All Decked Out

It's beginning to look like Christmas around here. I think having the decorations up makes the hubbub worthwhile. There is still lots more to do and create around here but at least it's all in a festive atmosphere!

Way Too Busy

I have had my fingers on all of these. I knit the hats and cowl and sewed together the sweaters.

I loved making this cowl and highly recommend the pattern. It's the Aibhlinn from www.Knitty.com. I used the SWTC Llama Luxury. I knit this every time I needed a little relaxing.

My best friend and I have a ladies luncheon every year for our friends. I made the invitations this year with my new computer skills. They still look a bit homemade but the cost savings was worth it.

I love my new dining room light and the bathroom repainting is almost done. Even though I did little work on it the mess is totally distracting. I will admit I was a little crazy to tackle this now. I'm hoping with all this behind me that this week will be a bit more relaxing.

The Good And The Not So Good

Finally I've hung up the pictures in the bathroom. I think it looks great. But.... I loved the idea of the succulents in the white rocks in the square glasses but as you can see they are turning brown. I'm going to clean them up today but I think you'll be seeing another container there. I'm not a good enough housekeeper to add that to the list of chores. I guess in decorating there are some successes and some failures. Overall the bathroom has been to a major success. Now I need to move on to another room!

More Decorating

This is more towards my decorating goal. These drawers are outside the bathroom in the upstairs hall. When our house was built it was a boarding house for elderly men in town who had lost their wives. Each bedroom had a drawer for towels and toiletries. We have kept it as part of the history of our home and keep towels etc in the drawers. They now have a fresh coat of paint, inside and out. They also have an assortment of black and white knobs that I splurged on one day at Anthropologie. Slowly but surely things are coming together. As I see each success I'm encouraged to go to the next project.

Great Jars - Fun Decorating

I had a friend over that is starting an interior decorating business and she is helping with my decorating. I love her ideas and it's fun to execute her suggestions. She said that I needed to display my crafts. To that point she found two of these jars to display my temari ball collection in. They look great on the shelves in my living room. Better news yet they were on sale and under $25 for the pair. I am off to a great start. More pictures coming. The shelves need more rearranging before they are photo ready.

New Artwork

I am tickled with myself. Part of my home improvement goal is artwork. Our walls are bare because I think too much about what goes with what and where to hang things. I've been trying to fill up frames I have and then plot how to hang things. This is my new creation for my new bathroom. It is a Christmas ornament that now has a year round purpose. It coud also have a different colored background but around here black is pretty flexible. I'm having fun thinking up different things to frame. I'm off to Target to find more frames.

A Goal for 60

I didn't do a very good job with resolutions for this year but.... I have come up with the ultimate resolution for myself. By the time I turn 60 (in 1 1/2 years) my house will be fully decorated. I have a lovely home, lots of nice furniture, lovely new bath and great kitchen. It all falls a little bit short because I need rugs, things on the walls and things to make it cozy and pulled together. I met a lady that lives around the corner who is starting her own interior decorating business and is specializing in using what you have and buying on the cheap. Yesterday we went to Home Goods and found this chair. I couldn't pass it up because it is and it isn't outside my usual. It's my colors but a fun change. We also did some rearranging around my house that's leading to a few new fun projects. I'll have lots of before and after pictures to show. I think it's going to be a fun resolution - some shopping and some do it myself. I also think by the time I'm 60 my house should look finished.