Christmas Decor Inspiration

While my husband and I were at Gardner Village, I saw so many beautiful shops with darling Christmas decor. I couldn't help but snap a few pictures of my favorite things!

I loved all the vintage details in each shop. Of course I'm always a sucker for a good cloche and wreath.

One day I will have a house with a guest bedroom and I'll get it all dressed up for holidays like Easter and Christmas. Doesn't this bed look so warm and welcoming?

I think the things I'm drawn to the most are rustic signs, natural branches and leaves, and white dishes and bedding. I also love those galvanized metal stars, they're just perfect.

I'm definitely going to incorporate some of the elements I liked from these stores in my own home! Lanterns, candles, and big buckets are definitely on my list.

It really is the most wonderful time of the year!

In-store Inspiration

My husband and I went to Witches Night Out at Gardner Village last week. The entire place was packed but it was still a lot of fun! I could have strolled through those home decor stores all day.

I'm going to do a separate post about the Christmas decor I liked, but here's a couple pictures of the other things I was drawn to. (I also just got a new photo editing app on my phone and I wanted to give it a try.)

Enjoy!

My Apartment: The First Year

Ever since Cob and I moved into Juniper Street, I've been rearranging the furniture and putting up new decor every season. I thought it would be fun to document how the living room has changed during our first year here.


This is how the apartment looked when we moved in. Scary!

I decorated for Halloween soon after moving in. I do love how bright and cheery the room looks, but I can't believe how yellow everything is!

Next, I arranged the room for Christmas. I love our little Christmas tree. I'm including the picture below because it represents the less glamorous side of my apartment. I was working so hard on a gift for my sister and the whole place was just a complete disaster.

After Christmas, I cleaned up my act a little and organized things a little differently. I wish I had better pictures of this stage, because I feel like this is when I really made the jump from "cute" to "well-decorated." 

Sometime in April/May, I eliminated a lot of the colors in the living room and rearranged the room for a more elegant look.

Then, I decided to bring in a different coffee table, which really helped fill the room better. This is one of my favorite pictures of my apartment.

At this point, I knew that the red lovesac was holding me back. So, even though it was super comfy and I spent many hours there doing homework and scrolling through Pinterest, I gave it to my little brother, who was very grateful for it.

And this is how my apartment looks today:

The beautiful quilt was a gift from my mom for my wedding, and the table was lovingly refinished by my husband before we got married. I love my little apartment!

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Halloween Party Decorations

For the last two years I've thrown a Halloween party for all my college-age cousins. We always have a good-sized crowd and everyone really gets into it! This year the theme was Alfred Hitchcock. My husband and I dressed up as the lovely Grace Kelly and Jimmy Stewart a la Rear Window and my younger brother was Cary Grant from North by Northwest.

This is the invitation I sent to everyone. You can download the Adobe Illustrator version of it HERE.
The decorations for the party were a mix between ghostly and glamorous. I used lots of sparkly fabric, old fashioned prints, and tinsel-y garlands.

On the front door I hung a poster I created welcoming everyone to the party. (Notice the birds, like in The Birds?) Inside I hung up some movie posters and set out a directors chair, like the one Alfred Hitchcock might have used.

I created a fun tablescape using garlands from the dollar store and black tulle from JoAnns.

For dinner we had a mixed up menu which was hilarious because everyone was using wacky utensils and eating different foods.


All in all it was a great party!

Easy Do-It-Yourself Breakfast Tray

My husband and I are the type of people who just run run run to everything! We're always going from one place to the next. With both of us being so busy, I decided to make breakfast a bigger priority and create this darling fast-food stop right on my kitchen counter.

Here's what I included with my breakfast station:

• Brown wicker tray from Hobby Lobby (you could use a cutting board or even a cooking sheet!) 

• Green striped dish towel 

• Small ramekin for butter 

• Toaster 

• Food items of course! Bread, jam, peanut butter, and fruit 

• A glass vase for granola bars and packets of mixed nuts 

• A cake stand for the apples 

I love the way it turned out, and I can honestly say my husband and I have both eaten more breakfast since it's been displayed on the counter! Homemade jam is a great reminder, too :). I can't wait to add some seasonal drinks when the weather gets colder!

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