Friday, December 31, 2010

Fabulous December

You guys!!  It's New Years EVE!!!  Before you pop the bubbly and start celebrating the new year, let's look back at December... cause it was kinda fabulous. 


Peppermint Bark.

photo credit


I totally blame Shennanigans for this newest obsession.  She had to go and post this delish recipe on her blog, and of course I just HAD to make it.  Then I just HAD to eat half of it. Chocolate AND mint??  I didn't stand a chance.  The other half quarter of it eventually made it to my co-workers as gifts. 
Christmas Cards


Not only do I love getting letters in the mail, but add a cute kid to it as well-- I'm practically in heaven.  This year as all about the adora-freakin-ble munchkins on Christmas cards, and I loved them all.  No lie: my friends and family makes some good looking spawn. 

Cee Lo Green



Newest favorite song.  So much fun to listen to in the car.  My pilot is tired of hearing it, but I am never tired of singing this song!

Christmas Lights


photo credit
One of my favorite things about this season is all the crazy lights displays people erect during the holiday season.  It makes my day a little brighter (pun intended).

Happy New Year everyone!  Hope you have a fun and safe night!!

Always & Forever,
  ME

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Seasons Greetings


From our family to yours, have a safe and wonderful holiday!

Love,
  Mr and Mrs. JEGs.

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

One More Holiday Decor Post


Just one more... just 'cause.

I wanted a lot of sparkle and shine around Falconhead.  Remember my DIY glitter candles?  Well they are currently residing on my shelf with my new favorite thing ever- my mercury glass candle holders from Party Lite


I also added in some trimmings from our tree, as well as the stockings holders I snagged last year from Freecycle


Ooooo... so many sparkles.  Happiness :)


I also added in a couple votive candles from IKEA


My spray painted pinecones from last year made a triumphant return.  You know I love to mix my metalics.


I also put together a quick centerpiece using a vintage bowl leftover from the wedding, a silver serving platter that was a wedding gift, tree trimmings, some leaves left over from my chargers, and extra Christmas balls


This bowl was easily my favorite.  I'm glad it made it's way back to us :)


And finally, the Christmas tree.  Our ornaments are pretty standard (cheapy vintage Walmart), but I love our tree.  The shape is so perfect.   Loves.

Oh yeah, and that adorbs rocking horse?  Thats for my niece Skybaby.  Can't wait to get it out of my house give it to her.

Any last minute decor at your place?

Always & Forever,
  ME

Monday, December 20, 2010

Simple Holiday Decor

Now that the holiday season is upon us, it's time to break out some more decor posts.

Every year Mommacita and I do a historical house tour in her town.  The houses are decorated by the local flower club, and they do such a wonderful job.

Note: You aren't supposed to take pictures.  I didn't find that out until after I took these. Oops.

One of the things I love the most about this house tour is the simple things they use to decorate.  My mom and I seriously say, "Oh my gosh!  Why didn't I think of that?"  probably about 753 times.

First we have a beautiful mantle decorated with Christmas balls, carnations and evergreens 


Upon closer inspection, the "vase" holding the flowers is actually two margarita classes with the bases glued together.  They added cranberries to the glass instead of water for extra texture.

In the kitchen is an original hearth and a table that has been decorated with things you would normally find around your kitchen.

On the mantle is a scale, pie tin and hanging down are cookie cutters on ribbon


On the table there were three vases filled with different fruits as well as many other utensils, such as potato mashers

My favorite thing:  under these graters were tea lights.  It's hard to see from the picture, but the cast the most beautiful glow.

Go ahead and admitt it.  You totally said "Oh, why didn't I think of that" at least twice.  I know you did. 

Always & Forever,
  ME

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Santa Baby

My Christmas list looked a little something like this:

Dear Santa,
I've been a super good girl.  This year I would like:
  a new couch
  a queen size bed (so there is room for me and JEGs.)
  a house
  freedom from debt
  eh... and while you are at it, let's give world peace thing a try.

Love..
  Lizzie

Three days later, I got this response:

Dear Lizzie,
  Nice try.

Sincerely,
   Santa.

Alrighty then... let's try again.

So I have this bizzare obsession with perfume bottles.  I have always loved those old style atomizers, and I *think* I would feel just like a Hollywood starlet if I could use one every day.  This year, I stumbled upon these incredibly affordable options from IKEA.

I would also love what I call a "weekend sweater".  Nothing too fancy or tight.  Just something I can throw on with my a pair of jeans and some boots and call it a day.  Maybe a chunky necklace if I am feeling sassy.  American Eagle heard my call.



As we all know, my feet eat shoes.  I have completely busted up my favorite pair of brown boots, so I am thinking these great shoes from Rampage will work as a replacement.
Finally, I would love a blanket to curl up on the couch with.  Right now JEGs and I are using a comforter from a double bed, and it's obnoxiously large.  I really love this chunky knit throw from Lands End. 
What are you guys jotting on your list this year?

Always & Forever,
  Me

Monday, December 13, 2010

Dare to DIY: Week 5

It's time to deck the halls!!

Ok, so my halls, aren't completely decked yet, so I'm going to run through what I did last year. 

Last year, I aimed for a very natural feeling- branches, holly and candle light- but all with a touch of shimmer.  One of my favorite things was the centerpieces I set up on our coffee table

I took pine cones I collected and hit them with a little gold spray paint

added amongst the holly was smaller red ornaments as well as acorns with a dusting of gold paint

the dried holly was by far my favorite element


Also, around the apartment I took old Ball Jars and added some gilded ribbon, sand and a candle for extra ambiance.  A candle wreath added some panache.   Also, I had some pumpkins leftover from my Halloween and Thanksgiving decor, so I added a little simmer to them with more gold spray paint.

