december inspired decor and home tour link party...

kidstyle.tumblr.com

House Beautiful

bestfunnychannel.com

bhg.com

myrecipes.com

Paulo Saraiva

wallcoo.net

Emily Henderson 

alittleglassbox.com

tatrtanscot.blogspot.com

crushculdesac.tumblr.com

decorpad.com

imgend.com

cullmankravis.com

mary macdonald


It's your turn today!!
Thank you so much for stopping by all of our homes during the
The 12 Days of Christmas Tour of Homes
it was great having you!! If you missed any of the tours click on the links below to
 check them out for lots of festive ideas and inspiration!

Link up your Home Tour at Jenny's @ Evolution of Style, 
just click on the graphic

Also, thank you to Jenny @ Evolution of Style & Lisa @ Shine Your Light,
who btw created all of our awesome chalkboard graphics! 
What a fun idea you two, I was thrilled to be included with such a wonderful group!

Evolution of Style
Shine Your Light
Dixie Delights
The Creativity Exchange
Dimples and Tangles
Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Driven by Decor
Simple Details
The Little Black Door
Oak Ridge Revival
Steward of Design

Have a wonderful weekend, I'll be starting finishing up some shopping!
Are you finished yet?

diy branch christmas tree...how to

I'd mentioned to a friend that I was on the look-out for a big branch to use as our

Christmas tree in case she happened to run across one in her travels. The next day I pulled
 into our driveway to find a perfect ten foot tree branch leaning against our house! As luck
 would have it my 'cute' friend spied a city worker with a truck full of branches he'd

 trimmed, she managed to strike up a conversation, talk him into cutting one the perfect

 size, and help her wrestle it into her car! I owe her BIG!  

Actually, it was *almost* perfect.

I had envisioned a more wispy, airy, tumbleweed look to our tree, and came up with the

simple solution to add additional branches to achieve the look. 

       BEFORE                                                   AFTER

 

1) Cut your main branch to the desired length, then plant in a bucket of kitty litter. The kitty litter is heavy enough to keep it in place, but still allow for a bit of adjusting to straighten. Make sure your bucket fits inside the pot/basket you'll be using to display it.

2)  I cut branches from shrubs in my yard to use as the filler - mine are 20 - 24" in length. Gather up a good pile. I didn't pay much attention to the diameter (we'll get to that). 

3) Drill holes completely through the branch, at random spots throughout the length of the branch. Insert the smaller branches perpendicular to the main branch. I pushed them all the way through to the opposite side, extending an inch or so, you won't even notice once it's finished. Repeat, continuing to add branches until you get the desired fullness. If the diameter of a branch was too big I trimmed the end with pruners until it fit through the hole.

4)  I'm sorry I was a bad blogger and skipped a photo of the next step, which is optional, but I stood on a ladder and spray painted it white. I used about 4 - 5 cans of cheap ($1) white spray paint, following the instructions for time between coats.  That's it!

I did this similar branch tree last year, which was super easy, no drilling, just plop your branches in a bucket.  

Don't forget we're at the end of the 12 Days of Christmas Tour of Homes. 
Yesterday my friend, Andrea @ Oak Ridge Revival, was shared her beautiful home, she also shares my Craigslist and thrifting addiction, and has a fun idea for trees for her kiddos. 

If you missed it here's a peek, click here to check out her home. 

Day 12 - Today is Stacey @  Steward of Design here's a preview of her awesome mantel she shared a couple weeks ago, I'm anxious to see what else she's been up to. Go here to check it out.

my neighbor christmas gifts...homemade cookie dough

Thank you all so much for following along on the 12 Days of Christmas Tour, and for

your sweet comments ~ they truly make my day!

 Today I'm sharing the gifts I gave to some of our neighborhood friends. I love having

 homemade frozen cookie dough in the freezer ready to pop in the oven at a moment's

 notice - if company drops by, after school snack, a quick pick me up,

 really, who needs a reason for warm cookies?!   

Pretty packaging is half the fun, too! 

Theses great boxes are available at The Container Store here.

Every family got a block of Peanut Butter Cookie dough and

 Chocolate Chip Cookie dough. 

After making your favorite cookie recipe, use a spatula to mold your dough

into a nice block that will fit in half of the box.  

I made two batches of each type of cookie dough and divided it among three

boxes, each family received 2/3 a batch of Peanut Butter and 2/3 a batch of

Chocolate Chip. I kept the dough refrigerated, and recommend putting it in

a freezer bag if you won't be baking them for an extended time.

Wrap in parchment paper and secure with twine and a tag with baking instructions.

I got a text earlier tonight, someone has already been indulging and they were a hit! 

Don't forget to stop by and check out Christmas Home Tour

Elizabeth @ The Little Black Door is up today, fun and festive with a dose of

hip traditional is her style - I'm anxious to see what she's been up to.

Click on the graphic to visit her:

christmas 2013...home tour

Welcome everyone, and thanks so much for stopping by today to check out our
Christmas decor. I've loved peeking at all of the beautiful and inspiring homes on
 The 12 Days of Christmas Tour of Homes.
 A huge thank you to Jenny @ Evolution of Style & Lisa @ Shine Your Light
 for organizing the tour. 

Yesterday my sweet friend, Kris @ Driven by Decor shared her gorgeous home,

she has a fresh, classic style that's warm and cozy. I'm excited to try her fun recipe that is

a tradition ~ I've never made them, but I have a feeling once I do we'll be hooked.

Intrigued... :)  Click on the link below. 

 Come in, friends... 

Living room...

 Our branch tree looking into the dining room...
in case you think I saved last year's tree, nope. This one is actually much different, ten
 feet tall, and fluffier like a tumbleweed, kind of. Later in the week I'll share how I did it. :)

family room...

the kitchen...

 

our girl...

I know life, decor and even dogs :) can tend to appear perfect in the blogging world,
 and I always share the pretty, edited stuff with you, but at least once a week I say to
 my friends or my family,
"Oh my gosh, if only my blog friends could see this."
In fact, I said it last Friday night when I took this dessert to our annual lasagna dinner
with some of our favorite friends. They all know that despite the perfect looking photos
 I'm a busy mom who gets overwhelmed, can't do it all, and tries to make a DQ ice
 cream cake look good by putting it on a pretty cake plate...I wanted you all to know, too. :)

  
You're in for a treat tomorrow - the talented Elizabeth @ The Little Black Door is up,
and I'd bet my life on it she'll have something vibrant, fun and unexpected!
I can't wait!

Thank you again for stopping by, dear friends!

Join me at Nesting Place Tour of Homes

and Thrifty Decor Chick for Sarah's Tree Party