DIY - Winter ONEderland

 Zeeks Winter ONEderland

Decor budget: $10

Actual: $9

I found the great idea of a Winter Onederland on Pinterest many months ago! I started dreaming of all the possibilities... But once I started down the path of crazy planning & wild ideas, I stopped myself & made myself stick to a plan - {try to} only decorate with things I already have! So, that's where I started... a pack of white printer paper & spool of twine! I spent Zeeks nap time cutting snowflakes with a lot of trial & error! But, once I made several flakes that I approved of I stuck to those patterns; cutting & cutting, & then hot gluing strands & strands of snowflakes all while plotting out where to hang them in my head! The snowflakes slowly started accumulating, so I continued on to making the simple banners. But came to realize they needed an extra pop of something, so I splurged! Five dollars on silver letter stickers... & then four more dollars on spray paint to make as many silver sticks as I wanted (instead of paying the same price for a smaller bundle of fake silver sticks)! ... Finally we decided to keep it simple & cozy by having some hot cocoa & white desserts (sticking to the theme)! 

{Rice Krispy treats, white cupcakes, powdered doughnuts, & white choc. strawberries!} 

Thanksgiving through the lens of Christmas

I confess, we decorate for Christmas earlier & earlier every year! And I blame this on my sweet husband, who tends to believe Christmas starts Nov. 1! He's not ashamed to go all out with his Christmas Cheer... and over the years I've started to see why & have conformed to his ways! Now don't get me wrong, we DO still celebrate Thanksgiving. Many have told me that by decorating early we choose to overlook Thanksgiving! But hear me out, our logic holds two main points: 

1) Being that I don't decorate for Thanksgiving, why not make my Christmas decor time & efforts last just a little longer! For us, we'd rather enjoy all the decorations as long as possible, & personally I prefer to have it up longer before Christmas rather than after!  

2) Jesus Christ IS 'the reason for the Season', so why not celebrate Thanksgiving with that in mind & give the ultimate thanks for His life & sacrifice?! To me, the two holidays go hand-in-hand & deserve to be celebrated amongst each other! Jesus Christ is the primary reason for our thanks & by being in the Christmas spirit I tend to look at Thanksgiving through a whole new lens... Give it a try. Go into this next week of Thanksgiving remembering the story of Christmas and embrace the fact that one could not happen with out the other; Christ being born & walking our earth to be sacrificed on our behalf, to me that is where the ultimate Thanksgiving lies! 

This year I was rather pleased with the simplicity of my mantel, so when I received my new stockings (which a dear friend made) I had to improvise to not over power the beauty of the mantel... So, I decided they would be best displayed on our piano!  

^^^^^

Zeek has done impressively well with not touching our tree or lights... But I think he's a little distracted with pulling up on anything he can grab, which at the moment is the fireplace! But, what fun it is to watch him stand there & "ooo & aww" at his daddy while making a fire! Those are the precious holiday moments I'm already cherishing!

Happy Holidays! 

The Nursery

The room at a glance.

The quilt my mom made! 

Book Shelf. & hand painted Psalm 23 canvas from my dear friend Melissa!

The changing station. Diaper stacker my mom made to match the quilt!

My cozy corner! (we still need to cover the lamp shade to match.)

Some little details! (the yarn letters were also made my Melissa!)

The Little Things

OK, Let's just be honest here, we ALL try to be trendy and 'pinterest-y' with our style, decorating, cooking... really, all areas of life! It's the "cool" thing to do these days... In so many ways I love this because it gives me an excuse to steal new ideas. But, in other ways I kinda hate it! It leaves NO room for originality (or better said, very very very little room). Who's with me?! ... Yeah, here's my little attempt at decorating with the things from around the house (this is a no $ kinda budget, use what you've got)!

For me, less is definitely more!

Extra pillows for some seating in the corners next to the fireplace.

"It is Well" - Both me and the hubs favorite hymn over the focal point of the room!

Random pops of color throughout the house. My fav. with this lamp!

And I just had to show off my new favorite place at the house... my hammock! 

Now, go be creative and original OR just steal some pinterest ideas!

A future Home

The more the hubby & I plot and plan our way to buying a house, the more I've indulge myself in decorating ideas... I've always tried to convince myself that I have eclectic style in home decor (to go along with my eclectic style in fashion)! After many many hours of exploring Pinterest, the inspiration came, along with some insight. I've discovered that I am a true Cottage/Cabin lover at heart! All the neutral colors [whites, creams, browns] & lovely fabrics, textures, & wood... it is all just so cozy & perfect to me! I gawk when I see images like these...

(all images from Pinterest.com)

See what I mean?? It it soooo dreamy & lovely... I can not wait to own a house that I can make as perfect as these images!

A Crafty Weekend

What a fun & productive weekend! With all that extra motivation I had to decorate my home, I went out and got to work. I redecorated our back porch with some different chairs (given to us by my mom), some new pillows, & some beautiful flowers! It's so peaceful & bright now. And then I used an old antique picture frame I found for $1 at a yard sale to make a display for my jewelry. I repainted it & added some rods inside the frame to hold the jewelry. I'm so happy with how it turned out & love how it looks in our bedroom! My next task was to reupholster our dining room chairs. I finally found fabric I liked at Hobby Lobby & it was on an amazing sale, which made me like it even more! It was originally $16.99 per yard, but I got it for only $4.00 per yard. Can you believe that deal?! ... I had so much fun with all my projects this weekend! I still have a list of more to accomplish though, so hopefully that extra motivation will stay with me till they're done!