When not out and about and enjoying the warm weather we have been having, I have been playing with vignettes that were inspired by some of the pieces I picked up at the store where Emily works. Not only do they have gorgeous furniture, the accessories are out of this world. I really have to stay away.
I have been playing with my mantel and it never fails to frustrate me. It is deep and long and although some would find that great to work with, I get overwhelmed. Any suggestions would be welcome.
I found the mercury glass piece at Emily's shop. Love at first sight. I kept a lot of mercury glass out of my Christmas bins to use year round. It's great for a sparkle here and there.
I'm just not sure what I am dissatisfied with...everything looks lined up although it isn't. More touches of greenery, maybe?
I also bought this at Emily's store, I just love it. It's so beautiful when it's all lit and I have tried different candles, too. These are from Homegoods and they smell heavenly. 
I also pulled this little antique candle holder out of my stash to add more sparkle. I wonder if I am missing the blinginess of Christmas!
I hit a few white sales and found this comforter at Kohls. No coupons but it was marked way down. If you asked me months ago if I would ever have so much brown in a room, I would have laughed. This is a soft brushed corduroy with a sheep skin reverse side. The dogs are loving that part! The throw is from Pottery Barn, my son gave it to me as a birthday gift last year. I love the texture of all of it.
I found the pillows on my trip to Homegoods. I have a sisal rug on the floor that has red around the edges so it all ties in. 
So, this is what I have been playing with this week. I didn't get out much this past weekend, other than to do the grocery shopping. That was a riot in itself. The Husband was bored and decided to go along. Since I hadn't stocked up since all the holiday shopping, I thought it would be nice to have an extra set of hands. I truly wish I had video taped it. When he wasn't complaining about the price of things, he was throwing odd things like Ovaltine and graham crackers in the cart. He kept complaining how slow I was. And why did we have to hit each aisle? I explained to him that as a shopper, I was not only comparing prices, I was planning meals, replacing things we were out of, and of course examining the labels for all the terrible ingredients they put in things. He still wasn't convinced this was time consuming and halfway through was whining to go home. I was ready to stick a sucker in his mouth to keep him happy. Never Again!Well...I have load after load of laundry to do today and I realized that I haven't baked a thing since my frenzy over the holidays, so I thought I would do a little of that. I am also making homemade chicken stock that I saw on Susan Branch's blog. It takes about two days to make and I bought a little chicken so I am ready to go to town. It sounds like we are going to have some wonderfully cozy meals this week.
Take care and I will see you later in the week! :-)
I'm feeling a lot better, not 100%, but better than last week. Thank you for all the get well wishes, they mean so much. The days start off slow with a lot of coughing but if I keep plugging along, I get my energy back. Today I treated my self to a nice breakfast of this and this:
I'm not too big on presentation when I am hungry. But nothing beats warm cinnamon rolls and coffee on a cold morning. It was 13 degrees when I woke up and reached a high of 17. We had a little snow on Sunday but nothing to make angels in. Winter has been a little wonky here in the Midwest. 
Layla and Milo had the right idea this morning. I, in fact, took a long nap, too. 
Saturday had me feeling a bit better and I desperately wanted some fresh air. We had no plans for New Years Eve, so we headed out in the early afternoon and ended up at one of our favorite restaurants, Mimi's, for a late lunch/early dinner. I love the decor here, sort of like a New Orleans jazz club and the food is outstanding.
I love the upper balcony, and the atmosphere is so fun.
I started with baked French onion soup and then moved on to...
chicken crepes with mushrooms and a wonderful sauce.
Before your meal, a bread basket comes with French rolls and their own freshly baked carrot cake. You can also buy it by the loaf, which we did and we had a great evening snack with coffee.
