Adorned Mantels

I apologize for the lack of posts lately, everything gets a little crazy around the holidays :)!  Well, I'm sure everyone is starting to think about their own Christmas decorations and entertaining, so I thought I would share what I did over the past couple days for our decorations

This is my mantel in the family room!  This is very simple and inexpensive.... I found 9' garland at Old Time Pottery for $1.99 a strand.  I twisted two pieces together to make the garland look more full.  I found the ribbon (make sure you purchase ribbon that has wire in it!) also at Old Time Pottery for $0.47 a roll!  From this picture you are not able to see, but I wrapped white christmas lights around the garland before putting up the ribbon, so at night it lights up your whole room!  I used magnolia branches from our big tree out back and did a little styling with my horse heads! I purchased the wreath at the same place (Old Time Pottery) last year on sale, I believe I paid $5.00 and used left over ribbon from last year to make the bow!

This is from the living room.  This was a much more thought out design.  I absolutely love hydrangeas, I grow them in the backyard, I had them in the wedding and I can find a use for them in any situation!  I found these dried hydrangeas, again, at Old Time Pottery.  The most difficult part of putting together a mantel decoration is doing the darn ribbon!  It takes forever to place it just right.  Thankfully, I had my aunt come over and help me place the ribbon!  She is VERY talented!

So here is what I have completed so far... I would love to see some pictures of your Christmas decorations!

CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS = $0.00

I'm always looking to save a buck :) Tonight, when I pulled into my driveway, I noticed how beautiful and green my magnolia tree and Holly trees were among the other bare trees. I decided to not let these go to waste....

Remember those champagne flutes I got at the estate sale?

Just wanted to share with you all a quick and easy way to spruce up your house for the holidays without spending a dime!

Living Room Woes....

Remember me posting this picture???

This was the day we moved in all our stuff!!!  Well, this room only stayed this way for a couple of days, because I couldn't live with the black wood work!  I chose to go with a very neutral color for this room because it only gets natural light for a couple hours a day, so I wanted to keep it light.

Here is the room painted with a light yellow/beige and my curtains.  I think curtains make such a difference but they definitely leave damage to your back account!  I decided to get linen pre-made curtains for cheap and then add on my own trim (with fabriglue!!) It was really easy and it makes the curtains look more tailored and custom made.

I was really concerned about what to do with my TV, I was ready to get rid of my husband's "TV stand" that he owned from college but I knew that buying an armoire would not be possible!

I was handed down a pie safe when we moved in, and I have to be honest, I wasn't very excited about it... It was all wrong, wrong wood, wrong lines, wrong look altogether... well I started looking at the pie safe in a new light when I realized that buying an armoire was not possible.

Look how it turned out!

I have to give credit where credit's due to my handy dandy husband!  He basically sawed off the back half of the piece of furniture and shoved the TV in there... there is not a centimeter to wiggle!  Then he build a back for it so you don't see straight through at the top!

I found the two pieces of luggage on top at a local consignment store and bought books at Goodwill for $.25!  It just needed a little styling on top (thanks to my sister) to pull this piece together!

As for the plans for this room... I'm not to thrilled about my fireplace arrangement, in fact I HATE the black insert with the brass doors, I'm currently trying to beg my husband to try to pull it out!

Here is the start of my collection of Juliska on the back wall... I'm hoping to find an INCREDIBLE mirror to place in the middle of my arrangement and fill the wall... OR I could talk my husband into building me sophisticated bookshelves along the wall????? ;)

Equestrian Pieces

Living here in the bluegrass state, we pride ourself in the history bourbon, basketball and thoroughbreds!  I can't imagine living in this state and not appreciating the absolutely stunning beauty of horses.  They are so posed and noble and I think everything thats equestrian is classy!
Here are a couple things that I have, want or NEED!

I may use this fabric on a couch that is going out in the sunroom... this comes in red also.  I can't decided if this is too much or just enough and keep the rest of the room simple...

Here are some boots that I REALLY NEED!

You can buy these for $250 at Neiman Marcus... but I really don't have that kind of cash to spend.  I found these as a substitute on thelook4less.com but they just aren't the same... These are 34.99 and from Charolette Russe.

The bag below is on my list for Christmas!

You can buy this bag at my mother and sister's store Rabbit in the Moon.  I don't have a price for this one, but it is soooo worth the price ;)

Here is some fabric that I used to make some pillows in the room

I have some more things that I want to share on this subject, so I will keep posting pictures as I find them ;)

Animal Print

I am crazy for Animal Print!!!! I really love the way it looks in a formal room.  It takes away the stuffiness of a formal room and adds a big dose of glamour!  I'm thinking about getting a zebra or some sort of black and white rug in my living room

I think that bringing in a zebra print will break up all the antiques I have going on and make this room a little bit more fun.  What do you all think?

