My Old House: {A Country Christmas}

Calling it a "country" Christmas may invoke an image in your mind that isn't exactly like what I'm about to show you.  But this is our first Christmas in our new home in the country, and I think our decor somewhat resembled that--a little bit traditional, a little bit new.  In our previous house, we had a wide variety of Christmas decor:  a mix from our marriage combining two households and from gifts.  This year, in keeping with our "simplifying" mindset, we downsized our Christmas decor, kept it simple, and went a little vintage--on a shoestring budget.  As always.  :)



We try to keep our Christmas tree simple:  white lights, pearl garland, red bows, glass ball ornaments, and our "yearly" ornaments, a tradition started by my mom a few years ago.  Each year we get an ornament that has special meaning for that year.  I love the stories that our tree can tell.

The centerpiece of my centerpiece is a glass serving bowl that was left here in the house.  We found it while we were cleaning up and I knew I had to keep it.  I love the way it looks with the doily and candles.  This was the inspiration for my sparkly vintage Christmas.



My kitchen table needed a centerpiece too, so I improvised.  Mini cake server filled with glass ornaments, wrapped in lace.



Our house has no fireplace, therefore no mantle, and no place to traditionally hang stockings.  So we bought a mantle and hung it on one of our living room walls.

Our Christmas cards were nearly last minute this year.  I just had no inspiration.  But that light bulb finally came on and a design came to life.  I also decided to use our cards as a way to let some of our family and friends know we moved, and of our new address.  I think they turned out cute.  Not too bad for last minute, ha ha.

Finally, I'd like to share a Christmas gift I made this year for my grannie, who has been digging more and more into her family history for me, telling me all sorts of stories from when she was growing up in Oklahoma with her brothers and sisters.  I love hearing them because that's part of me too, and I pray one day to have kids that can appreciate those kinds of stories.  But in thinking of where she came from, and those of us she's given life to, I wanted to make her a family tree, a reminder of everyone she loves hanging on her wall.  I didn't design the tree myself--I found it here--but I did tweak the base of the tree to add in her parents and grandparents.

{I'd like to throw out a huge THANK YOU to Lisa for helping me get the tree printed.  I had such a time finding somewhere to print in this neck of the woods, but Lisa saved the day!} 

I think it turned out fantastic! :) 



The names of the innocent have been blurred out for their protection from my crazy ramblings. :)

I do hope that each and every one of you had a blessed Christmas this year and a beautiful holiday season.  Jesus is the reason for my season, and I hope that if you don't share that sentiment, you will one day know that amazing love that was born that blessed morning.  May God continue to bless you into the new year!

Ta ta for now...

i heart comments :)

My Old House {Part 2: Living Room}

Yay!  I finally get to share the befores and afters. 

We started working on this house around mid-April, and with my husband and I both working "normal" jobs, this became our second job, but it still took a lot longer than we had originally anticipated.  And believe me, after living in a camper since January, we needed to finish ASAP!  But as most construction projects go, we encountered issues we didn't foresee.  And after watching too many Renovation Realities, I can say with much pride, my husband and I make a great team!  (Side note:  if you've never seen that show, you should watch at least one.  It's a miracle those projects ever get done, ha ha!)

I decided to feature the living room first, the largest room in the house.  But before I go into the before and after, I want to explain my design style...the part that influenced our decisions in this house.  See, this redesign could have gone many different ways.  Flip through any number of design magazines or turn on the TV to any design show, and you will instantly see what the trends are for the Interior Design world.  And I will admit, I have bought into trends.  Nothing I'm ashamed of. 

But I think the home will talk to you and tell you what direction to go in.  And, of course, a person's design personality plays a part too.  I don't think you can always start a design off by saying, "Granite countertops, walnut floors, chevron motif painted on the wall, slate in the bathroom with a jacuzzi tub."  All of those things could have easily been applied in this house, but it wouldn't have looked as appropriate, in my opinion.  Kinda like clothes.  Some people just really shouldn't wear those jeggings that are in now.  They can, but it doesn't look right.  To me, the house will tell you what direction to go in.  What will feel right.

O, and I have a second element to my design style:  function, function, function.  This is where my practical side comes into play BIG time.  I want my house to function for my lifestyle.  And that may mean some not-so-awesome design items in my rooms but if they make my day easier, then I am all for it. 

My point:  let the house talk to you, and make it functional for your life.

The other quick note I should add about this project:  budget.  As with every design project, budget plays a huge role, but this was definitely a tight one.  The landlord saw this as an investment and didn't want shortcuts, but at the same time, he wasn't about to splurg on items we could make due with (you'll see what I mean later).

Ok, on to the living room.
When we first visited the house in April, this is what we were greeted with:

And, actually, I think this photo was after we had already done a little cleaning.  That was our first challenge.  The house wasn't really empty so we had to gather up items that had been left behind, trash them...then paint...then pull out the nasty carpet...then redo the hardwood floors...and finally, move-in.  Simple enough, right?  Yeah, mm-hmm....

We get the place cleaned up, start painting a little, go to install a new light fixture, boom!  Hit the first obstacle!  The whole house needed to be rewired.  Thank goodness my hubby is an electrician! But it was a project we hadn't anticipated, so instead of this being a short month-and-a-half project, it turned into a three month project!!  Finally in July, we were able to move in, with just a few little minor projects to complete. 

