Paper cut come to life

How was everyone's thanksgiving? I hope you had a lovely and relaxing long weekend.

Now that Thanksgiving is past, I'm so excited to focus on Christmas! No matter how early stores put up their Christmas decor and start blaring carols, I can't quite get into the spirit until after Thanksgiving. I just enjoy Thanksgiving to much to breeze past it.

I'm a bit under the weather today, but I do want to share with you this completely lovely video that I spotted on Design Sponge this morning.



So amazing.

I've featured my love of paper cuts before. Later this week I'll show you the special spot that this amazing paper cut now occupies in my home.

Happy Thanksgiving

*Happy Thanksgiving to you all!*

Wishing you a wonderful holiday surrounded by family, friends and lots of amazing food.

inspired: kids tables

I never really liked sitting at the kids table when I was younger. So.boooorring.

If you'll have a kids table, here are some great ideas for making the meal a little more fun for the youngsters.







Crayons and butcher paper are the common theme here. Brilliant. And, makes ME want to sit at the kids table!

*photos via Elements of Style and Martha Stewart*

new look!

I'm bored. bored. and bored with my blogger template. So, I'm mixing it up a little. This might not be the last change :).

Let me know what you think!

current obsession: cake plates

One thing I didn't mention yesterday, are cake plates. They are fabulous at big meals such as Thanksgiving because they create dimension and height in your food display {or any display for that matter}. And, they create space in a usually, if your family is anything like my family, full table.

I'm not really a collector. My tastes change a little too often to really amass quantities of anything. But, I do heart cake stands. Because, really, they could not be cuter. I've managed to amass quite a little collection over the past few years.

My favorite is this cute bird one.


Cakes look beautiful against this simple cream stand.


A few other lovely stands:

Really. What could be cuter than a cupcake stands?


Simple and beautiful. Here.


Another amazing cupcake stand.


Fabulous rustic stand.


Modern and funky stands.


They are even beautiful when not in use. Here.

And here is my humble collection.


What can I say. They just make me smile.

thanksgiving recipe

We're not hosting Thanksgiving this year. I've hosted in the past, and loved it, but there's no space in our little abode conducive to having lots of people over for a sit down dinner. Sigh. Someday.

Not surprising, one of my favorite parts of Thanksgiving is setting the table. It's a work of art in and of itself. Below is a recipe to help those of you who are hosting to set the perfect Thanksgiving table.

{One part flowers.}

Amazingly perfect *fall* arrangement.


Why not try something different this year? Deep purples feels dramatic and luxurious.


I love gathering up fall leaves and laying them around the table. They're always such a nice addition.

{Three parts candles.}

I'm not sure you can have too many candles when entertaining. There is nothing that sets the mood better.


Love the candles in mason jars.


Votives are easy and easily dressed up.

{Linens for all.}



{Place cards. Add as necessary for a little extra spice.}

We're so informal around our home, that I've never done place cards for a gathering. But I love them. So many ways to be creative and add punch to your table setting.


This is perfect.



{Dash of family heirlooms.}

Especially if you're hosting family. What a nice way to incorporate items that have special meaning for everyone attending.

{Five parts, or more, thankfulness.}

In the midst of all the busy preparations, it's important to not lose sight of the reason for the holiday.


Take time to say or write the reasons you're thankful this year. This lovely idea is great for you and your guests to enjoy.


*photos via Martha Stewart, Design Sponge, Apartment Therapy, Country Living, Pure Style Home, Centsational Girl*

simplicity

"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication."
-Da Vinci


To me, this is absolute perfection.

*Photo {and tutorial!} via Design Sponge*

cozy-ing up

Yesterday I had to go here:


And even at this time of year, it had lots of snow. And it was cold. Really cold. The snow was coming down horizontally. And I was wearing heals. Um, fun.

But inside, there was this:


The fire was roaring. And it was warm and oh-so-cozy. In my dreams I was curled up on that couch with a book, sipping hot cocoa and whiling-away the hours. In reality I gave a presentation to a large group of people. Not quite as nice, I'd say.

But it got me dreaming about rustic lodges and how much inviting they are in the winter-time.


I would love to have dinner in front of a roaring fire on a cold evening.


Perfection.


This would be fabulous for those in between months, when it's cold outside, but not so freezing-you-can't-stand-it cold.


