THE SEASON OF JOY & COLOR

Hi! Hope you all had fabulous Thanksgivings.
Moving right along... I am so in the Christmas Spirit, I have to try hard to contain it. Now, I realize it isn't December yet, but we are really feeling the Holiday Joy early this year (mostly due to Athena, who is so excited for Santa). This will be our first Christmas in our new home (woohoo!) and I have gotten so excited for decorating. We got our tree yesterday and we have hung some lights outside.
I have decided to go for a colorful Christmas this year and two things have motivated this.

First - this image:

anna spiro - absolutelybeautifulthings

I spied this wreath on absoultelybeautiful things blog last year. I promised myself I would try to recreate this wreath. There is something so fresh and modern about it, yet it uses vintage ornaments. Too cool.

The second inspiration for our colorful decorations was this goldmine I found at my local junk shop in Newton. Have I told you about this place? The name is ANTIQUE SHOP. No, I am not kidding. It is worth a peek if you are in the area (356 Watertown St, Newton, MA). I got my andirons there (pic later). I dragged the kids in -- slightly crazy-- and while they played with the vintage marbles I spied a basket on the floor in back that had about 20 Mexican ornaments.

I have long envied my sister in law's amazing ornament collection which consists of many hand painted tin ornaments she picked up in her travels to Mexico over the years. They are bright, quirky, and so unique. Well, who would have guessed I would find some in Newton, MA!? I picked through the pile and pulled out birds (obvi) and some other ones which seemed fitting for our tree. I thought that these bright colors in addition to silver- would be the perfect theme for our tree this year.


I hope you all are doing well!

Do You Need a Laugh?!

Look at this turkey my mom made with some friends the other day!!! I had to post this.

A centerpiece with a sense of personality and humor!!!

Have a Wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends, everyone.

Thank you so much for reading this blog!

Christina

Turkey Day Table

From last year...

Tuesday Tablescape

lonnymag.com

Haste Makes Waste

This statement is ringing in my ears today.
I had purchased an orchid the week after we moved here and it just recently died after six months of beautiful blossoms. It was a great orchid and seemed so happy in the window of my kitchen. Anyway, I have been keeping it in the bar area and today I decided to cut it back and store it out of the way for the winter. The top was shrivelled but what I didn't notice until after I hastily snapped off the majority of the orchid stalk, was this!!!!

It had already sprouted new growth (something I have a hard time getting an orchid to do - let alone right after it dies)!!!! I gasped and almost started to cry! How could I have done something so stupid!?! If I had only taken the time to examine all sides of the stalk I would have seen that in a second. But it was too late. Oh well, I am hoping it will try to shoot another growth even after being severed.

On a positive note, I finally bought a fun plant for my basket! I have been looking for ornamental fig tree but they are so hard to come by here. I went with a banana tree, and I love it!

Also, here is what I bought to replace the orchid. It is called a Bromiliad and if you don't have a green thumb, this just might be the plant for you. All it requires is a sunny spot and a little water in the cup which is formed by its leaves. It is in the pineapple family and is so fun and cheerful. Nothing like bringing something tropical indoors during the chilly months. Athena picked out our new watering can which she insisted I photograph...

One last house update. I am loving my new Dash and Albert Runner. It really ties with the green in the dining room and the blue I plan to paint the kitchen.

Rain, Rain

It is raining here today - pretty yucky - but I can't complain since it has been a BEAUTIFUL month here and I even took advantage of yesterday's warm temps to get the rest of my spring bulbs planted. The freezing temps will be here before we know it, but I have umbrellas on my mind...

Swoozies has a couple of cute monogrammed umbrellas - great stocking stuffers!

This (below)also comes in green and pink with chocolate:

swoozies.com

The old-school duck handle umbrella. Available in many fun colors on decorativethings.com:

So cute for kids! Athena has this frog one:

amazon.com

I love this clear one from Target:


Check out umbrellas.net for a great selection of every kind of umbrella (even some fun lace parasols (fun for a vintage bride).

How fun are the colors on this umbrella?


umbrellas.net

Pagoda - my favorite. Isn't this beautifully constructed?! It also comes in brown, green and black.

umbrellas.net

Vintage, Parisian. This reminded me of a DVF dress...

umbrellas.net

Happy Friday, everyone! Hope you stay dry wherever you are!

November Artwork

by athena

Tuesday Tablescape

Start with a Roberta Roller Rabbit cloth to drape over your round table:
Then add these glasses from Pottery Barn

Pull out your timeless williams-sonoma apilco plates

But don't be too boring. Mix these bowls in from anthropologie:

add set the table with these:

Classic white hemstitched napkins from williams sonoma always look right.

