Our 2014 Christmas Mantel and Blog Hop ...

Greetings, friends!  

Today, I'm happy to be joining 10 incredibly talented bloggers as they share their beyond beautiful Christmas mantels!  

And, while our mantel is far from a show-stopper, I'm humbled to join these fabulous ladies to spread a bit of Chistmas mantel cheer!  

So, here it is:

I have to admit, I was in a bit of a holiday mantel "slump" this year ... maybe it was the new house ... maybe it was missing our old fireplace ... I just couldn't get with it!  And, then, as I was wandering through the aisles of HomeGoods, with my typical "deer caught in the headlights" look, I spotted it!  There it was ... at long last ... my mantel inspiration!  (My sincere apologies to the sweet  group of ladies whom I almost knocked over getting to it!)

Once I put 50 holes in the wall trying to center it and hang it at the proper height above the mirror, it was time to start working my way down, with red, black and white being the main colors.

This cute reindeer from Hobby Lobby was then cast as the centerpiece on the mantel!  While he was so handsome and whimsical on his own, I wanted to add a bit of "oomph" behind him to help show him off a bit, so, I hung a simple wreath behind him and then let green and silver join the fun, too:

And, okay, "bow maker" will never make its way onto my resume, but, I was on a mission to add a few to our flocked garland, to tie in the black and white colors in our cute chalkboard sign.  So, thank you, Youtube, for the tutorial!  

I then added leftover ribbon to a pillow (from IKEA) to carry the black and white theme around the room, which I'll share later ...

As I was "shopping" our Christmas bins, I had forgotten I had these cute red trees (from Wal-Mart a few years ago) ... don't you love free decorating?!

Originally,  I didn't plan on using our nutcrackers this year, but, as I closed the lid on the bin where we keep them, I'm pretty sure I heard a muffled cry ... so, out came a couple of them!

We can't have a sad Nutcracker, now can we?  I'm happy I added this fella and his twin because, no matter how hard I might try to stay simplistic, I always *need* a little bit of bling!

Our colorful view as we relax on the couch ...

You can never go wrong with a faux poinsettia from Michael's, can you? 

Of course, I had to carry the black, white, red, green and silver theme over to our tree, too!

I hope you'll come back soon to see that and the rest of our room.

You won't want to miss the other mantels on the tour ... they'll undoubtedly inspire you like they did me!

Atta Girls Says

Chateau Chic

Far Above Rubies

French Country Cottage

From My Front Porch to Yours

Housepitality Designs

Savvy Southern Style

Shabby FuFu

Stone Gable Cottage

White Lace Cottage

Thanks so much for stopping by,

Our Christmas Foyer ...

Happy Holidays, friends!  

Can you believe we're already into December?  Not me!  But, that hasn't stopped us from decking the halls and "fa la la la la-ing" around our new home.

When it comes to holiday decorating, I'm a fan of "themes," whether it's colors or a "story."  Like here in our foyer, where I've gone with a simple, traditional theme with hints of a vintage Christmas.

When you first walk in, you're greeted by our accent chest and the first (of 12, yikes) trees ... this one dressed in reds, golds and greens.

Our Victorian carolers are ready to serenade you ...

singing "Silent Night," as large snow flakes fall.

Over on our tree, of course, I had to start with a crazy topper ...

and then filled it with glittery ribbons, poinsettia leaves and the "12 Days of Christmas" ornaments (another song for our carolers to sing).

I also added our oversized musical instruments to serve as background music as the carolers sing to our special friends, whose Christmas cards from years' past are lovingly tucked in the branches.

And, at the back of our foyer, I added a bit of Christmas, too, with pretty plates and holiday pillows.

I love BHG's line of Christmas plates (Wal-Mart), even wishing I could step into the scene:

They even added a few new plates this year, like this sweet one:

A simple wreath hung on our secretary reminds us of the "JOY" of the season!

I love it all "aglow."

I hope you'll join me as I share more of our holiday home in the days to come, including our mantel, where I'm excited to be a part of this upcoming blog hop!

Thanks for stopping by,

Our New Kitchen!

Greetings, friends!

So, here we are in the kitchen right before we moved in ... beautiful wood floors, pretty birch cabinets and tile backsplash.  

And, then THIS happened.  Oops.

I know some of you may be gasping that I took a paint brush to brand new cabinets and tile backsplash.  Trust me, for a moment, I did, too.

But ... then I reminded myself that, while I love the dark floors, cabinets and backsplash separately, I didn't care for them all together.  To me, they blended into each other, not allowing one or the other to stand out.  Plus, knowing how much I loved the kitchen in our old home ... to have this one resemble it would make this house feel more like *home.*  

So, I continued to get busy! 

I sanded/primed the cabinets and then added three coats of Ben Moore's "White Dove" to each one.

To break up the white a bit, I painted the pantry, garage and storage doors Rustoleum's Semi-Gloss Black.

I also dug out a can of Chateaux Grey and painted our island, adding the same farmhouse legs that I did to the island in our home in SC.

SOMEday, we'll replace its granite countertop with butcher block.

With ample storage in here, I didn't feel *too* guilty when I asked my husband if he'd consider taking down one of the cabinets so that I could put up a few open shelves like we had in our old home.  With the help of our neighbor (and his crow bar) down it came,

and up went the shelves!  

An inexpensive project (shelves and corbels from Home Depot), which makes for a great display area!

Our Wal-Mart canisters made a return appearance, too ... an easy way to display seasonal or day-to-day items:

Yes, I "give thanks" alright ... every time I use the gas stove without causing a fire.  I admit it, gas scares me!

On the other side of the kitchen is our "walk in from the garage dropping zone."

Yes, keys, phones, mail and book bags are plopped here, especially while a scoop of a Fall mix is inhaled.

I thought this cute mug tree would be a nice addition to the coffee/tea "station," so, I clicked "add to cart" when I saw it on Amazon.

Along with spray painting all of the knobs pewter, a couple of little embellishments were also added, such as these drawer pulls (Lowe's),

along with wooden scrolls to two faux drawer fronts.  

One of my favorite additions to the kitchen is the bling (Home Depot)!

She's like the crowing touch to the room!

Of course, I had to add her twin over the table, too!  (With these chandeliers being a mere $99/each, it was an affordable and justifiable "splurge.") 

Annnnd, I had to bring back our "E A T" letters, too.  I thought it only fitting to place them right beside the pantry.

What's that saying?  One is good, two is better?!  

From this angle, you can see our Fall Family Tree (a yearly tradition in our home):

Tucked in a little corner.

I always add "familial" sayings ...

 and pictures of our family that mean so much!

One more time ...

Annnnd, AFTER!

We're not done in here yet ... as our budget allows, we'd love to add crown molding, a board and batten backsplash, a butcher block top to the island, and a wooden beam or two.  For now, we're enjoying our new space!

Thanks for stopping by,