a winter display

i can't believe how many of you take down your christmas/holiday decorations so early! boy all that work and the day after christmas your tearing it all down. well if you come visit me, mine stays up until january 1st. at least.

with that being said, i did decide to change up one of my displays a bit earlier than usual. i don't know about you, but i always struggle with decorating from january through march. it's too early for spring ... i'm not really into valentine's decorations ... and all the sparkle and color is gone from christmas ... no wonder people get cabin fever (well those of us that live where the temperatures are below freezing and where there is snow on the ground six months of the year.)

anyway, you remember my christmas dining room display?

well, i cleared the decks, put on my thinking/decoration cap and created a seasonally appropriate display.

last year i bought several bags of those scented pinecones at 75% off at walmart. so i busted them out and used them as my inspiration.

what do you think? 

i filled the glass globe jars with pinecones and tied on a metal snowflake with some twine.

 i scattered some more pinecones around. (love that big one!)

i think that wood tray type this was once used in a toolbox to keep screw/nails separated. found it at a flea market a couple years ago.

i then added some pine and white berries to the vases. 
seasonal without being christmas-y! i did it!

how do you decorate this time of year?

dear canon

 while i'm still not sure exactly how to use you yet.

i do know that i love you.

every time i hear the sound of the shutter closing i feel like i'm capturing a little magic.

and maybe i am.

thankfully you make it easy and wonderful.

although jax isn't quite sure what to think of you (he'll come around),

i'm enjoying you immensely,

and look forward to discovering all you can do.

loving this book

i may had said this before, but i'm really not a reader. i love books. love them. but i'm more of a visual kind of guy. but, certain books strike a chord with me and i've actually have been enjoying reading more these days.

so for christmas i got about five new books. all of which have been sitting in my amazon.com wish list for a year or longer. and the first booked i wanted to start reading was this one.

i'm not really sure if i can call myself a freelancer, but i thought i'd give it a read anyway. and i'm so happy i did. while i'm only a couple chapters into it (and i admittedly read some of the later chapters first) i'm loving it.

having left the corporate world i don't think i could ever go back to working for 'the man'. i love being my own boss. i love owning my own company. i love creating my own schedule. i love working from home. etc. etc.

yes, it all sounds magical, and it is, but there are things i struggle with .... keeping said schedule. not having a traditional paycheck or health insurance. staying motivated without becoming burnout. minimal, if any, days off. etc. etc.

this book as already answered so many questions and has provide so much direction for how to be a successful freelancer. so if any of you have abandoned your 9 to 5 job to pursue your creative passions ... or for those of you that want to ... this is a must read.

i also appreciate the authors down to earth writing style. it's not like your reading a textbook that gives you fact after fact. it actually fun and enjoyable. i even found myself laughing several times.

anyway, i highly recommend it for all you entrepreneurs, freelancers and wannabes.

anyone else read this book? thoughts? other suggestions for books like this?

back to reality.

i don't know about you, but i'm not a big fan of christmas on a saturday. it seems so rushed and quick.  right? i can't believe its over!

if you celebrated i hope you had a wonderful christmas! i know i did. santa was very good to me. i did get my sewing machine. yay! and lots of fun accessories.

i'm so excited to pull it out of the box and start learning and investigating! but (un)fortunately i'm really busy this week so i don't think it will be happening until this weekend or next week. i need some room to spread out. my goal is to make a set of curtains before my mom finishes a set of curtains she's been working on since the fall. think i can beat her?

i also saved up some money (and with some added christmas funds) i was able to purchase this.

yep. a new camera. i'm literally peeing my pants with excitement. according to ups.com it arrives tomorrow. so i'm frantically trying to complete everything on my to-do list today so i can play with this guy all day tomorrow (in between checking in guests, cleaning rooms and working in the shoppe ... big sale this week!)

i honestly probably shouldn't have bought this camera as it's not necessarily a 'need' in my life right now. but after the craziness of the past couple months (and year)... and sadly no break to speak of over the holidays, i feel i more than deserve it ... and i know it will be money well spent.

oh, and i also found the coolest camera bag.

beautiful, right? i wanted something that didn't look so much like a camera bag. i couldn't find it for sale anywhere in the states, so mine is shipping (free) from south korea. it's not going to be here for a couple weeks. but i don't mind waiting.

