A New Year, A New Softer Look!

You must be really tired of looking at pictures of my dining room but I changed out everything on the hutch after I took down all my Christmas decorations so I had to share it with you!


The blue and white transferware will be back but for now I wanted a softer, more shabby chic look for this dreary time of year. Have I mentioned that I thrive on change? Haha!   I used things I already had though...no new purchases were made!  Ahhh...the benefits of being a hoarder!

I took the crocheted vintage lace (a gift from my mom) from the shelf in my bedroom and added it to the hutch. I also took the "Cottage" sign from my bedroom.  I love this sign!  It was such a splurge, I think I paid $55 for it!  I love it so much so it was worth every penny!  Sometimes you just have to buy something you love even if it's not a great deal!  It has a cute little pink bicycle with flowers in the baskets.  I bought it from Denise at Couture de Papier a couple years ago.  She painted it on a board that washed up on the shore of Cape Cod...which makes it even more special to me!  



I'm loving the new look! I wonder how long before I change it again? 

Happy New Year Everyone!  This is going to be a great year! I can just feel it!!!!  My parents got a computer for Christmas and soon they will have the internet! I'm so happy that my mom will be able to finally see my blog regularly and visit all the wonderful blogs out there!  I told her it would be life-changing for her!  She's going to love it!

Update:  I just put this on HGTV's Rate my Space.  Please click here if you would like to rate it!

Beautiful Gifts and Giveaways from Bloggers

I cannot believe how often the postman is dropping packages off at my door!  See the White Christmas banner above?  That was a gift from Tales from an O.C. Cottage!  It's so beautiful, it's small tags tied on to white tulle.  I took down my Christmas decorations yesterday so this is now packed away until next year!  
I also won a chintz giveaway awhile back from Tales from an OC Cottage!  Look at all the beautiful things I won!  I added this chintz to my chintz (below) and I think it doubled my collection!   I love chintz!!!

click on photo to enlarge

I also received a package from Doris from Pennsylvania (she doesn't have a blog.)  She sent me this beautiful Christmas ornament with cupcakes on a tiered stand.  It reminds me of my favorite tiered dish.  So adorable!!!
She also sent me this refrigerator magnet made from a vintage earring.  What a great idea!  
Next I won a giveaway on Gollum's blog.... a Charles Faudree Interiors book! What a gorgeous book!  
I also won a giveaway on Fairiebees.  She made this tatted lace snowflake!  Everyone who entered her giveaway won one!
That is just some of the things the mailman has brought.  I still need to take photos of some of the others!  Thank you all so much for these wonderful gifts!!!!

And thanks so much to all of you that participated in my "Year in Review" party!  What a huge success!  I found so many beautiful blogs by clicking on all those links!  

 

A Year in Review 2008

The time has come for the Year in Review Party!

If you would like to join in on the fun please sign in with Mr. Linky below once you have your photos posted on your blog. Please use the url that goes directly to your 2008 Year in Review post (not just the url for your blog)! click here if you want to learn more about this party. Note: You do not have to do a photo mosaic, you can also just post regular photos if that's easier for you!

Please visit on the blogs below to see their "Year in Review"

After Christmas Shopping!

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!  I planned to post yesterday to wish everyone a Merry Christmas but I was so exhausted so I took it really easy and even took an afternoon nap which is something I never do!  This morning I felt so much better and hit the road early to shop!  First I drove over the hill to the Santa Cruz Flea Market and then on my way back I stopped by Vintage & Vogue to buy some 1/2 price Christmas things.  I bought the 3 ornaments and the glittered deer above, all for $20 .

And....(drumroll) this is what I bought at the flea market! A gorgeous old hand-carved mirror for $30! It's missing some of the mirrors and I'm hoping it's not going to be too expensive to replace those.  I'm going to paint it antique-white (of course) and hang it above my sofa, maybe with some plates hanging above it. (I have it sitting on top of the sofa in the photo)  I'm also considering painting it and putting fabric where the mirror should be and using it for a headboard in Lauren's room.  The vendor had another one which was larger than this for $35 and she said I could have both for $50 but that large one would never have fit in my car! I barely got this one in!
Here's a close up of the top...

