Hello hello and welcome to the Holiday Tablescape Link Party! I can’t wait to see how you all set your tables this season ~ let’s get started!  HomeGoods is the sponsor of this contest and there are big prizes up for grabs!  The grand prize winner will receive a $100 gift card to HomeGoods and the three runners up will each receive a $50 gift card to HomeGoods.  Cha-ching!  

All the talk about setting a pretty table got me in the mood too, so I set one for a monthly get together with my moms group with some seasonal paperwhites in silver cachepots and a little evergreen in the center too.  Scattered across are some ornaments in shades of silver and blue ~ simple and sparkly.     

I love the combination of silver, blue, and winter whites in holiday décor, it always feels so fresh.  What about you?  How did you set your table this year?  Time to show me whatcha got!  Fall and winter tablescapes count, from Thanksgiving through the end of the year (Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year’s, etc.)  One entry per person.    

Link up your holiday tablescape and let’s get this party started !!     

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G’day friends!  That greeting rolls a little easier off the tongue today since I have a wonderful friend visiting from Australia. I think it’s so fascinating to read how different people in different countries celebrate Christmas around the globe, so earlier this year I asked my friend Sarah of A Beach Cottage to share how she celebrates the season with her family, Aussie style. 

Sarah’s story is fantastic, she was born and raised in England, but now spends her days with her husband and three children on the sunny beaches of Sydney, Australia. I’ve followed her blog for two years now and secretly wish we could trade lives for a few weeks! I adore her cheerful approach to life and ideas for living simply and we share a love of old furniture and an affection for white paint.        

Sarah’s table is a great example of how it just takes a bit of sparkle and a dash of color to create an effortless table for your holiday home. Please welcome Sarah from Sydney and enjoy the tour of her beach cottage tablescape and Christmas traditions!     

“I love styling for the holidays . . . it sure is one of my favourite times of the year, I get to play around with one of my fave hobbies, decorating and making things look pretty but all wrapped up in sparkly bits too. . . bliss!  

Since our sea change to Australia from London, Christmas and celebrating nowadays for our little family, means lovely long warm summer days and Christmas Day starts off on the beach.

 

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Hello all, there’s great news out there for a few lucky winners of last weeks giveaways, yahoo!  Drumroll please . . . 

The three winners of the Cutting Edge Stencils Giveaway are:

#193 Jean @ Flower Hill; #354 Melissa S; and #607 Jessica W.

The two winners of the Perideau Boutique Giveaway are:

#115 Rosalyn J. and #258 Becky Mercado

     The two winners of the Gussy Sews Giveaway are:

#10 Michele Coggins and #203 Rachel Abrams

    The winner of the Kelly + Olive Room Design Giveaway is:

#117 Jennifer Crocker

The three winners of the Fresh Wreath & Garland Giveaway are:

#457 Jennifer De Cuir; #748 Yvonne Higgins; #1,006 Erin Echols

All winners have been notified via email so send me your deets as requested!

And congrats on all the loot.

xo,

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Well here we are again caught up in the the holiday hustle and bustle and how quickly it can get overwhelming. If you were standing in my house right now, you’d laugh at the scene inside. Well maybe not laugh, but be relieved that yes, our house is messy, and so yes, we’re perfectly normal.    

The dining table is covered in artwork and letters for Santa, the kitchen is a mess, there are bins and boxes of holiday decor everywhere, and the living room is unrecognizable because I’ve been moving furniture around again. There’s not a clear surface to be found, but I really don’t care. The messes are evidence we’ve been busy making Christmas memories.

I made a decision a few days ago to not get caught up in the craziness of the season but instead to choose a slower pace. Since Friday, we’ve started each day hiding in winter pajamas under flannel sheets and emerging on our own time, not one dictated by the clock.  We eventually dragged all the decorations out and now they’re all over the house. I managed to plant poinsettias and suspend a few ornaments on the front porch, but that’s it.  It’s simple and pretty, so I thought I’d share. And why not some thoughts on the season to go with it.       

As mothers, we set a pace or a rhythm in our homes. That pace can be chaotic, it can be crazy, or it can be be comforting. As of today, ours qualifies for all of the above, but mostly I’d like to think it’s leaning towards the latter. Sure it’s chaotic because of looming holiday burdens and oh heck yeah is it crazy because of all the holiday decor strewn about. But mostly it’s comforting because of the choice to prioritize our time spent together – it’s more important than anything else.    

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Hi all, one last giveaway before signing off for the weekend. This one couldn’t be timed any better!  You’ll recall I’m a huge fan of Lynch Creek Farm having shipped their greenery to my home twice this past year. 

Their wreaths are HUGE compared to other store bought versions, measuring 26” across and weighing seven pounds, and they smell absolutely amazing!   

All the greens come from local farmers in Washington State who trim boughs from their forests, they do not cut down trees. Lynch Creek Farm is dedicated to preserving the forests and habitats of the Pacific Northwest.  

  Can you smell the Christmas cheer?  

Great news!  This weekend Lynch Creek Farm is offering three winners a fresh 26” wreath or 18 feet of fresh garland (winners choice) shipped to your door ($40 – $50 value) plus free shipping. 

Eligibility to win one of three free wreaths (or 18’ of garland) from Lynch Creek Farms:

1) Hop over to Lynch Creek Farm and pick your favorite wreath or garland, then name it in a comment.  

2) For a second chance to win, link to this giveaway on either Facebook or Twitter, then leave a second comment telling where you linked (FB or Twitter).

Three winners, US only, giveaway ends Sunday November 27th at 8 p.m. PST.  By entering this giveaway you agree to this site’s giveaway policy and Official Rules of Entry. 

That’s all folks, have a great weekend!

Ho ho ho,

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