merry, merry

if anyone is looking for me, i am locked in my closet wrapping presies.
wishing you and yours the happiest of holidays. see you later (2010?)
xo christina

Tuesday Tablescape

marthastewart.com

I love this song

I just heard this song on Pandora and love it. Reminds me of George Winston, but with words. The two women who sing it are named Sarah Bareilles & Ingrid Michaelson.
Winter Song

Sunday Morning

I spy

There is so much to ooh and ahhh at in this issue of Lonny Magazine, but I did have to comment that this is a GREAT technique to reign in those floppy (but lovely) paperwhites!

Brad Ford, I like your style -- bamboo and raffia, two must haves in this house!

image via lonnymag.com

Wreath Fun

Here are the wreaths I have have made for our home this holiday season. Keep in mind, I was trying to use color and stay away from the "traditional" look :-). The one in the kitchen is a bit psychedelic, but it is fun and today our elf decided to sit in it. The perfect hiding place for, Cooper, who realizes he must stay out of reach of the kids!!

This is the formal one. It is hanging in our Living Room. One of the nice things about having very little on your walls is that you can transform your home during the holidays.

This is the only wreath I actually planned! I have had this boxwood wreath for a couple of weeks and I knew I wanted to something the kids would enjoy. I got all of these supplies at Michaels, and the ribbon was left over from an old Sue Fisher King purchase (she has the BEST ribbon). I am so happy with this one!

Our slightly abused Christmas tree. Notice the lack of real ornaments on the bottom. Teddy keeps pulling everything off so I am constantly moving all of the ornaments up to the top except for the fun homemade ones on the bottom. Slightly wacky, but festive nonetheless.

My kitchen corner looking so festive.

Happy Decorating!!!

Hanging Holiday Cards

One of my favorite things is receiving holiday cards from friends near and far. I always try to display them in some way so the happy faces fill our home with warmth. This year, I took advantage of the blank walls (and strong vertical lines) in our dining room and I hung ribbon from little nails. I have been stapling cards on as they arrive and if I run out, I will simply add another ribbon!

How do you display your holiday cards?

Hey Santa...

Do you think you could roll this up in plastic and stuff it down my chimney this xmas?

Many thanks, and I promise to be good.

xo Christina

madelineweinrib.com

exterior inspiration

pics from cottage living

Bazaar & more

Have you checked out Serena and Lily lately? Look at the Bazaar section. Here are some things I found fun - many of which are now sold..

worth keeping tabs on this.



and I just love this table- so fun for a guest room's bedside table(s). It seems to be a stocked item and comes in white and melon.

all pics via serenaandlily.com

Mock-Ups

I am deciding on a light for our kitchen and this seemed like the perfect time to talk about mock-ups. If you are thinking of making some changes to your house - like purchasing a carpet, moving furniture and changing light fixtures (and you don't have the items out on approval), it is so important to do a mock-up to see if you will like the changes.

The first thing you need to have in your junk drawer is Blue Painters Tape....

I capitalized those words to show you how important I think Blue Tape is! It is the best, you can use it on the floor to visualize a new sized carpet - just stick it down on carpet or wood and it comes right off. You can also tape off the size of upholstered chairs, and occasional pieces to see how you would like to lay out a room. It is so helpful.

I also use this miracle tape to hold up Athena's artwork on our kitchen walls. It doesn't peel the paper and it comes off the wall nicely. You really need to buy this if you don't have it, or stuff someone's stocking with it for xmas. They will thank you.

So back to the light fixture. I tied up the pendant lights in our kitchen (using bread ties:-)to see if I wanted to do a flush mount fixture instead of pendants, and immediately I loved the results. It really opened up the room to remove something hanging over our island. These ceilings are low.

Then I found a fixture I loved here

but after reflecting on the price, and receiving the RH catalog, I decided this one will work just fine. I actually like it better.

Next, had to figure out the size to order and here is where the fun began. I couldn't find any cardboard boxes in the garage so I hit the playroom to see if the kids had anything which might roughly be the same size. I came up with this Melissa and Doug wooden box which is 15 inches long. I then used kitchen string (also another necessity) to hang it precariously over the tied up fixture and see what I thought.

Here are the results - close up. It is hanging lower than the real one will, but from one end of the island I was really able to visualize the width of the fixture, and I think I am going to order the middle sized light instead of the large which is perhaps just a tad big for our kitchen.

As cheesy as this looks, putting a little extra time into these decisions can save you money and aggravation in the end!

Happy Friday everyone! We have Christmas in the Square here tonight! Hingham does it right. Santa rides into town on a fire truck. Should be a lot of fun with family and friends.

See you Monday.

Kitchen Update

Our new backsplash! Simple, white.

Tuesday Tablescape

peter dunham (photograph from domino)