Martha, You've Done it Again!!

Count on Martha Stewart to just go over the top for a cup of hot chocolate! I simply love these little gingerbread houses!! How creative and fun!! Thanks Martha for a great idea (and for making us all feel like losers) this Christmas!!! (Who has time to make all these little houses anyway???) I love this highly impractical yet very clever idea! Merry Christmas Martha, you crazy gal you!!!

I WANT TO GO TO THE PARTY!!!!!

I love holiday parties! Always a fun time to get together with friends and family and catch up on the past year and celebrate!. As much as I love hosting a party, I especially love to be a guest! It is so much fun seeing how people decorate for Christmas. I love getting a glimpse at their traditions and how they make their homes festive for the holidays. Honestly, I gotta say my absolute favorite part of a party is the food!!! HEHE!!! I recently came across this blog and think it is totally amazing!! Paige Appel is an event designer in Los Angeles and her work is pretty incredible! I would love to be a guest at any party she is setting up!!! Enjoy these pretty pictures and try not to drool all over the keyboard...the sweets look mighty tasty!!!!

What was the best party you ever attended and why????

More Christmas Inspiration Pics

I have found an over abundance of Christmas inspiration this season!! I am on overload! I don't really have too much to say about these pictures (I know, you are surprised). I just really enjoy looking at them. I am slowly building a file for next year of ideas for my own home!! I hope that you have found my posts to be inspiring for you this holiday season!!! ENJOY!!!

A New Take on Christmas Decor

As I have said before, I am pretty traditional with my Christmas decorating. I love red, green and gold. I guess I have never relay thought about doing anything else, it is what I grew up with and what I have always done. However, I am thinking these rooms scenes look pretty darn sweet!!! Mixing in pink, a bright green, blues and silvers. These rooms still look warm and inviting as well as very festive!!! I have been inspired so much this holiday season that I might have to try some of the "new" colors out next Christmas!!!

What colors do you typically decorate with for Christmas??

"Untraditional" Holiday Decor

I must admit, I am a bit traditional in the way I decorate for Christmas. Nothing makes me happier than red, green and gold! I love the "traditional" ornaments and decorations, nothing too flashy or out there really. But when I came across these pictures, I decided that maybe it is time for me to think about doing something different next year!! Here are a few ideas you might want to steal for yourself!!


This is actually my favorite. I love the limb hanging over the table with Christmas ball ornaments attached. It has a little bit of a traditional element with the ornaments, but the twig is so fresh and organic. (Plus I am digging the color of the chairs around the table!!!)

I am a big Christmas ball ornament fan!! What a great easy way to decorate a staircase with ribbon and ornaments!! Pretty easy!! The clear ornaments hung over the table add a nice contemporary feel to the space. Looks very clean and sleek.

This is a little out there for me! A tree on a mirror made with Post Its!! Pretty crazy, but simple and cute as well!! Great for someone who has limited space!

Pink tree...enough said!!

Again, another organic element that is super easy to do. The pitcher that the twigs are in has an interesting pattern on it, kind of contemporary.

How do you like to decorate for Christmas?? Are you very traditional or do you like to spice it up a bit!!! I'd love to know!!! Post a comment and e-mail pictures if you have them!!!! PLEASE!!!!

Christmas Photo

Just a quick post to share this photo with you. This picture just puts me in the Christmas spirit! (And it doesn't hurt that it is snowing like crazy outside right now!!) Hope you are feeling jolly and festive today!!!

These Are a Few Of My Favorite Things...Around my House

So, a few of you have asked to see what my home looks like for Christmas this year. I have to say, I didn't go all out as I had planned, but I think I managed to go a little bit crazy at least!! I thought I would show you the "highlights" around my house and my favorite things that I love to see each year at Christmas!!

Last year I made this Advent calendar. It was part of a class that I took at my favorite local shop Lola Rue. Each of the numbers are made with unusual items. Everything from buttons to dice to miniature ornaments. It is a cookie sheet turned over and the numbers are on magnets and stuck to the back until ready to use. I am on day 7 today (of course) but when it is all completed, it is super cute! If I do say so myself!! This has become one of my favorite things and I hope will be a great tradition for when we have kids! I love how vintage it looks!

