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Today is the day my friends. I'm thrilled to be able to play with 11 other great bloggers for the 12 Days of Christmas Holiday Tour and today is my turn to show you around.

But it's too cold to stand outside yapping, let's go inside and get warm with some gin hot chocolate.



Everyone in my family has a Christmas collection and mine is snowflakes. So you will see them all over the house, on lamps, doorknobs, wreaths and of course, the tree. Keep an eye out for them. It's kind of like a holiday where's waldo.






Each year the mantel gets something different (check out 2012 and 2011) and this year it told me it was feeling pink. So pink it is, with a little red and white thrown in. Can one ever get enough of ribbon at Christmas? (the answer to that question is no by the way)


My girls and I decorate a gingerbread house every year and this year's estate was extra sweet.




Herbie loves the holidays as much as the next guy so he pulls out his festive antlers for the season.




Amelia has already started her Christmas collection - nutcrackers - and she's off to a good start. Santa just might have a few other in store for her this year as well.





I can't wait for Christmas dinner this year so that I can put my fab new plates from B by Brandie to use. They really are beautiful plates and their colors pop right off the table. The patterns reminded me of snowflakes and you know I'm a sucker for mixing patterns, so these plates fit right in.





We spend just as much time feasting in the dining room as we do tearing into presents in the living room on Christmas, so we like to have the tree right where we can see them from both spots.



Christmas is about the lights, right? And what better time to appreciate the lights than at night. I know, I'm a regular Sherlock. So I give you... nighttime pictures.









Thanks so much for coming over. Anyone over the age of 12 knows what a crazy time of year this is, and I really appreciate you taking time out of your busy day to stop over and say hi. Be sure to check out all the other great homes that have been featured so far on the tour.

Day 1 - Evolution of Style
Day 2 - Shine Your Light
Day 3 - Dixie Delights
Day 4 - The Creativity Exchange
Day 5 - Dimples and Tangles
Day 6 - My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Day 7 -  Driven By Decor
Day 8 - Simple Details

And tomorrow Oak Ridge Revival is hosting!


Now who's ready for more hot chocolate?

So since my wrist has been giving me troubles, I've had a chance to catch up on other things; like gardening, reading, butter churning. You know, vintage pre-computer things. I even got out my old design binders. Those glorious files of tear sheet after tear sheet stuffed into six (yes six) binders. Basically the paper version of Pinterest.


And while searching thru my old piles of inspiration I found this.

source

An image from one of my all time favorite articles on Fran Keenan in Cottage Living (hand over your heart. How I miss that magazine). I have been looking for a way to spruce up my plain white curtains in the dining room since, oh the day I got them. I'd even toyed with adding ribbon along the leading edge of the curtains, but it just looked dinky so I never went thru with it.

But this looked more... substantial. And big key, simple(ish) enough to attempt. I tried several different sizes of ribbon from my stash (c'mon, like you don't have a ribbon stash?!) to figure out how big the ribbon needed to be. 1" was too thick and 5/8" was too small, leaving lucky 7/8". Before I knew it I was putting the girls in the car and we were off to Michael's to buy a 20 yard roll of 7/8" navy grosgrain.


This project went down so quick I didn't take many pictures of the process but I will tell you it is as simple as making an X with two ribbons, repeating it about 50 times and then trimming the whole thing with more ribbon. I just tried out a few different size Xs to see what I would like best and then once I found the right length, I cut 24 strips in that length to make the Xs. I glued down each one and then finished them off with trim at the top and bottom of the X and along each side of the drape. One thing to note, this takes A LOT of ribbon. My 20 yards wasn't enough and I had to go back and buy another 13. Crazy, I know.


Very simple and a great detail against the white curtains. I knew I kept all of those old magazines for a reason!




Can't show you the right side of the dining room as there are some other projects over that'a way that I'm finishing up. Soon enough my friends.

So spill it. Have you been so inspired by an image that you needed to create something right away? Is there an old magazine article that is burned into your brain? Have you ever used 33 yards of ribbon?

Happy Thursday all! I'm slooowly inching my way towards finishing this blasted bedroom. Close enough that I'm down to the details...mostly. And what is more detail-ish than a bedskirt.

I have a bit of a linens fetish. D. Porthault is like porn to me. But obviously that is a bit out of budget and I couldn't throw out my perfectly fine white Target bedskirt. Although, (cover your ears bedskirt) if I ever win the lottery you better believe I'm going to roll around in my D.Porthault bed all the live long day.

the old room and plain bedskirt

I was so inspired by my lovely friend Tiffany's bedskirt and the magic Freckles Chick worked on her curtains that I thought I could certainly slap some jazz hands on this thing. And while I am sans sewing machine, I can work some mean magic with an iron.

I love a big red slash on a price tag.

 One free bedskirt, $3 heat and bond and $3 ribbon gave me a nice little touch.


Such a simple project that adds a nice finish, I should have tackled it long ago. I measured the height that I wanted the ribbon to sit and then used a spacer to keep myself straight. Start to finish it was only a one episode of RHONJ project. (I like to measure all projects by the 'Bravo clock')




So the list is shrinking. Just a few things left to knock out:

• find a rug
• finish art project for walls
• finish bedding
• find bedside table alternative
• finish seating

That's a heck of a lot of 'f's' on one list.

Are you making any progress on your list(s)? Any big projects that seem to never end? Any suggestions on how to teach my dog how to make the bed?

A few weeks back I mentioned a brainstorming moment brought to you by the number 4 (aka my 4-year-old daughter Amelia).

To recap: my bedroom has a new coat of paint and is ready for some 'flair', Office Space style.


I had to start somewhere so I grabbed a mirror I was luke warm on. But when I stepped back to eye my trusty template, I decided some wrapping paper might be that little somethin' somethin' the space needs. Only less carnival-ish wrapping paper.

via Pinterest

via Little Green Notebook

Dogwood Wrapping Paper via Paper Source

this picture is how I learned that I needed to overlap the pieces

A good start, but it needed to be framed to look 'finished'. I thought about getting some wood trim but then immediately thought about needing to prime and paint and cut said trim so that was quickly axed. Instead I went with the easier softer option of black grosgrain ribbon. (more black)

The command strips were wider than the ribbon so instead I just lightly glued it to the paper...not the wall. Glue + wall = hubs takes glue gun away.

the branches don't look black in this picture but I promise they are

I am pretty smitten with my little panels. And I don't think you would know it was wrapping paper if I hadn't told you. Damn, I shouldn't have told you. Look at my expensive wallpaper!

Can't show you a wider shot of the room yet as there are several more projects going on up in there. (how's that for a tease?!)


I am sooo happy with it. I love the look and it gives the room just what I needed to get my groove back. My design groove that is. My other groove is just fine thank you very much.

What are you grooving on in your house these days?