Update:  I put it on top of Lauren's full-size bed and it's too long for a headboard so then I put it on my Queen-size bed and it's too long for that also. It would probably fit a King-size bed which we don't have!  I guess it will be going over the sofa!

A Beautiful Gift!

Awhile back I mentioned a beautiful gift I was given by the gals at Vintage and Vogue....well here it is!!!

A gorgeous lined basket filled with so many blue and white beautiful things.
My favorite was this little teapot!  

I'm off to do the last of my Christmas shopping this morning!  I actually like being out on Christmas Eve because there is just so much Christmas spirit everywhere!  

In case you don't have time to stop by tomorrow, I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas (or a  Happy Holiday Season for those of you who don't celebrate Christmas)!

Take one $3 Silver Dish...

I stopped into my neighborhood thrift store last weekend and I found this silver dish for $2.99 and when I got to the register I found out everything was 30% off so it was a steal!  I knew it would be such a versatile piece to decorate with.  In the summer it will look stunning holding shells.
My camilla's are blooming so I floated them in water and added some small floating candles.  I think that's a very romantic look and would be wonderful as as centerpiece on my dining room table for Valentine's Day!  Hmmm...I need to find a Mr. Romantic first!!!
Then I added a mercury glass candle that I bought at Home Goods in the center and surrounded it with Christmas balls and a glittery starfish.  Very festive!

So, which is your favorite?

My Romantic Home @ Christmas ~The Movie

I made a little movie with my Christmas decorating photos using iMovie on my mac.  The quality of the photos is not so good though...it was fine on my mac and then when I uploaded it to YouTube it lost resolution.  

I need to go out and finish up some last minute Christmas shopping today!  Every year I tell myself I'm not going to wait until the last minute but I always seem to be out there with all the other last minute shoppers!  

Rate my Space

I put my Christmas table setting on HGTV's Rate my Space so if you would like to rate my space, click here!  Thank you!

Happy Birthday Vince!!!

Happy 22nd Birthday to my son Vince! I couldn't be any prouder of my handsome and SUPER smart son! He just finished up his last college finals and will graduate later this year with a double major in Political Science and Economics and a minor in Statistics. I really would love to brag about all the honors he's graduating with but he gets really embarrassed when I brag about him so trust me when I say he's made me a very proud mom! He's taking a short break and then on to Graduate School to get a Ph.D. and plans to be a College Professor!

I can't believe he's 22, where has the time gone?

Let's do a "Year in Review" Party!

(click on photo to enlarge)

I put this mosaic together of some of my old photos and I realized that this should be titled "My Romantic Home ~ A Year in Review" because these photos were all taken over the last year for my blog. That made me think that it would be great to see other blogger's favorite photos for 2008 so I decided to host a  "Year in Review" party. Do you want to join in? How about Monday, December 29th? You can either do a mosaic like mine or just share some of your favorite photos you've posted on your blog in 2008. I used Big Huge Labs Mosaic Maker for mine. Click here if you want to make one.   I made the little graphic below...feel free to grab it and put it on your blog if you want.  I'm going to try to get the Mr. Linky set up on my blog for this so look for more info coming soon if you want to join in!
Maybe I'll even make this an annual event!

Virtual Cookie Exchange!

Today is the day for Tracey's (A Cottage Industry) Virtual Cookie Exchange! I made BIG blue and white snowflake cookies. These iced sugar cookies are my go-to recipe for any special occasion. If you've been reading my blog through the years you may remember that I made these with heart shaped cookie cutters for Valentine's Day almost two years ago! I like to use almond extract instead of vanilla in both the cookie and the icing because I think it tastes so much better. I also think everything looks tastier when it's served on a silver platter!

I went on a hunt for French Dragees like the ones below for these cookies but I couldn't find them anywhere! I finally found out why I couldn't find them...they are ILLEGAL in California. Yep, we are not allowed to eat this little candy with trace amounts of silver in them because this is California and we only eat whole wheat, alfalfa sprouts, avocados of course cheese from California cows! LOL We can't even order these online because they won't ship them to California!!! On my next trip to Nevada, which hopefully will be in March to visit Tracey's next Tumbleweed Cotillion I will be stocking up on French Dragees and smuggling them back into California for next year's Christmas cookies! The recipe for the cookies can be found here and the royal icing recipe can be found here (I used the 3rd recipe (Lesley's) but I only used 3 T of meringue powder. I also used almond extract in both recipes in place of the vanilla.
Please ignore the broken cookie...I'm not perfect! I was afraid if I pulled it out I would break the other cookies so I just left it there!

