Christmas at our house 2013

It's finally Christmas at our house!

Here was the snippet I posted the other night:

And here is our beautiful REAL tree in all it's glory:

I really like the placement and the tree itself this year!

I finally joined the cool kids with 'christmas mesh' or whatever it's called and I like it! I am a major failure at making it look good, but I like it!

Mark put the star on the tree after chopping off the abnormally long tallest branch. 

Of course I'm already done with my shopping so the presents are tucked nicely in, hiding the fact that I don't have a tree skirt. Shh!!

Some of my favorite ornaments:

Our first ornaments as a married couple...his and hers!

Mark's soccer ball and baby me in the background (with major glare. Sorry!)

I have a BUNCH of dollar store ornaments so I just fill mason jars and random vases with them. It's easy and festive! This is the half wall behind the tree.

We also have our countdown sign and look, more ornaments! 

I found this sign and switched it out for the "B" on my wreath to make the complete transformation to a Christmas wreath.

I'm still missing a lot of decor that will go in the kitchen (can't wait to reveal that this week!!!) and also a bag of decor was left at my parent's house so that has yet to be set up. Cross your fingers we get our Christmas lights up this year! I can't believe we're so late to the game! I guess it's all worth it for a new kitchen, though. :)

Merry Christmas!

Christmas cheer

My sister in law probably won't be able to cope with this information, but it's December 4th and I have yet to put up my Christmas decorations.

Things have been a little cray-cray at my house, what with the kitchen remodel and all, so I have vowed to wait to bring down the Christmas chaos until the kitchen is done and cleaned up.

There have been some lulls in the work where we are waiting for something to dry, etc., so I've taken out a few things that weren't packed and also added some new things to the mix!

We made these fun chalkboard signs at a friend's bachelorette party and I thought it was appropriate to put a little Christmas message up on it. 

I've added it to my gallery wall (in my rearranged living room that I have yet to document) and I love the charm it brings!

These amber colored mercury glass balls are my favorite but they were just rolling around in my closet so I just placed them in a basket.

I had some random holly berries laying around and I thought they would be the perfect addition to my ever changing front door wreath! I like how subtle they are. 

It's nice to have a little Christmas cheer around the house while we finish the remodel.

Have you started decorating for Christmas?

Oh, deer!

Happy Monday!

I hope everyone had a good weekend. Mark and I had another much appreciated low-key weekend, which meant I was able to get things done AND blog about it!

If you follow me on Pinterest, you can tell that I'm crazy and pin way too many things. I do try to stay realistic and pin things that I would someday like to try. I knew when I pinned this image that I would be adding it to my project list:

It's the Blooming Reindeer Pillow that was previously sold for $88 at Anthropologie. 

If you look closely, the deer is actually comprised of needlepoint, but I wasn't going for an exact copy, just something similar because I liked the look. 

This was the site that the image was pinned from...

...And this was their final product:

Like the bad student I am, I didn't even bother reading the 'how-to' on the site where I found this and instead I just used the Anthropologie pillow as inspiration and I started off on my own. 

I'm always checking out Ikea's pillow section and I picked up two grey and white striped pillow covers ($3 each, I believe) about a year ago for our house. You know I love stripes, so I found it was easy to work them into our decor. 

I then purchased two different fabric patterns at JoAnn about two months ago intending to use them to make a valance in my bathroom. Since then, plans have changed so I had some extra fabric laying around. Once I got to thinking, I realized I could use a striped pillow cover and the fabric I already had to make this pillow.

I neglected to take photos of the process, but basically I purchased some double sided fusing cloth from Hobby Lobby in the fabric section. Then I free handed the deer silhouette from the photo on my phone. If you read the original blog post, they link to a print out so you can easily transfer it to your fabric. I like to make things more difficult than they have to be, apparently! I cut out the pattern from the fabric and then traced and cut out the fusing cloth to match. I followed the instructions that came with the fusing cloth and ironed it to the striped pillow cover. Wherever there was overlap, I used my sharp sewing shears sort of like an exacto knife and carefully removed the fusing cloth that was showing. Then I used some thread I had on hand to stitch the edges for some extra detail. Ta-da, that's it!

In one day for relatively no cost I went from this:

To this:

Mark is still undecided about my deer-head pillow, but I love it! It was a relatively easy project and it was even better since I had almost everything on hand. 

If you're interested in something like this or similar, message me and I'd be happy to talk details! :)

Have a great week!

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One more thing! Please be sure to check out my Etsy shop! I've added lots of things, tweaked some things, and lowered prices on many of my handmade custom items. I hope you can find something you like and I always welcome your feedback. Thanks so much!!!

Hocus Pocus - a story of decor

It's Friday and I'm ready to share my Fall decorating, so it's a good day all around!

Over the years I've come to really enjoy Fall and Halloween. I don't remember Halloween ever being a favorite holiday, but I've never been a fan of scary, gory, horrifying things, so that makes sense. Over the last couple of years, though, I've found myself getting giddy over the thought of Halloween. That being said, I've started my own collection of decorations. 

