#also vintage knits would be fun in more colors that are more true to vintage times

[im-a-freaking-joy]

HEre is an incredibly niche pet peeve I’ve discovered that I have and im going to rant about it 

so i’ve recently gotten into vintage knitting thanks in large part to retro claude on youtube, she makes great content on vintage clothes and how she manages all that with her disability, its very helpful and nice and i have learned a lot! one of the things being that in a lot of vintage patterns for knitting, (1930′s and 40′s specifically) the yarn used is a 3 ply yarn. Now in modern day, the vast majority of our yarn is 4 ply. 4 ply is heavier and thicker, so if you’re working from a pattern your gauge will be off and it wont fit right unless you do a whole lot of math. 

However! although it is not usually 3 plies (strands of fiber that get twisted together, so 3 ply is 3 strands and 4 ply is 4, so on and so on) yarn for babies is usually very similar! It’s a lot less heavy than worsted weight 4 ply yarn, and some baby yarns are even 3 ply! they are also quite cheap and easy to find, as most 3 ply yarns are not very easily accessible. 

NOw heres wehre i get mad

BABY YARN IS ALL FUCKING PASTEL

not only is this infuriating for me as a knitter who wants my beautiful jewel tones and rich earth tones and dark greens and bright fun colors, its also not great for babies cause guess what???

BABIES CANT SEE FUCKING PASTEL

so many baby stuff is brightly colored *on purpose* so they can learn what color is. Toddlers who live in a minimalist beige/pastel house color in browns and greys cause THATS WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE!!!  so in conclusion, please make more baby yarn that is not pastel because pastels are nice on occasion but not all of the time and I want more soft light cheap easily machine washable yarn in colors I will actually wear

#knitting #vintage knitting #this is so niche im sorry #i also havent fact checked the whole babies not seeing pastel thing so if that is wrong that's my bad #but like even if babies *can* see pastel? #I think babies deserve more colors than the same shades of blue and pink and yellow and maybe a purple with a little more saturation #look i dont plan on having kids #at least not for a very very long time #but if i did have kids im not wrapping that bitch up in ANOTHER soft magical unicorn blanket uwu #you better believe that will be a soft magick unicorn blanket but the type of unicorn with the lion's tail and the beefy hind legs #and the earth tones and the damp smell of the forest? #also vintage knits would be fun in more colors that are more true to vintage times #and also my preferred color palette

[yodawgiherd]

Night out

Rating: T

>>>Read on AO3<<<

I know this chapter is kind of short, but I promise that I will post the continuation of it soon, already got it all figured out. ;)

Enjoy!

Out of all sounds, he could come home to, woman’s scream would not exactly be Eren’s first pick. Confused about the source of the ruckus, he took off his coat and entered the living room, trying to locate and possibly defuse the situation before any furniture suffers the consequences of Mikasa’s wrath. She didn’t get heated often, but when she did, the strength with which she could throw, or smash things was terrifying. He saw her now, sitting on the couch in front of the tv, staring at the screen with murderous intent in her eyes. The cause of her anger could be seen now, as the large screen was carelessly brandishing the “you lose” words, proof of her defeat in the Tekken round she apparently just finished. Slowly, as if he was approaching a dangerous animal, Eren shuffled closer, sitting down next to her and clearing his throat.

“Lost a game huh?”, he asked, prompting her to laugh.

“A game? No. I’ve been losing for the last hour.”, she let out a defeated sigh, putting the controller on the floor and leaning back into the soft couch, “Dropped two ranks already.”

Yikes. From his own experience, Eren knew that losing sucks, especially a number of consecutive games where you get demolished and the opponent hits you with a big fat “EZ” after the match anyway. Dickheads. To comfort his crestfallen girlfriend, he put his arm around her shoulder letting her snuggle closer and leech off his body heat, as she always did. The shirt she was wearing was too big, as it was apparently formerly his, the neckline plunging low and exposing one of her shoulders, and that in combination with the fact that she for some reason wasn’t wearing pants couldn’t offer much warmth in the first place.

“You okay?”

Mikasa shook her head, still too devastated by her losses. And as the caring boyfriend he was, Eren could not let that stand.

“How can I cheer you up baby? Do you want something?”

That offer was finally met with some response, as she looked up, her pouty face looking right into his own, concerned one.

“I’m hungry.”, she stated, “Can we go eat somewhere?”

“Sure, do you know what you want?”

A bit of mischief sneaked into her features, and she shook her head.

“Not really, just someplace nice.”

