Thursday, December 5, 2013

"Home for the Holidays" Tour!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS !!
Thanks so much for taking a peek at our Christmas nutcracker mantel (seen HERE)!  And, now, I'm excited to be part of the "Home for the Holidays" Tour where 29 other bloggers and I are "virtually" sharing parts of our holiday homes!  AND, there's even an incredible giveaway, too (details below).


What can I say?  I.LOVE.CHRISTMAS. … everything about it … the traditions, smells, anticipation and, of course, the decorating!  And, since I have just a tad more sparkle to spread around, I'm sharing sneaks and peeks today so, crank up Bing Crosby and come on in!

One of the first rooms you'll see when you walk through the front door is our sitting room.  This year, I traded red, white and silver for green, brown, silver and gold:



Peeking on into the dining room, you'll spy lots of red ...


mixed in with silver, white and black (a "new" Christmas color for me)!


Of course, it would't be complete without a little bit of mercury, now would it?


One thing that will never change is my love for all things candy, gingerbread and whimsy in our Christmas kitchen … 


… and, to ensure that I don't even *attempt* to bake (and burn) holiday cookies, I've covered our flour with a few ornaments: 


Our breakfast area got a little bit of a new holiday look this year, as I decided to give it its own theme with fruit,


and, even added a new tree full of tiny wine bottles, corks, cheese and grapes … loved throwing a bit of deep purple in there, too!


And, over in our great room, pretty much anything goes on the tree, including a crazy topper!


You'll also spy nutcrackers standing guard by the fireplace,


carolers serenading you with traditional holiday songs,


and, most importantly, a reminder of the true reason for the season.


Out on our screened porch, I added a few pops of holiday color,


annnnd, I'm just about done with my husband's NY Yankee's tree in his "man cave."  


Thanks so much for stopping by … I hope you'll join me in the coming days when I share lots more of our holiday home!  

Now, it's time to continue our virtual "Home for the Holidays" tour with links below:

AND, don't forget to enter the incredible giveaway, featuring, not only an amazing $200 gift card from One Kings Lane, but several other prizes, as well!!




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Our Christmas Mantel and "Deck the Halls" Tour

Greetings, friends!  

 I'm happy to be part of a "Deck the Halls" tour where 11 other bloggers and I will be "virtually" sharing more of our Christmas homes today and tomorrow.

Admittedly, one of my most favorite things to decorate for the season is our mantel.  And, after thinking and thinking … annnnnd thinking how to dress it up this year, I decided to bring back a few of our nutcrackers from Christmas' past!

Glittery nutcrackers are my favorite … I especially love when the sunlight hits them in the late afternoon, casting "bling" all over the room.



And, while I started out with a simple, leafy garland, I soon realized I wasn't kidding anybody but myself and simply had to have more … sooooo, lots of mesh, glitter ribbon, snowflakes and ornaments made their way up there.


I layered a plain wreath from Michael's over our mirror and then dressed it up a bit by adding leftover ornaments and a strand of lights.  And, after searching for something to add to the middle of our mantel, I was pleasantly surprised when I opened a box to find our forgotten "Christmas" sign.  (Don't you just love forgotten purchases?!)  Thank you, HomeGoods!


"Pencily" trees (from Michael's) also got a bit of bling with tinier ornaments:


Our handsome nutcrackers stand guard by the fire,


making sure that no one takes off with the presents!


I love the ambiance of the lights … especially in the evening.  


Thanks so much for visiting our Christmas mantel!  Be sure and visit these amazingly talented ladies who will, undoubtedly, dazzle you with their beautiful Christmas creativity! 







The Beautiful Home


Eclectically Vintage


French Country Cottage


Housepitality Designs


On Sutton Place


Stone Gable




Linking up with:

 HomeGoods/Holiday Home Linky Party
Savvy Southern Style/WUW
Thrifty Decor Chick/Christmas Party

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Wednesday, November 20, 2013

In the Bloglight at Hometalk!

Greetings, friends!
I'm honored to have been chosen to be featured as part of Hometalk's "In the Bloglight" series!  


If you aren't familiar with Hometalk, you simply must check it out, as it's an amazing online community, where folks from all over the world *gather* to ask for and share ideas about all things home and garden.

