A Fun Feature with Southern Hospitaltiy

Happy New Year Friends! 

Hope you've all enjoyed a wonderful break over the holidays and are ready to

kick off 2016 with a bang! 

I can't think of a nicer way to get the New Year off the ground than to be

featured over at Rhoda @ Southern Hospitality's Feature Friday!

If you're not familiar, she is a sweet as pie southern girl, a blogging and DIY pro,

and shares my love of thrifting! 

Pop over, check out Feature Friday and take a peek around her blog. 

You can check out her Top Projects of 2015 here, she's done an amazing job 

transforming her home of three years. 

I love these bold floral drapes she added to her den. 

One of my favorite series is: 

Fashion Over 50

  (under Fashion on her blog)

Can you even believe she is 59 - talk about inspiring, so chic and stylish!

She recently shared how she stays fit and what she eats in this popular post here.

Stop by and visit Rhoda @ Southern Hospitality, you can also find her at:  

Instagram  -  Facebook  -  Pinterest

15th Annual Girlfriend Party

Happy Friday friends!

I'm sharing some highlights of my 15th Annual Girlfriend Christmas Party,

 but be forewarned - THE PHOTOS ARE B-A-D!! 

I'm SO sorry, I would normally skip the post rather than use photos like this, but so many

 of you have asked about the gifts, and menu. I tried to quickly snap a few with my phone

 while greeting the girls, getting drinks and putting food together. My house was dark and

 when I lightened them it went from bad to worse, so forgive me!

The Hostess  

My friends said I looked like a 1950s housewife, cooking in my dress and heels, 

with a drink in hand. Haha!   

The Invitation

"Spread Cheer" with an appetizer spreader attached, details here. 

The Drinks

Pomegranate Martinis

Wine

The Menu

Stilton Stuffed Dates Wrapped in Bacon

Grapes with Goat Cheese & Crushed Pistachios

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Mini Twice Baked Potatoes

Artichoke, Mushroom & Roma Tomato Pizza

Zuppa Toscana 

The Dessert

Coffee with Baileys

Warm Molten Chocolate Cakes 

The Girls

My beautiful girlfriends gathered together. 

The Buffet

Simple decor of evergreen branches, clear vases of pink flowers, and candles down the

center of our island. This was before the food was out and arranged.

On the silver tiered stand I serve the soup in ramekins and then use it to serve

the Molten Chocolate Cakes when they come out of the oven. 

The Gifts

Each girlfriend brings five gifts (all the same) and draws five names when they arrive,

 those names will be the recipients of their gifts. We go around the room and each one

of us tells what our gift is and hands them out. Our limit is around $5 - $7ish, but not 

everyone sticks to it, and we have some savvy bargain shoppers.  

   

Plaid Scarves

Coffee Mug with Chalk for a message & Cocoa Mix

Seasonal Candle 

Movie Ticket 

Seasonal Room Scent (Winter) - Bath & Body Works

Mix of Chocolate covered espresso beans & peppermint candy & cute socks

Pretty glass tray

Book - The Magic of Tidying Up

Fig Jam to tie in with the 'Spread Cheer' invitaion

True Blue Spa Hand Lotion 

Clean Freak Dry Shampoo & Headband (my gift)

I'm blessed beyond measure to have these wonderful friends in my life, some

 of them since our kiddos were babies, and others since toddlers. Our get together is

my favorite way to kick off the holiday season! 

 Switching gears...

if you've been following along with 2015 Christmas Home Tours today is your

chance to show us your beautiful Christmas decor!

Link up at Marty @ A Stroll Thru Life Link Party today to share yours!

"Spread Cheer" Christmas Party Invitations

Hi friends, thank you for hanging in there with my sporadic posting,

 we had a wonderful time with family visiting this past week. 

I can't even believe two weeks from today my house will be decorated for Christmas and

I'll be hosting some of my favorite peeps at our 15th Annual Girlfriend Christmas Party!

It's the perfect way to kick off the season, and in keeping with tradition, yesterday I

 delivered fun invites to their mailboxes. 

'Spread Cheer' 

Super simple.

For each invite I attached a cocktail knife from World Market to a 'Cheer' gift tag

found at Marshalls. I wrote 'Spread' and punched two holes to run ribbon through

to secure the spreader.   

   

All of the pertinent party details are on the back. I traced and cut out a circle

the same size as front tag. 

A decorated cellophane bag makes a pretty presentation:

Tied with matching gold ribbon

Evergreen sprigs and berries from my yard

White shredded paper

Each guest brings 5 favorite things (gifts) all the same item. 

