Holiday Couture!

When it comes to the holidays, I have always been partial to tartan, black velvet and taffeta.  Whilst surfing around for tartan drapery panels like they feature in the J Crew holiday catalogues, I came upon this little number - perfectly perfect!  I love it!  I just had to share!  I would never purchase it, but I can dream that if I was ever attending a Christmas Eve soiree in the Hamptons, with Matt Lauer perhaps, I could just grab it and go!  LOL!

The Bishop's Wife!

Home sick today and so I just stayed cozy and watched a multitude of holiday movies.  Could have something to do with the fact that the windchill here was 10 below zero!  One of my all-time favorites is The Bishop's Wife!  Starring Cary Grant, Loretta Young and David Niven, it is all things a Christmas movie should be.  The skating scene is wonderful to behold and I find myself wishing I could crawl through the TV screen and join in the fun!   How I wish life could really be that way.  If you haven't seen it - do so! 

Have Yourself A Merry Lilly Christmas!

When it comes to style and most things, I am a pure traditionalist!  With that in mind, I  sometimes go "out of the box"!  Since my kitchen is already a bright green with black and white damask accents, I decided to add a pop of pink to create a Lilly Pulitzer Palm Beach Holiday!  I didn't buy a thing except new ribbon and the pink poinsettia!  The poinsetta was perfect - pink, green and Christmas all for $3.96 at Wal-Mart!  :-)

The green glitter ornament on the adirondack chair is an ormament for Wal-Mart for $1.00!  They come in all colors and are perfect for placing all over and in the bathrooms, tables, etc.  Too cute!  The tree topper is a starfish - could it be anything else?  The tree skirt is a Lilly apron in paradise patch which match the placemats on the table.  Normally, this is all put away until summer but they are just the right touch for Christmas. 

The key west adirondack chair flowerpot perfectly matched the cocoa tin!  The cookies are actually ornaments with the hangers removed.  The pink and green candy canes are actually High School Musical but hey, they match!  The snowflake mugs are Ralph Lauren and I love them.  They were at the outlet in Dillion, Colorado on a ski trip.  A set of four for $14.99!  Bought the matching set of four dessert plates - like I could leave them there!    Not fun getting them home - my carry-on was a nightmare but worth it!

The reindeer is from HomeGoods and is the perfect place to hang Lilly ornaments.

 There is a raised area behind my sink and I love to decorate it as there is a down light above it.

This year Santa takes a holiday!  Yes, that is real sand from Ft. Myers Beach, Florida!  It is so soft and white - like sugar.  I love to play with it!

Here is the beautiful pink poinsettia.  The paper chain is actually Lilly "Celebration Garland".  It sounds so much more refined but to me it is still the quaint paper chains we used to make in school.

The kitchen light was just covered with ribbon and ornaments.  The Partylite Church on the cake plate was found last week at Goodwill for $3.99.  I added some trees from the village and fake snow - I love fake snow and I put it everywhere!  It gives me a daily reminder of the true reason for the season.  Lit up at night it is very pretty. 

The Season's Greetings sign is simply a wine bottle charm and the plates are Ralph Lauren to match the mugs.  The pink plates are from Target Easter collection - I got a set of four of them for $2.00 on clearance.  I mean really - who is really going to buy pink dinnerware.  Lucky for me.

The pink and white damask drape is actually a shower curtain I put up for the holidays.  The tie-back is the Lilly Pulitzer breast cancer silk scarf - it works perfectly and adds a perfect pop of color.  The ornaments are the Lilly Oh Shift! ornaments.  A different set for three years with different patterns - I love them.  I hung them in the patio doors so I could go "window shopping".    (Groan!)  Sorry - couldn't resist!  LOL!

