alan, alan, alan. . .

christmas home tour 2010

the nester is hosting a

christmas home tour today and i thought it would

 be fun to participate.

living in a smaller space has really changed

the way we live. everything is a bit simpler.

less clutter. everything has a function.

decorating for christmas this year was dictated

by this new way of living.

this is the first view as you enter our cottage.

i am in process of painting

all interior doors and am loving

that the closet door you see as you enter the

house now stands out. on it, i hung some

greens from the yard.

the faux board and batten to the left has

been  a great way to define and add function

to our entry. and for christmas, a simple red scarf.

this room is immediately to the left when you enter

the house. most of my christmas decor

this year was shopping the house and pulling

red in to various spaces, like the pillows in our

family room.

the kids and i also threw up some

christmasy words on the chalkboard.

our mantel, which you can see more of here.

again, just pulled in some red here. a jar filled with a strand of

red wooden beads and one filled with green moss

 and a few small pine cones. the candle

received a burlap and twine treatment like all my candles have

right now.

finding a place for a tree was a real trick in quinby cottage.

our options were really limited unless we wanted to

block our back door, which we did not.

so, we bought a small fakey this year, put it in a large galvanized

bucket and wrapped it in burlap. the tree is simply

decorated with white lights, twine, and ornaments

collected through the years.

we recently did a board and batten treatment in our

hall bathroom as well. i love it. for the holiday's

i just wrapped some greenery from the yard, a bit

of holly and some tree cuttings, with some twine and hung

them up.

i also brought in some red with some

candy canes. you know, because who isn't looking

for some peppermint while using the

toilet?

over in the kitchen i am just hanging my red dish towels. . .

put out a little holly here and there. . .

and threw some vintage, red crates atop my 

hutch. 

and that's that. 

our simple cottage christmas. thanks for stopping by! 

now go check out all the beautiful homes linked up over at

the nesting place. 























i'm no seamstress. . .

if there were any skill i could achieve with a snap of the

fingers - no lessons, trial and error, time to perfect, etc - it would be sewing.

or photography.

no. sewing would be first.

oh if i could sew! i would make

new pillow covers for every season, curtains to soften

up all my rooms out of great fabric, and flirty a-line skirts.

but. i can't.

i can barely sew a button on my boys' shirts.

i wanted some light, airy curtains for my evolving kitchen

 but have yet to come across any i like

or could afford so i decided to take the

stitch witchery plunge.

i'm sure i am the last person on earth to hear of this stuff

but now i'm sold!

in addition to stitch witchery all i needed was my fabric, a

damp cloth and a hot iron.

please overlook the poor lighting and photography (remember that is

second on my list of desired skills) to my

new light, airy curtains.

i picked up just enough muslin in a light brown for the bottom and ivory,

with specs of brown making it look almost like a grain

sack, for the top.

after following the instructions on the package this

is my finished product. they are just what i wanted.

i didn't "hem" the bottom because i liked the

unfinished look. it works well with the feel of the kitchen.

i'm pretty pleased with them and think they really

soften up and balance all the straight edges of the open shelving

 and the harshness of the aluminum brackets.

they aren't perfect but they are exactly what

i was looking for.

flash mob, hallelujah chorus

praise God!
why don't flash mobs ever break out in junktique stores? :)

one little vignette

i didn't do a ton of decorating this year. and what i did was

kept relatively simple.

like this vignette.

the twig wreath is actually two. an 18 in. and a 12 in.

i just tied them together for added bulk and

a little more depth. both of these i already had on hand.

the NOEL banner i made last year.

burlap, acrylic paint, stencil and jute.

the candle holder is a duplicat of the one on my mantle, also distressed

and rubbed down with walnut stain.

the red lanterns are from ikea, one is sitting in a silver bowl which rests

on a white cake stand. the white candles have

the same treatment as the candles on my mantel, burlap and jute.

and that's it.

tres simple.

i'm a sucker for slate blue and red together so i am

digging that my lamps and lanterns

get to mingle together this month.

i'm linking up to another holiday party today; it's all about vignette's.
rhoda at southern hospitality is hosting. go pay
a visit!

spreading the word

For those of us that love all things house and home, and work hard

to make our own homes our dream home in which to raise

and enjoy our family. . . this is unimaginable.

This couple purchased their dream home only to find out

it was a meth house. They are now stuck with the

aftermath.

If you have a minute go read their story.

If you want to start from the beginning start on this page and begin at the bottom

with the first post and work your way to the present.

The story has been picked up by  their local papers and most

recently CNN. Hopefully as word spreads

they will receive the help they need.

I really feel for them. They only want to do what so many of

us are doing, decorating their home for the holiday's while entertaining

family and friends in their home.

If you feel compelled, maybe you can help them spread the word!