2011 Makeovers

I wanted to share a few of my favorite DIY makeovers in our home during 2011.  My goal this year was to lighten and brighten our home.  We have tall pine trees all around so at times we don't get a ton of natural light. We've taken down as many trees as we could within our property, but that's about as good as we can do.  Eliminating some of the dark and crazy colors in this 1980's built-house and adding clean, crisp white paint to trim and wood in many rooms has helped tremendously.  Here are two examples...

In the photo above of the wet bar in our family room, I went ahead and painted the entire cabinet Benjamin Moore's Super White (told you I wanted crisp, bright white!:).  We also changed out the knobs and painted the wall beside (kind of hall between the kitchen and family room) with Rustoleum Chalkboard Paint in black.  The chalkboard paint has been one of my favorite additions this year as the kids, and visitors big and small, stop by to leave their mark. My daughter and husband even practice math problems on the wall for fun! The granite and new color were additions from years past.


In the dining room, we changed out the light fixture to this pretty, reflective one from Pottery Barn called Camilla, painted all the trim in Super White and the walls Benjamin Moore's Monroe Bisque.  I also painted our old, wood and black kitchen table white and purchased the bench to add more seating and room to walk.  Finally, I sowed panels for each window with a fabric bought at Jo-Ann fabrics. 

There are a few quick overviews of makeovers from 2011.  I'll show some more with you in the coming weeks! I am going to link this up to Rhoda's linky and Savvy Southern Style...see you there!

Restoring Order

January is National Organization Month, and I know why! The house is a mess...toys without a place to live, dishes and laundry piled high, holiday decorations feeling like they're adding clutter.  I've been cleaning ever since we got home from my parents last night - going through the kids books, old toys and the closets to make room for some new things and to feel just a little more in control of the place.  I even managed to add some hooks to my son's closet door today.

The best thing that came in the mail was my 2012 Weekly Planner.  Yippee! If you haven't gotten one yet, check out www.SarahPinto.com. She has the cutest planners. I got the striped one in the middle - a bit of a nautical feel I thought. They're a happy little gift I give myself each year. :) Hope you enjoyed the holidays and are restoring order in your own household faster than I am here!

 

Merry Christmas to All!

The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree from Our trip to NYC in early December!

A Dock Decked Out for Christmas

One of my favorite sights around town during the holidays are the Christmas trees perched at the end of  docks.  Here's one we passed tonight on our way to a caroling party for the kids.

 

Some of My Favorite Christmas Decorations

We have a few Christmas decorations that have become very special to us all.  The first is a German Christmas Pyramid my parents bought for me when they were living in Germany back when I was in college. What I love about it is that it isn't some commercial decoration. It doesn't have lights or sound or a battery.  It's simple candles at the base, a nativity scene in the center and it all spins from the heat generated by the candles that reaches the propeller at top - or whirly-gig as my family has termed it!  At my three year old's request, we light it every time we eat - even breakfast. And they've even asked about the nativity scene that is at the center of it all, which I think is nice.




The big count down to Christmas happens at the advent calendar we bought at Target a few years back.  I've filled each day with small toys, candies or stickers. They run down to each morning to open and are actually learning to take turns (for the most part), each opening it every other day.

 

Finally, one of the best parts of the holidays is all the great Christmas cards we receive! I used to just tuck them away in a box until last year when I found a way to display them throughout the season - something beyond taping them to the wall! The holder we have is from Pottery Barn, but it looks like they no longer carry it. I did find the same one here on Amazon in case anyone is interested!

 

You better be good...

Our elf has been back for a few weeks now - I won't even tell you his name, as he is named after a boy in my daughter's class!  Each day he watches over the children to make sure they're being good, and every morning he returns from reporting back to Santa.  I do have one word of caution to tell your Elf when he's looking for a place to perch for the day ...do not to hang on a chandelier light bulb! Ours now has a burn mark to prove it - and I think we're all pretty lucky that is all he got. Things could have been rather traumatic! Since then he's stuck to safer territory.  Hope you're all enjoying getting ready for the holidays as much as we are! :)




Teacher Gifts

I always rack my brain for teacher gifts. I've done gift cards to Barnes & Noble, Target, flowers, even a bottle of "Mommy's Time Out" white wine for the preschool teachers at the end of the year. Not sure if that was appropriate or not - at least it was useful though! :)  I hate to give the millionth mug, pen and the like. This year we have the bus drivers to think about as well. I was in Christmas Tree Shops and spotted these adorable little monogrammed bags for less than $3 each and thought they'd be perfect for a poinsettia or baked bread.  We got them for all the preschool teachers and the bus driver.  The kindergarten class is doing a class gift, of which I'm in charge. I still need to figure out exactly what that is going to be!



Food for Santa's Reindeer

Last year my daughter made Reindeer Food in her preschool class to sprinkle outside on Christmas Eve.  We've always left cookies for Santa, but until then I'd never even heard of food for Santa's reindeer. She was so excited to do it...so this year we made our own and a bunch more as gifts for our friends.  We have a cookie decorating party this afternoon so we have bags put together with Reindeer Food for all.  I found a great free printable to use as the tag online and simply affixed it to a treat bag we'd bought at a party store.  Inside you just include a half cup of oatmeal and sprinkle some red and green sprinkes (supposedly the reindeer's favorite!) Makes for a cute, easy and inexpensive gift for the little ones!







A Coastal Christmas Tree & DIY Starfish Ornament

When we moved near the beach it was the perfect opportunity to add a coastal feel to the holidays through our decorations. I've gone a bit starfish crazy in past years with them on the wreath, mantel, tree and centerpieces. This year I've toned it down - just the tree and mantel are decked out in starfish.  I purchased a bunch of them online last year and simply used a hot glue gun to attach ribbon and make them into ornaments we can use year after year.  So easy! Here's the finished product...




We also used burlap garland and a simple white tree skirt this year to give a natural look to the tree.  Of course we put pretty much every ornament we own on the tree - the kids wouldn't have it any other way! Is it possible to use too many ornaments? The more the merrier I say!

Christmas Card

It's here! Our Christmas cards went out to friends and family today.  It was a photo we took at the cranberry bog by our home around harvest time. Here are a few others we captured that day. You never know when exactly they're going to harvest so we were lucky to catch it this year. Like something out of an Ocean Spray commercial!




House Tour

Our home was built in the late 1970's. Previous owners had updated it in the 80's adding wallpaper- to almost every room, dark green paint, etc.  There was a lot of work to be done to unify the look and brighten the house.  It was many weekends of de-wallpapering and painting - and one major kitchen overhaul.  It continues to be a work in progress, but today feels like our home.

Kitchen

Dining Room

Office

Family Room


Baby's Room