  As they arrive they draw 5 names, those will be the recipients of their gifts. 

Our price limit is $5-7 per gift. 

It's so much fun to see what they come up with, as I've mentioned before

they're creative, classy and oh, so clever!!

You can check out the previous year's unique invites below:

12th Annual Party 

13th Annual Party

14th Annual Party 

What would you bring if you were on the guest list? 

    

unique christmas party invitations

If you've been reading for awhile you know one of my favorite traditions to

 kick off the Christmas season is my annual girlfriend party with ten friends, most of

 us met when our kiddos were in pre-school and this is our 14th Annual Party! As part

 of the tradition I come up with a creative invitation that I leave in their mailbox, and

 today I'll be dropping off these...

~ It's beginning to look a lot like cocktails... ~

This is the front, I included the pertinent details on the back. 

I loved that the back of the notecards look the same as the front with no text. 

They were super easy to put together, and if you're not able to drop off invites,

a flat paper martini glass would be fun. 

Martini Glass - Dollar Tree - $1ea.

8 Gold & White Notecards - Target - $1

Gold Berry Branches - Michaels - $2

Green & Leopard Ribbon - Michaels

 (last year after Christmas sale, but I saw it this year)

I punched two holes in the notecard for the ribbon, wound the berries around the stem

 of the glass and tucked in an evergreen sprig from our yard. The berries came in a longer

piece, I just took it apart to create 6" pieces. I added a drop of hot glue to the edge of the 

glass to keep the invite upright.  

You can check out the details of my previous invites and our gift giving game 

here and here.

AND

I'm so excited to announce that I'll be joining these lovely ladies again this year

for The 12 Days of Christmas Tour of Homes starting in two short weeks!!

We  hope you'll join in the fun and link up your holiday home on December 16th!

  

fess up friday

I'm sure you all know Elizabeth at Little Black Door, and her infamous series, 

Fess Up Friday, where bloggers confess embarrassing traits, reveal their hoarder

 rooms or worse. Well, I'm up today and all I have to say is, "What was I thinking?!!"'

Elizabeth is the sweetest, witty as all get out and just as talented! I love her style,

 traditional with an unexpected twist, she perfectly captures one-of-a-kind sophisticated,

 bursting with a lively and playful vibe.

A girl after my own heart she is a die-hard antique hunter and thrifter, I love her

  Instagram feed,  a fun find is always popping up.  

I've lost track of her magazine features, but she has a huge spread in the current issue

 of Better Homes and Gardens Refresh!  Congrats, E! 

This beautiful kitchen and dining room of one of her design client's was also featured.

One of my favorites was her Christmas Home Tour last year, in keeping with her

 style it was charming, eclectic and filled with fun traditions! Check it out here. 

Didn't I do a great job of distracting you from heading over? 

If you really want to check out my embarrassing confession go here. :)

Have a wonderful weekend, wonderful friends!!! 

tour through blogland...

Hope you had a wonderful weekend, ours was eventful, sports, a wedding,

 a family BBQ, and a trip to the ER by ambulance to keep it exciting. It ended up

Mr. Simple had an episode of vertigo, I wasn't home and he called me not feeling well, 

the scary symptoms were worsening after being on the phone with him for 20 minutes and I

 decided to call 911. I arrived home to six paramedics and firemen in my kitchen, all is well,

 they gave him meds and he was home from the hospital after after a few hours.

 Thank goodness.  

I'm sure you've seen some of the tours through blogland, a fun get-to-know me game of

 tag, if you will. A huge thank you to Amber of Simple Dwellings who invited me to participate. 

Be sure to stop over and check out some of Amber's creative DIY projects!

DIY Chevron Stairs

DIY Backed Shelves with Wrapping Paper

Next up, a few questions for me to answer...

What am I working on right now?

Most recently, I've been focusing on an exciting project that I finally get to 

reveal at the end of the week, stay tuned! I've also continued working on client

projects, including the remodel of three bathrooms for my favorite clients, 

my mom and dad! :) 

How does my work differ from others in my genre?

I think every designer has their own unique style evolving over time from their life experiences, travels, etc. I believe designers are like snowflakes - no two are alike!  

How do I write/create what I do?

I see the world through my DIY lens- always trying to figure out a way to take something

I have and make it unique. I love cruising through my local Home Depot or Lowes to

check out everyday items to see how I can creatively incorporate them into projects like

I did with my kitchen hood. 