Vintage & Vogue at Christmas!

This beautiful shop is exactly 1.5 miles from my apartment. It's amazing that I'm not there every day! Look how beautiful it is when you walk up to the front door! (you can click on any of the photos to enlarge them)

Once inside, there is only one word to describe it~BREATHTAKING! I'll just let the photos speak for themselves...

If you ever find yourself in Silicon Valley (or anywhere in Northern California) this is a shop you should visit! They are located in quaint little downtown Campbell at 241 E. Campbell Avenue.

I couldn't resist

I went into Vintage & Vogue Friday night and I couldn't resist this cute little snow covered cottage! It fit perfectly with my cake stand and cloche! (you can click on the photo to see it up close)

I'll be sharing some photos of the shop all decorated for Christmas later in the week! It is gorgeous! And wait until you see the beautiful gift they gave me! Unbelievable!!!

Pink Saturday ~ Still Blooming!

One of the many benefits of living in California...I still have flowers blooming in my backyard and they are all pink so I'm joining in on Beverly's  How Sweet the Sound ~Pink Saturday.  Early next week the temperature is suppose to drop down to the 20s and 30s at night which is really cold for here.  I'm not sure how many of these flowers will still be blooming after that!  

I think I better bring my begonia in the house next week...
I'll have to put a cover over the fuchsia to protect it from the frost...

I'll also cover the azaleas...
I don't worry too much about the impatiens, I can just plant more of those next year...
I have 1 more week of work next week and then I'm off for 2 weeks!  I can't wait!  Have a great weekend!  Also, I found out that I won't be getting laid off in January! Whew...what a relief!

Please stop by Beverly's ~ How Sweet the Sound  to see more bloggers who are participating in Pink Saturday!

It's almost the weekend!

I'm so looking forward to relaxing with some good magazines this weekend! My Romantic Country magazine came in the mail earlier this week and it was such a wonderful surprise to see it. Yesterday I went to the book store on my lunch hour and I picked up this Somerset Life magazine and thumbed through it....OH MY GOSH...so much eye candy! Wow it is unbelievably gorgeous! I just had to buy it even if it was expensive (about $15), it's really more like a book than a magazine so the price really wasn't that bad. Look at this lace below! I just had to read this article first and then when I finished reading it I realized I know who wrote this! It's Carol from Raised in Cotton! If you haven't been to Carol's blog before, please stop by, it's wonderful!

Thank you all so much for your comments yesterday. A very good point was brought up yesterday~I'm 48 years old and I have been collecting things for my home since I was 18. I remember very well what it felt like to be 18 years old and starting out with very little but still wanting to make my home beautiful. I got married at 18 and we did not have any living room or dining room furniture! We had 2 beanbag chairs and a cardboard box that I turned upside down and covered with an old tablecloth. We would have candlelit dinners on top of that box while sitting in bean bag chairs! It's taken me 30 years to acquire the possessions I have. If you are young and reading this, my advice is to just buy things you love, things that are timeless, and things that are of good quality. Over time (and it goes by quickly) you will suddenly have a lot of beautiful things and wonderful memories of how you found them. I really believe that homes that have been decorated over many years look so much more appealing than those that were purchased all at once from a large store and have that same generic look that is in style now but wont' be in 5 years. I'm sure those of you that are around my age will agree with me on this, right?

Have a great weekend!

Decorating on a Budget?

