Friday Favorite-Vacation Decor

My husband and I took this amazing vacation earlier this year. the resort was spectacular for a number of reasons, one was the decor. Everything they did, I loved. In fact, we came home and copied some of the hotel's decor both inside and outside! One thing we both really liked were the outdoor decorations-locally made hand blown glass ornaments hanging on the trees. It was such a cool effect, especially at night with twinkling lights all around.

We bought a few glass pieces in Cabo, but as soon as we came home, we realized we should have bought more. I figured it would be easy to find in Texas. We have TONS of Mexican import places. Turns out, it wasn't so easy. In fact, I didn't find any glass ornaments/balls until I went on a business trip to Baltimore(!) months later and discovered Arhaus. I was afraid the store was going to be very frou-frou and expensive; it really wasn't. The staff was super helpful and they had reasonable prices-at least on glass balls and hearts! I found a few in Baltimore, and bought a few more when I came back to Houston.

My husband hung them on our pergola. I was afraid the glass might break during a storm, or crash into our metal Dorado/Mahi Mahi (also picked up in Cabo to remind us of our deep sea fishing experience). So far, so good. He hung all the pieces using mega strength fishing line. Hopefully they will stay. I love the finished look. It remind us of an awesome vacation. Our own little bit of paradise in the backyard.

Friday Favorite- a Favorite vacation right at home!

Friday Favorites- Rad Mod

I have some deep thoughts percolating right now- the Pope resigned, Marissa Mayer is being attacked for making a business decision, my family is sick, the Oscars, how amazing Les Mis cast sing is...anyhow, I need to sort out my thoughts. Lately my outlet has been imagining our soon to be done (soon = 4 or 5 months) bonus room. I have two Emilys to thank for that-1) my friend Emily from name5things. Girl has style out the wazoo (her house is amazing) and MAD furniture finding skills. Like vintage campaign dressers that she finds for $20. Yeah, that NEVER happens to me. Well, her skills paid off for me when I got a text from her Sunday saying- "Campaign desk on Craigslist." About 3 minutes later, I had arranged to buy my first Craigslist furniture piece. A legit vintage campaign desk! All I had to do was sit on my hiney and watch the Oscars. Niiiice. Emily got the raddest dresser from the same Craigslist seller. All I needed was that first push and now I am off on the decorating train for the bonus room. I've got a blank slate and a head full of ideas!

The other Emily I have to thank is Emily Henderson from HGTV's Secrets from a Stylist. I've been following her blog since the season she won Design Star and her style is awesome. It's quirky and eclectic and colorful and seeing her work has encouraged me to try new things...she also has the skillz for finding vintage pieces and making them WERQ. Exhibit A-I want this so hard you don't even know.

From http://www.stylebyemilyhenderson.com/

I am in serious WANT mode. She's selling it next week at One Kings Lane. But her last sale pretty much sold out in minutes. Even if I don't get it, at least I have an idea of what I could do with a similar chair and am on the look-out. Ok, really, I'm going to tell Emily to be on the look-out for me!!

My Friday Favorites- the Emilys and rad mod pieces.

Harry Potter Party- Class Schedule

Before I forget (like I did with her Nancy Drew party last year), I figured I should document my daughter's Harry Potter 8th birthday party. I have to say that this was one of the most fun themes: 1) because we are big Harry Potter geeks, 2) because the Internet is literally full of thousands of great inspiration parties. It's so easy! The only hard part was deciding what to do since my girls were full of TONS of ideas.

We started in the Owlery. The girls were supposed to make owls by gluing feathers on Styrofoam balls. They ended up just sticking feathers into the balls in weird alien ways. Oh well, at least they seemed to have fun. If I did it over again, I'd plan better and follow this tutorial for felt owls. I even have a ton of felt I could have used-grrr. Crafter/Party Planner's remorse. Sigh.

Wand Selection- I made the wands after googling and went for the easiest option. I ended up using dowels (I already had a bunch lying around), dripping hot glue over them, and spray painting with regular spray paint then with some glitter spray paint I had. My mom played the role of McGonagall and gave them wands after the sorting hat ceremony.

