Cozy Christmas 2016

Come on in, grab a beverage and check out our Christmas Cottage.Our house has been decorated and enjoyed since the middle of November.  I've been snapping random pictures all this time, so it's
about time I share!  

An ornament from my childhood.

Our entrance is a nice size.  I have enough room to make a little Christmas corner. Not too busy or overwhelming.

It can get filled with shoes and bags and people quickly, even with a coat closet, so I

try to keep it fairly clear. TRY.

A cozy corner for a nap...

I don't normal feel the need to show our main bathroom but I thought this worked out well with the wall color and the copper string lights.

The pom-pom garland was a snap to make.  As an ultimate bonus, the yarn was on at a huge discount in Micheals.   As you'll see in up coming pictures, I went a little crazy with the pom-poms.

This is our oldest's bedroom when she comes home to visit.  Yep...more garland.  I just couldn't stop making them.  So easy! 

I had a real desire for 'Christmas past' this year.  I guess I just miss having all my girls around me. Having some of their childhood artwork through the hall way has really helped.  It's like having a big hug from them every time I walk through here.

-love-

Not too much going on in our room...except for a few more pom-poms.  And a new pom-pom wreath.  

What do you think of this paint chip?  I always have one or two of these hidden around our rooms.  I just cant decide if I want to go dark or light in here .  The dark paint chip seems to be the winner at the moment. 

The tall silver Santa is my newest addition to my collection.  He's accompanied by Santa 2011.  (I've marked the year they were purchased under their feet, so I don't forget.)

Our living space is open concept, so everything has to work together somehow.

As always, I want my end result to be COZY.  Cozy isn't easy in an open concept home, but here is what I've done.

Messy Kitchen...Open Concept issues!

Happy Holidays, may your days be filled with joy.

Poppy Seed Blue

If you have been here before, then you are aware of my thrifty side.

I would much rather reuse then replace.

I look at all the lovely furniture out there,

readily available, but I just can't do it.  

I just can't replace until I have squeezed every

last bit of life out of it.

This little cabinet is a perfect example.

We bought two of these cabinets, one just a little deeper to

hold an old school style TV, way back in 1993.

 They were raw wood and needed assembly.

I was all about pink at the time,
so I white washed them a slight pinkish/white.

Sorry, no picture.

Then, a few years later I got into the country shaker  look

and thought that a terracotta wood tone would be nice...

so the wash was sanded out and terracotta stained and sealed.
Again, no picture.

THEN, about 10 years ago they were painted a linen cream,
and I changed out the knobs for rose

coloured crystal knobs. They worked very well up until recently

(see picture above).

I think I just needed some more colour.

And I picked out a navy blue.  I liked the navy
cabinet, but it changed the wall colour too much.
Pretty, but just a little too bright blue.

I went back to the paint chips,

and found what I needed,

POPPY SEED. 

I LOVE the results!

It has a greener base to it.  And its working nicely 

with the wall colour.

I'm sure you can see why my family thought I lost my mind...

the colours are so very close. 

But that's ok! I'm so happy I repainted it.

Some new knobs were added and it 

has a new lease on life.

So there you have it, 

It's only paint, and if it doesn't make you happy,

get out that roller and brush and have some fun!

Abby

....now what should I do
 with my baking cupboard.......

Witch's Cottage 2016

I love  setting up our home for Halloween.

Actually I love playing in our house!

Here's a tour of what going on....

oh and I've painted our shelving in the living room...twice.

More about that later!

Our Dining Room

Mirrored Pumpkin-Pier 1.

Love it!!

Living room

This is the painted cabinet...it's been painted since this

picture was taken. I didn't like this blue with the walls..

you'll understand when I show you

 the difference tomorrow.

The Front Room

Hope you have a Happy Halloween!

Macrame Hangers

Hello!

Happy Fall!

We have raced right through summer, and I didn't even post!

I seem to do that...take summers off.

I don't know why I do it, I always love

going back through my posts and checking out

the changes that we've made through our house. 

Inside and Outside.

Speaking of which, yesterday marked our 6 year anniversary!

Oh my goodness!

I think I need to do another before and after post of 

all the changes we have made to our home...

SIX YEARS!

This time it's been so long, that when I opened my blog today

I realized that my blog roll is gone!!!! and that top bar of links

is missing too...not sure what that is about, but I will be 

linking my favorites back up gradually....it takes me a little time.

Anyways, today is a quick tour or the

ever so slight, fall decorations I put through the main

living space. 

 Next post I will show our Witch's Cottage.

,

When I was in Winners I found these fun napkins, I was hoping for 

a table cloth or throw pillow covers, but these will do!

I layer them over a larger tablecloth to add to their impact,

and who doesn't like some good layering!

The navy and brass are perfect with the dark wood table.

In the kitchen we were finding that we were closing the blinds to give our

neighbors below us a little more privacy.  In turn, shutting

the sunshine out too!  

So, I've come up with a solution for the time being...

a low placed cafe curtain.
It seems like we are still looking down on them in
this picture, but I was standing on the island trying to get a
nice picture of the window, I don't usually do that ;)
But, I never seem to close the blinds
anymore.  Lots of light can shine in now.
There was a succulent that sat in the sun on
that window sill, but I couldn't see it anymore so
  I 'You Tubed' a how to video
and made a few little mini macrame hangers.
So easy and slightly addictive :)

I hung a little hook with an anchor in the ceiling so it wouldn't crash down
on anyone, I always hate messing with ceiling gyproc,
it's not as easy to repair.

This succulent wasn't getting enough light so
it was stretched right out, reaching.
I cut off the top half and shoved it into
the soil...we'll see if it survives.

And I made another hanger for the dining room.
(addictive)

Macrame hangers can be made from jute,
yarn, or strips of fabric of any kind.
Keep in mind the strips need to be about 1.5 times the length
of your finished product.  My windows are longer and I
wanted them to hang a little lower
 so I used a LOT of jute.

Happy Crafting!