10 Creative Ideas for Valentine’s Day

Valentine's Day is just around the corner and I have a romantic round-up for you today of crafts, recipes and decor to inspire you during these dreary winter months. Christmas is packed away by now, and the days can be quite bleak (at least around my neck of the woods). Valentine's Day always feels like the first excuse to cheer things up with some pretty colors and sweet treats. Enjoy!

A Year of Mantel Vignettes

Today, I thought it would be fun to share all of the mantel vignettes that I created this past year. I love changing out the decor of our mantel season to season. I am still on my blogging break but got this post ready for you before, so you could enjoy it now!

Our mantel currently resides in our dining room and has for the past few years. We purchased it at an architectural salvage store right after we moved into our current home. It was painted dark brown then, but because the paint was literally chipping right off, we sanded it down and gave it a rough coat of white. Click on each of the links below to be taken to the individual posts to see all of the vignette details. I hope you enjoy this "mantel recap"!

Vintage Stacked Book Christmas Tree {inside our mantel}

Last month, I shared a project over on Jennifer Rizzo's blog for an unconventional Christmas tree that I set up inside our mantel. I literally thought this up on a whim one afternoon while the little ones were napping. I had no idea how much it would inspire people. The images of my vintage book stack Christmas tree are some of my most popular on Instagram, and I am constantly hearing people say how much they love it. This was even featured on Country Living's Facebook page and one morning I saw that the Junk Gypsies shared the image on Instagram (with credit to their Pinterest boards <—insert my sad face here).

Who knew? I certainly didn't when I set it up. I am resharing that post here today in case you missed it!

I am currently on a blogging break and will return in the new year!  I hope you have a wonderful Christmas!

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Merry Christmas and Glad New Year!

The month of December is flying by, and Christmas will be here before we know it. Which is why it is time for me to take a much needed break from blogging (and time spent on social media) to unwind, unplug and plug fully into my family and home life. So many great things have happened for me this year with this little blogging "gig" but so many more important things are happening here in our home as we raise two beautiful children.

I have a couple of posts scheduled that will go live during my break, but I will be spending my days getting lost in the wonder with my little ones, enjoying cozy nights cuddled on the couch watching Christmas movies (not gonna lie…this oneis my absolute favorite*) and striving to keep in my heart what this season is all about.

White Christmas Home Tour with Sweet Biscuit Paper and Press

I am so thrilled to share an amazing holiday home tour with you today! My dear friend Tina Lowery of Sweet Biscuit Paper and Press has the most impeccable style and an amazing talent for filling her home with special touches. She is a creative genius. She doesn't have her own blog up and running yet, but in the meantime, she has graciously allowed me to share her home with all of you!

Tina and I have never met in person, but have been online friends for several years. I truly consider her one of my dearest friends and love that we have grown so close through emails, texting and social media even though she lives in Florida and I in New York. Whenever I make it down to Florida next, meeting her will be at the top of my "Must Do" list! I hope you enjoy this little "visit" into her home as much as I have enjoyed putting it together for you. Every detail is filled with charm and love. Her style is mainly white with whimsical touches, a good mix of vintage and modern and creativity at every turn.

Vintage Inspired Hot Chocolate Station

If you recently came to take my holiday home tour, you would have seen the hot chocolate station I set up in the kitchen. If not, I am sharing the full details of it here today! I went with a vintage inspired theme and my whole family loves it. Although, I keep catching my kids stealing the marshmallows 🙂

This was the first year I set up a hot chocolate bar, but I think it will become a holiday tradition now.

DIY Feather Snowflake Ornaments

Last week, I was excited to participate with several other bloggers for a Trim the Tree Party hosted by Clean and Scentsible. I shared an easy diy tutorial for making snowflake ornaments out of feathers. I am sharing the original post here with you today. I hope you enjoy! I only made the four in the post, but am hoping to find some time to do more soon for our tree. I am loving how they look on it!

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Creating Christmas Party: Rustic Christmas {Holiday Home Tour Part II}

I am so honored to be partcipating in Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson's 'Creating Christmas' link party this week! She asked me to share my "Rustic Christmas" home with you, and I can't wait to welcome you inside to take the tour. And this is a party, so at the bottom, link up your own Rustic Christmas inspiration with us. I can't wait to see what you have to share.

Yesterday, Lynn from Shabby Story shared her "White Christmas" home. Did you see it? If not run over there and check it out…it is gorgeous!

Today, I will be sharing the second part of my holiday home tour.  I have all new photos to share with you. I am pretty much the queen of "too many photos" so I hope you are ready…If you missed my first, which was part of Jennifer Rizzo's 2014 Holiday Housewalk, you can check it out here or at the bottom of this post. There are tons of photos in that post too! I "chatted" a lot in that post, but I will try to keep it to a minimum today.

DIY Rustic Boho Twig Arrow Ornaments

A few weeks ago, I shared a tutorial for my rustic twig arrow ornaments over at Yellow Bliss Road. They ended up being quite a hit and were even featured on Country Living's website recently! Today, I am reposting them here in case you might have missed it. These ornaments were the beginning inspiration for our Christmas tree this year. I hope you enjoy this tutorial!

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20 Creative Ideas for Christmas {Sundays at Home No. 40 Link Party & Features}

Welcome to Sundays at Home No. 40! Today, I am excited to share an awesome round-up from last week's link ups: 20 Creative Ideas for Christmas. I think you are going to love all of these projects, decorating ideas, and recipes as much as I do.

