Fall Deco Mesh Wreath

My love for deco mesh wreaths continues!  I made this little beauty a few weeks ago and have just LOVED seeing it on my front door when I get home each day.  This is the first one I made with the mesh this tight and it def. used a lot more of the mesh but gives it a much cleaner/tighter look.  Thanks for stopping by!

May Progress Toward Goals

Well, here we are, halfway through 2014!  

One week from our one year anniversary - amazing!  Bittersweet how fast it goes.  What a 

wonderful year we have been blessed with though!

As I've been doing my little personal goal "challenge" this year, a word dawned on me this weekend, BALANCE.  That's what this has really shown me!  My little goal challenge doesn't even take into account all of the other THINGS I want/need to do each day, just things I want to do. 

So, while I didn't get any scrapbooking done in May, I did go to Gatlinburg/Dolly Wood twice, celebrated my mom's 60th birthday, Adam's 30th Birthday, spent Memorial Day in Michigan, got our first floor of the house repainted, had a yard sale AND deep cleaned most of the first floor of the house ... and it looks AWESOME.  Below is a preview of the "Keeping Room" (only in the South) - OH and it was also a big moment for us in May because after 3+ years of living here, we took down Henderson's crate!!!  It really freed up some space and allowed me to move around the furniture and turn it into an office type space more or less.  Love the look of it!  Our diplomas were on that wall behind the rocker but for now, I'm enjoying the blank wall.   

 

1.  Only buy the absolute necessary toiletries/cosmetics/etc
Used up a few more items this month!  Plus, I caved and purchased some lip products from Sephora because I re-discovered ebates and HAD to try it out.  I can really tell a difference in my bathroom cabinets though; my stash is slowly starting to thin out!

2.  No more magazine subscriptions (unless they are free).  My goal is to finish reading the backlog of magazines in the living room and then start on my actual book collection!  My goal is 1-2 books per month.  

Read 2 book and a pile of magazines (still have a pile to go)!

 3.  At least one blog entry a week.  

Missed this one... only made it on here once!  Maybe if we had some rainy days :-)

 

 

4.  Use the elliptical that's literally just  accumulating spider webs in the basement -- get in 20-30 minutes a day on the elliptical and walk Henderson 1-2 times  a week.

January - 56.53 miles 

February - 64.57 miles 

March - 62.27 miles

April - 46.23 miles

May - 68.84 miles - did a ton of walking in Michigan!

 

 

5.  Less eating out at work.  My goal is to only eat out 2-3 times a week.  

Still doing well with this goal!  Haven't really seen any changes in weight but at least I'm not spending the money on fast food, etc. 

 

 6.  Since I beat my scrapbook page goal for 2013, I think I am going to go with ... 300 pages for 2014.  
Still hoping to get back track on scrapbooking sooner rather than later, especially since I have a beautiful organized room to scrapbook in!  It's all about BALANCE! 

Felt Rosette Wreath

 

I've been channeling my inner wreath making mojo and tackled another wreath project over the weekend!  In reality, I bought the felt and supplies before we went to MI for Christmas and got sidetracked by making a baby scrapbook while we were there so the wreath got put on the backburner and the supplies sat in the floor... for weeks.  Does that ever happen to anyone else?!  You have the best of intentions and then life sets in.  Anyhow... I decided it was time!  LOVE the finished product and it's perfect for Valentine's Day! 

I researched online the different tips and tricks for cutting felt circles.  I def. was not interested in tracing and cutting the 200+ circles!  Then, I came across this little cutter that cuts through felt/fabric.  I ordered mine from Amazon. 

 My not-so-helpful helper which was more like a paper weight. 

All you do is cut a 3" circle, fold it half and then half again and then stick a straight pin through the bottom corner and then into the wreath.  Easy peasy!

This is where I stopped after night one and about 2 hours.  I had done the whole front but not the inner circle and outer edges. 

Ta da!  I hung it from a hook on our mantle and have already enjoyed seeing it while we watch TV!  LOVE the bright pop of color it adds to our fireplace.  My Mom actually gave me the "G" the last time I saw her and it was the perfect addition. 

