Why, Thank You. . .

As a blogger, no matter what you blog about, there is nothing sweeter than getting positive feedback.  And so you can bet we were thrilled to receive the "Stylish Blogger" award from a new follower.  Thanks Courtenay! Her blog, Signal Hill Interiors, was likewise awarded--with good reason.  So to thank her and play along, we must do the following:

1) Thank and link back to the person who gave you this award. 

2) Share 7 things about yourself. 

3) Pay it forward to 5 recently discovered new bloggers. 

4) Tell those bloggers about the award you're giving them.

Since there are two of us we will each tell 7 things and introduce 3 blogs. . .

Jenni:

1) I am a lover of neatness and organization. . . but I live in chaos and constant motion.

2)  I am addicted to diet Mountain Dew.

3) I am a mother of two girls, whom I adore, but part of me wants to be Norah Walker off Brothers and Sisters--mother hen to a large family that stays close and comes home often.  

4) I dream of living in a historic home with a name, on acreage so I can live the simple life (which is never simple) gardening, writing, creating and enjoying my family.

5) I am a hobby-aholic: writing, photography, cooking, gardening, decorating, sewing, reading. . . My current occupation was actually not on my top 3 "turn into a career" hobby's, but here we are! And I love it!

6) I have a degree in English Literature (which is a hint as to which hobby was first on the list!).

7) Last but not least. . . I am the sixth child of eight (5 brothers and 2 sisters) which may explain my desire for #3.

My 3 blog picks:

 (And I must not be that original, because none of these are particularly "new". I could list endless blogs I drool over, but most of them you probably already frequent regularly!)

1) Emily, of The Wicker House -- I actually stumbled across her this week and found her fun and inspiring.  Her house is lovely and she is quite creative.  

2) Alice, of Alice W. -- Her blog is fun to read and peppered with delectable pictures.  She also has a couple etsy stores-- all filled with hoards of loveliness.

3) Maria, of Dreamy Whites -- I know, she is really not new and certainly not undiscovered.  She is loved by many, but I couldn't resist because this gal is speaking my language--and I can't help but listen.
  


Lisa:
  
1) I live on 2.5 acres but would love to have a big old house on 20 acres.


2) I am an accountant, and antiquing and decorating anything but my own house wasn't even on the radar until this year, but now I notice and adore the vintage decor and antiques in the homes of all my friends and family. My mother is so proud, as she has been an avid antique lover my whole life.  


3) I love being outdoors. . . snow skiing, camping, water skiing, hiking, boating.


4) Despite my love of white I live in a house filled with wood tones and have yet to convince my husband to let me paint it all white.  Stay tuned for updates on that battle. . .


5) Aside from decorating I also love writing--especially essays.  I'm working up to blogging. I have never blogged a day in my life (until today), but Jenni is breaking me in.    


6)  When I am not working or enjoying my own hobbies--so most of the time--I am running my kids around to soccer, baseball, basketball and ballet.  


7) Perhaps my love of white, clean, neat spaces is due to my constant search for calm order in my wonderful, chaotic life.  


My 3 Blog Picks:


(Since I am relatively new to the blogging world in general all blogs are new to me, but I tried to pick blogs that are fairly new as well.)

1) Rachel, of French Farmhouse 425 - I love her farmhouse style!

2) Marissa, of Kuntucky Girl - This girl is filled with crafty ideas.

3) Karen, of My Desert Cottage - She actually has quite a following, but with good reason!






Enjoy!

White Christmas

Living in the NW I don't get a white Christmas very often (though they are predicting snow for next week--and I am not sure if I want to cross my fingers for snow, or for no snow. I do have to do some Thanksgiving traveling), so I decided this year I am going to make my Christmas decor a little more "white".   For years my Christmas decorating has focused on red, white, silver and glass with a loose snowflake theme.  And while I still love all that stuff and will likely use a lot of it in my living room, I am going to go a little more soft and natural in my family room, where all my decor is soft and natural.  Here is a peek at last year's decor. . .

All this getting ready for Christmas and making ornaments in October has given me the bug to decorate a little early.  And if my blog browsing is any indication, I am not alone.  I have gotten ideas here and there and two days ago inspiration for my banister struck.  A quick sketch and a little effort (including a trip to my yard to clips some greenery) and my banister came to life:

I seriously love all the creams and whites in contrast with the greenery and the black stair rail and picture frames.

I have recently seen a lot of various paper garlands and was excited to try my own. . .

And I am sure she is not the only one making these, but Christa, of Chloe Rose, is selling the prettiest little rag ornaments that inspired mine.  I spied them at Camas Antiques.  I LOVE her stuff.

What I really like about this style is how well it goes with my furniture and decor. . . and my dog! (who needs a bath and a hair cut).

 I don't think I will get sick of it as quickly as the traditional style Christmas decor. . .

Which is a good thing since I am starting early.  Although, with Thanksgiving next week it's not that early. . .

And since I have only done the banister and planted my paperwhites, I still have a lot of decorating to do.  Speaking of paperwhites. . .

(Do you like my new table? I just need to make slipcovers for the chairs now--paperwhites are planted in the pitchers and chamber pot)

I plant them every year in early November so they will bloom over Christmas.  I love the extra added something that fresh flowers give and their crisp whiteness adds so much to all my other decorations.

I ordered them online this year, in October, to get a better deal so I could plant more.  I also ordered two snowball amaryllis that I can't wait to see bloom.

You might have noticed my swag didn't actually reach the entire length of the banister.  It's close, but I want to decorate the rail along the hall upstairs also, so I better get back to work.  Especially if I want to make extras to put in the shop!

What is your Christmas style?

Holiday Open House

The Holiday Open House at Camas Antiques kicked off today, and it was PACKED!  There are so many fun vendors there and after Lisa and I put the finishing touches on our little corner we took a slow tour around the place and I snapped a few pictures of things that caught my eye.  You might notice a trend. . .

First a tour of our corner. .

And a few treasures NOT in our booth. . .

And the front window was adorably Christmasy in red and white.  I LOVE the hutch. . .

I hope you enjoyed the picture overload.  I tend to go a little camera crazy. . . ask anyone who knows me!

If you live nearby come visit in person.  It's like a treasure hunt in there and you are guaranteed to find something fabulous!

If nothing else, you can enjoy the lovely fall color making its debut outside the shop. . .

Victorian Farm Table Love. . .

The week Lisa and I decided to embark upon House of White we went to an estate sale.  It wasn't one of those estate sales where there are experts who find out the actual value of everything and then double it, it was more of a glorified garage sale.  We came away with a vanity and stool, dresser, desk, chair, and this table (all of which we got a great deal on):

It had such cute little charm that we both wanted to take it home for keeps.  So we used it in lots of pictures and hemmed and hawed over whether to keep it as is, refinish it, or paint it.

We had seen a similar table at Camas Antiques that had been painted and it was cute, but I still wasn't convinced.

So it hung around my house for a while getting used as a prop and getting in my way in the garage between shoots.

Then I decided I wanted to use it in our booth to display a small Christmas tree with some of our handmade ornaments.

So I had to make a decision.  I took a cue from Marian and decided the perfect balance would be to sand down the top and stain it, while painting the legs.

I primed the legs and painted them a very pale blue.  Then distressed them a little.

I have to say, I love it more now than I did before.

And because we were rushing to fill our booth before the big holiday open house today, I didn't get to stage the table and take lovely pictures of it.

So you will have to make do with the pictures of it installed in the booth.

If it doesn't sell soon, I may tell Lisa it sold and sneak it home so I can love it a little longer.

***Linking with Furniture Feature Friday @ Miss Mustard Seed's