i got a bunch of other goodies that i'm sure i'll share over time. and even though all my gifts were great, i was honestly most happy for some much needed family time. lots of yummy food. a couple glasses of wine. and lots of peace and joy. i hope you and yours were able to enjoy much of the same.

merry & bright

the best way of spreading christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.

just a little post to wish you all the merriest of christmases and happiest of holidays! i hope you find joy and peace and laughter this holiday season.

love you all! merry, merry christmas!!!

i made a sheet music wreath

oh! i've just been so excited to share these pictures, but haven't been able to until my sister-in-law recieved her gift. my brother, sister-in-law and my nephews and neiece visited this past weekend for christmas. now i can finally share. so check out what i made....

ain't she a beautiful!? i admittedly got the idea from miss mustard seed. i'm sure you've heard of her? if not check out here ah-mazingness here.

miss mustard seed mentioned she would be be posting a tutorial and when i saw books of antique sheet music at this shop in state college pa, i knew this make a great gift.

i'm still patiently waiting to see miss mustard seeds tutorial, but needed to find some others in the meantime. so i did a search and found a couple. i loosely used this tutorial and this tutorial with changes/techniques of my own. which, in the end, i'm glad i did because i like the way mine turned out a bit better (not to toot my own horn [well, maybe a little]). and while i don't have pictures of the process (i made this late at night) i can try to explain.

for the form, i just used a piece of really sturdy cardboard i cut in a doughnut shape. thankfully i had to do a lot of online christmas shopping and had plenty of boxes to choose from. all the music sheet cones were wrapped individually. for the outer most cones i used a full sheet. for the inner cones i cut the sheets in half.

once i got the hang of making all the cones the process went pretty smooth. it did take me multiple attempts to figure how to wrap them to look exactly the way i wanted. this is a pretty good explanation. i ended up just doing it on a flat surface. the whole twirling in mid-air this was not working. and keep in mind, the older the music the harder it is to roll as it tend to tear.

i set a glass in the middle of the cardboard wreath form as suggested to maintain a perfectly round shape in the middle. i laid everything out first to ensure i had enough cones. then i hot glued it all together.

what do you think? love it?

if i can get my hands on more sheet music, i'll defiantly be making more!

the dippy winner

yike! in all the hub bub of yesterday i forgot to post the winner of the dippy chick mixes. sorry!

so i'll keep this short and sweet but i wanted to get these dips in the mail in hopes that you can use them over the holiday.

chosen by random.org, the winner is #6 - jen from notes from the heartland!!

i'm actually a huge fan of jen and her blog. (and i think she may have even won a giveaway before.) lucky duck! she's actually renovating her kitchen and i'm pretty sure it's going to be ah-mazing! so head on over and check it out.

and congrats jen! i'm glad to know that these dips will have a lovely new home in your lovely new kitchen. ... that is until you mix them up and devour them! i don't think i have you address... when you have a minute shoot me an email with it and i'll get your dips out on monday.

have a great weekend everyone! one week until christmas ... i can't even belive it!

celebrate {a giveaway}

as promised, i'm hosting a little giveaway today.

when if first opened the gift shoppe i somehow stumbled across dip mixes from the dippy chick. it was love at first sight. so i ordered them and for the past couple years they've always been one of my best sellers. recently the dippy chick moved so her operations were closed for almost a year. i could have switched to a different company, but i loved the product so much i just couldn't.

well, i'm happy to say (after getting an email around thanksgiving with news that the dippy chick was back in business) these amazing mixes have returned.

you're probably wondering what i'm making so much fuss over. well, first, all the ingredients/spices are super fresh. and, there is no gluten, trans fat, filler sugar or 'yucky artificial stuff'. it's also no, or low in salt. nice, right!

to make a basic party dip you just mix it with sour cream and mayo. super easy! then ... (yeah there's more) inside the packet are even more recipe suggestions for herbed butter, bagel spread, french fry dip, hot pasta, roasted potatoes and more.

so in spirit of the dippy chicks generosity and good will towards me, i'm passing it forward to you. i'm giving away three of these delicious mixes. (three of my favorites actually)

Twisted Tomato Tornado
Gettin' Piggy Widdit
Don't Squat With Your Spurs On
(oh and i forgot to mention the names she came up with for each mix ... so fun... so genius!)