Potions Class- my dad played the role of Dumbledore and he was excellent. I wish I prepared more experiments for the girls/wizards. I really liked the experiments from this party and used two of them. My dad showed the young wizards Liquid Enemies (above) and then everyone made Exploding Elixir. It was a big hit.

While the girls were working on their potions, I took pictures of each girl in the Harry Potter Photo Booth I made inspired by this Sirius Black photo prop. I repurposed the Barbie photo booth- I knew that huge box would come in handy.

Defense Against the Dark Arts- I drew a bunch of evil monsters, trolls, etc, and had Hagrid (my husband) equip each wizard with a fighting potion (silly string) and they just went crazy. Silly String is part of each of our parties now; I have to find a way to work it in. The girls love the Silly String fights. It was funny to see my husband running around with a giant Hagrid mask, trying to see where he was going.

Divination- we gave the girls color changing drinks to tell their future. I think the colors we used were: Blue for Loyal Friend, Green for Fame, Yellow for Smart and Hard-Working, and Red for Love. I was most excited that I could use my horrible Craft Fail as part of the decoration in this room.

Of course, we ended with a trip to Honeyduke's sweet shop. The girls got to try Bertie Botts Every Flavor Jelly Beans (yes, that even included flavors like dirt and vomit) and Butter Beer. I found the jelly beans and butter beer at a local candy store-they just got them in that week. thank goodness for a late September birthday! Note- I bought a couple Bertie Botts and mixed them with Bamboozled jelly beans to save on costs and little tummies.

I didn't get pictures of the two classes I was in charge of, so here's the whole school schedule: Owlery-owl craft and goody bag decorating
Sorting Hat Ceremony
Wand Selection and Readiness
Potions
Pictures
Divination
Herbology-paint flower pots and plant seeds
Horcrux Hunt- scavenger hunt
Defense Against the Dark Arts-Silly String Craziness
Honeyduke's

We planned on playing Quidditch at the end of the party, but it was just too hot. I decided to just turn on the first Harry Potter movie and let them chill out for a few minutes at the end of the party-being a wizard takes a lot of energy.

In case you are wondering, our goody bags included the "owls" they created, flower pot and plant, wand, candy and a Harry Potter themed cookie.

Magical Mantel Decor

Harry Potter Party Decor- Part 1
I guess was more exhausted after the Harry Potter party than I thought. I just moved a few things around to decorate for Halloween and called it a day! If you have a Harry Potter party, I highly recommend hosting it right before Halloween-easy peasy.

Here's the mantel for the party- I made the Harry Potter silhouette and pasted pages from a Harry Potter book behind it, the Harry Potter books on the left are all from Half Price-which is why I didn't mind cutting one up for decor. I made the Happy Birthday banner out of pages, my daughter's name underneath was done in the front covers. I love making banners, they generally go pretty quickly and make a nice statement. It turned out so cute (not pictured since it has her name on it!). The broom is a Nimbus 2000, of course-or just a cheapo broom from a craft store spray-painted gold, same thing.

After the party, I moved the owl and potions bottles over. Voila-done! Sharing with TenJune's Fall Party.

Staircase Plans

Another one to add to the list of "Things I Want To Do In The House...One Day" file- paint/stain my banister ebony and add interest to the stairs. Our home was a custom home for the original owners. It's fine. Nice. But, not really our style. My husband is of the "If it's not broke" mindset. Well, we've been in our home about 5 years now (the house is about 14 years old) and, while I don't think we need any major overhauling, I am itching to make the house reflect us a bit more. Up first (maybe?) a new plan for the stairs. I'll blame Emily for this, I saw her new home and heard all her amazing ideas to make it "theirs" and got inspired.

My plan- stain the banister an ebony/black and add interest to the risers:

Via CentsationalGirl

Like Kate did here. Our floors are a similar color, we also have the same white wainscotting. I love it. I'm not sure I'm in for the project though-we have three stories of stairs and two sides to paint/stain since we have a rail on the other side.

Via InspiredRoom

Another beautiful stairway from Melissa at The Inspired Room; very inspiring. She's got the same light wood too. I think I'm going to do it...