Our afternoon wasn't just spent noshing. We stopped at the store where Emily is a designer and she had a proposal all ready for me on the family room furniture. I have been wanting to redo this room for over a year now, but had to wait for son Jeff to move out and take the existing furniture. I decided on a white slip covered cotton canvas sofa, loveseat, and chair with an ottoman. It really is a pretty set and will look so good in this sun filled room that leads out into the backyard. Now we are working on some tables and accessories and I will include some downloads in my next post...this was a little overloaded with pictures. Lest you think I have no plans to add a stamp of my own in this room, I have a huge old mirror with a gold frame that I am going to paint and I found this at Wisteria:
Isn't it wonderful? It's made out of real branches and I got it for a steal. I'm not sure what I am going to do with it, decorate it for the seasons would be one idea. Anyway, this is a fun way to star the new year and I am enjoying the process of doing the room. Have you De~Christmasized your home yet? Last night my sweet little girl went to town taking down all the decorations and packing away bin after bin. Then she and The Husband took the lights off the tree and put it at the curb where the big chipper truck had at it this morning. Goodbye Christmas. It feels different to have the house back to normal. It looks a lot less cluttered but I do miss those colored lights. On a good note though, my paperwhites bloomed! They look so pretty, I should have included a picture.
I hope everyone had a great New Years Eve and Day. The year is in full swing now and it sounds like we are all getting our projects and organizing in line. It's fun to read all the varied posts on what everyone is up to. What are you working on? :-)
I'm joining Honey at 2805 for Potpourri Friday!!
I have been reading all of the posts on the 2011 projects in review written by you crafty gals and I am loving it. I never claim to be crafty, I can be a bit creative when I want, but a project for me is more like cleaning out a closet. And I can boast that my closets are pretty tidy. This little paper white guy was a project in a way; planting, watering, watching patiently. He's gotten bigger, but no blooms yet. I love anticipation. If I were a very creative blogger, I would have styled this a bit better. But it's rainy and gloomy here and the best light comes from the kitchen since Sir Douglas still blocks the big window in the living room.
So, what have I been doing with myself since I last posted? Absolutely nothing. I have a head and chest cold and I am spending every spare moment feeling sorry for myself. I was lying in bed yesterday afternoon staring at the jar of Vaseline on my dresser several feet away. I really needed it for my scratchy dry nose, but I didn't have the energy or desire to get up and get it. I made a mental list of all the things I needed and wanted; a box of soft Kleenex, the one with the aloe in the tissues for my sore nose. A big bowl of hot chicken soup. Someone to wash and dry all my PJ's because I am out of clean ones. Someone to clean my bedroom which still looks like Gift Wrapping Central. Some cough drops, hot fruity tea, a warmer blanket...it's just no fun to be sick alone.
I keep remembering the scene in You've Got Mail, where Meg Ryan is sick and Tom Hanks comes to her apartment. He sits on the edge of her bed while she sniffles and pours her heart out. Why can't we all look that good when we are sick? Meg looks adorable in her cute flannel pajamas, with her snappy little hairdo, mussed up just so...and Tom is clearly taken with it and oblivious to all the used tissues scattered about {probably the ones with aloe}. Now me...I haven't had a shower in 2 days, my ponytail has moved to the side of my head and most of it is sticking straight out, I'm in sweatpants because of my lack of clean PJ's and the bed is covered with dog hair. Worst of all, my NOOK broke. I was happily playing with it the other night {prior to catching this bug} and suddenly the screen went blank. I did all the trouble shooting I could and now I have no choice but to return it for an exchange, which I can't do now as they would frown heavily on a scruffy looking person with a red nose and crooked ponytail, coming in and sneezing on them. A book, a REAL book would never do that to you, I argued with The Husband, the giver of the Nook. A real book is loyal all the way to the end.
