My $5 front door spray!

Season's Greetings!  Today I wanted to share my ridiculously inexpensive front door spray.  I found the two pieces at a thrift store over the summer.  There is a lovely religious second hand store which has a Christmas section all year long and I love to go in there in July and find the most awesome things most people pass over because it is 90 degrees outside!  :-)

I found this short sprig of holly for $2.25 and I think it was meant to go over a picture or doorway.  Then I found this balled up piece of garland in a bin and when I unfurled it in the store I saw it had a hanger on the top and it was a spray!  YAY!  $2 cannot be beat!

I LOVE holly!   I embellish everything with it.  My evergreens, picture sprays, scarves, even my hair.  It always looks so festive like an Old Fashioned English Dickensian Classic Christmas.  

Image source: www.beverleyguardian.co.uk

I put the two together and magic.  I love it!  And it makes me even happier when I know it was less than $5!  I also decided to follow the arch of my front entryway - the first time I have done this.  I normally follow directly across the top.  I like it.  

The sleigh is a work in progress.  I added the sleigh bells and I am working on a crest for the back and hope to have it done before Christmas Eve.  We all know Santa needs it for his big trip.

OMG! Amazing lotion alert! Honey Naturals Bee Balm!

So my sister and I went Christmas shopping last night which is an oxymoron because when we are together we end up buying more for ourselves than the people on our list.  :-)  Case in point I picked up the cutest black patent leather bow flats - Merry Christmas to me!   Sorry just SO excited about my shoes....

We went into this swanky (don't we love that word?) and they had this product up at the counter.  It is like a small round cake of soap type item and comes in an adorable little tin.  You hold it between your hands to warm it and then round you can rub it over your hands, elbows, heels, knees, cuticles, etc.  And those of us who live in a cold climate know the dry skin season is already full on.  They also had lip lotion!

We didn't buy any of the products because we are trying stick to a debt diet and eliminate wasteful spending.  But now I am wishing I had invested the $16 for a tin ($11) and a lip balm ($5).  We tried it and it was SO soothing and smelled wonderful  It wasn't sticky and the smell didn't linger.  By the time we were sitting down eating chips and guacamole, the smell was gone so it didn't interfere with our dinner.  I woke up this morning, even after washing my hands several times and my hands are so soft.   I immediately phoned my sister to tell her we were idiots!  :-)

I Googled the company and here is the information:  Honey House Naturals

It appears their products are all natural.  The lip lotion contains no petroleum or petrolatum which my oncologist told me to avoid and told me even people without cancer should avoid.  So right now go snag your lip balm and check the ingredients - LOTS of icky chemicals we end up swallowing.  That is why I normally use Burt's Bees peppermint lip balm - GREAT STUFF and all natural!  Cheap too!  ***TIP - I buy most of my health and beauty products at Bed Bath and Beyond because you can use BOTH manufacturer's coupons and the 20% BBB coupons.  How great is that? ***

Anyway, they have different scents and flavors and they even have an amazing Santa Sale going on.  I am no way affiliated with this company - it is just a great product we discovered last night and thought I would share it.  Anything we can do to avoid the dry skin and lips and cracked cuticles - I hate that - so painful!

Via their store locator, I found it at a local health food store so I think I am going to take a little drive.  This also makes a great gift as it is one of those things we wouldn't buy for ourselves but when you get it as a gift you wonder how you ever survived without it.  I love those kinds of presents.  Happy Friday - enjoy your weekend and the last Sunday of Advent.  Already?  Yikes.

Holiday Dining Room - Ralph Lauren & Goodwill! :-)

Even though my dining room is not yet finished, I decided to halt construction until after the holidays.  It was complete enough that I thought I could decorate and enjoy it.  

My Ralph Lauren snowflake dishes.  I bought these in Colorado on a ski trip.  They were at the Polo outlet store and a set of four was $14.99.  I bought two sets and the only set of matching mugs they had. I could barely lift my carry on.  What I love about them is that each plate is a different snowflake.

 I bought these little metal trees after Christmas last year at Target for $2.50 each.  I placed them over my glass coasters and a tea light.  They are stunning and they even stack for easy storage.  Yay.

Love my tartan draperies.  I bought a big piece of this material at Goodwill over the summer for $10.00.  As luck would have it, it was the perfect size for two panels.  

 The center piece is so simple yet elegant.  Found the mirror at Hobby Lobby on clearance for $7 and spray painted it a champagne color.  The topiary is from a second hand store and marked down to $6.  :-)

The tartan chandelier shades were at Goodwill this past Spring.  At the time I wasn't sure I wanted to spend the $12.  I am so glad I did.  Please do not pay attention to the unfinished window seat!  :-)

Love my candle snuffer.  $1 at a local resale shop.  Perfectly perfect.

