On To The Next!!

I can't believe this year is almost over! I am so blessed and have so much to be thankful for. I have a great family, great friends, and great supporters of this blog! I look forward to all that 2011 has in store. I wish all of you a safe and Happy New Year! See you in 2011!

Image: Martha Stewart



Holiday Highlights

I hope all of you had the grandest holiday! I must say that this was one of the best holidays I have ever had. It was filled with family, fun, snow, sleep, and most importantly- food! I think I am at least 5 pounds heavier, but the food was worth every bite. I spent the holiday at my parents house. As I mentioned in my earlier post, the decor of the house is country and rustic. It's very warm and the snow made it even more enjoyable. Here are some highlights.

Instead of building snowmen, my brother and I walked around the house and took pictures. He captured these great photos in front of my parents house.

  

And I had fun taking all of the following pics... 

Christmas lights on the back deck.

Christmas morning breakfast: Grands cinnamon rolls. Insanely delicious.

Mom's 5 ingredient peach cobbler. I ate WAY too much of this! I will share the recipe for this in February or so- when everyone has stopped dieting for the New Year. :)


And you know I had to get some shots of Maxwell...

You might be wondering why there are no pictures of me or my family. Since we were snowed in, we spent most of the weekend in our pj's. So pictures of us would be highly inappropriate here. :) But we had a great time and I am so blessed to have such a wonderful family. I hope you enjoyed your holiday as much as I did!

Merry Christmas!

This table looks a lot like the one I will be sitting at on Christmas day. I did not inherit my mother's rustic country style, but nonetheless, it's home and there is nothing better. I hope you all have a Merry Christmas! And THANK YOU for reading my blog!

Image: Country Living

Snow White

As I mentioned in my Bedroom Blues post, I love white bedrooms. They are clean, fresh, simple, and romantic all in one. Sarah Jessica Parker's bedroom at her Bridgehampton home is the perfect example. If only I could afford her decorator...



Image here.

Keep Calm

It's Monday AND the week before Christmas, which can be a recipe for stress! Although the holidays can be the most exciting time of the year, last minute shopping, traveling, and difficult family members can make it very stressful. I myself have endured a bit of this over the last few weeks. But I recently ran across these prints at the Keep Calm Etsy shop that helped me put things into perspective.

And most importantly....

All of these are things that I love to do. I think it's important around the holidays and in life in general not to sweat the small stuff and expend our energy on the things and people we love. So when the cashier gets an attitude, when someone takes the parking space you were patiently waiting for, and when the crazy uncle ruins what was the perfect Christmas dinner, take a deep breath, keep calm, and carry on.

Where I Wanna Be

I don't know what it's like where you are, but here it is cold, rainy, and cloudy. So right now, I'm dreaming of some places where I wanna be. I'm dreaming of everything from and outdoor oasis on the beach to a cozy place in the mountains where I can curl up next to the fire with a good book and a hot cup of tea. Here are my visual thoughts...

Top 2 photos: Coastal Living, Bottom 2 photos: Suzanne Kasler

Cranberries for Breakfast

I absolutely LOVE cranberries. I can honestly say that I even love them in the can. They are juicy, tart, and sweet all in one. They are also heart-healthy and contain lots of antioxidants. Cranberries are now in season and Ina Garten had a great idea of how to use them as something other than an accessory to a Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. I was watching Ina's show a few weeks ago and she made Cranberry Harvest Muffins. They looked yummy, moist, and delicious! So I made them over the weekend and I loved them! The spice of the ginger and the warmth of the cinnamon remind of me the holidays. And the tartness of the fresh cranberries- well that was my favorite part. They were so easy to make and I only had to use ONE bowl as I was making them. That is a dream when it comes to baking, so I highly recommend this recipe for a beginner baker.

Another great thing about this recipe is that you can make it your own. I am not a fan a figs and I am allergic to hazelnuts. So I omitted the figs and used chopped walnuts instead. They still turned out great! Also, the ginger is very present in the muffins, so you could use less ginger and more cinnamon for more warmth and less spice.

Click here for the recipe. If you make them, let me know your thoughts!

Our Holiday Card Photoshoot

So I did something a few weeks ago that I have been thinking about doing for years- I took photos for my Christmas cards. I get tons of great photo cards every year from my friends of their families, so I know that is not a big deal for most people. But this year I decided that I would send my first Christmas photo card with a photo of me and Maxwell, my 3yr old Ragdoll. I have been wanting to do this for years, but I didn't know of a good photographer in Atlanta with a lot of patience who would be able to capture a good photo of me and a squirmy cat. And I have never seen a Christmas card with a photo of a single girl with her pet, so I didn't know what people would think. But Max is like my family away from home, so who cares??

Earlier this year, I did find a fabulous photographer who captured some great photos of Max. Her name is Dana Eason of Dana Eason Photography. She specializes in family lifestyle photography. She is also going to start shooting weddings in January of 2011. She is extremely talented and patient! I think her photos speak for themselves...

So of course I asked her to take my Christmas card photos! It was really hard to keep Max still and engaged, but Dana was able to get some great shots in all of about 10 seconds...

I took the advice of Paula at Two Ellie and kept the photo neat and simple. We took the photos in my living room on my cream Cooper Chair from Bassett. I draped a crimson chenille throw from Restoration Hardware over the back of the chair to add some color. By the way, I LOVE that throw. It literally weighs about 5 pounds, so it keeps you really warm. They make great Christmas gifts. AND they are currently on sale! 

I saw several photo cards by Minted, Shutterfly, and Hallmark that I liked. But this card by Tiny Prints was my favorite. It is the card that went out to all of my friends and family and I am so excited to share it with you. Peace and Love!

Marsha's Hollywood Haven

Desperate Housewives is one of my favorite shows, so I was thrilled when I ran across these photos! They are of Marsha Cross's trailer on the set of Desperate Housewives. It was designed by David Brian Sanders and I think he is a truly talented. The combination of the blues and the browns create a sophisticated haven that I only wish I had right outside my "office."

 Photos: Traditional Home

My Holiday Home Decor

Over the weekend I immersed myself with Christmas decorating. My mission was to use simple decor to create a "rustic and warm" environment.

I always decorate a space around a "centerpiece."  My centerpiece was my tree. It took FOREVER to decorate, but I couldn't be more pleased with how it turned out. I created a rustic look by using gold twigs, extra large and large warm-toned ornaments, pine cones, gold twigs, gold berries, and silk flowers.

I used those same warm tones to create rustic environments in other areas of the house.

I'm sitting in my living room now with some hot tea and I feel warm, cozy, festive, and happy. Mission accomplished.