And oh goodness. I would never leave my bedroom.


Good book here I come.

*images via jesse.millan, cepalm, house beautiful, and country living*

potatoes and olives

Maybe it's my husband's crazy obsession, er, hobby. Or, maybe it's my, uh, completely innocent interest in anthro. Whatever it is, this past year I've been really inspired by vintage *finds*, as you could see in my last living room post. I thought I'd share a couple of my favorite places for vintage goodies and inspiration.

One of my favorite places to visit is Three Potato Four. Not only do they find the most amazing vintage goods, but it is impeccably styled.


I've already disclosed my love of typography. Nuff said.


I love this grouping. And, I can honestly say I've never loved arrows.


Aah. Fabulous bottle arrangement.


Super fun vintage sign. Love the color and the fonts.

I've recently found another super-inspiring site for vintage goods.
26 Olive Street. Fun and quirky vintage finds and amazingly styled photos. Swoon.




Vintage signs look amazing in any room.


Wine carrier. Such a fun way to store wine. And, makes typical wine racks look super blah.


These bring me back to fifth grade when it was *cool* to be chosen as the person who would set up and run the film projector in class. Did I just admit I'm that old? It just occurred to me that I might be vintage. Uh oh. Need to go read Glamour and pretend I'm young again.

friday love

Hope your weekend is filled with love and laughter!

*photo via Amelia Kay*

no more blank walls

When we last left off with the living room, it was coming together, but sorely in need of wall art. Over the last year, we've been slowly collecting things to hang on our wall that represent us.

See decorating is very personal to me. The apartment I lived in when I met Chris was decorated to represent me and my happy memories. I had many pictures of Boston and Europe on my walls, that I had both bought and taken, and it was intensely personal. Chris has never been to either. I didn't feel right just regurgitating art for our house. We're in this together and I want both of us to feel like this is home.

I think the items we've collected over the past year have exceeded our expectations.

Before we hung anything though, major changes were needed.
Here is a reminder before:


**I apologize for the pictures. I'm trying not to use flash and it has been dark, dark and dark in the house. When we get sun again (next summer), I'll post better photos!**

First we moved the furniture around. I'd never liked the couch blocking the picture window. So it moved to the other wall with the two chairs facing opposite. It created a much more cozy seating area. Almost immediately we were more drawn to the room.

The second major change is we added curtains. This was my first curtain purchase and I couldn't be happier. The room is much more polished and *finished* with this simple addition.


The item hanging to the left of the window is quite possibly my favorite. purchase. ever.


Close up. We found it at a garage sale this summer. I knew immediately we needed it for the living room, even though we had no idea what is was. This was the piece that inspired us to add more *found objects* to our decor and really get creative about what was going on our walls.

Oh, and we found out later that it holds test tubes in labs.


This is my first *real* piece of art. I won it at an auction a few years ago and it still makes me swoon. It's by local Portland artist Robin Damore.


Float-y vases leading to the kitchen.


I'm not sure if the *M* will stay green, but I'm completely smitten.


We moved my old dresser to the living room to create extra storage and extra space in our bedroom. I love how our collage turned out. It really represents us individually, and as a couple.


We added the great orange birds, from Three Potato Four, to inject some fun color to the space. The picture right above the chair, just out of range in this picture (see above) is a vintage postcard of a Notre Dame. I found the piece of metal, not sure what it is, in Chris' car stuff. The license plate is from a 1932 Ford, a honeymoon picture adds a little life, and they're followed by a vintage science experiment flashcard. Just for fun.


The top picture here is a vintage map of Portland. I simply cut out our neighborhood and framed it. Next to it is a cheery letterpress that reminds us to *live what you love*. Lastly, is Chris' favorite picture. EVER. When I moved in I explicitly said no car pics in the living room. Then I felt like a horrible wife and said, okay, one. Um, maybe still a little horrible. This is the one he chose. I had it framed and matted and you know what? I actually like it.


Lastly, our hallway. This my friends, this is a dashboard. That's right, I have a dashboard in my hallway. Maybe I'm not so horrible.

Even though I think rooms are constantly evolving, we're really happy with where it's at. Which means, for the most part, I can stop thinking about it and focus on other sorely neglected rooms. Like our bedroom.