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I needed a little Christmas…

December 15, 2014 by Cynthia Leave a Comment

Glittery little wreath ornaments on an old, mottled mirror.

Getting in the Christmas spirit has been a little hard this year. I am firmly ensconced in what I affectionately refer to as the size 7 shoe box apartment while the renovation is going on.

About the only thing I could think of to make me feel a little better about it was to do some nominal decorating for the holidays. Something that was enough to make me smile, but didn’t require a lot of effort and could be accomplished on a small budget.

I hope you find some inspiration.

Always,
Cindy

A pensive looking Samantha curls up on the bed for a nap.

Little Annie in her favorite spot.

Simple ironstone basin set on top of a fresh greenery wreath.

Vintage, hand blown ornaments in a wire basket, setting softly on a wreath on my coffee table.

A lovely mid century lamp on an antique textile with a lovely holiday candle for aroma and ambiance.

Keeping it simple with a wreath hung above the bed.

A little nook in my apartment with a simple wreath, some candles and a lovely quilt with lovely festive colors for some contrast.

Filed Under: Holiday and Seasonal, My Home, Uncategorized Tagged With: antiques, christmas, cottage, country, decorations, fresh, greens, holiday, white, wreath

The Christmas Haus 2013

December 15, 2013 by Cynthia Leave a Comment

Fresh Greens in an Enamel Pitcher

I make a promise to myself every year: I pick a weekend to do my decorating, inside and out and what doesn’t get done on that weekend, doesn’t get done. This was the first year I kept that promise and it is largely because I kept things simple: fresh greens tucked here and there, a smattering of twinkly lights, my favorite Trapp Holiday candles and a few groupings of my favorite vintage ornaments. I found it refreshingly stress free…and that really was the point of the plan. Now I can coast and focus on baking!

When the weather improves, I’ll share photos of the exterior. For now, here are some vignettes from inside my home.

I hope your find some inspiration.

Always,

Cindy

xoxo

Winter quilts on the linen press are yummy!

The Christmas Mantle

Samantha’s toy Lamb Chop

Quilts with pillow covers from Ikea wrapped like presents with green velvet ribbon.

Plain cedar wreath with candle light.

Lovely Samantha

Guest room washstand ready for guests and ready for Christmas.

The Christmas Kitchen

Christmas Centerpiece

Antiques, ironstone, vintage glass and fresh greens

Lab beaker with thick glass that diffuses the candle flicker

A well used antique candle snuffer.

Evergreens in old urns.

Filed Under: Holiday and Seasonal, My Home, Uncategorized Tagged With: antique, candle light, candles, christmas, cottage, fresh, holiday, house, lights, merry, tree, twinkle, white, wreath

The Christmas Bedroom

December 2, 2013 by Cynthia Leave a Comment

Comfy and cozy and all snuggled in on a cold winter’s day.

I try to put a little Christmas in every room and my master bedroom is no exception. I also try to make Christmas decorating simple. That means less stress putting it up and less stress dismantling it when the holiday season is over.

Some fresh greens and a lovely Pottery Barn velvet quilt found online for next to nothing as well as PB’s flax colored solid quilt. Together, both are very subtle but still give you the feeling of the season.

My dear sweet Annie has fallen in love with the quilt and photo shoot or not, she wasn’t moving.

I’d like to give a nod to Annie’s foster mother, Silvana. Compassionate souls run deep and carry heavy hearts, sometimes. I am grateful you went to such great lengths to rescue Annie from the streets and became her caretaker along with the many other dogs you foster. Annie fills my heart and my soul and I simply couldn’t love her any more than I already do. Thank you for that, Silvana.

I hope you find some inspiration.

Always,

Cindy

xoxo

Red, flax and with fresh greens in the background. Perfect holiday cheer and coziness.

Simple mini wreaths hung with a neutral velvet ribbon. White sheets with a flax colored quilt make the perfect pair.

Battery operated candles offer a great flicker from the outside looking in.

Very old antique cabinet with fresh greens. The green against the fresh white reminds me of evergreen trees and fresh snow.

The lovely faux red berries pick up the color of the red velvet quilt and keep that holiday pop of color near.

Filed Under: Holiday and Seasonal, My Home Tagged With: antique, barn, christmas, cottage, country, dog, fresh, greens, holiday, merry, pottery, pottery barn, quilt, rescue, velvet, white

The Days Ahead…

May 12, 2013 by Cynthia Leave a Comment

Christmas Pepperberries, now dried juxtopposed against the shiny mercury glass.

