Love this designer's hand painted signs:
MyFlipFlopz Jupiter FL



16 Days until Christmas!

I was definitlely ready to get into the Christmas spirit this year! I had everything decorated the day after Thanksgiving! I even had presents wrapped (not shown here) the weekend before. I'm not usually that ahead of schedule but we bought all of our gifts in Hawaii this year.

Here's our homely Christmas tree. Next year we are definitely getting a new one. Every year when I get this out, I love how simple it is to put up but I always forget how Charlie Brown it looks. Since we're not staying here for Christmas, and no one really comes over to visit... we decided one more year won't hurt.

Checkout this Countdown to Christmas Clock!

Designing the Perfect Holiday Card

While this has been a year where we have had to be very frugal, I still wanted to make room in the budget for a quality Christmas card. Luckily, Shutterfly is making that happen!

I love their expansive Holiday Collection and Christmas Collection with three different layouts to choose from...

Traditional Folded Greeting Cards



Peppermint Christmas Story

 
Perfect if you have three kids, or a small family like ours- me, the husband and the dog :).


Flat Stationary Cards




Family Wall Red Christmas Card

 
This is my personal favorite! Just a heads up for those of you on my list, you might be seeing this one again but with our mugs on it. Being a newlywed, I wanted to use my new initial and establish our new family. I think the monogram in the middle will be perfect to do just that! I plan to incorporate some of our wedding pictures, honeymoon pictures and of course, one of Calhoun.


Flat Photo Cards




Starlight Colored Snowflakes

Love those colorful snowflakes!
Flat Photo Cards are the most affordable option, usually under a dollar per card (based on quantity). This particular one ranges from .44 (for 225+cards) to .71 (for 12). You really can't beat that! And it includes envelopes.

Shipping is free for orders of $50 or more on all orders. Promo Code SHIP50

Among these layouts are hundreds of different designs to choose from. Shutterfly has it all! I may also order some address labels for our new family. I love these because they can be used year round.


Retro Chic

Hope this helps those still searching for the perfect card like myself. Now I'm off to design the perfect card for 2010!

Also, don't forget that bloggers get 50 free Holiday Cards. Click here for the form: http://blog.shutterfly.com/5358/holiday2010-blog-submission-form/

Free Shutterfly Christmas Cards to Bloggers

Look what I found out from Mouth of the South blogger: Shutterfly is giving away 50 free cards for bloggers!!  Here's the submission form to sign up! Just in time too, I was about to order my Christmas cards!

My Hawaiian Christmas Ornaments

While in Hawaii I bought a lot of souvenirs including: playing cards, a magnet, postcards and a 2011 calendar to adorn my cubicle at work. I couldn't help it! I've always been in love with all things Hawaii without ever having gone. My room in college was decorated Hawaiian with a Pottery Barn quilt to boot.

So when I saw these Christmas ornaments on sale at Macy's in Lihue, I  couldn't resist!



I love my Island Santa



In  2007 we began collecting an ornament for the tree to represent each year we've been together. I 'm so excited about our 2010 ornament below!











gotta have a surfboard ornament





Flip Flops or "Slippers" in Hawaii



Mele Kalikimaka!  

(Merry Christmas in Hawaiian)

Are there any special Christmas ornaments you have hanging on your tree this year?

Our Thanksgiving

My husband and I love Thanksgiving. For some odd reason we love spending all day in the kitchen slaving over a hot stove. Strange, isn't it?
It's kind of become our favorite holiday other than Christmas, of course. It began in 2007, when I moved out to Arizona to live with him. It was our first real meal together and it was my first big attempt at replicating all of the amazing recipes the southern women in my family have concocted over the years. Guess what? It was a total success. I don't know if it was because the expectations were low, but everything tasted amazing that year! So we had to keep it up in 2008. Well, not only did we cook an amazing meal together on Thanksgiving, he proposed the next day.  In 2009 we took over my family's kitchen in Charlotte, and this year we spent it in our own in PA cooking for my husband's family. We love spending this time together, cooking the foods we love for the people we love. And more importantly, giving thanks for all of the wonderful blessings in our life.

So I wanted to share a few pics from our little Turkey Day feast...

I started out the night before baking the pecan pies. So bad for you but yet, so yummy!!




my little pecan pie montage



I also baked my sweet potatoes since it doesn't hurt those to sit out overnight. Timing is everything when cooking, so if you can prep the night before, go for it!

ignore the dirty oven

Onto the Big Turkey Day...


Mixing together all of the goodness that goes inside the sweet potato casserole.

the finished product was my favorite dish

Believe it or not, no pictures of the turkey this year but here's some of our side dishes...

broccoli & cheese casserole, with ritz cracker topping

my husband's cheesy baked mashed potatoes

We also had brown rice, green beans, stuffing, jellied cranberries and rolls.  

Now I'm ready for Christmas!! Bring it on!