HOLIDAYS

I have been the worst blogger lately; going to blame it on the craziness of the holidays. Anyways, going to do a little mash up on live lately:

Nick and I saw some beautiful lights at the Idaho Botanical Gardens.

It was a little chilly but fortunately we had a great work party to warm up at after!

This year I decorated presents in chalkboard style. It was very easy and worked really well! I found teacher's craft paper at a local store and bought about 7 feet of it for less than $5 (talk about a deal and it heavy weight so no need to worry about it ripping!). Then all I did was right on in with regular chalk. Actually, the hardest part of this project was tracking down the bakers twine. Finally found some online at Lima Beads for a great price.

I just loved our front door this year! We have always wanted to use real garland around the door and this year I founds some at Home Depot for a crazy end of season deal!

Potterybarn inspired me to add pinecones to these outdoor lanterns and I thought they were so festive and cozy!

My family hosted a fun filled holiday party the weekend before new years and these were the goodies that we gave to all of our guests. They are crock pot peanuts and chocolate that my dad found on Food Network. I was grateful that I don't like the combo because we made a massive batch!

As gifts for some of my friends this year I made some infused vodka. The flavors I end up making were peppermint and cranberry. I heard the peppermint turned out great and hope that the cranberry ended up  being flavorful!

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!

GETTING FESTIVE

We are finally getting the house ready for the holidays around here. I got inspired by this beautiful tree in a festive hall at the Capitol earlier this week.

My first project was transforming the chalk tray {see how to make here} into a fun entry board! So excited about this! I LOVE using fresh tree trimmings throughout the house. It creates a very natural look and smells good too!

Another example of using trimmings. Got inspiration to make this from the one and only Potterybarn catalogue.  However, I added the jut twine to add to the coziness of the whole look.

Mom and I topped of the decorating today with eggnog and fresh shaved nutmeg. So delish and so festive!

CHRISTMAS IS COMING!

Who wouldn't want to spend the holidays here! I love the white lights...everywhere!

And again. I really like this welcoming entry! My family just put up our Christmas lights outside. We have always done colored lights {so they seem really home-y to me} but I do love the fresh look of these white lights. It also looks really bright and clean...can't go wrong with that!

This natural take on the holidays is also very pretty. If I decorated the door like this I would still add white lights so that it can still be seen at night!

These photos are great inspiration {all photos are from my Pinterest Board My Favorite Time of the Year!} because I am still deciding how to decorate our door for our upcoming Christmas party/open house! More details will be coming soon!!

MERCURY GLASS PUMPKINS

Crazy excited about these mercury glass pumpkins I snagged for a GREAT deal at Potterybarn on Black Friday. The associate that helped me said that they were on their 3rd and final markdown! Got them just in time and can't wait to have these timeless fall decorations forever.

I have been thinking lately that there are lots of blogs out there {that I loveee} that say you can get celebrity style on a budget. I completely agree and also think that luxury housewares and home decor can also be obtained on a reasonable budget. It is my hope that I can represent how that can be accomplished on this blog through examples of smart buys and also reusing and repurposing items already at home. What a perfect post to kick this off with!

So tip number one is obvious but often forgotten {by me included} and that is to pick items up on sale after the season. This requires patience {meaning I can't buy Potterybarn Christmas right now} but it is well worth the wait when you can enjoy quality pieces and know you didn't break the bank to get them. Now just to find a place to store them until next year!!

HAPPY LATE HALLOWEEN!

Made this cute little gift for Nick in honor of Halloween. It was just perfect for him because he loves Reese's Pieces and they are fall colors!! Small mementos can sometimes mean the most!

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!

FRUITLAND FOOTBALL

Labor Day Weekend my family went out to my boyfriend's hometown to watch his brother play high school football. The game was a total blow out but I just love the atmosphere at small town games. You can't see in this picture but the field is surrounded by corn fields...so cute!

Another great weekend spent with friends and family!

Happy Holiday

Hanging at the tiki hut with my main squeeze.

Loved this drink even if it didn't turn out as great as I anticipated. Supposed to be more separated colors but still a cute concept! I found the idea via pinterest (on this blog: http://www.inkatrinaskitchen.com/2012/06/july-4th-layered-drinks.html) and will share it with you too!

Festive 4th Drink:

Cran-Apple Juice
SOBE Pina Colada Drink
G2 Gatorade

Slowly add each drink to together starting with red, then white, and then blue. Poor SLOW to reduce the chance of each drink mixing. This separate occurs because each component of the drink has a different sugar content...so cool!

I loved this drink as is...but for a little kick of fun I added some Bacardi rum. It didn't look as pretty but tasted great. Everyone at the tiki had a great time :) Love the 4th!!

Easter Goodies

I am going to be spending this Easter with my boyfriend's family because my parents haven't quite moved here yet. Its going to be a really fun day! Church Saturday night and then lots of festivities on Sunday, including celebrating Nick's mom's and aunt's birthdays. I got this fun pack of candies and desk supplies for Lisa (Nick's mom). They all have little witty quotes on them that I think she will enjoy.

I found these chips and guacamole mix at World Market with my girlfriend yesterday and think they are the perfect thank you/birthday gift for his aunt. World Market is fast becoming one of my favorite places to go!

While there I (actually Chelsey) found this cute pack of festive pasta that will serve as the perfect hostess gift for Nick's grandma who always entertains for the family. It will be so fun to spread the Easter cheer this weekend! Looking forward to the holiday and hope you have a great Easter Sunday too!!

Just had to share how great my valentine is! This is the candlelight dinner I was taken to blindfolded, even a candlelight path to get there. Even better...every course was my favorite food! Yay for fun-fetti cupcakes! This was actually outside on a closed-in porch and warmed by an awesome space heater! I am so lucky, even got a rose at the end like bachelor :)

Happy Valentines Day! Great idea via Martha Stewart to use paint chips as valentines. So cute and totally free! To add a little more to them I used the paint colors in the sayings on the card (burgundy berry and sweet dreams sweetie). Love it!