Chevron Burlap Wreath

  Anyone else loving the burlap decor frenzy?  I may be a little late to the party but I've been a little busy in 2013!  Now that my time has been freed up from wedding planning, I'm trying my hand at a few different crafts!  At various craft shows over the last few months I've seen tons of burlap wreaths for various price points for sale-- anywhere from $40-$80.  I decided.. I can make those.  So, off to Hobby Lobby I went.  I picked up a 24" frame and chevron printed rolled burlap.  I got lucky because the rolls of burlap were 50% off when I happened to go shopping.  I think I started the hardest way with this -- with a large wreath form and burlap that was patterned on only one side!  I looked at a few tutorials on YouTube and a few other blogs and then went for it.  I got the wreath finished, stood back and looked and didn't LOVE it.   

I sole some of the picks from my garland and liked it better but it still wasn't just RIGHT.  

SO, I took it apart at 10pm on a work night!  I redid it making the loops much bigger and fuller and LOVE it now.  You can see the chevron print a lot better in this wreath too.  It's so fluffy and fun to look at.  So different too.  Plus, I like that I can change the accessories to match the seasons.  I do love the pop of red with the chevron.  

Here it is in it's final spot.  I hung it over a skinny wood Santa that was already hanging on this door and added a red burlap bow I found half off at Hobby Lobby.  LOVE it!

Favorite Ornaments -- Christmas 2013

Pulling the ornaments out and reminiscing is one of my favorite holiday traditions.  I've slowly built my ornament collection since I was a baby girl and it's fun to see how my ornaments have grown with me.  My tree is a reflection of my passion for dancing growing up, love of cats, worldwide travels and now my life with Adam.  

 

This little beauty is a Kate Spade ornament.  This was the "year of Kate" for me it seems!  My wedding shoes were Kate Spade, our new silverware is Kate and I've gotten 2 purses and some jewelry from there this year as well.  I love the brand's classy style.   

I'm a sucker for Hallmark ornaments and pick up a few each year.  The 2013 dog ornament was too cute not to get.  I love the antlers on the frame!

I picked up the Jim Shore Pineapple ornament last year when we were at the Bronner's Christmas store in Michigan.  Adam and I love pineapple and the detail that Jim Shore adds to all of his pieces is amazing. 

I got a few of these Vera Bradley ball ornaments when they were on sale after the holidays.  This is one of my favorite prints and love the way the light plays off the ornaments.  Beautiful!

I grabbed this little pilot at the Christmas Shop in Pigeon Forge last month.  A great way to remember this is the year Adam got back into flying. 

And of course... 2013 was the YEAR of our wedding.  I LOVE the various wedding related ornaments we have and have received as gifts.  These are 5 that I bought for our collection.  The picture frame is a Hallmark ornament and has the year on it but with the camera flash you can't see it in the picture.  The engagement ring is also from Hallmark and has the year engraved on the side.  I just picked up the dress and tux jacket a few days ago at Kohls.  They also have little charms with the year.  The cube is from Shutterfly and probably one of my favorites.  I also made one last year with our engagement pics and it's hanging nearby.  

What are some of your favorites?  Do you decorate in colors/themes or what's your tree decorating style?

Married Christmas -- Deckin' the Halls 2013 Style

Is Christmas really just 12 short days away?!  I hate that such a beautiful time of the year always feels so rushed and just comes and goes in the blink of an eye.  Not only was Thanksgiving super late this year but I had a business trip the last couple days that took away some much needed prep time as well!  This past weekend I finished up decorating and got ALL of the presents wrapped and under the tree!  As always, one of my favorite things is seeing the "finished" product -- decorated tree and wrapped presents!  This is also an extra fun year because it's our first "Married" Christmas! 

I added a few little things to this year's decorations:

(1) The reindeer name sign by the fireplace.  I have eyed the sign that Kirkland's has for months now but it's white with red glitter letters and 3x the price of the one I bought at HomeGoods!  Plus, I think the red background is the perfect pop of color.  Love it!

(2)  Poinsettia picks in the garland on the fireplace.  This was a super easy and cheap way to give a nice pop of color to the mantle!  We've had to arrange it a little so the signal to our cable box doesn't get messed up.

(3) Stockings!  I've had stocking hangers for years and never used them!  I go back and forth on stockings looking too cluttery.  I love a good monogram but with Adam and I both being "A" names I didn't want two stockings with A on them... THEN... on Cyber Monday I got an email from Crate and Barrel and couldn't resist peeking... it was love at first site with these adorable stockings.  Free shipping sealed the deal!  The little confetti pieces go perfect with our area rug.     