At the bottom, please link up your latest home decor, DIY and craft projects, recipes and more that you have recently shared on your own blog as well as items offered for sale in your own online shops! I am looking forward to your inspiration!

Be sure to follow me on Instagram or Facebook to get tidbits of my life throughout the week. And to see what is inspiring me, you can follow my Pinterest boards :)

Making Spirits Bright in the Playroom {with Holiday Wall Decals}

I received product from Wallternatives™ in exchange for this review. All expressed opinions are 100% my own. Full Disclosure Policy.

If you recently stopped by for my holiday home tour, I mentioned some new additions to the playroom that are bringing all of us some Christmas cheer. I love adding lots of whimsy to my children's playroom, especially at Christmastime. When I happened upon the Boy Meets Girl Reindeer Removable Christmas Wall Decal Set available from Wallternatives™, I knew it would be the perfect touch. This set is from their new Jennifer Rizzo Designer Wall Decal Collection. You all know by now how much I love Jennifer Rizzo, right? Seriously, she is mega talented.
When I first saw this set on the website, I knew that my children had to have them. Okay, maybe I was a teensy bit excited for them myself. At Christmas time, I am still just a kid inside. 

Golden Fall Leaves Wreath

Several weeks ago, I shared an easy wreath tutorial over at Jennifer Rizzo's blog. I am reposting it here today! If you are buried in snow, like me right now, you would need to use faux leaves for this project, but it is still easy and festive. You could also change out the acorns and feathers for berries and pinecones to make it Christmasy if you like!

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Glam Christmas Throw Pillows {Holiday Thrift Store Challenge}

A few weeks ago, I invited several of my blogging friends to participate with me in a challenge: spend under $25 at a thrift store to create unique Christmas decor, either by giving the items purchased a makeover or including them in a creative vignette. I was thrilled when 29 lovely bloggers got on board with me and am so excited for the inspiration we have to share today! You will find all of their projects listed at the end of this post and are going to love the creative ideas these ladies came up with!

I came up with this challenge after a trip to the Salvation Army, when I found two gaudy, black Christmas sweaters. Even though I wouldn't wear them as is, I was drawn to their glitz and glam, which is when I decided they would make the perfect throw pillows for my holiday decor this season. 

 I am going for a sort of "eclectic boho glam cabin" look this year <—-if that could even be considered a style? Well anyhoo…

Free Printable Fall Subway Art

I am back again this week with another free printable! If you came by yesterday, you would have seen that I am very much in the holiday spirit with my printable Christmas village. But way back at the beginning of September, I was swooning for fall, and shared a free printable over at Yellow Bliss Road. I am so bad at reposting my guest posts here on my own blog, so this one is a little over due. I figured better late than never, however, since somebody out there might just want to print it off to use this Thanksgiving. 

DIY Printable Christmas Village {Anthropologie Inspired}

Today, I am thrilled to be participating with several other talented bloggers to bring you tons of early Christmas inspiration and free printables! I created a diy holiday village for our mantel and for you! Simply print it off, cut it out, and voila…instant Christmas town for you to display with your festive decor.

A few weeks ago, I saw this gorgeous ceramic village set from Anthropologie, and I fell in love with it. It is by a very talented artist and has a charming, illustrated style which I love…

Outdoor Thanksgiving Table Ideas {Fall Back Patio Tour}

Last month, I shared a guest post over at Yellow Bliss Road with my never-gonna-happen-in-this-lifetime-unless-I-move dream of hosting a Thanksgiving dinner outdoors. It is already very chilly here in Western, NY, so we will be spending the day indoors, but I wanted to share the post here anyways, in case it might inspire some of you who live in a warmer climate than I!

Rustic Boho Arrow Ornaments

Hey everybody! I am popping in today to let you know that I have a fun and creative Christmas ornament tutorial over at Yellow Bliss Road! I am making a lot of ornaments for our tree this year and these are the first batch…rustic boho twig arrows…

Head over to Kristin's blog to check out the full post and instructions!

Rustic Fall Table & Dining Room

Last month, I shared my fall home tour including a peek into my dining room decorated for the season. I am joining with several other talented bloggers today, sharing our Thanksgiving tablescapes, so I thought this would be a good opportunity to give you the full dining room tour. I am keeping things simple and the same this Thanksgiving. Be sure to visit the other talented bloggers at the end of this post for more inspiration and a big thank you to the very talented Bre of rooms FOR rent for hosting this event.
I don't think we will be having Thanksgiving at our house this year (it's kind of nice when you can leave the cooking and the mess to someone else, right? {grin}). But we have been enjoying meals as a family at the table every night, and I am reading the book One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp and trying daily to find thanksgiving in everything around me. Even when the house is a mess, the kids won't sleep, and I have piles of laundry and dishes calling my name. There is still beauty to be found in each and every moment. They are harder to find some days, but I am learning that I can train myself to look for them, by recording them in my own journal of gifts.

Cozy Eclectic Fall Living Room

As promised, I am continuing to share more posts of my home decorated for fall. About a month ago, I revealed my fall home tour, but I wanted to share each space in individual posts throughout the rest of the season. Today, we are heading back into my living room for another look around at some of the details I didn't show previously. Hope you enjoy!

16 Creative Ideas for Halloween {Sundays at Home No. 33 Link Party & Features}

Halloween is almost here! We had so many Halloween related link-ups at last week's party that I put together a round-up of sixteen creative ideas for the holiday! There is something for everyone here, even if Halloween isn't your thing. Lots of inspiration, whether you like spooky or sweet!