29 November 2017

Merry & Bright Holiday Home Tour 2017 {Part 1}

It is such an honor to be included in the Merry  & Bright Holiday Home Tour hosted by the amazing Shelly at Confetti Style.    If you haven't seen all the tours yet I suggest you start here and click through to all, you won't want to miss a single one!  If you are stopping by from Rover at Home a special welcome to you!
Let's begin the tour in the foyer.  The garland along with gold bows and assorted gold ornaments adorn the stairs.  In previous years the garland had red ornaments but this year I went with gold as the main color for downstairs.


The main Christmas tree is in our living room, the only location that will accommodate a tree comfortably.

As I mentioned earlier, gold is the main color scheme this year in my downstairs decor.  As part of Merry and Bright, I selected a few Christmas pieces to use in my  decor from AmaraAmara has the most amazing selection of Christmas decor along with every day items such as candles, wine glasses, trinket boxes,cutting boards and so much more I can't even begin to list them all.

The geometric diamond baubles immeidately caught my eye and I knew they would be perfect on our tree!  I can't decide which  of the 3 finishes I adore the most!


The view from the foyer into the living room might be my favorite this year.


As we move into the family room, this tree is a bit smaller, but so is the space I have for it.  This is the only tree this year that all the lights work!  This tree is new this year and from WalMart.  Since I've had to add lights to all the other trees in the house I opted for a non-prelit tree.


For the mantel, I start with 2 pieces of store bought garland.  Those are attached to the mantel with easy to remove adhesive hooks, it takes about 4 to safely support the garland.    With the garland secure I begin to add greenery from our yard.   Honey always makes a run to the farm and picks me up cedar clippings.  Layering lights in the cedar adds a soft glow in the evening.  Magnolia branches are added as well.


A few weeks back on my Instagram stories I ask for help selecting either a hurricane or these Double Happiness Jars.  Many thanks to all of you that sent me messages letting me know your vote!  The blue and white overwhelmingly was the winner!

This gorgeous new pillow was also a perk of Merry & Bright this year.  The Smith Honig fabric line is a must see!  The vibrant colors of the fabrics are absolutely gorgeous.  The quality of the fabric and the pillow itself are incredible.

The tassles create the perfect punch to the pillow.  While I'd personally never detach the tassles, they are detachable.

That is it for my home this week!  I'm glad  you've stopped by today, be sure and come back next week on  Wednesday, December 6 as we share a few more spaces in our holiday home tour.  I'll be sharing my dining spaces both the formal dining room and the breakfast room along with our kitchen.   Many thanks once again to Shelly for including Positively Southern among these beautiful homes.
Next up today on the tour is Green With Decor you are in for a real treat as she shares her home.



disclosure:  I did receive products from Amara and Smith Honig to use in my decor.  My opinions are all my own.
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28 November 2017

Coastal Christmas Tablescape

There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about the Georgia Coast.  My love of all things coastal surely shows throughout our home.  I decided why not create a table setting that reflected that love.

It all started with the table runner.  After Christmas last year I found this one on sale!  Score!!!




Could the color have been any more perfect for my space?! The red Santa hat adds  the ideal pop of Christmas and the "snowy" dots complete a wintry feel.


The chargers evoke the feel of driftwood so they were an obvious choice, expect to see these a lot more on the blog!  The use of the blue, cream and linen color that is also in the table runner as well as the charger are repeated in each place setting for a tranquil, coastal feel.


Those tiny shells on the borders of the napkins might be my fav part of the entire tablescape. 






On a side note, in my setting of the table I totally left off stemware.  Ya'll I  had edited the photos and was writing the blog post when I realized I had left them out.  So ya'll go ahead and imagine seeded glasses sitting at each place setting.
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27 November 2017

Helpful Tips When Making a New Car Purchase

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Believe me, I know that blogging about purchasing a new car sounds like the oddest post for me since usually you pop in for home decor.  My nearly 10 year old minivan that I love, has faced several rather pricey repairs in the last few months...think new transmission. So that is why I'm talking about purchasing a new car, since that is surely on the horizon.


With the age of the internet it seems we can shop all over the country for just about anything and that does include a vehicle.  We are a car family of 4 and each of those were researched and found on the internet.  I'm not that kinda gal that drives all over town to our local dealerships to find exactly what I want.
My first stop always has been cars.com for many reasons.

1 Research
While I typically know exactly what I'm looking for in a vehicle, having valuable information at my finger tips from a potentially unbiased website helps me make a smart decision.  Research the vehicle you are considering buying.  There are tons of manufacturers facts available as well as actual owners of the car you are looking at.  Be smart and don't be swayed by a salesperson!

2 Prices and Options
The ability to see prices and options without any pressure from a salesman is probably the most important factor when I look online for a new car.  Being able to compare side by side the same options on different products is extremely helpful.  Being able to do this has even swayed and changed my mind, especially when I was looking for my youngest son's first car.

3 Location
I like being able to see cars that are within about a 100 mile radius of home.  But I've even looked as far away as 250 miles away.  If driving a few miles saves me money you better believe I'm willing to do that.  When I purchased my current van, I went straight to cars.com, I found exactly what I wanted 113 miles away for $4000 less than I'd have paid locally.

4 Don't Settle
When the whole transmission problem cropped up a few weeks ago, it pushed me to start looking at cars.  My biggest concern was having to make such a big decision and not being able to take my time and car shop!   I should mention at this point that I'm not much of a car person, as long as what I drive is reliable, looks reasonable and is comfortable I'm okay with it.   Make sure you like what you are gonna be driving AND making payments on.  Since we already have 1 son in college and the other son headed there next fall, a new car was not on my list of things to be shopping for.  Now I'm scheduling test drives on almost every minivan that is out there so I can be informed and like what I am making payments on!



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01 November 2017

An Ever Green Thanksgiving Tablescape

The very moment that I saw these napkins come into Pier 1 I knew there was going to be a tablescape using them.  The colors and the plaid in the napkin were visually masculine, something I'd never done before in a tablescape.  My desire was to stay as true to that feeling as I could.


Since this was a bit out of the norm for my usual tablescaping, I decided to not make a quick decision on what other elements I'd use.  I simply laid the napkin out and let it lay there while my creativity simmered.

I always try to use pieces I already have to reduce the need for more stuff.  The beaded placemats have been in my stash since last year. They brought a light and brightness to what could be a darker tablescape.  I only have 2 of the rattan chargers so I decided I needed to see what else I could find that would work.  The leaf placemats are new to Pier 1 this season.  When I saw those and realized they matched the napkins I knew I now had a theme to the tablescape.



In keeping with my "green theme" I dashed out to the yard and snipped a few branches off a couple different trees.
The double wine chiller serves as a container for the centerpiece.  Just a couple of magnolia branches gives a natural, effortless look.  Here's hoping that the week of Thanksgiving I can find a few branches to stuff back in there!


Lest you think I purchase all this stuff at full price and as soon as they come into the store here is a rundown of my sale items.  The napkins rings were .98 each along about March I think leftover from fall.  The mercury glass acorns were $2.98 each and those birch candles I waited all summer for those to come down in price, I think they were maybe $6.  I am anything if not patient, I will wait and watch for sales and I always buy off season!!!  Right now I'm watching beachy stuff that we have left from the summer!
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