And now, I present, the Living Room, befores & afters.

(Another side note:  The living room is quite large.  The dining room is quite small.  Too small, in fact, for our table, so the living room became a combo room.  And even though its cozy looking, it's very comfortable and works out really well for us.)




The clock in this picture also lived in this house when I did growing up.  :)

So a couple of quick notes about what we did in this room:

• Painted the walls & trim
• Removed the nastiest carpet I have ever seen
• Installed a new ceiling fan sans a light
• Installed can lighting
• Refinished wood floors
• Rewired all light fixtures and outlets

The ceiling fan was GOLD when we first got it.  It was a freebie so no complaints, but now its a brilliant bronze! :)

Not the most dramatic transformation but definitely a difference.  Our personal style is pretty eclectic, as you can see, mixing contemporary with vintage & antiques, as well as handmade items with build-it-yourself pieces.

So that is our living/dining room.  Thinking I may do the bathroom next.  We'll see. 

Ta ta for now...

i love comments :)

Yummy Little Graves

I love to bake.  And I used to bake all the time.  I am definitely a much better baker than a cook, probably because of the precision in baking.  I prefer exact measurements to adding ingredients to taste.  But within this past year I really haven't had the opportunity to do much baking until recently, and I didn't realize how much I really missed it.  The joy in creating something that tastes good enough to make someone smile is the part I think I look forward to the most.  But I've always just baked.  Not really decorated things.  My few attempts at decorating weren't awesome. 

So, ok, baking not decorating.  Well, I saw this cake in the October Country Living magazine and decided wanted to try something new.  And have a little fun.  :)



Country Living Halloween Cakes

I used to bake for my husband and his co-workers all the time but now I'm in a job where I can bake for my co-workers, so I thought this would be a fun opportunity to treat them instead.  Sorry sweetie.  So, I have a picture of this cute cake, but I'm more of a cupcake gal.  My head gears went to spinning, and this is what I came up with.  It's really the same idea as the cake, just in individual form. 

First, I whipped up some basic chocolate cupcakes.  I had thought black liners would be fitting, but I live in a small town with limited resources, and since this was kinda done on the fly, these pumpkin liners were it.  But they work.

 

Next, I mixed up a batch of my fav frosting recipe.  It's a concoction of my own that I love to use, but I've never made it chocolate before and....O. My.  It's gooooood.  So I have my chocolate frosting and my chocolate cupcakes.  I opted to spread the frosting rather than pipe in order to create a flatter surface.  But in hind sight, I might have liked piping better.  I didn't get as much frosting on the cupcakes as I would have piping it and I think they needed it since it was a denser cake.

 

I also made sure I would have a little bit of frosting left over to write on each tombstone.

 

 

Once all the little cakes were frosted, I took Oreos and pulverized them into crumbs.  Then each frosted cupcake was dipped into the dirt, because, you know, every spooky graveyard has to have dirt.  I also thought if I made the little piles of dirt like the cake, it would be much too messy.

 

 

Next, I took some oblong sandwich cookies and broke them in half.  Realizing I didn't have much frosting on the cakes to hold the cookie up, I stuck toothpicks in each broken half to help it stand on the cupcake. 

After I placed the remaining frosting in a piping bag, I piped RIP onto each cookie half.  Once they were all piped, I stuck them on each "grave."

Ok, I'm going to divert....just a little.  I really wanted the skeletons on my cakes, just like on the big cake.  But again, I had limited resources.  I was hoping to at least find those really cheap, flat, neon-colored skeletons, because, while they wouldn't be like the CL cake, at least I would have skeletons.  So I went to our local blue box store thinking surely they'll have something.  Nada.  Zip.  Ugh. 

 

So I thought, well, white chocolate covered pretzels could work for skeletons and at least they would be edible.  Nope.  None of those either.  Really?!  At that point I felt defeated because that really was my only option.  Or so I thought.  I had also wanted those pumpkins that are like candy corn, but couldn't find them either.  I had to settle for these marshmallows that were shaped like pumpkins, ghosts and moons. 

 

So I leave with my marshmallow purchase, and on the verge of thinking these are not going to turn out cute at all, my nearly burnt-out light bulb lights up again.  We also have a dollar store.  Maybe, just maybe, they might have something.  So I went, I looked, was about to leave empty handed, when a wee little voice told me to look one more time.  Man am I grateful for those inner voices!  Yeah, that's right.  Voices, ha ha!  Much to my excitement, I find these. 

I scooped them up, brought them home, and broke them apart.  I ended up only using the skulls, arms and legs, but it would have been cool to have bones all over the cakes.  Maybe next time.....

So I have my "graves" with the "headstones," I just needed the bodies.  After strategically placing each bone and marshmallow, I had a yummy little graveyard.

Here they are.  Ready to make smiles.  And boy did we need them.  That day at work ended up being a doozy.

Hope they made you smile.
Happy Halloween!

P.S.  My hubby did end up taking a few to work.  So he wasn't completely left out.  ;)

Ta ta for now....