Breathing a sign of relief...

Well, the baking marathon for my husband's clients is FINALLY done!  I never want to see a piece of fudge again for as long as I live!  Or chocolate covered pretzels.  Or cookies of any kind.

I've missed blogging and reading blogs this past week!

After all the comments on my Beachy Holiday Tablescape I think I'm going to do some "re-decorating" this weekend and add more "coastal, beachy stuff" to the rest of the house.  I love the fact that whatever I do, I can reinvent it to use in the house the rest of the year.  Shells know no season, right?!

So, I will be posting pics on Monday but I leave you with some "beachy" inspiration....

 

(photo Coastal Living)

Won't that wreath be yummy with that aqua ribbon I used on everything else?  I think I'll put this together to hang in the family room over the center window!

(photo Coastal Living)

Hmmm....this might work to cover up the fireplace we can't use because it might melt the plasma TV. Check out my mantle woes & the evergreen monster currently coming out of my fireplace!

Yummy...

 

(photos HomeGoods)

(photo Beach Cottage Decor Finds)

(photo Beach Cottage Decor Finds)

(photo Seaside Designs)

Oooo, aren't these little topiaries CUTE?!  I have some foam cones left over from my decorating workshop.  I especially love the one in the back tied with raffia!

(photo BHG)

(photo Beach Cottage Decor Finds)

 

(photo Beach Cottage Decor Finds)

(photo www.omurtlak.com)

Finesse Your Nest House Tour

Nesting Place hosted a Christmas Tour of Homes today and I just ALMOST missed it!  I think I'm delirious after my 1000th cookie baked!

Now don't forget to go check all the other beautiful homes on the tour.  I'm still wiping the drool from my chin!

When I saw this event I just knew it was the motivation I needed to get the house "done".  Here are some of the things I've put together in the last several weeks.  Some of this is a repeat, for those of you that follow me regularly.

Hoping to get more done this week, but here is the house, so far...

Welcome to my home!

It's a little "beachy" inside and definitely NON-traditional holiday colors!

I love this simple holiday display sitting on my trash-to-treasure bench!

The tree...

Even my art got wrapped up and rehung!

Snowflakes on the banister hung with gray satin ribbon...

A cute little wall hanging as you enter the kitchen!

And here is our family room...

Working around the electronics is a challenge! (*sniff*)

I love fun holiday pillows!

We had snow 2 weeks ago in South Texas!  This is my son tasting snowflakes!

Happy Holidays!

2 easy holiday wall arrangements

I picked these unfinished letters up at Hobby Lobby for $2.99 a piece (which is why I spelled JOY, instead of a longer word!)  I spray painted them white and tied a tiffany blue bow around the "O".  These hang on one of the columns in my kitchen.

 Sorry another fuzzy pic, and it's a little "yellowy" (was taking without a flash).  I tacked up a snowflake ribbon, floor to ceiling, to the column that separates my dining room from the foyer and tacked a bow to the top.  I will use this to display all the wonderful Christmas cards we get this year.  I'm using 3M mounting tape to attach the cards to the ribbon.

My mantle (& tales of working around a plasma TV & a tweetie woofie thingy!)

Okay, so I fight with my mantle holiday decor every year.

Problem #1 - the giant plasma TV hanging over the mantle

Problem #2 - the tweeter, woofer (it's one of those things I think) that MUST (according to hubby) sit on the mantle in the center to get the full effect of the surround sound that he paid a fortune for.

So, 2 weeks ago my mantle started out like this....

YAWN.... See what I'm dealing with here?  This arrangement just wasn't speaking to me.

So, here's what I threw together yesterday...

A little better.  I just don't think I'll get the look I'm imagining with that electronics eyesore.  I asked hubby if I could wrap it like a Christmas package.  He didn't think that was very funny!

My son, Pierce, asked me why the stocking hangers say "No EL".  What is "EL" and why don't we want any?  I laughed and explained it was really "NOEL" but thanks to Daddy's tweetie thingy, it looks a little strange.

So I work with what I have, and I drool over everyone else's gorgeous black eyesore-free mantles...

I cut evergreen branches off the trees in my front yard.  FREE!  I filled the tall containers with cranberries from the grocery store.  The pillar holders were on clearance for $2 a piece at Hancock's, and I spray painted them white.  Those are ornaments on top.

May re-do this one.  It looks like a big evergreen monster coming out of the firebox doesn't it?  Hubby won't let us burn fires in the fireplace because he's afraid we will melt his precious plasma TV (*sigh*)