  

DIY Metal Hood

How does my writing/creative process work?

My creative process begins in many varied and unpredictable ways. My mind is always

 in DIY-mode.My inspiration comes from everything from nature to the aisles of

 hardware to high-end retail stores, to Pinterst, to my fellow bloggers. Like many

 designers, the creative process started when I was very young. While a box of tin foil

 may represent a mundane method of covering food to some; to me it inspired visions

 of mirrors for my Barbie house.

Keeping my writing style simple, short and direct works perfectly for my can't-sit-still personality. I would rather by DIYing and tweaking the styling of a fun reveal for you

 than sitting at the computer writing intricate details about it! 

Ikea Hack Table Makeover

Two of my favorite bloggers:

You're going to love these sweet, and incredibly inspiring ladies!

 They're always knocking out killer DIY projects and ooze style.

Grab your coffee and click on their blog name, you're in for a treat! 

Shelley @ Crazy Wonderful

Hey guys!  I'm Shelley from Crazy Wonderful, a blog where I share my undying love of DIY projects and the process of decorating our home on a budget. I recently moved to Houston, TX with my husband and our two young children, and am currently working on warming up our new build.  Creating is my hobby and blogging is the perfect outlet.  Especially since my husband doesn't understand how difficult it is to find that perfect shade of gray ;) 

DIY Bone Inlay Mirror

Otomi Print Bean Bag Chair 

Becky @ This is Happiness

Hi there Simple Details readers! I’m Becky and the author of This Is Happiness. I started my blog a little over two years ago to share my love for interior design and DIY. I love mixing styles and designing a space that is beautiful, simple and comfortable using pieces that I truly love or that have a special meaning.  I also have a passion for entertaining, food and fashion all of which I share a little of on my blog. I live in Texas with my wonderful husband of almost 15 years and our two amazing children ages 8 and 6.  Come along with me as I create a stylish home one project at a time.

Office Update

Lyla's Bedroom Update

Thanks so much to Amber for including me and Shelley and Becky

 for joining in the tour!

 

one fabulous dining room...

Since I'm buried in my One Room Challenge kitchen makeover

I'm sharing a fabulous dining room reveal from my friend - she is killing it!!

I really do love my dining room, but this makes me want to ditch everything

I have and start over. Here's a little sneak peek... 

You have to see the BEFORE - oh my!

The abstract is a DIY, I'm obsessed with the deep rich wall color, the chandelier

 she almost sold on Craigslist, but realized she had something upon being inundated

 with calls - the rest is a MUST SEE! 

Dining Room Reveal here

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend and 

Happy Easter with your families!

  

crazy good stuff I saw...

Hi friends, sorry for the sporadic posting lately, those kitchen cabinets for

the One Room Challenge are taking up HUGE chunks of my time.

 Thank you SO much for all of your encouragement! What was I thinking?

Today I'm sharing some fabulous ideas I saw this week. Enjoy!

*Please pin from the source*

Talk about making a first impression!

I'm only giving you a tease of this stunning graphic wall design, part of it extends two

 stories! You must check out the rest here to see the brilliant idea and implementation!

Graphic Wall Treatment by Dana @ Make the Wonder

Would these make a chic Easter Egg Hunt or what? 

They're so simple, see Kristin's easy how-to here! 

Floral Eggs by Kristin @ The Hunted Interior

Did you know April is Grilled Cheese Sandwich month,

oh yum, my favorite ingredients!

By Katerina @ diethood...not a diet-food food blog

I love this idea, tailored to any event

your menu printed on a paper bag, and an individual baguette.

Pretty gold flatware, too!

Jacquelyn's Shower by Beijos Events @ 100 Layer Cake-let

Speaking of gold flatware - did you see this at Target?

Stainless Steel - Dishwasher Safe - $17.99 

Wouldn't it be fun if the Easter bunny put these in my basket? :)

Guess what, I met a sweet blogger from Denver!!

We are few and far between and I can't wait to meet Angela @ blue i style in person.

She's participating in the One Room Challenge Link Party, check out her

 amazing board for her little guy's room redo! She has some serious diy skillz, and

I can't wait for the argyle painted wall! She knocked off the Restoration Hardware letters

this week (among other items) they are perfect and $3 each - here!

!

By Angela @ blue i style

 Don't forget to stop by and check out the One Room Challenge Link Party

at Calling it Home the talent is crazy good and with 75 participants 

inspiration is abundant!

Happy weekend sweet friends!