Thanksgiving Recap and It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like...

How's that for a title?

Thanksgiving went a little something like this...

1. Tuesday... Stayed up really late to finish packing. Realized my red shoes that had just come in that afternoon and were bought specifically for Wednesday's family portraits, didn't fit. At all. Like, wouldn't even go over my toes. And then I fell to the ground trying to make them go on. Not my shining moment. Two hours or rethinking our outfits later, bedtime.

2. Wednesday... Got up really early to get dressed and take family Christmas pictures in the cold air. Tears, snot, running toward traffic-- I'm a mess without my coffee-- and had to schedule a reshoot. Actually, baby boy was NOT a fan of that cold day.

Yay for one single good shot! Here's our Christmas card picture:

3. Drove to Houston. I have become quite the fan of long car rides. The boys sleep and I can sit still for a couple of hours and read. That never happens! I even watched a little Netflix on my phone and Jeremy and I got to chat along the way. It was like a date.... words I never thought I'd speak. 

4. My sister hosted Thanksgiving and we stayed in a hotel! That is THE way to go. After supper and visiting with the family, we went back to our room, got into our p. jammies and cozied up in the big bed with a little Food Network. I love hotels.

5. Thursday... We put on our Thanksgiving clothes and watched a bit of the parade before heading to Kristin's house. Throughout the day, we cooked and more family trickled in. I grabbed a hot potato with my bare hands and chunked it straight at my brother-in-law's mother, nearly killing her, so that was exciting. After a yum-yummy meal (thank you, Pioneer Woman menu plan), the girls all went out to see Breaking Dawn. I proudly admit that I'm 30 years old and loved the Twilight books. Not as much as Harry Potter. There, I said it.

These shirts were quick and easy-- I used faux suede for the ties and felt for the turkey faces, then fabric-glued everything right on the shirt. I saw the inspiration in a flash while browsing Pinterest, but don't remember where exactly.

6. Then we watched the last ever Texas A&M vs. UT Thanksgiving Day game. We're Aggies fans around here so it was a sad defeat for our team.

7. Friday was spent doing some Black Friday shopping, polishing off leftovers, visiting Santa at the Bass Pro Shop and driving home.

8. Laundry, laundry, laundry.

I love our tradition of spending the rest of Thanksgiving weekend, decking our halls. 

It's the hap-happiest season of all! 

Our first real tree (non artificial)

When it comes to decorating, Christmas is all about traditional reds and whites for me. I experimented with pom pom trim on the tree and love it so I need to go get some more.

Snow Village

My Thanksgiving {Blessed} Mantel

Did you join in on the 20 Minute Challenge today and make your Countdown to Christmas binder? I did! If not, you can jump in at any time. Click here to learn more about it.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

I was inspired by the argyle ties my boys got for Thanksgiving. 

You can read more about them here.

The bright orange, greens, browns and yellows were just the ticket for a playful--with a touch of tradition-- Thanksgiving mantel with a focus on how blessed we feel.

My inspiration photo:

I even hung one of the ties right up on my green platter!

To achieve the argyle-look for my bunting, I cut diamonds out of felt in two different sizes and sewed them together. My four year old and our little neighbor girl got to help me cut the felt pieces-- it was fun!

The BLESSED banner was created from simple brown paper bags-- that's it! I just stamped my letters on the paper squares and glued them to a flat remnant of cording I had left over from my antique chair makeover this summer. 

It's casual and colorful and makes me happy. We are truly blessed indeed.

Shared with: Tatertots and Jello, I Heart Naptime, Somewhat Simple

My Halloween Mantel

Because of my white-white-white painted brick fireplace, I loved the idea of going with a stark contrast and using black, bright orange and bold yellow pops for a festive Halloween look. 

I've never really been into scary stuff so I wanted elegant yet whimsical.

Here are my great-grandmother's ashes.

Just kidding.

I started off with half a yard of bold Houndstooth fabric, then added a few black and white accents. 

The  pennant was made with orange felt and yellow pom pom trim.

In frames are the numbers, 10 and 31, for Halloween. 

You can find the post for my Boo pillow here.