Take a look at how designers use animal print to put some personality into a room...

Another Estate Sale

I was off to another estate sale this weekend... Not as good as the week before, but I still found a couple things for cheap, cheap!!!
First off...

I bought these silver plate candlesticks for my dining room table.  I think they would be beautiful grouped together.  I found these for $7.00! 
Take a look at Pottery Barn's take on using Silver candlesticks!

I found these gorgeous crystal sorbet glasses for $2.50 for the set!  I can't wait to use these during Christmas to either serve desert or sorbet punch!

Eddie Ross from Eddieross.com uses them for a summer lunch...

Next, I found these really cute champagne flutes that are going to be part of my centerpiece for Christmas!  I bought these for $2.50 for a set of 8!

I'm hoping I can line these up along the table and put some peppermint amaryllis in them!!!

I think that would make such a statement!  I don't know if they will fit in the flutes... I may have to come up with another idea!  By the way peppermint amaryllis are great gifts to give to friends that you don't know what to get them!  They come back every year and are so cute as a group!  I just add one to my collection each year!

And one more thing to leave you all with... I loves these holly bushes for either side of my front door!

I found these at Lowes for $59.60... which is way to much for my front door decorations, so I'm on a quest to find cheap holly bushes!!

Have a great day!

Dining room

I am FAR from done with the dining room... really I haven't even started.  But, I have filled the room with at least a table and chairs...

Before.....

After!

I found the table back in the summer at a store "Eyedias" and it was there F.A.T. Friday special so I bought the table for a total of $120!!!!  The table sat in this room empty for a while, and then I ran across a set of six shield back chairs at the same store!  This particular store is a consignment store and they mark down their prices every week a piece stays.  I got these chairs on the last week and bought the whole set for $250!

This is the room that I considered doing the dazzling red that I found on Elle Decor's cover... I thought if I could paint the walls Benjamin Moore "Ruby Red" and get the chairs covered in a fabric such as

This is the only thing that I could find that came close to the design that I want.  But it has to be white and red and geometric such as this.  Or I could go with something a bit more fun...

But I would have to keep the room very traditional with all the accessories if I did this fabric...

Let me know what you all think!  And if you have any idea of where I could get similar fabric to the type on Elle Decor's cover let me know ;)

Heritage Antiques

I mentioned before how incredible Heritage Antiques is in Lexington, KY.  Let me first tell you a little history...
Heritage has been a Lexington staple for many many years.  It first started out with the owner's father running the store and was passed down to the current owner.   The building is an old horse livery but that piece of history had been lost for some time.  As the current owner, Zeff Maloney, tore down parts of the ceiling in this historic building, he exposed brick with stall numbers running down the length of the store.  After investigating further, it turned out that the whole length of the store has wondering skylighting and a bricked over entrance that used to be where the carriages would enter the building.
The store has every type of style, from english to french, dutch, modern ect..
Here are a couple things from the store...

The picture above has Amber, the manager of the store.  She is standing in front of one of my favorite pieces! The whole piece is inlaid and just drop dead gorgeous!

Oh and here is a piece I purchased there a couple years ago....

Look at that cute little puggle! ;)
Come visit the store to find pieces that you will never find anywhere else!  Each piece has its own history and believe me... this type of furniture never goes out of style!

Murder Mystery Party

In lieu of tonights episode of "The Office," I thought they had a great idea!  How fun would a Murder Mystery party be for you and your friends!!!!  I have wanted to host a murder mystery party for a while, but with the move and school it has been put on the back burner.  I found this website, Night of Murder Mystery, and it looks like tons of fun!

Look at these costumes that you and your guests can order

But who's to say you have to order these really expensive costumes??? Be creative and throw something together! (These costumes came from 'Murder in Sin City')This website offers many murder mystery scenes, so pick the one that is easiest for you and your guests to come up with costumes.  Look at the decorations that they suggest...

The website even gives you tips for setting up your house for the party and different ways to really makes your guests get into character!  Well, I'm off to plan a pretty crazy party ;)

Christmas Ideas

I can't stop thinking about Christmas!  It is by far my favorite holiday and I love all the beautiful decorations that come along with it.  I am on a mission to find the prettiest wreath to put on my front door, and I have come across a few ideas.  Let me know what you think...

Marthastewart.com

Southernaccents.com

marthastewart.com

And an idea for garland...

Looking at these pictures makes me want to start digging in my "Christmas closet" and start right away!

The picture below is my mantel at the old house... I am definitely going to upgrade it this year!

**** By the way, the two wreaths that I found on Martha Stewart's website have directions for making them at home!!!! Visit her website under the Holiday's Section to see all her great ideas!


*** Images courtesy of SouthernAccents.com and MarthaStewart.com