Move Mountains In Your Home
I'll start off with the victories. I made it through the first block (4 weeks) of P90x. I can already see and feel improvements in my fitness and have lost some pounds and inches. I'm going for walks with my family and teaching my six year old how to play tennis. I'm finding some balance, so everything isn't about blogging, antiques, home projects, writing and photography. It's been great … [Read more...]
Today was a wonderful Christmas. It was definitely one I will look back on with great fondness. First, we got about 3" of snow last night, which was magical for both Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. My parents, brother & his wife & mother-in-law came over to join us. It was the perfect amount of people and was very relaxed. I did get a little carried away … [Read more...]
I set a lot of fancy tables for photo shoots, but to be entirely honest, I'm much more of a paper plate and lap trays kind of hostess. I do love pulling out my fine china, linens and silver, but I don't do it very often (to actually eat on, anyway.) Our gatherings usually involve football, teenagers and/or small children, so they're pretty informal. We're hosting Christmas this year, so I … [Read more...]
If you've read my blog for any amount of time, you know I have a great fondness for the Old Lucketts Store. I loved shopping there for years and had the privileged of becoming a vendor there about two years ago. Working with Suzanne, the owner, and all of the other talented vendors and designers there has been great for creative inspiration, but I've also been able to see first hand how much … [Read more...]
I'll admit it. I was a bit of a loaf yesterday. I would try to get some work done, but I would end up standing in a room, staring around blankly. I finally surrendered to the fact that I was tired and just needed to chill. I watched some TV, worked on e-mails and just let the rest of the Christmas decorating and house cleaning wait. Today, I was ready to check some more things off the … [Read more...]
My tree is normally up the day after Thanksgiving, but this year we kept pushing it back. We were busy, yes, but a part of me was a little "Christmased out" from a few years of ornament making decorating for Christmas in July and having a tree up in September and another one up in February. I'm not complaining at all. I love what I do and all of the decorating insanity that comes along with … [Read more...]
I have no idea how people work in jobs where they have to travel all the time. I supposed they get used to it and get good at it - find the best places to eat, where to charge a laptop and iPad, where to rest, and how to get comfortable in an airplane seat. Most of my trips are going to be spaced out, but I have one scheduled this week right on the heels of my Colorado trip. On Tuesday, I'm … [Read more...]
Between stripping paint and refinishing a piece of furniture, cleaning the house a bit, tagging pieces for Lucketts and working on some freelance stuff, I did a little bit more Christmas decorating. When we were in Raleigh, I trimmed a bunch of branches from my in-law's magnolia tree to use in my holiday decorating and photo shoots this year, so I felt inspired to work with some of them. … [Read more...]
Just a few years ago, I couldn't wait to decorate for Christmas. I had to restrain myself until the day after Thanksgiving and then the tree was up and the halls were decked. Now, my freelance writing has me decorating for Christmas in July and Thanksgiving in January and I don't feel quite as antsy to haul out all of the Christmas decor when it's actually Christmas. Today, though, it … [Read more...]
I don't know about you, but I'm a little freaked out that Thanksgiving just passed and Christmas is right around the corner and I'll have to get used to writing a new year on my checks in just a few weeks. Ack! Yikes. Deep breath. Aside from things sneaking up on me a bit, I had a great Thanksgiving with my husband's family in Raleigh. I also had the amazing opportunity to do two book … [Read more...]
It was wonderful. It was a little chilly, but I brought an antique wool "car robe" I bought at a yard sale for $8.00 years ago. It's pretty toasty. So many wonderful ladies came to visit and buy the book or bring a book for me to sign. Thanks to all who came to hang out today and for all who left sweet … [Read more...]
Not only is tomorrow the first day of the famous Lucketts Holiday Open House, but it's also my very first book signing. I feel sort of nervous about it...well, really nervous about it. I don't know what to expect. I do know that I'm just going to enjoy the ride. I also know that I am going to be sitting at this table in a beautifully-decorated tent tomorrow at 10:00 am. I … [Read more...]