This year I didn't buy anything since our house isn't 100% set up yet. I don't really decorate private areas of the house and I scatter just a few things around the kitchen, so there is only so much decor that can fit in these small 1200 square feet. 

First off, here is our entry. 

(edit: I was looking back on old posts and found this guy below. Look at what a difference about 2 months, some black paint, and decor makes!)

I'm so glad I got the black door and trim painted before this holiday. I cannot imagine this looking good with a maroon door!

All of the orange pumpkins are real pumpkins that Mark and I picked up at Home Depot last weekend. The white one is a fake I got a few years ago. I don't remember buying that galvanized witch thing...Kelly, is that yours? If not, I probably picked it up at HomeGoods.

I found the skull and the black jack-o-lantern at Target and we picked up those mums at Home Depot when we got the pumpkins.

I had an extra strand of leaf garland (snagged at Joann's or Hobby Lobby on sale one year) that I couldn't place anywhere in the house, so I literally just rolled it up and stuck it in the middle of my burlap wreath (seen here). Also, that "B" came from the wreaths I made for our wedding and it fell off in the move.

(there's the original B's location at our old apartment)

It was just lying in our front closet so I grabbed it and stuck it right in with the leaves! So, yeah, DIY cheat, none of that is actually being held in place. Less work for me! :)

I ended up moving this scrolled side table into the entryway to serve as a semi-entry table when we got the new couch. I'm still working things out as far as layout, since the space is a little odd! I have the same cheery books (Blink and The Happiness Project) all together with a glow-in-the-dark skull, purple glitter "EEK!" and a Yankee Candle Company "Autumn Festival" candle. I highly recommend this candle, by the way! Plus, I LOVE the spooky shadow it casts on the "EEK!" sign! 

I have a never-ending assortment of pumpkins, so these are just scattered around the living room. My favorite is still the wicker pumpkin and its slight chevron pattern. :)

Kelly calls this orange and black pillow my 'Halloween pillow" and while I have it out all year, it definitely gets moved to the front in October. Also, I picked up that pillow at the very back from Target a few years ago. On one side it has black and white stripes and on the other it has words like "spooky" and "scary". It's a favorite! As you can see, I laid my other leaf garland here on the windowsill.

I re purposed the $20 TV stand I bought at Wal-Mart a couple years ago into a lonnnngggg end table by the sofa, and I really like it there so far! Mark has a war plane book entitled Ghosts and it works perfectly with book 7 of the Harry Potter series to give a spooky backdrop. I throw in a mushy photo, a glitter pumpkin, two fake baby pumpkins, and a raven and we've got ourselves a vignette! 

I'm a sucker for seasonal candy (even though you can't tell - that sunlight in the back made for a washed out photo!) so I always fill glasses and vases with seasonal M&M's. They don't tempt me much (I'm more of a cookie/cake type of girl) but Mark already warned me that they would be gone soon. I think they are about half of that now. Also, I scored this SWEET little vulture baby at Joann's a couple years ago. It sits appropriately by another glitter sign, "BEWARE". I got it and the "EEK!" sign in the dollar section at Target when I first moved to Dallas.

So, that's my decor for this year! I'm proud of myself for not buying any new items and just working with what I've got! Does anyone else LOVE Halloween out there? Do you decorate your house to the max, or just here and there? I'd love to hear!

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One more thing - I still haven't done anything with this mirror but I'm hoping to use my weekend to get something done. I'm taking votes! Should I paint it? Leave it natural? Distress it? Give it a wash? Give me your thoughts!

Have a happy weekend!

My favorite Five on Friday yet!

I've got a sore throat, but I think I slept off all of the anxiety from last night and I'm here for another Five on Friday!

As usual, I'm linking up with April at A. Liz Adventures. Check her out!

-one-

I have been checking the weather lately to see when a chill in the air will make it's way down to Texas, and I'm pretty excited about this outlook next week:

I mean, it's no Canada, but it's a welcome break from the heat and the signal of the beginning of fall!

-two-

I saw that there was a sale on boots at Nordstrom a couple of weeks ago over on Shay's blog (yes, she is "Sean the Bachelor's" older sister!) and I've been slowly saving my pennies for a boot splurge, so I bought these puppies:

They are REALLY tall, great quality leather, non-slouchy, and on sale right now for 50% off! Yep, that's just $89.99 for a pretty nice pair of boots! Get on over there and buy some. Plus, Nordstrom always has free shipping and free returns. Can't beat that!