Ah yes, the eternal question that occurs in every relationship. Where are we going to eat tonight? And it doesn’t matter that she says anything is fine because you know that everything you do, no matter what you pick, your choice will be thoroughly judged by a strict committee of one. And if found wanting, the consequences for the incompetence might be dire ones. Luckily for him, Eren had an ace up his sleeve, gained from an over-a-coffee conversation with Erwin, who pointed out an “amazing, modern and innovative” restaurant that opened recently, with the only drawback being that “it’s quite expensive there.” As money was not really a problem, Eren deemed it proper to use that ace now, while being confronted with the choice of today’s dining establishment, hoping that Mikasa will approve.

“A new place, huh?”, the offer itself at least intrigued er, as she was now chewing on her bottom lip with a thoughtful expression, manifested by her fine raven eyebrows being knitted together, “Did Erwin say what’s special about it?”

“Well, it’s a high-class society meeting place. If we’re lucky, we may run into a mayor there.”

The thought of that amused her.

“High-class? And since when are we high class?”

“We aren’t, but if we put on some fine-looking disguises, I bet that we can sneak in.”

As Mikasa was quite a sucker for adventure, that finally did it for her, and the place Eren picked was judged worthy enough of her presence for the evening. However, as he said, it was kind of a higher-class place, which meant that they actually had to get off the couch and go chance into something more representative. They would probably just stop her at the door if she tried going in her boyfriend’s stolen shirt and panties. Couldn’t forget that she wasn’t even wearing a bra, as she preferred to be free while staying home, both because it felt better and because it teased Eren. Win-win situation, really.

While being forced by society to wear a dress would annoy the teenage Mikasa, the current one didn’t mind it that much anymore. Especially lately with the modeling job, she found herself enjoying the feeling of wearing some elegant stuff, the very thing she used to despise. Maturity is a bitch. Lost in thoughts, she picked a dress and retreated to the bathroom to put some makeup on, again, an activity she was never big fan of, but spending so much time in the hands of professionals lately, she did pick up a thing or two and was secretly quite eager to put them to the test. First, she did her nails, black of course, as if that was ever a question, before moving on to the main part of the test, her own face. With a light hand, she added a few touches here and there, nothing too heavy, bringing out the best features of it. To add a bit of personal flair to it, and also because she knew that Eren liked it, she painted her lips with the usual black color, following it up with a bit heavier eyeshade. While the goth style of makeup was not as popular anymore, as she was told at the agency, Mikasa liked the aesthetic and didn’t see a reason to stop using it just because the majority did. Nothing wrong with being yourself. The dress she picked was dark, obviously and combined with black stiletto heels on her feet Mikasa was ready to go, being stylish while also staying true to herself, an ideal combination.

Leaving the bathroom, she could see that Eren was also dressed in a fitting suit, sitting on the bed and fumbling with his tie. He did look up when she entered, however, following her with his eyes as she crossed the distance to where she kept her modest collection of jewelry.

“You look amazing.”, he commented, making Mikasa smirk as she was putting her earring on.

“You’re not so bad yourself,” looking over her shoulder, she winked at him, “and it will be even better once u finish fixing your tie.”

With a chuckle, he returned to the task at hand, giving her time to pick a choker that went well with the dress, put on the metal cross from Levi and finally decorate her fingers with a few choice rings, fewer and not so massive that she used to wear during her hardcore goth period, but surely a bit more than other ladies would wear. Finished and ready to go, she was a bit surprised to see that Eren still hasn’t beaten his tie problem, frowning down at the unyielding cloth.

“Need a hand?”, she asked, doing her best not to sound too mocking. Just a little bit.

“My pride is telling me no.”, he sighed, “But fuck it. Yes, If you would be so kind, I would appreciate the help.”

Both to get closer and to fluster him a bit, she straddled Eren’s waist, leaning in close to inspect the mess he made. With deft fingers, Mikasa managed to undo the failure of a knot and retie it in the correct way, while he was left to just frown at her dexterity. And he was supposed to be the one with the magic touch. Right.

“So, ready to go?”

With her, he was ready for anything. Grinning, Eren nodded.

“Let’s go.”

The restaurant was truly a higher-class place, manifested by the fact that someone came to park their car, which reminded Mikasa of the time they spent at Tybur’s residence, the ball and everything that followed. That was fun. This time not forgetting to help her out of the car, Eren took gentle hold of her hand as they were ushered in by a well-dressed greeter, having apparently passed the clothing check. Maybe it was Erwin’s doing, or just that they were both quite known in the town, with Eren being the star surgeon and Mikasa’s rising fame in both the worlds of professional sport and modeling, but they were immediately led to a table and attended by a waiter, who wanted to know what the pair will want to drink. Mikasa, who spent half of her life drinking cheap beer or box wine didn’t even recognize any of the names on the wine list, so she hid her face behind it instead, letting Eren handle the mess to the best of his ability. However, he was no expert in the field either, but pointing at something that was named the least funny resulted in having a bottle brought to them, and after that the devilish waiter finally gave them a break, retreating and giving them time to pick their food.