You can splurge on these Kim Seybert napkin rings - or for a more cost-effective option - tie raffia around the napkins, or use orange or red (or combined) grosgrain ribbons as napkin rings.

Do you have a large hurricane lantern? Place that in the middle of the table - perhaps on a tray and then surround with oranges and greenery - or for a more crisp look group some of these hurricanes together (go for odd number)

There you have it. A fun Tuesday Tablescape.

Hello, Again

Sorry I was away last week.

Mentally.

I had gone to New York with my mom and sister for a "girls' weekend" over the weekend of Nov 6-7-8th and after staying out until 4am on Friday with some friends from college...,

I was not able to bounce back like I used to and I proceeded to have the longest most braindead week.

Ever.

I hardly got online and I am sorry I was MIA- but I am recharged and back. Ready to share some fun pics from our trip.

The purpose of the trip was to see friends (& new babies) and hit some antique places on our way down and back from the city. On the way down we stopped in New Cannan, CT to visit a great high school friend, Ainsley. She and her family recently bought a 1700's farmhouse. This is a special property with so much charm.

Check out the dutch doors.

My favorite part of the house was the brick outdoor screened-in porch.

Ainsley has her own interior design business and was one of the people who got me into this line of work. She has so many ideas for this house I can't wait to see it evolve over time.

After shopping in New Canaan's downtown area, we headed to Stamford, CT - to the Antique Center there. Unfortunately the particular warehouse where I had gone antiquing with a friend a few years back burned down two years ago and instead we spent all of our time at the Antique and Artisan Center. They have a couple of buildings (one is even dedicated to accesories and lighting) and there are staged sections representing different dealer's goods. The items are great- fun finds - ranging in period and quality. On the whole, the prices are fair - you can find some good deals but you have to hunt (and negotiate). Some vignettes are super out-there but inspiring in the way they stage the space. It is such a fun place you should all make a trip there soon. I heard there are a couple of other warehouses down the road on Canal Street that are less "high end" and if we had more time, we would've stopped there.

My mom found a piece of furniture she has been hunting for quite some time! That was exciting.

Here are some quick pics I illegally shot inside.

Still dreaming of these wire brackets (display shelves)

This was my favorite section. It was full of OLD OLD bathroom fixtures, sinks, soap dishes, metal towel racks and some curious looking items.

Such as:

Of course my sister knew what this was used for as soon as she saw it. An avid bather, she said unphased, "this is for the big sponge and the soap went on top." How cool!?

In NYC we went to great dinners and I also visited with another old friend from highschool. I can't believe that I didn't take pics of her amazing apartment. I am going to have to do a feature on her place soon. It was so cool (just like she is) yet cozy and quirky. I could have lived there.

We saw some celebs - Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg (sp?), Carolina Herrera and the highlight from Saturday dinner-- Orlando Bloom (looks like a 17 year old boy in person).

Then we went shopping at one of my favorite stores, Gracious Home. I could spend HOURS in this store. They have everything from hardware items, to dishes, candles and Xmas decorations. Below, my favorite section: Tablewares...

Napkin Ring display/ heaven:

Tons of Xmas decorations - really got me in the mood!

It was a great weekend... Full of lots of fun. Hope to be a better blogger this week! Hope you are all well...

The Little Things

I am SO HAPPY that Williams-Sonoma has finally made Basil scented soaps again!!!

When we were first married and living in San Francisco, the basil hand and dish soap were staples in my kitchen and I was so sad when they discontinued the scent:

You know when you smell something from a long time ago it just brings you back to that time and place? That is exactly how I feel when I use this handsoap. Eucalyptus breeze blows into my kitchen and I am back in our treehouse feeling inspired and excited about cooking and being a newly-wed.

Thanks for the memories, Chuck Williams.

purchase here. PS. the soap does not dry your hands out, at all. wait, did i mention that i love it?

Tuesday Tablescape

nigella.com

this is mouthwatering. does anyone want to come over for some pastries and old fashioned coffee? i am here.

Inspiration: Seating area and Alexander Todd Romano

Nate Berkus (along with Carleton Varney and John Robshaw) is now selling items on HSN!
This is a great piece. Not a fan of the back legs (and I have no idea the quality of the fabric or construction) but here is an idea. Do you have a corner in a living room which you don't know how to address? You could buy three of these (500 each) and fit them together in the corner to create a custom seating area!

Then install a couple of swing arm sconces (plug ins work great) over the sofa and you have yourself something that looks like a much more scaled back version of this seating area:

This is an image from the new website of Todd Alexander Romano!

I have long been a fan of his work - his rental house in the Hamptons was one of the first cut-outs in my "Coastal Home" binder.

Enjoy browsing his portfolio and some of the press articles here.