As part of the "Bloglight" series, Miriam (Hometalk's Director of Community Development  extraordinaire) asked me a few questions:

How did you first get into blogging?
I joined the world of blogging back in December of 2009 when our home was part of our local Women's Club "Christmas Tour of Homes."  I started my blog as a way for me to share pics of our holiday home with our out-of-state family and friends who weren't able to visit for the event.  Little did I know that folks other than my family and friends would actually take the time to read, comment and follow my blog!  That's when I decided to write a second, third and fourth post … and, well, as they say, the rest is blogging history!  

How did you decide on the name of my blog?
As much as I love to decorate and redecorate our home (along with others), it's never boring or quick … always an adventure … thus, "Adventures in Decorating" was born!


 Is blogging something you do on the side, or is it a full-time job for you?
For now, blogging is something that I do on the side … for fun.  That might change in the new year, but, for now, it remains a great outlet for me to share my addiction to decorating!
What was the first project you ever shared?

The first post I ever shared was of our Christmas home where reds, golds and greens, along with chocolate metallic walls, dominated our humble abode.


And, if you follow my blog, you've been there along the way when those dark walls disappeared; walnut furniture was introduced to chalk paint; and camel covered wingback chairs were then dressed in white slipcovers … hard to believe this is the same room!


What is your most popular project on Hometalk to date?

Hmmmm … that would be our Fall mantel from 2012.  I'm still in shock that, since posting it to Hometalk, it has since been *pinned* over 40,000 times … crazy!


Do you stick to a strict posting schedule?

Admittedly, I don't.  And, I truly admire those who post multiple times a week, especially since I *usually* only post only once a week!  I always say that I'm going to start posting more, but, try not to put too much pressure on myself to do so … maybe that's part of the problem!  :)

How has blogging changed you?

Blogging has changed me in that it has given me a bit more confidence when it comes to my mad decorating skills … like taking a paint brush, covered in Chateaux Grey chalk paint, to our then-maple stained cabinets:


It has encouraged me to take decorating "risks" and to step out of my OCD-box.  And, best of all, blogging has also brought many amazing people into my life whom I'm happy to call "great friends!"  If you are considering starting a blog, I hope that you go for it … you won't regret it!

*   *   *

Thanks again, Miriam, and the great folks at Hometalk, for featuring little ol' me as part of your "In the Bloglight" series.  And, thank YOU for taking the time to visit!

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Friday, November 8, 2013

Fall in the Breakfast Area

Thanks so much to my sweet friend, Laura, from Top This Top That for including me in a fun "Better Late than Never" Fall gathering!


Will you be hosting Thanksgiving this year?  While I'll be cooking a few staple holiday goodies for the upcoming day of thanks, we won't be dining in our breakfast area.


BUT, if we had, I hope that our guests would've felt welcomed by my simple vignette using my favorite chicken wire basket (from Pottery Barn) in the middle of our table, filled with colors and elements of the season,


along with a book of thanks reminding us what Fall is all about.

Over on our dry bar (which, by the way, I STILL love in its shade of Annie Sloane's "Chateaux Grey"), I would've gladly moved our Fall pieces out of the way to make room for all things carbs! 


 Yes, this glass cloche filled with tiny pumpkins nestled in between corks and pinecones, could easily have been "scooched" on over to make room for the loaded mashed potatoes! 

Mr. Roo (and his surrounding Fall picks and oversized acorns) would gladly have made room for the turkey!

And, um, WHO wants to even *see* a scale on Thanksgiving, right?  Pumpkin and apple pies would be much easier on the eyes!

Another reason why it's probably a good thing that we're not eating our Thanksgiving meal at this table is because, well, it doesn't quite look like this anymore.

That's right, it's now filled with all things Christmas!  Stay tuned ...

Oh, and before I go … IF, by chance, you have a double pedestal antique table that you'll be seating guests at in a few weeks, make sure you check your legs (to the table, that is) to make sure that one of them isn't loose or cracked.  I'd hate for you to be greeted by this lovely scene that I experienced in our dining room last week … oops!  Thank goodness, I somehow managed to laugh and not cry!  LOL!


Thanks so much for visiting our Fall breakfast area!  Be sure and pop on over and visit these incredibly talented ladies who are sharing their Fall spaces, too!



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