I L*O*V*E my Ralph Lauren samovar lamps.  I cannot believe I scored them on Craigslist!  

The beautiful glow of Christmas!  

Henry and Henrietta - the now retired mascots of J. Crew!  SO cute!











Click here to see the Tales from Bloggeritaville Thrifty Thursday. So great!




http://hookedonhouses.net/2011/12/08/hooked-on-holiday-house-tours-a-show-us-how-you-decorate-linky-party/hooked-on-holiday-house-tours-7/

Holiday Party Couture - My Wish List!

Don't we just  LOVE holiday gatherings, parties and dinners?  It is so exciting to figure out what to wear, how to wear our hair and to wear those special occasion shoes that come out of the box so infrequently!  My Pinterest board:  Life's A Party!  Holiday Couture literally blew up last night and I had 43 repins in about 8 minutes.  It was a blast!  I decided to share some of my most popular repins because you can never have too much holiday couture... real or imagined!

Let's start with the dress.  The one above is my holy grail!  I absolutely love the lines of vintage party dresses from days gone by.  THEY really knew how to dress, not only for cocktails with the neighbors but even for everyday errands.  Some days I am sad our society is SO casual but on the other hand, I love my polar fleece and jeans.  :-)

 

Being Scottish, I have always had an affinity for tartan.  This lovely and oh so comfortable dress is Ralph Lauren and it is gorgeous.  It can be dressed up or down and I love that it is a timeless classic.

J Crew sequin shorts - L*O*V*E!

Brooks Brothers cashmere ruffle scarf wrap.  

Gorgeous ribbon and jeweled headband!  AWESOME!

Sumptuous earrings from Great Britain!  

How fun is this little number?  LOVE it!

GORGEOUS vintage cape and dress.  I would wear this to the Rat Pack Holiday Soiree!  

LOVE this CD!  Keep the fire stoked Dino - I'll be right over for a cosmo!

White House Black Market silver and gold sequin skirt.   MUST FIND!

BOWS!  BOWS!  BOWS!  I love anything with a bow!  Here are some of my favorites...

Exquisite brooch from Tiffany & Co.  $75,000.  :-)  

Brighton bow necklace.  Saw this at the store... STUNNING!

Juicy Couture hand warmes and nail polish SET!  

Juicy Couture bow "glovelettes".  There is a new term for us to know.  :-)  

Juicy Couture jeweled bow scarf... with POCKETS!  

Juicy Couture - perfectly perfect bow earrings. 

Juicy Couture - what a perfect pop of color!  Gorgeous!

Tiffany & Co.  L*O*V*E!  

When the party is over don't we love to take off those shoes and dress and get cozy?  J Crew does it the best!

Enjoy all of your holiday gatherings and get-togethers.  Click here to see more of my Holiday Couture Pinterest board. Thank you for stopping by!


                                      Linked to the DIY Showoff December Pinterest Party!

Best tights EVER! Brooks Brothers I love you!

So I was shopping on the Brooks Brothers website and come across these AMAZING tights!  I have never heard of these and simply had to share!!!

They are BOOT TIGHTS!  They are tights with socks at the bottom to wear with your boots!  Isn't that fantastic?  I guess you could wear regular tights and put cozy socks on with them but this is so cool I simply had to share!  L*O*V*E!

Yes Santa, please put these on my list too.  One pair of black and one pair of grey.  Perfectly perfect!

Santa let's keep it simple! ... A Kate Spade clutch!

Poor Santa!  SO  many lists and so many expectations, I don't know how he does it!  In the true spirit of Christmas, I have decided to go easy on Santa Claus this year and keep my wish list to one thing:

THE KATE SPADE PRIDE  & PREJUDICE CLUTCH!  

I love classic books and I love purses and I love Kate Spade.  When you have all of these worlds collide, this is the result:

Source:  hiphipgingin.com

 Seriously?  Kate Spade is doing this with all great literary classics and I am IN LOVE with this concept!  But THIS is my all time favorite book and I absolutely have to figure out a way to get one of these!

PRICE???  $325!  Yes $325 smackeroonies!  Ouch - it even hurts to type that but alas that is the dilemma which I am in.  Will I get one?  Sadly, no.  I will have to live vicariously through other bloggers and fellow Austen-ites who have had the privilege of acquiring one of these little beauties.

I guess if I had to choose between this clutch and tile for my bathroom, tile wins.  How tragic is that?  :-)