Shared with: Miss Mustard Seed, Tatertots and Jello, Today's Creative Blog

Over the Couch (maybe?)

You can find the Living Room Progress post here.

Do you ever have an image in your head--maybe not an image, but an idea or a feeling-- of how you wanted something to look?

And in your head it was perfect, but when your hands got involved... meh.

That's where this space over the couch is living right now. 

I just don't know, and since I'm working with a place in my home that is highly visible, I want to KNOW that I love it. 

Normally I am very structured, a stay-in-the-lines, symmetry-is-good, everything-in-its-place kind of girl. 

So the imbalanced "messiness" makes me a little nervous because it feels risky for me.

What I do like: 

1. It's very personal for us. The book pages are from one of my favorites, Gone with the Wind.

2. I painted the starfish watercolor when I was in college and that is a picture of my mama as a tot. The frame is actually navy (tricky lighting) and is the same color as the end tables I wrote about here.

3. I used some of the kid art I'd been saving and I really like how I displayed it on top of the wire-wrapped frames.

4. The big clock makes me happy, too.

So.... feedback? 

Any designers, decorators, inspired homemakers or healthy criticizers out there?

Don't be too hard on me. 

Afterall, it's up there and I may not ration the energy to climb on top of the couch and pull it all down again for another six months.

Living Room Progress

I was talking to a long-distance friend last night and I was telling her all about our house and the progress we'd been making.

Friend: "So... were you ever planning on putting pictures of it on your blog so I can see it?"

Me: "Well... it's not perfect yet."

And that got me thinking...

Is it ever going to be "perfect"? As soon as I have it just exactly right, the styles will change or we'll need to fix/replace something.

So I'm going to share what we've done so far. The progress. And I have to say that I'm pretty proud of  the progress.

Before:

After:

Sure, there are a few changes I want to make, like what to put over the couch (I have a few ideas swirling around in my head) and adding a rug (that won't be too scratchy for baby knees or too expensive for dirty boys, or ugly--I mean, that seriously limits my choices).

Here's the run-down so far:

1. We added built-in bookshelves (other than our kitchen countertops, this is the only thing we paid a professional to do).

2. Painted the walls the same color as the stenciled entryway.

3. Painted the fireplace white. When I say white, I mean white. It's currently just primed. But I really like how crisp it looks.

4. Bought thrift-store end tables and painted them with Krylon midnight blue.

5. Added accessories-- pillows, curtains, and other pretties. My favorites are the silverware that my late grandmother framed herself. I simply changed the trim. She was so creative and adventurous with decorating.

6. We also broke our cheap selves down and bought our first new TV. The old one was the kind that the kids knew not to touch because if it fell on one of them, they would be dead instantly. The picture was a little fuzzy in spots and the whole thing was about three feet deep. Yes, it was time.

Well, what do you think? Homier, isn't it?



Shared with: Miss Mustard Seed, Tatertots and Jello, Be Different Act Normal, Sugar Bee Crafts

Painted Foam Play Mat

Check out this amazing idea. Aesthetic Outburst transformed an ugly kids' foam puzzle mat into a chevron "rug."

Sarah.Wandering did the same in a lovely floral pattern.

I MUST try this in my kitchen!

Easy Bathroom Art

I have seen a few of these on the internet lately and decided to make my own version.

Inspiration came after seeing this particular lovely (and much more professional) print. 

Click on image for link to the Etsy shop.

Our sign is already propped up on the bathroom vanity and I love the cheery reminder it is for a certain  little boy I know. 

Shared with: Tatertots and Jello

Decoupaged Child's Chair

Before:

This little chair was picked up from the local Goodwill for $4 a few months ago.

Isn't she sweet? I could tell that her former owner must have really loved her.

Unfortunately, the dingy paint and crayon marks were a little too shabby, 

but not enough chic for me.

Using Mod Podge and decorative paper (cut into strips), I created a unique, one of a kind piece.

(Recognize this picture, facebook fans? Did you guess I was redoing furniture?)

After:

I'm going to coat it again with polyurethane for durability. 

But with a house full of boys,

the next question is...

What am I going to do with a pretty little butterfly chair? Hmmm.

She might just have to find another little girl who will love her like before.