Greetings all, happy Monday! Hope your weekend was great! This morning, I’m very excited to announce that I’ve partnered for the second year with my blog buddies Layla, Rhoda, and Sarah to host another round of Holiday Home Link Parties!

These were so much fun last year, so we decided to do it again, but we’re mixing things up. This year, Layla will be hosting Table Decor on Monday December 5th and Rhoda will host Merry Mantels on Wednesday December 7th.  I’ll host Holiday Crafts on Monday December 12th, and Sarah will host her annual Christmas Tree party on Wednesday December 14th. 

Fun fun fun! We hope you’ll mark your calendar and share in the good times…

Be back in a few hours with some pics from my latest project, stay tuned!

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Hello.  Did you know it’s November?  Yeah, it is.  Hard to believe, right?  Well November means it’s time to get your holiday on!  There’s a gal we all love who’s just published a Holiday Guide that I know you’ll be so excited to read. Of course you all know of the talents and charms of Ms. Emily Henderson.  THE Emily Henderson, Design Star winner and stylist extraordinaire.  She’s funny, inspiring, and oh so talented when it comes to design, so how delighted was I to be invited to be a part of her Holiday Guide?  Very!

The Holiday Guide is filled with over 200 pages of inspiration including a gorgeous Christmas spread styled by Emily and also her extensive gift guide. But that’s not all!  There are so many other original contributions from many talented bloggers (full list here).

My contribution is a perspective on classically elegant lace which often gets a bad rap as too ‘granny’. I take issue with that notion and offer a few suggestions for using lace in holiday décor, but still keeping it fresh, like the pairing of this modern Marimekko gift wrap along the back of a cabinet with classic white lace used as a decorative liner.

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I’m so excited to share some big news with you!  A few days ago I received an email letting me know that Holiday Magazine is now available!  Perhaps you recall that day in July I spent shooting with Matthew at my house. You can see all of our styling and the feature revealed on the pages of the new Holiday.

Holiday Magazine with Matthew Mead will be sold on newsstands later in the season, however there is an expanded keepsake issue ready right now for purchase. The keepsake edition is bigger and contains additional pages of beautiful holiday ideas, recipes, and projects.

The expanded issue can be ordered online to arrive directly in your mailbox before the newsstand edition is available.  Expert stylist Matthew Mead creates a simple yet spectacular holiday for you with creative ideas for handmade crafts, unique gifts, elegant decorations, and scrumptious edibles. This special issue includes so much inspiration from the Christmas cookies to seasonal home makeovers to exquisite paper crafts. Inside you’ll find contributions from bloggers including Stephanie Nielson (The NieNie Dialogues), Tricia Foley, Living Locurto, Savour Fare, Brooklyn Limestone and me! 

I was so honored to be included in this issue and to work side by side with Matthew. For the magazine, I recreated our New Year’s Eve buffet table in a fresh color palette of vivid pinks paired with lime green. You’ll read about our New Year’s Eve traditions and a party that’s incomplete without the three C’s: cheesecake, chocolate, and champagne.   

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Well hello, and happy happy fall y’all.  Let’s kick of the mantel par-tay hosted by Layla with a few changes in the living room.  You’ll see the addition of a floor to ceiling oak tree branch, a new burnt orange throw, and a few decorative new accents too. 

Call me trendy, but yes there are owls on my mantel this season. 

Double trendy points for the golden hue.  I spotted that cool moss covered nine foot tall branch at a local shop specializing in second hand midcentury decor – it was covered with woodland ornaments and I just loved the shape of it.  I asked the owner if he’d give or sell it to me and he said he’d let me have it for free as long as I agreed to buy something in the shop.  Deal!  I choose the 1970’s golden owls ($20 for the pair) – a fun seasonal score. 

The tall amber bottle I found at another local second hand shop, and the lantern is from World Market.  On the other side of the mantel are some birch inspired vessels, found at a local shop here in my town. 

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