Good Bye 2011....Hello 2012!

Designed by my amazing Artist Mother....I absolutely love this card!  She is a creative genius...really:)

As we tow out our Christmas Trees, De-Holiday our houses, and Usher in a New Year with resolutions to be more organized, more healthy, more thoughtful, better mothers, wives, and friends, etc. etc.....

I want to take a moment and thank you all that have helped make this year such an amazing one.   Here is to my family and friends, near and far...to my blogging buddies and  design friends I have only met via email and or via nice comments that are left on a daily basis, and to my amazing clients that let me into their homes to create and work at something I LOVE to do.  I really couldn't do any of this without you all!  This year has been filled with such wonderful blessings, in life and in my business.

I am hopeful that 2012 is just as great.  (there are some really exciting things that are already in the works, so it is already starting out on a good foot.)

See you all Next Year....(really, that never gets old to me:)

Happy New Year!

 

A New Christmas Recipe

Every year I stress about baked goods, and every year I have a disaster cookie/baked goods drama.  (last year my banana bread turned into a dense poundcake...don't ask:):)  Designer and Cook I am....BAKER I AM NOT!!!!   This year, I decided to try a new recipe and am SOOOO pleased with the results.  Guess what is tied all up in these drop cloth packages....

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls!  

 Yep, it is true...I made Homemade Gooey Cinnamon Buns and it was NOT a disaster!  And they were WAY easier than I was anticipating...thanks to The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummand and her step by step, pictorial recipe on how to make them.  Really, ya'll SOOOO easy!  This year, I am actually proud to have my children present these packages to friends and family.   (instead of backing away from the door saying.."don't feel obligated to eat them"!!!)

 I did not take photos of the process, I am leaving that up to Ree...so if YOU want to add this to your arsenal of Christmas/everyday homemade goodies then take a look at her site for the recipe and the how to. (if you haven't already!)  You will NOT be dissappointed. 

Now, we are off to do some delivering!

(BTW: I am 1 year older today.... thinking I don't like this Birthday thing anymore...)

Finally....Christmas Decor

I have finally gotten it together enough to take pictures of the Christmas Decor.  This year has been fun....but I feel like I have gone at a snail's pace.  I mean it is December 20 and I am just posting about it!

So without further adieu....here are the photos.

Candy Table when you walk in the house.

I started this tradition last year...Hard Candy Christmas.  I thought it would be fun to have treats for friends and family when they walk in the door.  They can just scoop and put the cellophane...much easier than cookies....and it is pretty too!  The funny thing is that the kids go up the stairs to see in the top of the stand to locate where their favorite treats are. For those of you wondering how the kids handle it.... after the first day, the kids forget about it...and aren't sneaking candy as much....I wish I could say the same for me:)

Santa has a nice seat amongst my new favorite pillows.  As you can see, I am in a pink and orange stage. 
The red in much of my  traditional Christmas decor, seems to be tempered by these colors. 

We finally adopted the tradition of Elf on the Shelf.  Nothing like a 6 year old with big ol' eyes saying, "why are we the only kids without an elf".  This year elf, next year a cell phone.  YIKES!

I have always wanted a sleigh in the middle of my table.  This year I got it!

The kids are finally old enough for the vintage train around the tree. They LOVE it!  And it wouldn't be the same without the Winston car...totally NOT PC.

And the little pops of Real Southern Cotton.
** funny story at the bottom about that cotton**

More cotton...and clove filled oranges.  Something my mother always did.

And a wreath above the kitchen window...with vintage balls that I found at an estate sale.  Notice I decorated the back table too.  Too cold for me to go out in my robe and take photos.

So there you have it.  Now for the cotton story.

The Mom who "STEALS" cotton.

A couple weeks ago we my kids and I went on a trip to Aiken, SC (my hometown) to go to the Christmas Parade. On our way there are many fields of cotton.  Most of the cotton had already been harvested (which means the stalks aren't as pretty)....but there was this one field.   We were late on the way, so I wasn't able to stop, but I thought I "might" stop and do a drive by picking later in the afternoon.  Christmas parade was great, bla, bla....as the day wore on, I couldn't stop thinking about how the cotton would "make" the decor this year.  Just little touches here and there.