Layla and Milo do not have the dreaded bug, but they don't like me this way. Granted, they love to snuggle and nap as much as they can, they are getting a little bored with me. After being abandoned so carelessly by my Nook, I picked up the book I had set aside during most of busy December and finished reading it. {It's on my sidebar, one of Grafton's best}. As usual when I am reading a murder/mystery, my imagination gets a little wonky, so I had to get up, check that the doors were locked and close the drapes. It was evening by now, so I made a pot of coffee {although I was out of my French Vanilla Cream, that would go on my whiny list above} and settled in to read some blogs. If I left you a comment, it was probably very short and made little sense. Nyquil will do that. 
The Husband finally got home from work at 8:00 p.m. By then I couldn't remember if it was "Feed a cold, starve a fever", or the other way around. I did know I was hungry, wanted to be fed and crawl back in bed. We settled on ordering from Sesame Inn which is wonderful if you are looking for comfort food. The hot and sour soup can clear out your sinuses with just one whiff alone. I settled on the Japanese U~don Noodle Soup...shavings of beef and onion in a broth with huge, long homemade noodles. Me and my tummy were in heaven. So all was well in my world as I hunkered down back in bed with the dogs...still no soft tissues, paper napkins would have to do, and as long as The Husband didn't mind,
I'd just sleep in my sweats with my ratty hair. :-)
Well, that's another Christmas behind us. I'm sure everyone will agree, it went by too fast. It seems like just yesterday I was shopping and wrapping gifts. I took this picture of our tree with the load of presents underneath shortly before the whole family was gathered Christmas morning. There was something {and more} for everyone. Our group is larger now with DIL, Mary Clare and Emily's fiance, Mike. We opened gifts while we munched on cinnamon rolls, coffee and orange juice. There was a lot of noise, happiness and thank you's all around. Afterward we had a big breakfast of eggs, bacon, sausage and mimosas. Then we played games. There is a popular one out now called Stumple and you have to find it. It's a blast. 
At 4:00, we met at Mary Clare's family's home for dinner. MC was in charge of the appetizers and they were out of this world. I will share them another time. We played Stumple while we noshed and then dinner, made by Katie and Nora, was served. Above is a picture of the table. Dinner was their family's traditional lobster, beef fillets, mashed potatoes, asparagus and rolls. It was such a feast. 
Coffee and cookies, including gingerbread men dressed in swimsuits, were for dessert. We played more Stumple. I was tired by then...Thursday night had been one celebration with the O'Hara side of the family...Christmas Eve was a party with The Husband's side of the family and it all wore out my little batteries. 
My family was so generous, The Husband gave me the new Nook {I gave him a versatile saw!}, and son Jeff surprised me with a gorgeous Kate Spade cover for it. I was given a pretty purse from Kevin and Mary Clare, a set of Williams~Sonoma dishtowels and pot holders from Emily and Mike, and a beautiful Michael Kors scarf from Abby. Everyone was surprised and pleased with their gifts. It was so much fun, but the real happiness just came from being together and laughing and hugging. I thought that as my children became older, the spirit of Christmas would be different, and it is, in a new and joyful way. The old saying that it is not the gift but the thought that counts kept ringing in my ears. Often, I had a lump in my throat, looking at my adult children and thinking that The Husband and I had done a pretty good job with them.
Well, that's it for Christmas of 2011. As the year reaches it's end I think constantly about all the things I have to be grateful for. Doesn't this time of year make you a little sentimental, too? Now we head into January and the new year. I'm excited for what it holds. I hope it's a wonderful one...for all of us!
I'm joining Honey at 2805 for Potpourri Friday. Join in!!
Things are heating up in Kitchen Stadium. Not only have I started baking some cookies and such, I am trying my hand at candy. This is an easy one and only has 5 ingredients. I found it at Flower Patch Farmgirl and it is so simple and GOOD! 
I modified the recipe because I used a 9 X 13 pan. Layer baby pretzels in a foil lined pan. Melt 3 sticks of butter in a pot and add 1 1/2 cups brown sugar. Cook at a low boil until it gets really dark. Pour over the pretzels and bake at 350 degrees for 5 minutes.