*update-I was a little annoyed when I went to link to the page where I bought these boots because I noticed they had been marked down even more and were now $40 less than what I paid for them just a few weeks ago. I planned on stopping into Nordstrom this weekend to see if I could return and re-buy the boots at the sale price, but on a whim I decided to give them a quick call. I didn't have to hold at all to wait to speak to a real person, and they INSTANTLY credited my card with the sale price difference. I was on the phone for less than a minute! I have to give them mad props for being the company that consumers want to buy from. Way to go, Nordstrom, and happy day for me!*

-three-

I'm thinking this weekend calls for some blog TLC. I haven't been paying much attention to it lately just because my life has suddenly sped up over the last couple of weeks, so it needs some love! I want to add a sidebar feature about Motley and Mark, but what else do you think I should change or add? 

She's sad because she doesn't have a sidebar feature.

I'd love to hear your thoughts!

-four-

Speaking of Fall, I'm holding out as long as I can to put out my decorations. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE fall and Halloween, but with a combination of the heat, our unfinished house, and the effort of cleaning around fall decor, I just want to wait until the moment is right. Here are some photos of my previous decorations over the last couple of years:

A little decor at my first Dallas apartment!




I loved this fireplace...even though it didn't work!


Harvest blocks courtesy of Kelly. Aren't they cute?!


My sister as a TMNT and me as Amy Winehouse!

The spread from my Halloween party a couple of years ago.

-five-

I mentioned I had high anxiety last night, and if you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you'll know why. It's because Texas Tech (I might have mentioned them once or twice here and here) had their first conference game against a new rival, TCU. My sister and other family members went to TCU and if anything, they have some pretty die-hard fans. Tech and TCU haven't played each other much over the last 10 years, but TCU joined the Big 12 conference last year and I can see the early makings of a pretty big rival, even outside of my extended family. Mark and I joined friends at a "Tech" establishment with about 100 other fans and watched the game on the big screen. It was a nail-biter, but we pulled out ahead and are undefeated so far! Tech always seems to bring a dramatic game, and this one was no different. Here are the headlines this morning from the Ft. Worth Star Telegram and the Lubbock Avalanche Journal:

Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Lubbock Avalanche Journal

Now, there is rarely a game with perfect officiating and this game did have its questionable calls, but all in all, my Alma Mater won and it was a great game! I'd love to address some comments from TCU fans on Facebook, but I'm trying real  hard to bite my tongue...and that's all I'll say about that! Wrecked 'em!

Happy Weekend!

Babies...but not the kind you think!

I wasn't sure what to post about today until my sister commented on an Instagram photo and asked whether we had moved into our new house yet. I thought this was common knowledge, but maybe I hadn't been clear! Or maybe my beloved sister isn't following my blog like she should be...cough cough.

Regardless, I do have some updates to share! 

Last night I accomplished basically nothing because of my pretty friend Heather:

(Patriotic, yet blogless at the moment)

Heather brought her sweet dog Edward (featured on my Instagram over the weekend) for a play date with Motley and she I and I tried something new for dinner. 

nope, same old same old. 

We chatted at Fuzzy's for a while and then came home and enjoyed the cloudy and cool evening in our chairs in the backyard under the tree. Heather and Edward headed home about 9:30 and it was off to bed for me!

As I mentioned, my dad brought a truckload of items over from my parent's house on Saturday. Among the items he brought were the dresser that we turned into our media cabinet, a bed frame, and...

My childhood stuffed animals. 

I laughed out loud when I opened this. I remember most of the items, but some were inferior to others (obviously) and I have no idea why my mom kept them. 

Heather was particularly tied to this Alaskan eskimo, which she fondly named "Eskie". I think this was from a family member that either lives in Alaska or from one that visited. Unfortunately I can't remember! Mom or Angela, a little help?

And then there were these...

...and these.

Yes, those are beanie babies and their larger counterparts. Of COURSE, these aren't all that I own, pfffffft. The rest of that blue bin in the top photo was filled with various babies of the bean variety, including the valuable McDonald's happy meal toys, still in their box so I can sell them for profit, duh! 

After sifting through those boxes and remembering my favorite toys, we started to get the house in a livable shape. Here is what it looked like this week:

The guest room has been command central for all decorative items. Here they are piled up, just waiting for a spot!

A behind the scenes shot of my staged office area.

I think the black and grey help the mint look a little better. Thoughts?

Another view of my office area, coming together!

Our hallway is piling up with items to go in the attic, plus the mirror that I still need to paint and hang!

Mark's office looked like this for a while...Clutter central!

The bathroom is coming along...I just need to touch up trim, hang the clock, and add a few industrial decor pieces to finish it off! For now...

We had a steady stream of empty boxes piled up in the kitchen.

The living room is starting to fill up! Still need a new couch and I plan to sand down that coffee table to reveal the natural wood finish. I also haven't hung anything on the walls yet... One day!

This is about all that has changed in the entry. I will get a console, paint the hardware, do some touch up (notice the black door! the front is still red, though...) and hang something on the wall here.

So that's where we are right now. I have a long list of things to get accomplished this weekend, so hopefully I'll have more progress to share next week. 

In the meantime, please send stories of your financial success with your booming beanie baby business. I'm sure there are a lot of self-made millionaires out there... ;)