Happy 2012!

Happy 2012, to all of my fabulous followers!

I am so pleasantly surprised that you stuck around - probably missing my posts terribly

 ha.

Thrilled was I to see that no one left during my sabbatical.

Sadly, my last post was September 16th!

WOW! I missed posting fall and Christmas decor - oops 

but we have had a quite eventful 3 months around our house!

We were blessed with baby #2 on October 3rd and have been soaking up time with her!
and wrapping up some house projects - a few of which are featured below.

Here is a recap of what we've been doing...
I am so excited to be back and look forward to sharing all of my

decorating and remodeling throughout 2012 with each of you!

our precious baby girl was born!

finished hand painting/ stenciling the laundry room..
Hubby called it my "Sistine Chapel" haha

celebrated Thanksgiving with my family!

spent lots of time with my sweet mom!
I don't know what we would've done without all of her help...
quite an adjustment going from 1 to 2 kiddos!

baked and decorated lots of Christmas cookies!

spent a blessed Christmas with family celebrating Christ's birth

Hubby designed & built a coatrack area
(details and more pics coming soon!)

and we're absolutely loving being a family of 4!

check back soon to see my home goals for 2012!
It's going to be an EXCITING year around here!

:: how to :: decorate a williamsburg cone

Thanks for all of the great feedback you gave yesterday 

on my apple and boxwood Williamsburg cone!

They're a fabulous centerpiece for any time of year, but especially at Christmas!

The cone that I used was made by my Poppy for my mom and then she passed it down to me.

So, I didn't actually make my own cone form... 

but I searched the internet and found the Williamsburg Marketplace 

where you can purchase similar ones but it seems they're currently out of stock.

Since, I wasn't able to find a Wiliamsburg Cone base that was actually available online, 

Hubby and I are going to try to come up with some to sell in my Etsy store.

Let me know if you'd be interested!

Now let's get started...

{1}

The cone base is usually an iron or wood cone with the point cut off & painted green

with rows of nails inserted and each nail is approximately 2in apart.

{2}

Choose your fruit, which you'll later position onto the nails.

I chose granny smith apples, but you can use oranges, lemons, red apples, etc.

I don't usually purchase bags of apples for us to eat because I am super picky about spots,

but for this project (a) much more cost effective (b) you can turn the apples to hide the brown spots!

{3}

Begin pegging the apples onto the nails... 

 {4}

I trimmed our boxwood bushes in the front yard for the sprigs, 

but you can use holly, pine, spruce, to add beautiful color and texture!

{5}

stuff the boxwood between the apples, filling in the empty spaces

{6}

ta-da! 

A fabulous traditional centerpiece for your home. 

Perfect on a credenza, in a small nook, on your dining room table, or anywhere!.

There are many variations to this traditional centerpiece, 

which you can read about here.  The article also provides more detailed instructions.

I wasn't able to find a Wiliamsburg Cone base that I really liked online, 

Hubby and I are going to try to come up with one and I'll put them in my Etsy store!

Let me know if you'd be interested.

More images of Wiliamsburg cones.

Todd Richesin Interiors

Merry, Merry Christmas!

I'm linking up with Blue Cricket Designs.

it looks a lot like Christmas!

I love Christmas more than any other time of year,

and the home never looks more beautiful and feels more cozy than it does during Christmastime!

This year I focused my decor around the colors of green, white, silver, & burlap with hints of red.

Much different than any other year, and I love all the shades of the colors together!

Welcome into our home!

Let's begin in the breakfast room....

the top of our hutch

my mom gave me the brass deer and i printed the picture here

my collection of bleached pinecones

i got impatient and didn't let them soak long enough...

but they have hints of white!

i picked up these darling rosemary topiaries at home depot for just $12 each! 

then spray decorated them with tiny ornaments for added Christmas cheer.

and once Christmas decorations come down, I can still use them throughout the year.

i picked up these votive holders at Target for just $3/ea!

they add a perfect touch of sparkle

this nativity set was a wedding gift, and used to be all sorts of bright colors...

but just a coat of white semi-gloss spray paint made it more my style.

our Christmas credenza

For our centerpiece, I decorated the Williamsburg cone from my mom with 

granny smith apples and boxwood clippings.

Her dad made it for her and now it's my turn to enjoy it!

a simple swag of live garland ties it all together

 the whole picture

Now onto the mantle...

I used more live garland on the mantle & love how it lays!

I may use a fake tree but it's live garland from here on out for me!

I gathered my collection of candle sticks, silver, glass, & crystal, together

and the vintage champagne glasses from my grandfather full of ornaments.

 and we hung the stockings on the chimney with care :)

love that tree... i refused to pay the prices they ask in the store...

hubby scored this one on C-list!

and almost every ornament on those branches has a special story behind it!

  a few short branches of garland and pine cones for a pop of festiveness on the tray.

Mom is such a talented "needlepointer" 

and she sewed that nautical santa for hubby last year...

To top it all off...

that star used to be bright red, 

but i spray painted it along with some of the Christmas ornaments for the topiaries.

Love the sparkle atop the tree! 

Throughout the house we have other tidbits of Christmas cheer, but that's all for now!

Hope you've enjoyed the tour! 

 Check back tomorrow for the "how to" of bleaching pinecones and 

creating a Williamsburg cone centerpiece!

I'm linking up with Cottage & Vine's Tour of Homes!

our first Christmas gathering

my favorite part of the holiday season is spending time with the ones that you love.

tonight, we hosted our first of three parties for the week, and it will be tough to beat!

my life-long best friend left december 26th last year for singapore to teach english,

and today was the 1st time that i had seen her since!

our parents have also been close friends since we were babies, 

so when we get together there are many stories to be told and lots of laughter to share!

tonight we all gathered together to celebrate Christmas
and i wish the evening could have gone on forever!

friends forever

we're so glad mags is back in town, too! 

lots of love!

we were so blessed by all who were here tonight.

and we are so thankful to have a home where we can celebrate with the ones we love!