Well, I forgot that it starts getting dark around 5:30 these days...and we had just left Grandma's house.  I thought it might be too late, and I would have to say "sais la vie" to the cotton idea, it may be too dark.  But as I rounded the corner, I jerked the car into the cotton field...with my children saying "MOM why are you stopping???"  I said "just grabbing a little bit of cotton".   Let's say there was a field A and a Field B.  In field A there were some bright lights and a bunch of trucks...they were harvesting the cotton!  I was thinking my timing couldn't be more perfect...go to Field B.  If  I had waited another day, the perfect cotton wouldn't be perfect anymore.  My kids were thinking that Mom was going Straight to Jail!!!!!  As I gathered my first armful, the exchange went like this....

the kids yelled out the window, with little high pitched voices "Moooooom, I think you have enough.!"

I said "oh, it's alright, just a bit more".

"No, really  mom, I THINK YOU HAVE ENOUGH!"

I was decorating in my head, and couldn't be bothered...."just one more".

"PALEAAAAASE"!!! They begged.

"Oh,  ok" and I jumped back in the drivers seat and got the heck out of dodge.  Whew!

The kids TOTALLY thought I was going to be picked up by the farmers for stealing their cotton, and I was so consumed by my dreams of decor,I couldn't hear the shear terror in their voices.

I have a feeling that the story "The day Mom stole all the cotton!"  will get bigger and bigger, and that I made one of those memories that they will be talking about around the Thanksgiving table for years to come.

 Unfortunately for them, it probably won't be the last time they see me "borrow" some flowers, cotton, or other greenery from the side of the road.  What a girl won't do for some good decor.!

I knew y 'all would understand:)

Hope everyone is having a great week.

Linking up to: Cottage and Vine  and The Nester Holiday Link Parties.

Changing up the Mantel

 I have not fallen off the face of the earth....just haven't had much time to blog lately.   I have actually had a bit to write about, it was just the ACT of writing that I was having a hard time with.

Soooooo,

Since it is the Holidays, I thought I would show you all my Mantel.  Yesterday, I picked up some auction finds, and I had gotten a group of 5 pieces of artwork. 

I was more into the frames than the artwork....because they were so gorgeous.  But there was a little surprise in one of them.  The painting (it is actually a reproduction of a Cezanne) was UNDER another print....which is probably more valuable than the reproduction.  2 pieces of artwork for the price of 1!

 

I really like the original print, and think it would be really sweet in a little girl's room...but the colors of the Cezanne, just so happen to work in my living room right now.  And I was getting REALLY tired of the grouping of mirrors that I had.  It gave me just the nudge and what I needed to get my Holiday Mantel DONE!  Funny how that works.  I need something "new" to get my bottom in gear.  Can't leave well enough alone! Now, I just have to find those silly stockings.

I am off to get ready for the day.  Have a good one.  Tis the Season!

Speaking of Chairs

I have just had some new ones upholstered for the shop! These are great bentwood chairs that I had so much fun re-inventing. They would be amazing at a kitchen table....the white patent upholstery is super easy to wipe up and the backs have a super cool and fun apple green geometric pattern on them.  I have 4 of them.

THE LUCY CHAIR

They are $150 each, or $575 for the set of 4.

I have re-opened the shop for the month of December.

The Collected Home

Tuesday and Thursday
10am – 4pm, or by appointment

2900B Devine Street

Columbia, SC 29205

Happy Weekend!

The Perfectly Imperfect Home....

My new Favorite Book

If this book doesn't sum up my aesthetic, I don't know what does.  I think we all should embrace a little bit of Imperfectly, perfect!  Deborah Needleman, founding editor of the much coveted Domino Magazine has hit a home run with this book. Not only are the illustrations  (by the oh so talented Virginia Johnson) just amazing, but the meat of the book is so informative....with tidbits on everything from lighting, to how to make a bed (the easy way AND the hard way!)  There is something in it for everyone from the decorator to someone who just wants to zhush their own home.