Thank you all for the very nice comments yesterday, and everyday for that matter! I think the greatest thing about blogging is all the wonderful comments we leave each other and the "friendships" we have made along the way. I guess along with all that good there has to be be a little negativity and every once in awhile I get a not-so-nice comment left on my blog. Luckily, I've been very fortunate and I don't receive very many of these! Some comments in the past have angered me enough that I've brought them up here but for the most part I try to bite my tongue and ignore them. Anyway...I felt a need to bring a comment up here that someone named Paige left yesterday. It made me feel the need to explain myself. The comment was "Hey lady, you have a different kind of budget than I do!" It's not exactly what I would call a mean comment but I don't think it's very nice either! My first thought when I read this was DUH! None of us have the same budget! I realized that my profile says I decorate "on a budget" and to me that's what I do! I don't go to _____(fill in with any big name, expensive department store) and buy furniture or home decor items at full price. I think the only thing in my home that has been purchased that way is my sofa which came from Macy's. I buy almost everything at either flea markets, garage sales, thrift stores or discount department stores like Marshalls and HomeGoods. To me, that is decorating on a budget but I know to some people who are struggling financially that is even out of reach. Paige, I'm hoping that this was your first visit to my blog and everything looked like it cost a fortune and you didn't read further back on how little I pay for things to get the look I have because that truly would be the best compliment I've ever received! Okay...enough of that!
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I've been asked why I never show the outside of my apartment and the reason is it's an old (not in the good sense) 1960's-something fourplex and not the beautiful place you probably have imagined it to be ; ) This is it! That is another tenants front door and mine and two other tenants doors are around the back of the building. The front unit is a 3 bedroom and the units in the back are 2 bedrooms. On the left of the buiding is where our little "backyards" are. So there you go...now you've seen the inside and the outside of my little apartment!

Holiday Home Tour and Garland Show & Tell

I'm joining in today on Tracey's Holiday Home Tour and The Nester's Holiday Garland Show and Tell.
Welcome to my home! We'll start off with a couple of my garlands...
Even the bed has garland...

That's all the garland, now on to the rest of my home tour. You can click any of the images to enlarge them.

My paperwhites just started blooming in time for the tour. These sure do grow fast!

For those of you that read my blog regularly I apologize...the following photos are repeats from the last few days.

Please visit Notes from a Cottage Industry and The Nesting Place to see more bloggers who are joining in on all this Christmas decorating fun! If you aren't in the Christmas spirit yet, I bet you will be after all this!!!

Tablescape Tuesday

I'm joining in on Susan's Tablescape Tuesday today. Please go visit Susan's blog "Between Naps on the Porch" to see more beautiful table settings!
I added some additional bling to my centerpiece. The glittery starfish came from the sisters at "Tales of an O,C. Cottage". I just wish it photographed better....this starfish has some serious sparkle going on. I'm going to glitter some more shells because I love this one so much! I also added some faux snow (of the plastic variety) to the silver tray.

I added a rhinestone belt that belonged to my mom to my centerpiece (see it looped through the top handle?). I remember her wearing this belt for a New Years party they had. I also added a pearl necklace. I know that adding a belt to a centerpiece sounds so strange but I believe in using things you already have in creative ways!

I tied a little ornament to the wine glass...

Finished it off with a gift...

A little break

I'm just taking a little one-day break today...I'll be back tomorrow.

Lauren is Sweet 16!

My little red-headed sweetheart baby girl is 16 years old today!  
Happy Birthday Lauren!!!  I love you sweetie!  

My First Pink Saturday

I decided to join in on the fun...this is my first Pink Saturday hosted by Beverly~How Sweet the Sound.  You know I'm a blue gal but I do love pink too.  I went through some of my photos and found some of my favorite pink things.


Have a great Saturday!

Busy busy busy...so much Christmas decorating...

I decorated my huge birdcage for Christmas. I didn't want to overdo it because I want the Christmas tree to be the focal point not the cage. I just added some greenery to the top, tied it off with a big satin ribbon and added little grapevine wreaths on each door. I got these wreaths at Michaels for 29 cents each! I think they would make cute napkin rings too.

My birdcage even has a crystal chandelier hanging inside thanks to Linda~Blue Gate Blog... I won this fork chandelier in a giveaway she had on her blog! I love it!!!

I added some "snow" and a Christmas tree to this little glass house...