Christmas Pepperberries, now dried juxtaposed against the shiny mercury glass.

Please forgive me, I haven’t posted in a while. Simple explanation…I had company for about three weeks and I started a new job. Roll both of those together and it leaves nary a moment to do any kind of blogging. But here I am, in the first weekend when I can breath a little bit. It is such a lovely day, all I can think about is green grass, hydrangeas getting ready to bloom and in general, looking ahead.

Last weekend I spent cleaning from top to bottom. This weekend I can take some time to pay attention to the details like changing out my Winter vignettes for something that says Spring. The dried pepper berries with mercury glass arrangement is just such a thing. Pepper berries have gone by the wayside, mercury ornaments are placed in a wire bowl someplace else and both are replaced with lovely, white blooms.

Something simple makes me very happy.

I hope you find some inspiration.

Until next time,

Cindy

Pepperberries and Mercury glass…the bridge between Winter and Spring

Replaced with simple white blooms. An easy change with great impact that welcomes Spring.

Filed Under: Before 'n After, Holiday and Seasonal, My Home, Uncategorized Tagged With: antiques, blooms, cottage, fireplace, fresh, mantel, mantle, spring, white

It’s the little touches at Christmas…

December 23, 2012 by Cynthia Leave a Comment

My wonderful friend, Pat, sent me these pictures of her amazing Christmas creations. Two things inspired me when I looked at the pictures. The first thing would be the utter simplicity of each arrangement. There isn’t an item she used that most of us can’t reach into a holiday storage box or cabinet and grab: a tray or flea market vase; random ornaments, candles, decorative candle holders, etc. The addition of simple greens fills in the negative spaces and completes the look. The greens can be boxwood cut from a common yard hedge or a quick grab from the floral stand at any grocery store.

The second thing I love is the “V” tag. It is such a personal and easy touch and can be designed and printed from any computer program.

With only a day or two before the holiday, here is a simple way to beautify any table top in your home.

Thanks, Pat!

I hope you find some inspiration.

Cindy

A simple decoration.

Holiday Splendor.

Filed Under: Holiday and Seasonal, Projects, Uncategorized Tagged With: arrangements, christmas, finds, flea, fresh, greens, holiday, market, ornaments, table, tag, tags, top

Walking in a Winter Wonderland…

December 9, 2012 by Cynthia Leave a Comment

Winter’s Blanket.

Do you think it is possible to have a Winter Wonderland without snow? I hope so. Christmas this year is a Winter Wonderland with simple touches.

Let’s start with outdoor seating. On a limited budget, working with what he had on hand, designer, Vince Maggio made the simple decision to move my summer wicker seating from the porch to the the front lawn. The crisp white is the perfect foil for the abundant greens and reds we used for the decor.

Seating group, vintage side table painted shiny red for contrast, vintage water can with fresh holiday greens and a sparkly ribbon were the starting points. We then took an odd urn, added a small table top tree from Lowe’s (at a meager $12.50) randomly adding fresh winter red pepper berries (artificial natural decor works just as well) and a vintage camp blanket along with a french grain sack pillow completes the picture.

Take a seat. Any time. Enjoy friends, family and neighbors. Cold weather or mild temperatures…gathering together will keep you warm.

I hope you find some inspiration.

Merry Christmas.

Cindy

Decorated or Unadorned…appreciate the simplicity.

Add fresh pepper berries and it’s not too fussy.

An invitation to relax and enjoy the day.

A blanket for warmth, surrounded by loads of vintage and the natural.

Thank our sponsors by giving them a visit. They have made these Christmas ideas possible.

GOOD LOOK, Inc.

Filed Under: Holiday and Seasonal, Projects, Uncategorized Tagged With: antique, berries, berry, camp blanket, can, christmas, cottage, decorating, fresh, greens, holiday, lowes, maggio, outdoors, pepper, simple, vince, vintage, watering, winter

The Christmas Cottage

November 25, 2012 by Cynthia Leave a Comment

I didn’t post last week, I have just been extremely busy getting ready for the Christmas Holiday. This year, our local Lowe’s here in McKinney is sponsoring my house for Christmas. The manager, Brian Washburn has been extremely generous and accommodating by providing us decorations to support our design. When I say “our” design, it really is the vision of my good friend, antique dealer, merchandiser and designer, Vince Maggio of GOOD LOOK, Inc..

He designs, I execute. As such, it has been very busy.

This year, it is all about simplicity. A Very Simple Christmas.

We’ll have more pictures in my next posting, but for now…here is a sneak peak: