Christmas Decor

My Christmas decorating is in place!

It has been a busy week here

with trips to storage

editing boxes

 tweaking details

layering everything in

but 

I am now finished!

Our house is quite small

and 

open

So I make sure all of the rooms 

flow together

in concept and in color.

For the dining area

I pulled out my

 vintage Mexican serape

I love not only the color

but the texture as well.

For the centerpiece

I began with my trusty
vintage bottle crate

once again

mixing  some

miniature lemon cyprus trees

cups of cranberries

artichokes

and 

vintage silver candle holders.

I am loving the mixture of

textures and colors

with a  fresh use of  natural elements.

On the dining room wall

I created a 

mixed media

 Christmas art instalation

using vintage and antique pieces 

I have collected over the years.

I added
 fresh carnations 

to the
 petite hanging chandelier

as well as fresh greens

to finish off  the composition.

My tree
 always takes two full days 

to install.

Every year I say I'm just going to do 

simple lights

then after a couple of days ...

well

maybe I'll just put on my garland

and 

some large ornaments

and 

one of my ornament collections.

This year I used all of our Radko collection

as well as working in some of my childhood

vintage dolls.

Since I went that far

I just had to finish the tree off

with

berry and glitter garnishes.

So as happens every year

It took two days to finish

and 

as happens

every year

I absolutely

Love the tree!

To finish the living room

 I pulled out all of my felt pillows

and

 a wool runner.

I made a big tray of

candles and cranberries.

My huge chalk board got a fresh coat of paint

and I hung my 

wooden antique Santa on top.

Now the carols are playing

I'm getting ready to make a fire in the fire place

and 

I'm settling into

a weekend of 

Holiday Cheer!

As always mu friends

I wish you love and joy

as you style your life

and

 celebrate your seasons

Hello Monday ... Hello Gratitude ... Hello Judith

Hello to December's first Monday

Hello to Gratitude

Hello to
Judith and her Hat Attack

always

 one of my favorite monthly link ups

because of my love, not only of hats

but my love of Judith as well.

Today I am grateful for 

clothes that comfort

and embrace

Clothes that can give you that extra boost

when you need it most

Clothes that can make getting out of bed

and

 out into the world

a reality

even when your heart breaks.

I mentioned last week 

I have had an emotional time of late.

I have thought long and hard

whether I would mention why...

but this is a space that is mine

and where I am honest 

about things of the heart.

My oldest son has decided at this time in his life

he doesn't want to be a part of our family.

Having a child choosing to estrange themselves 

form your family

brings a plethora

of complicated emotions

even if the writing has been on the wall.

Having this happen at the holidays

further complicates the emotions

Don't get me wrong

as much as my heart is broken

I know there are much worse holiday scenarios.

It was the holiday season many, many years ago

that my sister died.

I hope in my heart of hearts

my son won't always feel this way.

Ironically I made the same choice at his age.

Only to later realize the importance 

and privilege of family.

Right now

it is what it is.
I must respect his decision.

I send him  much love and prayers

and 

I will always be here for him.

I also know

sometimes 

when your heart breaks open

you can  also see the true beauty

in your life

with more clarity of heart.

So this week even with a very tender heart

it is full of gratitude

especially for my Dad's health

for a lovely time spent with family  this Thanksgiving.

My heart is grateful for my daughter

and 

younger son

and 

the privilege of spending time with them.

I am so grateful that my husband and I are

close once again ... on the same side.

I am so  very grateful for our family.

My heart is full of family love

and 

so grateful for spending time with my girl

and 

counting the days until

she returns once again for the holidays.

I am grateful we found our tree

and

 that my favorite season 

is officially under way.

I am grateful for Christmas carols and the depth of emotion they can add 

at a moments notice.

I am grateful to find creative inspiration

in so many places!

I was inspired with this lovely bunting

in Old Town Orange

and 

can't wait to make some myself!

I am happy I have my holiday plantings done

and 

outside rooms decorated

I can't wait to share them!

I am grateful for quiet times and morning candlelight

Time to reflect

and

 count my blessing

with a grateful heart.

I am so very grateful for you  who stop by...

I am ever so grateful for this loving

supporting community

where we can honestly share

and be

Grateful.

as always my friends

I wish you love and joy

as you style your life

and 

count your blessings

linking up with

Judith's Hat Attack

Saturday's Christmas Quote

my little bedroom sanctuary is dressed for the holidays

My bedroom is one of my very favorite rooms in our little house.

It is calming retreat

that functions as  a

 a luxurious sanctuary

and 

it's dressed for the holidays!

I saw the very delightful 

Faux Fuchsia's tree going up weeks ago on instagram

 I knew then I just had to get my bedroom tree up

and

 my little room dressed for the season of celebrations!

My room is always dressed in layers and layers of textures

and pillows.

As a matter of fact

my bed has 18 pillows in total

although they are hard to see here...

they enable my bed to function much like a 

chaise you can sink right into

but they remain hidden behind my large knit pillows

so as not to be visually distracting.

I love the luxury of comfort and soothing textures

with a calm neutral pallet.

In dressing my room

I have simply sprinkled a few sparkly lovelies  around.

Just enough to add a 

little holiday delight.

Candles are also a mainstay in my bedroom

all year long.

It is my 

bedroom Christmas tree

that makes me so happy

all season long

it greets me in the morning

and

 just as happily at the end of the day.

I know there is even more debate this year about decorating too early

but I couldn't be happier that my bedroom tree 

has been up for weeks.

I got it up early

without any holiday stress

with plenty of time to marvel in the process 

and

 lovingly place ...

all of my cherished memories onto my pre lit tree

with carols and candle light in the back ground

it was a soulful endeavor

with none of the hurry to 

get putting up my tree

merely

 checked off my to do list.

Now when I look at my tree

I not only see it's overall beauty

and

the  cherished memories of the individual ornaments

I remember the beauty in the process

I am reminded of the importance for me

to slow down

and cherish the journey.

To scale back and simplify

so that 

I can have time to savor and enjoy.

So I have revised my holiday to do list

and

  I have picked only three projects that I would like to complete

after the remainder of my decorating is calmly finished this weekend

I have put them in order ...

1. I want to finish my holiday brooche necklace 

2. Make candles.  I can't tell you how many years this has been on my list.

and how many years we have gathered supplies 

only never to get to it.

I do know it has been so long ago I was still 

homeschooling my children :))

This year I am setting aside a day to finally do this

because

I know it will make my heart happy.

3. Make bread dough ornaments and tags.  My pinterest Christmas board has been collecting

this idea for quite some time.

I would enjoy getting to this one.

That is the extent of my crafting list this year.

I have my decorating list tightened up.

I have list of a few things to add to my garden 

to make it sing a little for the holidays.

Gifting is on schedule

So as I delight in my 

little sanctuary 

dressed for the holidays

I am reminded

 to savor and enjoy

this holiday season.

as always dear friends

I wish you love and joy

as you style your life

and

Savor and enjoy your 

Holiday Season

linking up with 

WoW Us Wednesdays

Hello Monday ... Hello Gratitude

It was an emotional weekend for me.

But I don't want to over share.

Instead

I want to thank a dear friend ... for being there 

when I needed one most.

I have put my pieces back together

in a beautiful order  

and

I am  now prepared for a week

all about

 gratitude and Thanksgiving.

Hello Monday... 

Hello Gratitude that ...

my darling daughter returns 

 for our official holiday  season opening

at our house.

She and I can not wait for 

the decorating to officially begin!

Hello to gratitude 

for an upcoming Friday lunch

with my wonderful girls!

Hello to a beautiful Thanksgiving dinner

with the  family!

Hello to big gratitude

that

 my husband and daughter

love to spend the day cooking

and 

that my parents bring the pies!

Hello gratitude for having my daughter home

when we get out tree on Friday!

Hello to much gratitude 

for a wonderful husband

and 

my wonderful son and daughter.

Hello to savoring and enjoying

this holiday season.

I am especially grateful

for you

my wonderful readers and friends.

My heart is full

and

 my soul is so

very grateful.

as always my friends

I wish you love and joy

as you style your life

and

 enjoy a week filled with 

Thanksgiving and gratitude

Thanksgiving Hostessing

I have my outfit for hosting Thanksgiving dinner finished

and

 I can't wait to wear it to wear it to 

our family dinner Thursday!

I have been wanting

 a big ball skirt for hostessing at home

for some time now.

So when I saw this beauty at Anthropolgie

I knew I had to make it mine!

I am pairing it with my favorite

denim shirt from Juxtoposition in Crystal Cove

I layered the denim shirt over a cotton striped tank

to add more depth

and

 visual interest.

I always enjoy the interplay

or dressy with some 

intentional casual pieces

highlighted with 

big punches of accessories.

I am again using my

pearl encrusted cuffs

and 

my pearl necklaces

that I made into one necklace today.

I have been wearing these necklaces

just tied at different lengths

but they always got so jumbled.

I decided to sew them into a single necklace

by attaching each one to some doubled velvet ribbon.

Now they hold their shape

and

 wear so much easier.

Now instead of a jumble of knots in the back

I just tie one knot

and let them cascade down the back.

I am now officially ready for Thanksgiving

as I said before

My wonderful husband

and darling daughter

love doing the cooking the Thanksgiving cooking!

(We make such a great team here!)

so ...

Now that my Thanksgiving 

is all lined up...

I can get back to my Christmas prep ...

only my room is done so far ...

and

I can't wait to share that with you next week!

as always my friends

I wish you love and joy

as you style your life

linking up with
Visible Monday