Here comes the...

I happened to have a rather exciting weekend. . .I got engaged! So, of course, I haven't really thought about anything besides the big day so I decided that I would share a collage of inspiration that I've started (and a photo of the bling) :-)

Decorating with Etsy

Since I have jumped right into the Christmas spirit, I thought I would share with you some of my favorite handmade ornaments that I have found on Etsy.
- Fantastic Toys - "Felt Gingerbread Girl Ornament"
- The Purple Crystal - "Holiday Horse Head Ornament"
- Picciolo - "Soft snowflakes plum"
- My Little Acorn - "Mily the Bird"
- Netsa USA - "Hand Painted Rusted Tin Snowflake"
- Jenny Wren - "Three bird ornaments"
- Joshua Stone - "Ornaments"
- Art 4 Milkbones - "Woofin' In A Winter WonderLand"
- My Summer Playground - "Felt Wooden XMAS Deco"

yum...

I'll say straight up, I don't like to cook...most likely because I am a very picky eater. However! I do love, love, love to bake (white cake w/ buttercream icing is my specialty). On The Traveler's Lunchbox I found a recipe for homemade vanilla extract. Yum! I thought I might try this, sounds fun right? ...Maybe this could turn into some Christmas presents...

Wreaths

Christmas decorations are something that can be done very well or very bad, so when I found the above wreaths by The Constant Gatherer I was pleasantly suprised! She uses layers of yarn and string to create these unique decorations. I love how the yarn colors collide creating a rather soft overall feel.

A few of my favorite things!

Presents, presents, presents...

A daily routine of mine is to not only scan my list of design blogs, but also my list of design shops. With the holiday season quickly coming upon us, I thought I would share with you some of my favorite sites. Of course I have listed several in the column to the right but my top favs include:

Etsy - "Etsy is an online marketplace for buying & selling all things handmade."

Modishoppe - "To further encourage the idea of "shopping indie," Jena hoped to create an inviting little e-boutique where people could do just that. Modishoppe was born, and now houses a collection of handmade goods made by some incredible independent designers."

The Curiosity Shoppe - "We hope the Curiosity Shoppe will provide you not only with beautiful, hand-crafted items, but will inspire you to embark on a creative adventure of your own."

Three Potato Four - "We started the shop because of our love of collections. We're collectors, and to us, all products and belongings tell a story."

2modern - "2Modern features the most talented and innovative designers of modern furniture, contemporary lighting, personal accessories, art, & eco-friendly products for the home and office."

Twig - "Twig is an online boutique with amazing clothing for both women and children, unique toys and an eclectic mix of home accessories. "

Design Within Reach - "Design Within Reach is the source for fully licensed classics....What we mean by a "fully licensed classic" is that it's manufactured by the company holding the license to the original design. "

Bandaids!

Thanks to a skilled uncle, we got out letterpress welded back together over the holiday. (Yay!) Check it out...can you find the welded bandaid?

OH and our fancy red rollers came in from the UK...now if we only had some type. . .

'Tis the season

That time of year again! We went for a white (mini) tree this year due to the cramped space...but it turned out quite nice :-)

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you all had a wonderful thanksgiving holiday and were able to get your grub on. I have the extended weekend off to relax in my hometown which means lots of homemade food :-) Also, it gives me plenty of time to brainstorm holiday posts and Christmas present ideas. Happy Holidays!
yummy watermelon ...mmm :-)