Valentine's Decor In The Living Room...

I wasn't too excited to put up my Valentine's Decor this year...

I don't know why, but I still feel a little overwhelmed from putting away all of the Christmas stuff!

I wasn't sure if I was ready to put up more "red" decor already, but I did it anyways!

Here is my piano...

 I got this adorable free printable from the blog Simply Klassic.  

You can download this chalkboard print from her blog HERE.  Then just print & frame.  

I love It!

Then I hung the hearts with some ribbon and added a red & white wreath to my wire bird cloche.

Next, I put a tissue paper pom-pom on a candle stick.

I used them on my fireplace last year, you can see it HERE.

Lastly, I  moved my wreath up & added a bird garland to my mirror.

I got it at The World Market & then I just added some paper hearts!

It was a fun little change this year!

Next up... I'll show you my front porch!
I Heart Nap Time
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The 36th Avenue

Baby Boy Shower

I had the opportunity to host a Baby Shower for a friend of mine.  

It was a neighborhood shower so we sent out about 50 invitations! 

I found the best site where you can make & print your invitations for FREE!
They turned out great!

I just printed them & glued them onto some colored card stock.  

When you are sending out a large amount of invitations this really saves you some money.

The site is called Ontobaby.com you can find it HERE.
They have great ideas & different choices of invitations to print! 

I used the Bunting Baby Shower Suite that looks like this...

It is really easy to use & they have a lot of color choices to choose from!

I also found the best site that makes the most beautiful Diaper Cakes!
They would make a wonderful gift!

Then for decorations I actually found most of my decor at Walmart.  

I was going to make a banner,but this one was only a dollar...which saved me some time!  

Then  I bought a package of tissue paper & made some tissue paper flowers to decorate the window, chandelier & cake!

Then I purchased napkins & a table cloth that matched the banner!

I placed the forks in a mason jar with a blue bow...

For dessert we served pie, mini pies, & homemade Oreo cookies...

We also served up a lemon bundt cake....

And some yummy Caramel Pretzels... These are so easy to do!  

You can find the recipe HERE.

Then for a little more decoration & a gift I hung some onsies with clothes pins across my fireplace.

It turned out to be a fun night!

I'm sharing with these blogs:

52 Mantels

The Girl Creative

Craftomaniac

My Uncommon Slice Of Suburbia

Projects For The New Year...

Happy New Year!

It's really hard to believe it's 2013!

Are you the type that makes New Year's Resolutions?

 I definitely have a few things I want to do to our house this year!

I definitely want to add more wood molding!  

We have added some to our entry way...

And in our daughter's Nursery....

I love how it changes the whole feel of a room.

My goal is to add some chunkier wood around the front door & living room windows.  

Here are a few inspiration photos...

This is from one of my favorite blogs Down To Earth Style...

Her whole house is inspiring, but I just love the wood molding around the door!

Next for the window casing...I found quite a few inspiring ideas!

Traditional Bedroom design by Other Metro greenstreetblog.blogspot.com
Source

Traditional Living Room design by San Francisco Design-build Harrell Remodeling

Source
This is probably my favorite...

Traditional Family Room design by Charleston Design-build Solaris Inc.
Source

I found these on Pinterest for some more inspiration....

Source

 Source

Then on the main wall in my living room, I'd love to add a wood planked wall!

source

I love the look of this!  

When I asked my husband if he was ready to help me get started? He replied, "That's a lot of wood!"  

That is true, but it would look great!

 It only took about 5 years to get around to adding the board & batten in the entry way, but it sure turned out nice when we finished!

Just look at this entry way...

Source

I don't think you can really have too much wood molding & casing...it makes this room look amazing!!

What are some of things you would like to change up at your house this year?
Sharing with these blogs:
Making The World Cuter
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My Uncommon Slice Of Suburbia
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Fireflies & Jellybeans
Under The Table & Dreaming
Tatertots & Jello
Craftomaniac
Just Us Four
I Heart Nap Time
Beneath My Heart
The 36th Avenue

Christmas In The Entryway...