Via LovelyCraftyHome

Not to forget about the risers, how about wallpaper that looks like pressed tin? It looks like an (fairly) easy way to inject character.

The only hiccup is whether my husband will be on board. Hmmm...

Barbie Party Decor

I love planning birthday parties for my girls. I really love setting the scene. This party (NOT my choice of themes! ahem), was actually really fun to decorate. For weeks our house resembled "Steel Magnolias," -My colors are blush and bashful. Our colors were pink and pink...and glitter! I decided to stick with black, white, and pink and concentrate on the Barbie silhouette. *Be prepared for pink, poufy, and pink-you've been warned*

Tally- 42 poufs, 20 paper lanterns, about a gazillion yards of tulle, and roughly 10 yards of crepe paper, and enough glitter to still be around today! I had a lot of the decorations already-tulle, lanterns, etc all saved from past parties. It's a sickness. I had a little help from this etsy seller; she was amazing. (I bought her Barbie box set too, which I'll have to get better pictures of for the blog since all mine have little girls having a blast inside!) I made all the larger silhouettes, which I am really proud of. I think it was all worth it.

I used wrapping paper and made a Barbie silhouette to decorate above the mantel. Kind of overboard. Oh well, if I'm going to decorate, I'm going to DECORATE. I also want credit for making the garland and pink poufs (the small white poufs are Martha Stewart from Michael's).

 Refreshments- also known as "Barbie Bites"

I can't stay away from ribbon hanging from the chandelier. Or poufs, or paper lanterns, apparently...

 "Pin the Bow on Barbie" more accurately-Pin the Bow somewhere near Barbie. Too funny.

This decoration was really easy. I used some of the cut-outs I bought and stuck them on pink doilies. Voila-Instant decor.

The front door. We had to go with Plan B due to the rain. The girls had these cardboard cut-out Barbies from Christmas. Santa knew mommy didn't like Barbie dolls, so he brought the girls these instead. Since we had them already, I simply traced the dolls and let each girl decorate her own dress. I think they looked fabulous!


Ok, I think that's enough pink and poufy for one day. 

Warrenton Recap

This weekend I'm planning on hitting the Houston-based Urban Market with my friend, Joan. I figured that it was probably time for a quick recap of the last market I went to with Joan, the Warrenton Antique Fair (part of the mammoth RoundTop, Marburger, etc Antique Fair). I like going to the Antique Fair because it is a great place to be inspired and find fun items. We like Warrenton because it is a little bit cheaper, easier to navigate, and it's where Eddie Ross took us!

The vintage clothing and accessories caught my eye. It was REALLY hard not to buy anything.

Joan got an awesome bag. Jealous.

I loved this vintage book display.

I can see this type of display popping up in Pottery Barn catalogs and coffee shops across the US next year. I wish I had room to use these over-sized books, very cool. 

I was looking for items we can put on the gate at the Property. This didn't fit the bill, but I wanted it. Oh yes I did, peace, love, and Longhorns!

 

I loved this area of Warrenton, can you see the sign?

A close-up- 

Dead People's Stuff! (That's just what my husband said when I told him Joan and I were going shopping at Warrenton).

This vendor caught my eye-he made lots of cool lights with unusual elements- globes

and turbines

Warrenton has the BEST food. I'm putting it in this post because Joan and I couldn't remember where we went. So, next year, remember to go to the Legal Tender Saloon. The BBQ Brisket sandwiches are amazing. And about seven pounds of food! Ridiculously amazing.

Friday Favorite-The Greatest of These

I'm in the process of redoing the gallery wall. I just can't leave well enough alone...But, I'm really happy that I have decided to retool the wall because it allowed me to find this print.

Via Jones Design Company Shop

From Lindsay, in combination with Emily at Jones Design Company. Unfortunately, it's sold out now. You should definitely bookmark the shop, you never know when they might decide to offer more. The print is lovely, substantial, and makes a great impact. I think it would make a great wedding or anniversary gift (for you or your favorite couple). I'm so happy I bought my print when I did!

Today's Friday Favorite- The Greatest of These print.