  I took the book with me to my daughter's swim practice last night, and almost forgot to go down and pick her up out of the pool, because I was so engrossed!

In the forward Deborah says...

"Embracing imperfection in a home does not mean that anything goes.  Here it means aiming for beauty tempered by reality.  If real life involves mess, accidents, memory, and the incidental, then so too must decorating account for serendipity, and even embrace it."

"Luxury cannot be defined by expense or grandeur.  Style is luxury, and luxury is simply what makes you happy."

According to Deborah, the point of decorating is to create the background for the best life you can have, with all its joys and imperfections.

Amen sister!  This book is going with me on every client meeting.

 Take a look for yourself.

I am waiting on the Perfectly, Imperfect LIFE book to drop in my lap....things are crazy, but good around here. 



Happy Tuesday.

It's all been done before....

I was given a vintage book by a client last week on "All about Decorating", written in the 1970's.  Ya'll, my bubble has been burst!  it has ALL been done before:)  It was fun flipping through the books and seeing all that was "in", is totally "in" now.  I mean these photos could have been taken out of ANY number of shelter mags in the past couple years.  The only thing that really dated the book was the relentless matching  of wallpaper and bedspreads and fabric.    There were actually a few ideas that I would like to try. 



Forgive the bad images, I took them with my phone, but you will get the "picture":)

All white, green velvet sofa, matched with french provential.  And the old books.

Notice the garden stool.

Painted bookshelves, mixing metal and wood..notice the sconces on the side,
very similar to high end pieces I have seen lately

Mixing of finishes, I think I saw a table similar to that on Williams Sonoma

punched of color, and glasss top table

rustic chic trestle table

bentwood table and chairs with rustic beams

zebra rug anyone?  Oh, and the antlers on the wall.

zebra, metal, french, wood, need I say more....oh just a few more

letters on walls.

awesome graphic wallpaper

white walls punch of color.

I have seen these chairs all over...and the pendants.

(I couldn't get this to turn) so if you don't mind turning your h ead
It reminds me of a vignette seen in Lonny.

So there you have it.  I know, not EVERYTHING has been done before, and all of what we see now is updated in some sort of way, reworked and made new and current, but go grab an old design book, there just might be some great design ideas lurking around.

Happy Monday!

All Popped Up!

 I meant to blog this yesterday, but I fell asleep sitting up in my bed at 8:30 (I'm an 11pm girl!) Soooo, just pretend this is yesterday:)

Yesterday was a heck of a day...getting everything set up was fun AND exhausting all at the same time.  I don't know how I could have done it without my amazing sister!  We did all of this in 2 days!  The rugs came at 4:00 on Tuesday, and I had a Preview Party at 6:00!  Talk about adrenaline....

  I really love the space and the rugs really do warm everything up.  I knew I was going to get some great rug inventory, I but I was blown away by the beauty, quality, and variety (think ABC Carpet and Home in NYC).  These rugs are REAL antiques.

I partnered with a couple of local establishments, Chris from Worth Repeating has allowed me to showcase a couple pieces of their furniture and artwork, and Cameron from Edit, Fluff, and Style as done the same. 

AND

I can't forget to thank the girls, Tara from Jot (a custom stationery shop) and Lara from In the Loop (knitting shop) for letting me move into their space for a couple days!  All of their inventory is greatly reduced, so if you want to buy yarn or stationery, that is for sale too!

The rug over the table is a beauty. And the pillows didn't translate in photos,
but it is a great Cowtan and Tout swirly fabric

notice the framed pieces...a little of my own designs.

lots of bundles of antique books...and these little paintings are really pretty.

and this is where I sit (actually there isn't much sitting) and receive guests!  Isn't that a great ottoman???

 There is one photo that didn't get uploaded, and is one of the best vignettes...(camera at at shop with the memory card...so will get that up when I get to the shop!)

If you are in the area, stop by and see me!

Devine Street Pop-Up Shop

November 9-11, 2011

10am – 4pm, or by appointment

2900B Devine Street

Columbia, SC 29205

Much to do, Happy Thursday!