Look what I found on the Victoria website... the next issue, which is due out later this month, is all about white!!! I can hardly wait! Which reminds me...I need to renew my subscription...it's hard to believe it's already been a year since this wonderful magazine came back!
And how sweet is this...Ann~Life at Ann's Place told me I was the queen of blogging and she made me a virtual tiara (below). I'm in good company because I'm sharing the throne with Nikki~Blah, Blah, Blah Blog because Ann also gave one to her! Thank you Ann! And...there is a new online magazine coming out soon. It's called Romantic Living, you can find out more about it here.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! My baby turns 16 on Sunday...how is that possible!

Even More Christmas Decorating

I made a wreath for my living room mirror by pulling a wire coat hanger into a circle and wiring on branches that I cut off the bottom of my Christmas tree. A free wreath...you can't beat that! The ribbon I used to hang it from was a garage sale find last summer. Once the wreath gets too dried out I'll replace it with an artificial one.

My paperwhites are growing like crazy. I took the photo below last weekend and they are a lot bigger than this now. I can hardly wait until they start blooming! I'm going to plant some more soon because I love to have them blooming after Christmas when all the Christmas decorations have been packed up and put away. That's the time of year I start dreaming about Spring!

Ornaments

I'm getting a ton of emails asking how I hung my plates on my dining room tree so I'll answer that here because I know for every email I get there are a probably a lot of you that want to know but don't want to ask. To hang the plates, first put a wire plate hanger on the plate. It's the type of hanger you would use to hang a plate on the wall. You can buy these at most hardware or craft stores. I buy mine at Michaels. Then just tie the plate hanger to the tree branch, or you can wire it on with a twisty. That's it! It works better on artificial trees because the branches are usually stronger.

I thought I would show you some closeups of some of my ornaments that I've collected over the years...

I bought the one above when I was pregnant with Lauren...I knew I was having a girl obviously! It's one of my favorites!

These next two were my very first ornaments I bought. I was about 17 years old and I went to Sax Fifth Avenue with my mom. It was the day after Christmas and these were half off. Boy...that was a looooong time ago!

You may recognize this (a gift from Becca)...

I love ornaments and I try to buy a few new ones every year. I also give my kids an ornament every year as one of their Christmas gifts.

Thanks to all of you who went over to RMS to rate my dining room tree! I really appreciate it!

Our Living Room Christmas Tree

I couldn't figure out why I wasn't as excited to decorate for Christmas as I've been in past years. I didn't know if it was the depressing news on the economy, the rumors of layoffs at my company, or something else. It finally hit me...I just got my apartment in a state of summery bliss and the thought of adding red to it was disturbing me! Yes that was it!!! So this year, there is NO RED in my Christmas decorating and it still looks very festive! It's not that I don't like red, two of my favorite blogs have lots of red in their homes and I love their decorating. I just don't like red in my home! It clashes with my blues, whites, and yellows!

So last weekend I went through my numerous boxes of ornaments and picked out all the ornaments that didn't have red in them. I was left with about 1/4 of my collection which worked out perfectly because for some reason once we cut down our tree on Saturday it was A LOT shorter than I expected it to be. Note to self...don't stand down-hill from the tree you are about to cut down...it will appear larger than it actually is!

Thank you so much for ALL those wonderful comments about my dining room tree. I think I'm going to be brave and put those photos on Rate my Space today...and hope that the mean people that like to leave rude comments over there don't find me!

Update: I put my dining room tree on Rate my Space (click here).

Decorating for Christmas!

This year I'm decorating two trees for Christmas! Yes...two!...in my little apartment! I've had this artificial tree about 10 years and I think I've only used it twice. I decided to put it in my dining room and decorate it with blue and white china. I hung plates, cups & saucers, creamers, sugar bowls, silver spoons and chandelier crystals on it. It all seemed appropriate since it's in my dining room. I wasn't ready to pack up my new turkey dishes so I put them in my hutch. I added some greenery and some Christmas balls and it looks very festive now!

You can click on any of the photos to enlarge

Below is the view from the stairs...

To hang the plates on the tree just put them in wire plate holders (the type you use to hang them on the wall) and tie them on with ribbon or wire them on. The teacups are hung with ribbon.

I put a little bit of greenery everywhere!

Now these are the type of gifts I would love to find under my tree! I'm sure some of you feel the same way about dishes...

Updated to add: Click here to rate this on HGTV's Rate My Space!