This project is simple, but I was so happy with how beautiful and elegant these glittered pine cones turned out that I thought I would share a tutorial on how I made them. I bought these over-sized pine cones from Hobby Lobby, but you can use freebies collected from your yard or an obliging neighbor. Insert a small screw eye into the woody end of the pine cone. I just … [Read more...]
The Lucketts Holiday Open House is next weekend and it really crept up on me. I usually start making ornaments in September, but I didn't start until last week this year. Because of my late start, I'm just making German glass glitter ornaments and won't be making any of my sheet music ornaments. In addition to glittered stars, words and pretty shapes, I'm making a bunch … [Read more...]
I wrote an entire post and then I posted it and the content vanished. Argh!! So, take two. This weekend has been pretty low key and uneventful. I have some Christmas freelance projects due this week, so I've been working on those over the last few days. I have one more to finish up tomorrow. My poor boys. They were outside swimming in our kiddie pool today in almost record high … [Read more...]
Working in both the retail world and the magazine world make the seasons a jumbled mess in my house. You would not believe how sad it is when your four year old gets excited at seeing a Christmas tree only to crush his hopes by telling him it's still September and it's just for mommy's work. Devastating. Anyway, last week I had to finish a project for Thanksgiving, which was a little strange … [Read more...]
You know from my post a few days ago that I am not big on holiday decor. I like it when it's simple, no fuss and classy. Today, I have Matthew Mead here to share a Spring/Easter project that fits into all of those categories. Here's Matthew... WHITE RABBIT SILOUETTES WITH CARNATION COTTON TAILS I love simplicity and when it comes to celebrating Easter I found that the most simple touches … [Read more...]
This might come as a total shock, but I don't usually decorate for the seasons. I decorate for Christmas, I'll put out a few pumpkins during the fall, but otherwise I keep things pretty neutral seasonally. I would rather makeover a dresser than make a wreath for the front door. I decided, though, I would take a little time this morning to put a few touches of spring in my living and dining … [Read more...]
This seems to happen every year. I take down all of my Christmas stuff and I cannot remember what I had where. It seems like all of the accessories have disappeared over the holidays and I'm left with bare tables. I know things have wandered to other parts of the house, so I'm left looking at my living and dining rooms and I'm at a loss. Does anyone else have this problem? So, I … [Read more...]
I don't know about you, but I'm totally whipped. Christmas is exhausting. Fun and definitely my favorite time of year, but exhausting. The kids are over-loaded and tired, the "Christmas Bomb"went off leaving bits of paper and tape and pieces to toys and candy wrappers and crumbs all over the place and I've eaten way too much chocolate. I've enjoyed the surprises and presents and going … [Read more...]
As usual, I was probably doing what no one else in the US was doing two days before Christmas...I was mulching my front yard. I have a special photo shoot coming up in January and, while they're not coming because of my gardening ability, I want the front of my house to look decent. We divided and conquered and all four of us accomplished a lot today. I even took some time to make a rather … [Read more...]
I'm still working on my Christmas decor, but here is what I'm up to in my family room... It's a bit more casual than the living and dining rooms, but it still has a predominantly blue and green color scheme. I swapped out the brown and cream, though, for red and white, so it's a bit more playful. We … [Read more...]
I spent most of the day yesterday working on the decorations in my living room and it was so fun how it all came together. I'm using mostly things I bought last year, found in my yard and craft room or had leftover from my retail space. There's something in the process of repurposing items that I find enjoyable. It's that ah-ha moment..."Oh, I can use this ribbon I've had for years and put … [Read more...]
I've been asked on a few occasions to share pictures of the ornaments I painted when I first started my business three years ago. I always felt a little embarrassed to show them, so I haven't. They're not really my style, but I decided to keep the ones I didn't sell. I knew they were a part of the history of my business and great reminders that often times success comes out of failures … [Read more...]
After cramming fall and spring into one week, I'm finally getting ready for Christmas. We put our "family" tree up today and I started decking out the dining room and entry hall. The "pretty" tree is in it's place, but I still need to put the lights on and decorate it. I know the blog world has been showing off their Christmas decor for weeks, now, so I'm a little late. I hope you're not … [Read more...]