This is my dining room. Nothing too fancy this year. I chose to use what I already had around the house rather than buying or making anything. I used simple metallic red candles and brought out just about every crystal candlestick we own. I had a TON of Christmas ornaments that I didn't use, so I scattered them on the table. The runner was a gift a few years ago and we never had a dining table to use it on until now! So I was excited to get to use it this year!!

This little guy is Randy Reindeer. Randy has been with me every Christmas since I was probably 6 or 7. I believe he was a collectible at Burger King one year?? (Remember when you could buy something at a fast food place and get a different stuffed animal each week?? I think that is where Randy came from!) Any who, when I moved out on my own, my mom gave me quite a few of my ornaments and decorations and Randy was one of them. Something about that face...so cute!!!

The boot tree!!!! I love this! We spent Thanksgiving in Arizona a few years ago with my husbands side of the family. My mother in law bought my sister in law and I these trees to remember our trip. It has become one of my most favorite Christmas decorations!!! I am not what you would call "country" but this tree is so me!!!

"Santa with a boat", is how my husband and I affectionately refer to this little wooden jem. He was a wedding gift from my high school cheer leading coach Stacy. I remember opening the gift and thinking it was a little crazy. Where would we put "Santa with a boat"?? The first Christmas that my husband and I were married, we had just moved to Los Angeles. My husband was still in the Air Force and we were living on base in the hotel until our apartment was ready to move into. All of our Christmas decorations were in storage and we didn't buy a tree as we had no room and we were going back home to Indiana for the holidays. All of our "stuff" had been shipped to California before our wedding except for our wedding gifts. The gifts made the trip to California with us in our cars...including Santa. Santa was the ONLY Christmas decoration we had to put out that year. Now, he is one of my favorite Christmas memories!!

This is the stairway. Growing up, I never lived in a house with 2 stories, and I always wanted to. Primarily for this reason! I wanted to have a banister to decorate for Christmas!!! Its the simple things in life!!!

My little tree in the entryway was a hand me down from my mom, ornaments and all. She wanted to get rid of it last year and I was happy to take it. It has a more rustic look to it. Its the perfect size for an entryway. I set it up higher on an old milk crate and it really looks perfect!

This is the powder bath. (No, it is not orange. For some reason it photographs a little strangely!) Any who, I really like the way the decorations turned out. I used a small collection of snowmen, Santa's and greenery to make this feel all festive!! The basket on the toilet also has one of my very favorite items for Christmas...cinnamon scented pine cones!!! I LOVE that smell and my entire first level smells like it all season long!

My aunt Chickie gave me these stacking Santa's when I was about 8 I think. These truly have gone everywhere with me! College, first apartment, first home and now this house. I look forward to my stacking Santa's every year.

I bought this Merry Christmas sign last year at Lola Rue (my fav local home good store). I try to buy one really unique Christmas item each year and last year this was my item. I think it looks great on the mantle.

And this is my mantle! Pretty simple, I like to use green garland and sheer glitter ribbon. When the white lights shine through the ribbon it looks so special and pretty. I bought our stockings a few years ago at Pottery Barn. I still need to have our names put on them! Little Oliver has his own stocking as well. The sleigh is a another hand me down from mom and of course, you remember "Santa with the boat"!

And...this is my tree. I love our tree. We bought it the second Christmas we were married. We can't have a real tree because my husband "claims" he is allergic! Right....!!! This tree is a bit too small for the house we are in now, but it was the perfect apartment tree. Maybe next year we will upgrade?? The tree is again wrapped in sheer glitter ribbon and has billions of white lights. I love getting the ornaments out each year because most of our ornaments have a story or some meaning behind them.

I try to buy an ornament every time we take a trip. So we have things from Maui, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oklahoma City, San Diego, Disneyland, Phoenix and a few other places I am forgetting at the moment. I also have many ornaments that have been gifts over the years. I even have one from a friend that she made for me in high school!! (Thanks Kristin!)