Take it out of the oven and while it's still hot, throw on a couple of handfuls of chocolate chips {I used this whole bag} and sprinkle on some sea salt. You have to play this by ear...I added too much salt so don't overdo it...maybe 2 teaspoons. 
This is what it will look like. Put the pan in your freezer for a few hours and then break it up into pieces. 
Be careful...it's addicting. Doesn't it look delicious? It really is. Have fun!
The days are counting down fast. Just when I thought I was getting bored {efficiency can lead to that, I have learned}, I volunteered to wrap presents for the late shoppers in my family. I actually like to wrap when I have a pile of it and all my supplies and paper out. Sort of like an assembly line. It brings out that teensy little bit of creativity that I have. 
Abby and I went grocery shopping yesterday and it was nice to get out and about. I have been spending way too much time hunkered down with books and movies. People were friendly and cheery, I guess the big crunch time hasn't hit yet. I don't know what I am going to do with That Husband of mine...he has a list a mile long and he doesn't seem perturbed at all to get some shopping done, even on his lunch break or after work. He works in one of the biggest shopping capitals of the world! At least as far as I'm concerned. My goodness, the Mag Mile, Water Tower Place, Bloomingdales...it makes me break out into happy chills. We have 3 holiday parties, as I have mentioned. All are somewhat casual but we always bling it up a bit. I bought a red silk top with a little sparkle around the neck. With nice jeans and black boots, I am now afraid I might look a bit like Santa {in more ways than one}. I'm not sure about that outfit, I never wear red, it washes me out. But then I have a black velvet top that I think will be pretty and for Christmas day I have a charcoal sweater dress. I can really lean toward being obsessive/compulsive about what I wear. I think everything is in the details. So...today I am getting out my cookie cutters and making sugar cookies. And shortbread. And more candy, which I will share with you, maybe on Friday. In the meantime, try this pretzel/chocolate treat and email me if you have any questions. And I will see you later in the week! :-)
When not out and about and enjoying the warm weather we have been having, I have been playing with vignettes that were inspired by some of the pieces I picked up at the store where Emily works. Not only do they have gorgeous furniture, the accessories are out of this world. I really have to stay away.
I found the mercury glass piece at Emily's shop. Love at first sight. I kept a lot of mercury glass out of my Christmas bins to use year round. It's great for a sparkle here and there.
I'm just not sure what I am dissatisfied with...everything looks lined up although it isn't. More touches of greenery, maybe?
I also bought this at Emily's store, I just love it. It's so beautiful when it's all lit and I have tried different candles, too. These are from Homegoods and they smell heavenly. 
I also pulled this little antique candle holder out of my stash to add more sparkle. I wonder if I am missing the blinginess of Christmas!
I hit a few white sales and found this comforter at Kohls. No coupons but it was marked way down. If you asked me months ago if I would ever have so much brown in a room, I would have laughed. This is a soft brushed corduroy with a sheep skin reverse side. The dogs are loving that part! The throw is from Pottery Barn, my son gave it to me as a birthday gift last year. I love the texture of all of it.
I found the pillows on my trip to Homegoods. I have a sisal rug on the floor that has red around the edges so it all ties in. 
So, this is what I have been playing with this week. I didn't get out much this past weekend, other than to do the grocery shopping. That was a riot in itself. The Husband was bored and decided to go along. Since I hadn't stocked up since all the holiday shopping, I thought it would be nice to have an extra set of hands. I truly wish I had video taped it. When he wasn't complaining about the price of things, he was throwing odd things like Ovaltine and graham crackers in the cart. He kept complaining how slow I was. And why did we have to hit each aisle? I explained to him that as a shopper, I was not only comparing prices, I was planning meals, replacing things we were out of, and of course examining the labels for all the terrible ingredients they put in things. He still wasn't convinced this was time consuming and halfway through was whining to go home. I was ready to stick a sucker in his mouth to keep him happy. Never Again!
