Waiting For Spring

Since we are working on snow day three for this week, I was getting pretty tired of sitting around the house.  I decided to head to the stores and spend some money.  Why not!?  I just took down my Winter decorations and didn't want to look at the bare spot any longer, so I figured now is the best time to get some Spring decorations.  I found a coupon online for Michael's and set out to find some bargains!!  

Just as a reminder, here was my Winter decorations.  These are on top of my bookshelves in my office.  Since I don't have a fireplace, this is my makeshift 'mantle.'  

And here are my new Spring decorations.  I went minimalist this time, just buying a few decorations.  But, I dug through my loads of Willow Tree angels to find my Spring-iest looking angels to add to the decor!

Are you ready for Spring yet?

2

2013 Christmas Home Tour

I think it's an understatement that decorating for Christmas is one of my favorite things.  I think my five trees explain all.  Each room in my house has a tree, and each tree has a different color scheme/theme.  Some to match the rooms, others just for fun.

First up - the living room.  I decided to go with a red and gold theme in there for this year!

I collect Willow Tree angels, so it's a no brainer to have the Willow Tree nativity set as well.  I love it!

I purchased these Christmas prints from PrettyLittleInk and printed them at Wal-Mart.

Next stop - the office (AKA - the penguin room!!)  If you know me well, you know that I'm slightly obsessed with penguins.

And every penguin room needs a penguin tree, right?

Just a sampling of my favorite ornaments on the penguin tree!

Absolutely love this!  I don't have a fireplace, so I don't have a mantle to decorate.  However, I do have these awesome shelves from IKEA, so I decided to use them as a makeshift mantle.  This entire display is created with products from Michaels (thanks to Black Friday sales!).

The kitchen!  The plates are from Kohl's a few years back.

The prints in the frames I made myself.

So, how does one decorate a tree in the kitchen?  With cookie cutters, of course!

Randomly found this wreath and ribbon while cleaning the other day.  So, I know have a fun and festive wreath for the kitchen!

The second bedroom.

And my bedroom!  I have three gray walls and one purple accent wall in the room, so my tree is purple, black, and silver.

That's Christmas this year!  Next year, I hope to spend more on the outside decorations.  Those were totally lacking this year.  How did you decorate for the holidays?  What is your favorite decoration in your house?  How many trees do you have?

3

Accents

I'm in the middle of decorating my living room.  It's been a long process - and it's a slow one - due to lack of time and money.  But I'm loving the way it's coming.  There's sort of a natural, beachy theme going on in this room.  Here are a few shots of the accents (including the wall color) that are in the room.  Maybe one day it will be finished!

What is your favorite room in your house?

1

Have you seen a chaise like this?

I know I've neglected the blog lately, and I know this post is super short.  However, there are some good things coming to the blog soon!  Take a look at the caption below this image and help me out if you can!  I'm in the process of designing my new office space!

4

After Christmas Shopping

One of my favorite times to go shopping is the week after Christmas.  I love to search through the leftover Christmas items and score some great deals!  I don't like to buy too many Christmas items full price, so I tend to wait until after Christmas.  If the item that I had my eye on is still available during that time, I figure it was meant to be!  I stocked up on Christmas items this year and I'm so excited for Christmas 2013 to roll around so I can use my new decorations!

Here are two of my favorite purchases from this year!  Pretty Christmas plates and silver chargers from Kohl's!  So excited to set the table with these next year!!

What great Christmas deals did you score this year?

4

It's amazing what you can do in twenty minutes!

I was talking to my friend on the phone.  When we hung up, I decided I needed to go to bed...but then I looked at my phone.  "17% power remaining," it said.  Well, that's no good since I use my phone as an alarm clock.  It's the ONLY alarm clock I have.  So, while my phone was charging, I decided to clean up/organize my second bedroom, which is currently used as a junk room with the occasional overnight guest.  In twenty minutes, I accomplished this...

Oh yeah, and I found a box of Christmas decorations, so then I started decorating.  Of course, this happens when it's time to go to bed!  But, it's a good thing I cleaned up, because I probably would have passed by Christmas without these decorations - and let me tell you what - they are important decorations (think tree lights)!  Yeah, I definitely didn't know where those were!

Before...

And after...

And this is where I stored everything.  Now, I'm just waiting for a rainy day to actually sort through the boxes!  Oh what fun that day will be!

Do you clean like me?  By just stuffing "stuff" into a closet or under the bed (yes, I did that too!)?

1