 I just kept it real simple this year.

 I used the same glass jar that was used for my Fall Decor.

  I just added a red bow & changed the candy corn for some ornaments.

 Then I swapped out the orange flowers for some white ones.

Then I took a dollar store gift bag & framed it...

I love how it turned out! 

 It is such a cheap & easy way to get prints for the different holidays!

Last year, I used a bag that had a Christmas Tree.

Happy Holidays!!
Sharing with these blogs:
Tatertots & Jello
Flamingo Toes
Craftomaniac
Under The Table & Dreaming
Sumo's Sweet Stuff
Home Stories A to Z
Fireflies & Jellybeans
52 Mantels

Family Favorite...Orange Jello Salad

This is always a hit at a party or BBQ! 

Next to my Oreo Cookies, this is the most requested item for me to bring for a party.
 It makes a large bowl,which is nice when you are serving a larger crowd.  

You'll always bring home an empty bowl...It's really good!

These are the ingredients you'll need:

3 boxes Tapioca Cook & Serve Jello Pudding

1 Large box Vanilla Cook & Serve Pudding

1 Large box of Orange Jello

2 (15 ounce) Cans of Mandarin Oranges (drained)

1 container Cool Whip (thawed)

Boil 6 cups of water & add your Tapioca pudding, Vanilla pudding & Orange Jello.

Stir constantly for about 5 minutes.

Let cool a little...

 Then pour into a bowl (I use a big Tupperware bowl with a lid).

Put in fridge for 6 hours or Overnight.

Then mix in the Thawed Cool Whip & Drained Mandarin Oranges.

Enjoy!!

 It is YUMMY!!
I'm sharing with these blogs:
Savvy Southern Style
52 Mantels
Flamingo Toes
Craftomaniac
Sumo's Sweet Stuff

"O Christmas Tree"

Our tree isn't a whole lot different than last year, but for some reason it was hard to get it to look right!

It could of been that I had 4 "extra" helpers for this one & the two boys couldn't wait to get the train up & were always right under my feet!  

Their excitement is contagious though & it is fun to make memories together!

Here it is...

I always stick with a red & white color scheme for this tree.

 I added our initial's that I made last year again...

You can see how I made them HERE.

 I always love my peppermint candy ornaments too!

 Our Merry Christmas block adds some color & fun to the tree!

 Once again, I used my snowflakes from the dollar store & our Christmas gift light!

 Our star was not staying up, so I just put a big snowflake...it kind of looks like a star!

Here is a shot of the corner of the room...

Merry Christmas!
You can see our other Christmas Decorations HERE & HERE
Sharing with these blogs:
The 36th Avenue
Tatertots & Jello
DIY Showoff
Savvy Southern Style
Thrifty Decor Chick

Our "NOEL" Staircase...

I changed our staircase a little this year...

I added some "Noel" letters that I made.  

I really like how they turned out!

I just added red & white scrapbook paper to some wood letters that I got from Hobby Lobby.

Then I just traced the letters onto the paper.

Cut them out.

I added a layer of  Mod Podge to the letters & stuck the paper on.  

Once they dried I put another layer over the top.

Then I actually put some Command Strip hooks on the back...I just hung them upside down so my wire would hook underneath & wrap around my railings. 

It worked great!

I did keep two of the wreaths that I used last year...One at the top of the staircase & one at the bottom.

It was a fun change & I like the pop of red & white color!

Here is last year's staircase...

AND
One more time....

This year!

We are almost finished decorating, I'll be showing our tree next!
I'm sharing with these blogs:
Flamingo Toes
Thrifty Decor Chick
Home Stories A to Z
The 36th Avenue
52 Mantels
Tatertots & Jello
Organize & Decorate Everything
DIY Showoff