We can't forget my manger scene-- a gift from my mother

Since we don't have a mantle, I hung our stockings (with care, of course) from a self above our dining table.


These stocking hangers were picked up for nothing via Freecycle.  The glassware behind them are vintage goblets with Christmas balls placed inside.

I loved the mix of metallic with the natural elements



One thing I did add this year was a simple table setting

Instead of your normal chargers, I used leaves from a rhodendrum bush


I just love how un-perfect they are

For the centerpiece, I placed two candle wreaths on cake stands and added a few more pine cones




Have you decorated yet?  What is your favorite area to decorate?  Is it the lights on the front lawn, or do you love putting the star on the tree?

Don't forget to stop by Kim for the rest of the Dare to DIYers!

Always & Forever,
  ME

Friday, December 10, 2010

Suck it, Michael's


For the past couple of weeks I have been coveting these sequin candles from Michael's.  I have grand ideas of how to incorporate them into my holiday decor


However, they are priced at $6.99 each.  Holy mother of pearl!  In my grand plan, I needed four of them, and if ya'll don't know by now, I'm kinda of cheap.  I was not about to hand over $30 of my hard earned money for these bad boys.

So I did what any logical blogger would do-- I do it my damn self.

I knew I already  had a bunch of red glitter leftover from my cheerleading coaching days, so I stopped by Walmart and picked up four pillar candles for $1.50 each.


On a flat surface I laid out some wax paper and shook some loose glitter into a pile.




I used painters tape and taped the top part of the candle to create a clean line.  I used simple Elmer's Clear  Glue and covered the bottom part of the candle. 

Next, I rolled the candle in the pile of glitter



Once I removed the tape, I had a clean line



Thumbs up indeed.

I am really happy with the outcome and I can't wait to use them in my decorating!


 So for less then the cost of one candle, I was able to make four.  Boo YAH.

How about you guys... do you meander through stores and think "well hell, I can do that?" 

Always & Forever,
  ME

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

House Crashing: Falconhead

Recently, I have acquire some new readers and followers.  First off, welcome! and thank you for joining this my little corner of the interwebs.   I don't want to be rude, so let me take a minute and show you around our home.  And when I say minute, I pretty much mean 60 seconds- our apartment is kinda small.

This is the layout of our dear Falconhead


We live in a three story apartment building, however, we are lucky enough to have a first floor apartment.  Although our privacy is sometimes compromised, it does make it easier for our guests.  Instead of having to buzz you in, or run to the main door to let them in, they simply walk up to our porch and knock on the door.


Our "foyer" if you will..





As you walk in and bang a louie, you can now see pretty much the entire apartment in one fell swoop:


When we first moved in, we had the dining table by the porch door and the buffet sat under the shelves (you can see that here).   However, once we realize how much we were utilizing the porch door, having the table directly in front of you when you walked in was rather cumbersome.  Now we have a spacious entry, AND our dirty dishes don't have to travel 60 miles from the table to the kitchen sink.

Speaking of kitchens, here is ours:


The openness of the kitchen into the great room was really something that sold us on the apartment.  I love how I can be cooking dinner and still watch TV or hold a conversation with JEGs while he is on the couch.  It really has been great for entertaining.

Surprisingly, I have a lot of people ask me if we painted the apartment, or if it was already painted when we moved in.  The answer is yes, we painted it.  When we moved in every single wall was that builder grade white, and I hated it.  I knew we were going to be here for at least two years, and I wanted to put some color and life into these walls.  So we went bold.

For as long as I can remember, I have always wanted a lime green kitchen, and I felt like this was the perfect place to do that- between the open concept living area and my plethora of neutral furniture, I was willing to take a risk.  We used Valpar's Jalapeno Jelly on the three walls in the kitchen, and toned it down by painting the rest of the great room a darker neutral with Valspar's Jekyll Club Cherokee Tan (I didn't name it, folks). 



As we move down the hall, you'll pass our one and only bathroom.  This room is huuuge, and people always comment about the size when they see it (that's what she said). We didn't paint this room because we felt like the red shower curtain and accessories were bold enough. 



I will tell you one thing:  that white porcelain tile is a pain in the ass to keep clean.  White grout + red towel fuzzies= me swiffering this room twice a week.

Last, but certainly not least, we have the boudoir:



The paint in this room is Valspar's Lighthouse Shadows, and I adore it.   I find it so calm and serene-- a perfect oasis.

Another thing people often comment about  is the furniture in our bedroom.  The two dressers and my bedside table were passed down to me, and was my paternal grandparents.  When JEGs and I moved we found a date of 1934 stamped on the back of the mirror.  I adore them-- JEGs, notsamuch.   Also, the hope chest at the foot of the bed also belonged to my father's motherand was purchased roughly around the same time the dressers were made.  When I inherited it, it was in rough shape;  a leg was missing, the stain was worn off, it wouldn't open correctly and the trim in the front was broken.  For my 28th birthday, JEGs (with the help of his friend Joey) brought it back to life by repairing everything that was broken, and Momma G ( my wonderful mother-in-law) sanded it down and restained the entire thing.  Probably the best gift I have ever been given.

Thanks for letting me show you around our humble abode.  Drop on by if you are ever in the neighborhood!

Always & Forever,
  The Duchess of Falconhead.