Growing up, my aunt Chickie gave me an angel ornament every year starting from my first Christmas until I was in high school. My mom let me take all my angels with me when I moved out. These are extremely special to me and one of my most favorite Christmas traditions. I have started this tradition with my own niece and give her an angel each year. Hopefully one day when she is grown, she can put them on her own tree to share with her family.

Christmas is such a special magical time. I love the traditions and memories of the holiday season!! I hope you have enjoyed seeing some of my home and learning more about my favorite Christmas decorations.

What are some of your favorite Christmas decorations???

Z Gallerie-Insane!!!

How many of you find yourself drooling over Z Gallerie?? Show of hands please!!! When the hubs and I lived in California, we were about 30 minutes from the one and only Z Gallerie outlet store. It was amazing and we picked up quite a few things for our home there. It was only open Saturdays, and a line would start to form about 7am and wrap around the building. (Yes, we were there many times at 7am!) Sadly, we had to leave behind our beloved outlet store. However, there are plenty of Z Gallerie stores around the country as well as an awesome online store http://www.zgallerie.com/. I do quite a bit of online shopping for clients on the Z Gallerie website, just for everyday odds and ends. I was insanely happy when they started showing the collection of Christmas items they offer!! WOOHOO!!! (Ok, I was really happy but the insane part came from a large amount of coffee I had consumed earlier in the day.) I thought I would share some of these pretties with you for inspiration on this COLD December day. I figured a lot of you might be pulling out the Christmas decor this weekend if you haven't already!! Enjoy, and wipe that drool off the keyboard...yuck!!!

Simple Holiday Centerpieces and Table Decor

One of the best parts of the holiday season is getting to spend time with family and friends. And what better way to spend time together than a holiday party!!!??? I love hosting get togethers and I really love decorating for them! I love thinking up new ways to re-purpose items around house and make them feal more "festive". Centerpieces and table decor really set the mood for a dinner party. Making the space feel welcoming, energetic or cozy can be a real challenge. It can also cost a fortune!! Here are some great ideas for holiday decorating using items that you probably already own (or should!! Tell Santa!!!)



The hurricane. It is simple and classic and can be filled with an array of treasures!! This hurricane filled with Christmas tree balls looks elegant and paired with glowing candles, very romantic.

I love this idea!! Buckets are great to have around for making festive novelty centerpieces. This looks great for the holidays. Buckets are wonderful because they can be filled with everything from candy canes to evergreen sprigs. White buckets are a good thing to invest in because they can work in winter as well as summer.

The perfect place mats can be expensive and sometimes hard to find. The place mats in this picture are pieces of red felt! That is crazy! This table looks so chic with the mix of red, white and black. A nice twist on the traditional red and green I think!

Apothecary jars are a great purchase to make!! They can be used year round for any occasion. For the holidays they can be filled with candies, Christmas tree balls, tinsel, you name it. These have been filled with holly, berries and pine cones. Sitting in the center of the table, these would be beautiful!!! Apothecary jars are a great investment if you don't have any!!! Maybe a good thing to ask Santa for this year???!!!

Glassware that you have around the house can serve a dual purpose and be used as a centerpiece. This brandy sniffer is filled with bells in a variety of sizes.

I LOVE this idea!!! This is a muffin tin with tea lights and various colors and sizes of Christmas tree balls. So simple and yet so pretty! A few of these lined up and down a dining table or even on a kitchen island would be really special looking. The only cost you would potentially have would be the candles!

A Christmas ornament chandelier!! Fabulous!!! By using various shapes and sizes of traditional Christmas tree balls and ribbon, you can create a very contemporary display. This could be hung from an exisiting light fixture, the ceiling or even a doorway if the ribbon is short enough.

Everyone loves Hershey Kisses!! (They are typically a permanent fixture in my house!) This centerpiece is so tasty!!! Using a large hurricane, fill it up almost to the top with these sweet treats. You could do 2 or 3 hurricanes in various sizes and group them together using Kisses or any other wrapped seasonal candy. Hershey makes some great Christmas candies wrapped in pretty foils that would be delectable on display!! This serves 2 functions, centerpiece and dessert!!!


Decorating for holiday parties doesn't have to be difficult or expensive. Get creative with things you already own and think outside of the box! Have fun with decorating!!!