Home Goals 2012

Now that I'm done with my first party of the year, and a couple of great projects, I feel ready to tackle my "To Do" list. I'm not aiming for a finished house like you see in magazines. That's not us. I think that decorating is a process, you have to figure out what works for you and your way of life. I find things here and there that I like and find places for them, even if they don't make sense to anyone else. (See: my globe collection and vintage Texas wall map.) Yes, the map still has the NOEL letters up (It is WAY high and really hard to get to and...well, pffft!).

I call it "eclectic comfort." It works for us. Well, most of the time. My philosophy probably means that my house will never be "done;" and I am 100% OK with that. To add to the work in progress, these are my top goals for 2012:

Top House projects

Finish Master Bedroom redesign- new artwork over the bed, something like this sign; paint frames in the gallery wall (the mish mash is bugging me), paint dresser, and maybe recover the bench.

Finish Girls Bedroom redesign- hang artwork, stain dresser, add some "oomph" to the curtains

Kitchen- new lights, paint island, new sink and faucet, possibly new blinds for kitchen and living room. OK, take down the NOEL sign!

Would be great, but won't happen: renovate backyard, revamp closet- add color?, decorate guest room-the whole shebang -paint, curtains, art, etc.

I'm linking this to The Nester's Home Goals link party. You should check it out, there are some great plans there. Any top goals for you? New paint? Furniture?

Top Projects-Painting & Parties

It's a new year, which means I'm busy on a few new projects! Already. Hopefully an early start will encourage me to finish more projects this year. I'm in the middle of a few party projects for my friend's baby shower this weekend. As I was cutting, gluing, and sewing this week, I thought back on a few of my favorite projects of 2011. Not surprisingly, my girls' birthday parties are two of my favorites.

My younger daughter's Wonder Woman/Superhero party. Her party had some of my favorite decorations- the comic book banner and skyscrapers. It turned out so cute & was a blast.

I realized I never blogged about the details of my daughter's Nancy Drew party. I'll have to rectify that. It really was a fun party.

I also love the new paint in the girls' room. I also need to show the room's details and decor; it's the perfect girls' room. This sweet silhouette canvas was the perfect addition to their new room.

I'm linking to Rhoda's Top Project linky, where I'm sure I'll find a few new projects to add to my "To Do" list.

Christmas at our House

It's Christmas at our house. I didn't quite get everything done that I envisioned (what's new). *I reserve the right to edit this and add any projects I finish in the next 72 hours! But, the house is how we like it (Ok, me and the girls, I'm sure my husband doesn't really care). I stick with pretty traditional colors and themes- red, gold, green, and glitter. Ready for a little tour?
Our dining room-you can see our creche in the background. There's no Mary or Joseph yet since they journey throughout the house to arrive on Christmas Eve. We wait to put baby Jesus in the manger until Christmas morning. The wise men keep traveling around the house until Epiphany. I apparently have rules that must be followed in Christmas decorating!
"New" decor from glass I found at our property. Looks remarkably similar to this one from Pottery Barn. I think I'm might try to rig some lights in these next year. I placed a shed antler next to them, I think I saw West Elm selling those too. I could go into business just from all the stuff I find walking around our property! More deer, this one on our stairs. We could play a game called-guess how many deer are in our Christmas decor. Answer-LOTS!

See?!- another deer. This one is on our mantel with our Elf, Max.And, of course the tree. This year I went with traditional beads instead of ribbons. I didn't fluff any branches. I think it looks a little "Charlie Brown" as a result. Oh well, I still love it. I love that our tree has ornaments that mean things to us, we have bookmarks and pictures and pipe cleaner snowflakes; I wouldn't want it any other way. You can have your perfectly decorated and fluffed tree. I'll take my memory tree any day. Not shown-I couldn't get our tree topper in the photo-our poor crooked little angel. It's hard putting that thing on straight! Just keeping it real here folks.

I'm linking this post to Thrifty Decor Chick's Tree Party and Nester's Christmas Tour of Homes.

That's the tour, at least until I finish another project or two...

Also, look at my pretty, pretty packages! I just had to add them. So cute.