It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas

It's a little ridiculous how much I love this time of year. Every year I come home on Thanksgiving night and begin putting up decorations. I'm usually by myself in this endeavor as my husband is sacked out on the couch after a long day of eating. It doesn't matter though, I love it that much. Our house is already festively attired and I love sitting in our dimly lit living room with a fire in the fire place, looking at the twinkling white lights. Now, if I could just finish up the semester, it's off to my parents house to enjoy the holidays!

Decorations sitting in martini glasses

A little holiday brew kept cold in snow

Candles & Christmas lights strung in a dim lit room

Organization & Beautification

Before:

Not so organized, clean, or pretty room

I think I will echo the sentiments of most women when I say that life is not always organized nor pretty. On my way to work this morning, I was thinking about how some weeks I am completely on my A-game. As a result my house, life, and career (and blog) stay 100% caught up and I still manage to both work out and watch TV with the hubbs while also going to bed early. Then there are the weeks when it feels like life is completely out of whack. The clothes that never seem to look right in the morning lay strung all over the house, dinner is never home cooked and never happens before 10 pm, and my husband and I neither watch TV nor go to bed early.  

Let me assure you that I'm by no means a Master at it, but I have learned that attaining some sort of balance in life is as much a mental game as it is anything else. As a result, part of my weekly ritual (usually Sunday nights) is aimed at organizing and beautifying some aspect of our life - laundry, email, finances, our house in general, etc. This week's focus: our bedroom. It's amazing how much a new lamp, a clear floor (sans shoes) and some clean sheets will do for your morale and mental ability to deal with the week ahead. 

*Side Note: the beautiful lamp you see on our bedside table cost me $50 at Tuesday Morning, originally $135! 

After:

Chest & painting from my parents (sans laundry & shoes)

Clean bedding on a freshly made bed

Bedside table with newly purchased lamp

Lampshade beside bed

destiny

Blogs and Coffee by Made By Girl $25.00

It truly is destiny that I ran across this image on Etsy earlier this morning.  You must check out the Made By Girl website and Etsy shop.  It is really too cute!  Sorry, that this post is so brief today, but I must go buy this print to hang in my office :)

glowing

Remember when I purchased this beauty?  Well, I finally have something equally as beautiful to put in it.  My oh-so-fab-u-los-o mother-in-law purchased these from Olathe Glass Company last weekend.  (side note: love that store!) I am infatuated with these little flower lights! It gives the room just a subtle hint of light... perfection!

New Fav Shopping Destination: Gallery Classic

After driving Mom and Dad to the airport yesterday morning (sad), I decided to do a little shopping before heading home (happy!). Then, I remembered that I had a gift certificate from Christmas that I had not yet used (even happier!). So, I made a short detour to Gallery Classic, and boy was I in for a treat!  This place is Pottery Barn meets reasonable prices meets the coolest vintage home store you've ever seen!  I spent an hour worth of browsing and walked out with these beautiful pieces.  I will definitely be going back :)

Monogramed Linens

              Pottery Barn Version: 6 for $54             

Gallery Classic Version: $7

While I only purchased the towel, they had the napkin set also for ony $15!

Crome Pocket-watch Clock

Pottery Barn Version: $59

Gallery Classic Version: $12

Lastly, I found this awesome tree-inspired vase, which I just fell in love with.  I think I'm going to find (or create) some silver twigs to put in it. 

Gallery Classic Vase: $11

Total Bill: $33 (tax included)!

Alrighty, I'm off now to bea-u-ti-fy my home! Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!

A Fresh Start

There's something about the beginning of the year that inspires me to undertake a somewhat extensive re-organization of our house.  I think it has to do with a combination of New Year's Resolutions, taking down the Christmas decorations, and just wanting to start the year off right.  There is something to be said for minimalism.  Although, I rarely feel like our household knows what that word means.  Last night, when the tree left our living room, so did some other items for which I had been wanting to find another home.  For me, it feels so freeing to see all the clutter go away.  Here's some great spaces that really motivate me to want to keep our house looking this way. 

Have a great Sunday night, and happy first of the week to everyone!

Yearly Decor

I love this time of year.  Something about the lights and the ornaments, and trees in random rooms of the house.  All of the decor is so festive that I can't help but smile.  Sometimes it makes me wish that I could keep it up year round.  While I'm not sure that I'd feel the same way come July, I do know that it's the second week of December and I can't keep my eyes off of the twinkling lights in our living room. 

After graduating from college I started using a blue and silver - you might say UNC inspired - color scheme.  However, over the last two years my blue and silver has taken on more of a modern twist.  The disco inspired ornaments are some of my favs.  And, this past year my husband and I received quite a few "Our First Christmas" ornaments as wedding gifts.  While these don't always follow the original blue and silver pattern, I couldn't be happier to welcome the new additions into our yearly decor.  Enjoy!

Martini glasses with disco ball ornaments

Confetti garland

Ornament tree on mantle

Disco ball ornaments on curly bamboo sprigs

Snowflake ornament with white lights and curly silver sprigs on the tree