Personalized Stockings

Christmas is by far my favorite time of year for many things: time with family and friends, spreading good cheer for all to share.... :) , good food, baking (anyone who knows me knows this is a lie), lots of fires, hot cocoa, which may or may not be spiked with Baileys, and last but not least, holiday decorating!  I've been busy decorating our home for the holidays and will definitely share my decorating here on the blog.  I hope to have a tour ready by Monday to participate in various link ups that are being hosted.  Before that, I wanted to share some projects I've worked on this week.

I purchased new stockings this year (this came after my DIY sweater stocking FAIL that I tried last year and never shared here).  I went with the plain white Pottery Barn Velvet Stockings:

Easy Kitchen Organization Tips

I like pretty pictures of pretty things (which likely explains my pinterest obsession).  This post has neither of those things.  Wah waaaahh....

Anyway, what this post does have is two easy tips I used to make my kitchen - and brain - a little less cluttered:

(My new file system)

Can I ask, are we the only family that has an uncontrollable mail problem?  Each day, we receive thousands (okay, exageration) of pieces of new mail that have a way of taking over our kitchen counter and table top.  I had a file box that I kept in a kitchen cabinet that was a solution at one point.  It had a habit of staying in the cabinet and never coming out. 

Tudor Project Living Room Design: Before and Progress

Well hello there!  My blog silence has lasted a bit longer than I hoped for; but I hope the wait was worth it.  I'm really excited to share some images and design plans from one of my recent interior design projects. 

(client progress picture)

I've been in process with a few clients for several months now, so I should have several other before and progress pictures from other clients soon, as well.

This summer, I was referred to a couple that recently moved into my neighborhood.  They bought a beautiful historic home with lots of charm and character.  Having moved from a small condo, the couple needed more seating/furniture and wanted to start making purchases for their living room.  However, they had no idea where to start given the large scale of the room (25 ft' x 21 ft including an alcove area) and they were also challenged by the homes architecture.  Furthermore, this home has not been updated much over the years and they had to make some large scale expenditures to make the home more functional for their family.  This of course meant a tighter budget upfront! 

Exterior Updates

Hello!  Trying to post really quickly here, so this post will be short on words, long on pictures.  I mentioned about a million times on this blog that we placed an effort on improving our curb appeal and landscaping this summer. 

Anyone still listening? I've got a secret!!

Um, hello?  Anyone still out there? 

I've been obviously missing lately from this little blog of mine.  I'm not sure how it happened, but I lost my momentum for a few months there, huh?  It started out by me spending a LOT of time outdoors early in the summer with the boys and working around the house.

We really made an effort this year to work on the landscaping and curb appeal of our home.  I'm really pleased with how everything has turned out and will hopefully be back soon to share some before and after's: 

(how it looks today)

Happy To Be Featured......

I know it's been a little slow going with my posts recently, but it's been pretty busy around here this summer! Also, my older son has recently decided to give up his nap, and poof! There went about two hours of time to work on blog posts.   So we've been having fun going to the pool or park instead (it's a huge benefit of my husband working from home - I can leave the little one while he is napping).

Also, I'm focusing most of my free time getting the outdoors ready for the landscapers who are coming this Monday (fingers crossed).   I should have some more to share soon after that! In the meantime, I've been lucky enough to be featured at Apartment Therapy, Pottery Barn's blog, and Worthington Court.   Here are the links to each of the posts:

Apartment Therapy shared my son's nursery here.

Pottery Barn found this picture on Instagram and asked to share it at their blog.  Read about how I styled this étagère here.

...and Worthing Court shared my home tour here.

Peony Love

If you are tired of hearing about my love for certain plants, I'm sorry.  Maybe you should turn away now because you are about to hear - or see in this case - about my love for peonies; by far these are my favorite flower. 

Garden Stakes

This year, my husband ripped out a whole section of grass alongside our house so that I could plant an herb and lettuce bed right off our french doors and deck.  Therefore, I planted a larger variety of herbs and lettuce than ever before and wanted to make sure I kept all the different plants straight.

Master Bedroom: Summer Updates

I'm getting ready to share our home tour at another blog in June, and the only master bedroom pictures I have are from Christmas time.  So, I finally added a few last touches to the room for the summer and thought I would share them with you.

(Almost) Free Landscaping Makeover

I'm really new to this whole "landscaping" stuff.  Our first place was a condo and our outdoor space was a 6 x 8 foot balcony.  The first four years in our current home was spent expanding and renovating the home on the inside, and tearing out the overgrown jungle on the outside.