The vintage gossip bench is the perfect place to drop holiday packages.  The large clothes pin is pink and white damask and was on clearance at HomeGoods for $3 and works so well to hold the Christmas Cards!  The magazine holder on the wall is from Hobby Lobby and is awesome!  Half off it was only $17!  Ballard Designs wants so much more for the same thing!  It holds a lot of catalogs and mail!   Yes, the Mickey Mouse head is part of the handmade railing in the kitchen.  I have hidden Mickeys all over my house!  :-) 

Treat Yourself!

So I stopped at Trader Joe's for baby spinach, fresh spring mix, and spiced apple cider (which is AMAZING by the way).  So, of course they had their holiday treats on display and temptation reared its ugly head and I could not resist.  Well thank you for my lack of will-power - they are scrumptious!

Why is it that every single time I am on my way home from Trader Joe's, I have to open up something and start snacking even though I only live seven minutes away?!?  Sure enough, I tried and fell in love with both of these items before I even hit my driveway!

Firstly, we have the Dark Chocolate Minty Mallows!  OMG - they are Heaven!  Plus, they are made with dark chocolate so they are a little bit more healthier than if they were made with milk chocolate.  Imagine dropping a few of these in your hot cocoa?  I think these are much better than the Williams Sonoma gourmet marshmallows.  And even the box is cute so you can display them too!

Secondly, we have the Peppermint Pretzel Slims!  They are creamy coated pretzel with peppermint bits on them.  They are delecdtable!  The perfect combination of sweet, minty, and salty!  Give em a try and let me know what you think?  Enjoy! 

Great News! Panera has a loyalty card!!!

So I took a friend to Panera for his birthday this past week and Lo and Behold (drumroll please) Panera has a rewards card program!  I already have a free smoothie just for signing up!  I love Panera at the holidays!  And in summer, and spring and the fall.  LOL  Their new holiday treats look amazing and is there anywhere better to sit by the fire and enjoy a hot bowl of soup and fresh bread?  I think not!    Yummmm. 

The Holiday Splendour begins... First up: Bathroom!

I love decorating with village trees - they help create that holiday feeling!

Since the Chicago area is under a winter weather advisory, my plans for finishing up the outdoor holiday lights have been squished.  Plan B - decorate inside!  I figured I would start with a room which I could finish in a short time - the bathroom.  I decided to stay within the color scheme of iced aqua, silver and white.  This was pretty easy considering Christmas is all about snow and silvery white winters.  Thought I would share some pics - I like the way it feels so icy - like walking into a winter wonderland.  (Except it is just a bathroom).  :-) 

Decals from Hobby Lobby!

These little trees were at the dollar store - so cute!

I love that I can remove the ribbon and keep this up through January.  

SNOW!  I love snow!  

I know this is last year's bathroom but hopefully it will look the same this year.  :-)  I have been busy doing my outdoor lights and displays since it has been so balmy for November.  But now we need SNOW!  (Fingers crossed).

Linked to:

(Click on the words - not the picture - haven't quite figured that one out yet!)  :-) 

Linked up to Wow Us Wednesdays at Savvy Southern Style. Over 300 ideas this week - get a big cup of cocoa and head on over!

Linked up to Feathered Nest Friday Holiday! Click HERE for amazing ideas. You'll be lost for hours! :-)

Linked up to At The Picket Fence Inspiration Friday - Great party!

WELCOME! My front porch facelift!

Once my garage door was done, it was now time to tackle the porch and front door.  My conundrum was whether or not to remove the railing.  Some people see wrought iron railings as a timeless classic and yet I felt it dated the house and constricted the space.  So I removed the railing and actually added a 4 ' x 4' cement addition to go under the stone wall.  I was thrilled with the difference it made.  After I stripped and stained the door the new darker color, I knew I made all the right decisions.  I was so very satisfied with the end result.  The railing?  It is in the backyard as a trellis for my clemaitis.  Recycle whenever possible.  :-)     Here is the BEFORE with the railing and tired, ugly landscaping: 

Here is the AFTER with a much cleaner and polished look!  I cannot wait to decorate it for Christmas!