to enter, leave a comment below telling me about an upcoming holiday party that you are looking forward to attending. i want to get these out ASAP. So you have until friday at 12 noon to enter. i'll announce the winner shortly after that.

in other news i need to send a big huge thank you to bonnie over at going home to roost. first, she has crafted the most amazing online magazine ... celebrate. you MUST check it out. there are so many free downloads. it's bananas. bah-nanas!

she asked for submissions for the magazine, so i (like a crazy) person, sent her way too many, with a dozen pictures. unfortunately she wasn't able to use any in the magazine. which, after viewing the magazine, i totally understand why. i was a tad disappointed, but i did get the sweetest email from her today ... and she even posted about me. i'm filled with gratitude. some people are just so wonderful.

so take a moment to head over to her blog and say hello, check out her new magazine or to leave a comment on her little post about me. you won't be disappointed. she is constantly posting the coolest stuff. and her blog layout/design is just gorgeous!

ps.  so, you problem remember me mentioning a while back about doing a 12 days of christmas giveaway. well, for many reason, i'm unable to do it this year. i'm so sorry and feel like the biggest jerk. but a big thank to all of the blogger that volunteered and helped along the way. i really appreciate you time and support. and thanks to everyone else for understanding.

dare to ... deck the halls {part 2}

today is part 2 of deck the halls! i had a bunch of pictures, so i decided to split them up. these images are all from my dining room and of my christmas tree. (the peacock tree is in the gift shoppe). my tree is done up in jewel tones and gold. i started getting ornaments for this tree when i first graduated from college and started my first job in philadelphia. this is it's 6th christmas. wow, where does the time go? i've since added to the tree over the years, and love it more and more every year.

the tree topper is from pottery barn years ago. i got it after christmas at like 75% off.

a couple butterflies from pier one.

gold mercury glass ornaments. 'leftovers' from my gift shoppe two christmas ago.

a couple glass birds here and there. and of course more ribbon on the tree. my pictures don't do it justice, but it's a diamond pattern in the background with a gold sparkly lattice on top. when i saw it, i knew it was perfect. it's still one of my favorite ribbons. it my favorite part of decorating the tree.

i also have several of these big glass finial things i got when strawbridges was going out of business. they are my favorite ornaments. i actually have them wired on the tree to there is no risk of them falling off and shattering.

it's funny, and completely unintentional, but it matches my dining room perfectly.

on the wall behind the tree is a collection of mirrors and plates. i got the mirrors here, but it doesn't seem like they have them online anymore.

 i just switched out my other plates (which were white and silver) with these more festive plates from here. all of these pieces are hung with 3M picture hanging strips. they worked amazing for this application. no holes in the wall too!

and this is my built-in in the dining room, which i don't thing i've ever showed you before. the opening to the left leads to the kitchen where there's a door that leads to the back of the house.

i spotted these glitter trees and houses at wal-mart and thought they'd be perfect on top of my molding. and they were only a dollar a piece!? can you believe it. you may have seem them around the blog world. it seems many others thought they were pretty special too.

i added a couple glass balls to tie in the rest of my decorations and i think it works quite nice!

so, that's it! thanks for sharing my photos with me. what do you think?

and be sure to stop back tomorrow, i have a little giveaway that pretty tasty... here's a hint...

dare to ... deck the halls {part 1}

this week over at newlywoodwards, kim dared us to deck the halls. and i did just that! hope you enjoy some snap shops of my home! (oh, and for those of you that have been asking ... the bed and breakfast and my home are the same place. i live at the bed and breakfast. hope that clarifies) enjoy!

not sure what this is, but i love it! it's in my kitchen. i love it even more dressed for the holidays!

an old wringer washers in my hallway. adorned with mini jingle bells.

my staircase (note my freshly painted hallway. yay! and lack of curtains. boo!) white satin ribbon and vintage pink glass ornamants.

simple, but perfect.

 a sprig of pine here.

a cookie cutter tied with ribbon there.

more pine. more vintage glass ornaments. (i'm kind of obsessed with them this year.)

see me in the glass ball? peace!

 switched out some plain white places for some holiday plates in the kitchen. red pots with green moss balls sit outside in the transom window.

you'll even find a little sparkle in the most unexpected places.

more glass ornaments. what can i say? i'm in love!

part two coming tomorrow! and a tasty giveaway on wednesday.

and as always, more amazing inspiration over at newlywoodwards. check it out!