On the First Day of Christmas...

...I made a moss wreath.

In an earlier post saying how I was dying to pull out the Christmas decorations I mentioned that I wanted to try my hand at making my own moss wreath. Well, I gave it a shot!

The work in progress.

Supplies for making your own wreath:
1 wreath form (mine is a 20inch)
1 bag of sheet moss ($4 at Hobby Lobby)
1 bag or box of Reindeer Moss (Smith and Hawken, Pottery Barn, or a wholesale florist)
Hot glue gun and plenty of glue sticks
Ribbon

Instructions: (pretty self-explanitory)

Glue the sheet moss on first. Glue in patches and fill in the spaces with the reindeer moss. Make a bow with your ribbon and attach!

Here is the finished product hanging above our fireplace. I think the result speaks for itself!

The best bow "how-to" instructions from Martha!

It's beginning to look a lot like...

...CHRISTMAS!

The Christmas Season is finally here which means I can decorate with reckless abandon. (I have been unashamedly listening to Christmas music since October.)

In the spirit of DIY I'll be posting several Christmas decor items that you can make yourself...that is, you and your hot glue gun.

DIY - Rain Boots

You might recall a previous post about my search for rain boots in Mississippi. Well, the search was called off on account of no rain for a few months (and still no cute boots in town), but as winter has drawn closer the search has started agian.

Last weekend I was at a conference and while talking with a friend I noticed the CUTEST boots on a girl walking in the door. It was nasty, wet weather outside and I was sad I hadn't brought my "rain-loafers". As cute-boot-girl walked near us my friend and I said in unison "cute boots! We love them! Where did you get them? ETC..."

Her response was just what I wanted to hear - "Thanks! I made them."

"What? I'm sorry?"

"Yeah, they're just the cheap ones from Wal-Mart. I cut slits around the top and wove the ribbon through."

We were almost speechless until we started thinking of all the cute ribbon we could weave through the boots we were now going to make.


Fast forward 5 days: I bought a pair of the plain/delightfully simple brown boots at Wal-Mart (for $15) along with a few color combinations of ribbon and here you have it!

My super-cute, super-cheap rain boots! I measured around the top of the boots and went to work with a craft knife, threaded the ribbon and tied a bow.

Oh Happy Day...

"I'm CDO. It's like OCD, but it's alphabetized" - from my witty roommate.

For those OCD folks out there you can understand this post better than most. I am a planner to the extreme...and what does a planner love more than her Day-Planner!

Every fall I begin the search around September for the next years perfect calendar. I usually find one at Barnes and Noble that suits me, but inevitably they are discontinued or aren't carried the next year. Last year I took note of my cousins planner - Kate Spade's Small Desk Calendar. Spiral Bound, small enough to fit in my purse, but large enough to have my #1 requirement - hourly time slots written vertically on the page.


Yes. I am picky and I'm OK with that.

Once again, this fall I have browsed the bookstores in town thinking maybe this year I would find the perfect planner, but alas, I did not. Thankfully my hometown just received a Kate Spade store so this past weekend I made the drive and came back the proud owner of this beauty.


Of course, it is filled with lovely pictures and just screams "order". I haven't transferred birthday's, anniversaries or wedding dates yet, but I'm ready for the challenge.

Bring it on 2009!

Finally Freezing...

Yes, though I thought it would never happen this year, it is supposed to freeze tonight in Mississippi.

And the heat is out in our big, old, drafty house.

I am always cold (regardless of the actual temperature) so when I got out of bed this morning it didn't strike me as too odd that my feet were freezing. When I checked my email I had one from my roommate who was already at work asking if I had gotten frostbite in the night. Thankfully all ten fingers and ten toes are intact, but I feel silly wrapped up in my coat in the house. The landlord hasn't called me back yet...until then it's just me and Earl Gray.

Gardening Again...

I planted more "Sonnet Bronze" snapdragons yesterday - they are definitely my favorite color. I also finally yanked up the zinnias. They weren't dead yet, but seeing that November is four days away I thought it was about time.

Itching to Decorate...

...for CHRISTMAS!

I make no secret of the fact that I LOVE CHRISTMAS. Amazingly I only started listening to Christmas music last week (this time last year I had been since July), but I have been gathering decorating ideas all year. In the hopes that we wouldn't have a random mix of holiday decor, the roommates and I discussed and decided our color scheme for this year would be white, silver and green. This works well since we have a lot of green in the house to begin with. And the color combo is so chic.

Pottery Barn agrees as well. I have been eyeing this reindeer moss wreath and garland ever since it graced the pages of their fall catalogue.

I however, would like to attempt making the wreath myself...I love amazingly cheap decor.

I have also been wanting to try making these cute meringue Christmas trees ever since I saw them in Domino a few years ago. Wouldn't they be great on the table at a cocktail party?

So check back later (as in a LOT closer to Christmas since I'm not allowed to decorate now) to see the finished products.

Fall Dinner Party

I have never been one for fall decor. I do love the color orange, but in the context of a tailgate party, not permanently in my house. However, after seeing this lovely post by Eddie Ross, it finally dawned on me that I can decorate for fall without the candy-corn colors and goofy jack-o-lanterns.

This particular picture from Eddie's blog got me thinking:

Since I had my mental breakthrough I decided to decorate the interior of our house for fall and purchased a grey pumpkin to sit on the bookshelf. It's so subtle, yet appropriate for the season.

We were having friends over for dinner last week and I saw it as my chance to create some fabulous fall table. *I also have never been a huge fan of purple, but once again, the picture above was quite inspiring.

I began with brown burlap (purchased for $6) and made a table runner. I then set a white platter in the center with white pumpkins on either side. On the platter I placed candelabra I found at an antique shop in Franklin, TN last spring. I have been dying to use it and thought this the perfect opportunity. I snagged a couple to mercury glass cachepots on clearance at Pottery Barn last year and filled them with purple mums and Spanish moss and added them to the mix. I then set the table with white china, cloth napkins and my green glassware.

In the end I decided the candelabra wasn't the best centerpiece for fostering conversation so I replaced it with the grey pumpkin and added my favorite candlesticks...and there you have it. Here are pictures with the candelabra and the pumpkin.

I must say that the color palette is really growing on me.


So simple, but so lovely!

Here is the final shot of the table.

Mom, if you are reading this I am sorry that the forks are on top of the napkins. I know that drives you crazy, but they looked funny laying on the table beside them.