My Christmas Tree…….

I mentioned yesterday, I finally got the tree up and I  have to admit that between taking on a new client, school work, holiday shopping and battling a cold the tree almost didn’t get decorated.  Fortunately, I found a small window late one evening and just plowed through it thanks to Theraflu and Pandora radio streaming Christmas music at full blast.

I opted to not do a real Christmas tree this year.  The thought of a live tree seemed too overwhelming, so I opted to use the  white plastic tree I picked up at Wal-Mart last year for $20.  Last season I become obsessed with having a white tree and rushed out and found this one on clearance.  It’s 6’5″ tall and the perfect size for our living room which was not the case when we bought a live tree 2 years ago – that sucker was HUGE.  Because it was the wrong size getting it out of the house once the season was over was a nightmare.  Once it was unfurled, it couldn’t fit down the staircase, so we had to hoist it over the loft into the kitchen and spray the entire first floor in a rain shower of pine needles (not fun).

Fortunately, the artificial white tree proved to be quick and easy to assemble and provided the perfect back drop to the bronze, brown and gold color scheme I envisioned.  However, I did sneak in a few colorful accents to spice things up……

I could not find a tree topper in gold that was not an angel or an extremely clichéd looking star.  So I opted to create my topper out of a stuffed owl and two gold candle wreaths.  I simply wired the two wreaths together and with some fishing line added the owl. It took about 10 minutes total to do and I am quite pleased with how it turned out.

Don’t these ornaments remind you of something Jonathan Adler would do for his stores?  Surprisingly, they are some off-market brand that I was able to pick up at Marshalls for about $1.50 per ornament.  I am totally scouting out my local Marshalls to see if they go back on clearance this year so I can scoop up some more.

Told you that  I snuck in a few hints of color like these fantastic peacock ornaments that I found on clearance at Marshalls last year.

I even bribed a certain adorable dog to get in on the Christmas action.  It’s amazing what Scruffy will do for a well-placed (and well-timed) doggie treat.

I think I may be a full convert to artificial trees after this year with one caveat.  I think fake trees should look, well fake,  hence why I love the white tree.  There is no way in hell unless you are Helen Keller that you would think my white plastic tree is real.  So where do you stand on white trees artificial trees?  Yay or nay?

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Dining Table Vingette & Slip Cover Sneak Peek

I’m BACK!

This last week has been a technology cluster f-bomb.  My computer contracted a virus that destroyed the hard drive.  In turn, the hard drive I wanted was sold out in my area, so I had to hunt around for it, finally finding it an hour away.  My computer is STILL with the Geek Squad at the moment who promised that it would be fixed in 3-4 days.

The Partner was kind enough to loan me his computer while he is in Bali (yeah the tropical country where you get massages poolside).  You would think that would end the technology fiasco right?

Wrong!

His computer didn’t read my camera and I lost the pictures — they are somewhere I am sure, but just not where I thought.  To top it all off, I was frozen out of my WordPress account for several days.  When it rains, it pours.  But I am back and ready to blog baby.  Thank you to those of you who sent emails and comments asking where I was and if I was okay — they were greatly appreciated.

Well with all this techno-stress in my life as of late, I decided I needed a little reprieve — something soothing to look at while I worked in the kitchen (which doubles as my drafting studio, art center and psycho best friend counseling center).  So I created this simple vignette shopping  my local grocery store for flowers and my garage for everything else…..

This is one of my favorite vignettes to date for my dining table.  Simple, easy and elegant – I think it fits the overall mood of the house and hits the serene and calm aspects I was trying for on the nose.  And I think it’s pretty to boot…..

I used curly willow and stargazer lilies I picked up at the grocery store for a total of $10.  I love the juxtaposition of the lilies against the random curves of the willow branches.  I placed them in a simple vase from West Elm (which has been hitting the mark HARD when it comes to their accessories – kudos to them).

I finished the vignette with two pieces of driftwood and a painted glass bowl I picked up from Marshalls a few months ago.  The wood provides a nice organic form to the lower section of the vignettes, while the bowl visually expands the scene, giving a larger impact than if they vase was left alone.  In addition, these two additions provide levels which I think are key to a success vignette.

Now I also said there was gonna be a sneak peek at some slip covers.  If you look closely, you might see a snippet of a fabric I debated on the blog a few months ago….

A shiny new penny for the first person to spot it….. but I promise a full reveal later this week.

Okay, time for me to kick it into high gear as I am finishing up a design project and shot my second video for the blog. 

Do let me ask — did you miss me?  Because I surely missed y’all!!!

I Give a Hoot…..

On Friday, I went to Marshalls and fell in love with a $7 ceramic owl. However, it was an awful metallic brown color. Fortunately, I have never been at a loss for white spray paint, so an hour later, I had this:

 

He is just so darn CUTE!

 

In his new roost.....

 

Honestly, white spray paint and adorable ceramic figurines make me incredibly happy.

 

Have an awesome day!