(4) Christmas Card Garland.  I wanted a better way to display our Christmas cards and this idea came to me while shopping at Michael's on Black Friday (actually it was Thursday so not sure what they call that??).  I found adorable Christmas mini clothespins and knew I wanted to hang our cards from garland on the mantle.  Again, it's bordering on cluttery but I love seeing the cards when I walk by.  I'll do another post on the finished product and close up shots of the adorable clothespins next week.  

I am linking up with Honey We're Home who is sharing her Christmas spirit as well! 

By the way, does anyone else HATE putting away decorations as much as I do?!  How come nothing ever fits back in it's box like it's supposed to?!!?  At least I get a good work out in carrying everything up and down the basement stairs!!   

Thanks for stopping by!  Merry Christmas to you and yours!

Deckin' the Halls

WOW -- December already!  With Thanksgiving being so late this year it definitely cut into "deckin' the halls!"  I will admit.. I put our big Christmas tree up pre-Thanksgiving as well as the WVU themed dining room tree.  I did this for several reasons.. mostly because my family was at our house for Thanksgiving and I wanted them to get to see our trees.  This past week, I spent time decorating the other areas of the house.  My absolute favorite decorations this year has to be in the dining room!  We finally got the rest of the furniture for the dining room (sideboard and china cabinet) in October and having the additional area on top of the sideboard to decorate has made for the perfect spot!  Plus, I used some of our wedding decor and it's an instant rush of happy memories when I see it in there.   

Let's rewind.. 

When I was schemin' what the wedding ceremony would look like, I spent a lot of time thinking about the aisle.  I liked the idea of rose petals, candles and lanterns.  I looked at hundreds of lanterns in various price points/styles.  I didn't want anything too ornate or too small and alas, I finally found the perfect lanterns at Hobby Lobby!  Two stores and two special orders later, I had enough lanterns to line the aisle for the ceremony.  I reused the lanterns as additional decor for the reception as well.  Plus, I knew the lanterns would be beautiful to decorate with in coming years.  

Here's the lanterns in action at the wedding:

(The candles are also from Hobby Lobby and are beautiful! They matched the pattern on our cake.)  I alternated tall and shorter lanterns down both sides of the aisle and put pink rose petals in between. 

After the ceremony, we had some of the lanterns moved up to the MASSIVE mantle

Other lanterns found a reception spot behind the main wedding cake

So now, fast forward to my Christmas decorating.... 

The lanterns and candles are from the wedding as well as the crystal candle holder near the feather tree.  The white reindeer are a find from my mom from a few years ago but I've seen a lot of similar ones in the stores this year.  The feather wreath around the smaller lantern is from Michaels and was purchased with the anticipation of being used at the wedding but at the last minute didn't get used.  The white feather tree is actually from my college days at WVU!  I bought this at Macy's in Pittsburgh and still absolutely love it.  I worry everyday that Mason is going to get hold of it.  I decided to forgo the normal hot pink ornaments I put on it and "adult-ed" it up with some silver and slightly gold smaller balls instead.  

Did anyone else recycle items from their wedding into their home decorating?! 

Christmas at Peppertree

I found a post I forgot to post before Christmas, which actually worked out well because my brain is mush right now!  We had a great Christmas and New Years with both our families, did a ton of driving (and eating), and now I'm ready to get some structure back in my life!  I'll share some about our holidays later this week,  Happy Wednesday!

My whole life, one of my favorite things to see are the presents under the Christmas tree.  I think this is because my mom always does such a professional wrapping job complete with Martha Stewart bows and our presents looked like something out of the magazines.  So somewhere along the way, a little of this rubbed off on me I suppose.  I always try to coordinate my wrapping paper so that all the presents "match" but as we've added little ones to the mix, the paper tends to reflect their personalities vs my matching color scheme.  Last night, we loaded up the gifts to take home but I was able to snap some pictures before it was dismantled:

The "kid" side if you couldn't tell :)

...and my boys being silly

And 2 bonus pictures because I want to remember what it looks like 10 years from now :)

Lucky Tree #3

After begging last Christmas and starting my begging earlier in the year this year, Adam finally caved and agreed to putting a tree up for me over the door on a ledge that I swear was made JUST for a Christmas tree!  It was def. the perfect last touch to our decor this year.  (On top of the candles I bought for all the windows... :) )

Step 1:  Get 22' ladder ready to go!

Step 2:  Get strong fiance to climb 22' ladder while holding assembled 6.5' tree and not falling!

Step 3:  Admire tree from the inside.  Nice work babe!

Step 4:  Admire tree from outside.  Perfect!!!

It's so pretty I may never take it down ;-)