“Ah yes, this is an excellent vintage,”, mimicking to the best of his ability the thing he saw on TV from time to time, Eren poured himself a little, circling it in the glass while nodding to himself, overall looking so snob that Mikasa had a hard time not laughing. Winking at her, he took a sip.

“Is it good?”, she asked when he fell silent.

“Well,”, he cleared his throat, “the flavor is quite fruity, and you can smell the earth from the…”

Mikasa kicked him under the table, giggling into her hand.

“Stop that! I don’t want to laugh this much!”

Returning her smirk, Eren shrugged, finally dropping the act.

“Look, Miki, it's surely wine, and it doesn’t taste bad. That’s about everything I can tell you.”

It really wasn’t half bad, and they made it about halfway into the bottle while looking at the menu, doing their best to pronounce some of the more exotic names and failing miserably, much to their amusement. The fits of laughter drew a few judging looks from the other patrons, but no one came to hush them. After placing their orders, kinda really having no idea what they just asked for, Mikasa took another sip of that arguably good wine, watching Eren over the rim of the glass.

“Babe, I have to ask you something.”

“What’s that?”

“I was doing a photoshoot recently, with the theme of like romantic and stuff, and I and a few other girls got to talking…”

“You are a gossip girl now?”, Eren’s eyebrows shot up, “Never took you for one.”

Just for a good measure, she kicked him under the table again and continued as if he didn’t say anything.

“We talked about our first kiss, and that reminded me, I never asked you who your first kiss was.”

“My first kiss?”, Eren repeated after her, “You want to know who it was?”

It was hard not to roll her eyes at him sometimes, but she made it.

“Obviously.”

“Well, if you want to hear that story, you have to share yours first. Who did you kiss first?”

Must have been the wine, but Mikasa felt her lips curl upwards into a flirtatious smile.

“It might surprise you, but It wasn’t with you.”

Leaning forward on the table, Eren’s green eyes met hers, and he smiled right back.

“Do go on.”

Judging that it was fair, him asking for her confession before giving his own, Mikasa drained her glass and set it back, throat wet enough to tell her story.”

“So…”

#eremika #aot #fanfic #snk

[dear-mrs-otome]

About Me Tag

Thanks @otonymous dear, for the tag!

the rules are:

1. Tag the person who tagged you

2. Answer the questions.

3. Tag 10 people

•How tall are you?

5′4″

•What color and style is your hair?

Currently giving it a rest from a few years of bleach and fantasy tones (usually purple or blue) so it’s a nice boring auburn, and I keep it mid-chest length!

•What color are your eyes?

Mostly green, with a bit of blue!

•Do you wear glasses?

When I read, or my eyes are tired.

•Do you wear braces?

No, that was years ago, but I do have the dubious honor of a permanent retainer glued behind my teeth. Hey...it beats wearing one to keep the teeth straight I guess?

•What’s your fashion sense?

I guess kind of boho? I like flowy things, patterns and prints mixed with solids, scarves and big funky jewelry, but with some restraint. Still gotta look classy - not like you just rolled out of a Woodstock documentary. I love shopping vintage stores, and I can forgo makeup in a pinch as long as I have my accessories on!

•Full name?

What more do you need than Mrs. O??

•When were you born?

It’s no secret I’m old AF. Let’s put it this way - I graduated high school in the prior century. I remember life before the internet, or cellphones, or CDs.

•Where are you from and where do you live now?

Born and raised and still a West Coast girl.

•What school do you go to?

That is safely in the rear-view.

•What kind of student are you?

I enjoyed school, and was always good at it, though I tended to procrastinate and finish things in horrible cram sessions last minute. Whoops.

•Do you like school?

I did! I still love discovering stuff, and try to challenge myself to learn a new skill on the regular. Never, ever stop learning.

•Favorite subject?

Literature, Creative Writing, Biology

•Favorite TV show?

I don’t really watch TV. At all. I guess just by dint of being the last show I have seen every episode of, I’d say Stranger Things?? Maybe Black Mirror too.

•Favorite Movie?

How can you pick just one?

High Fidelity. The Breakfast Club. You’ve Got Mail. Beauty and the Beast. Pride and Prejudice. Empire of the Sun. The Sound of Music. All the Thor movies. Star Wars. Blade Runner. 

•Favorite books?

Beauty by Robin McKinley is the only book I re-read twice a year, closely followed by The Blue Sword. And most anything else by McKinley.

It’s Problematic, but Heart-Beast by Tanith Lee is one I also re-read, and I will never let my out-of-print copy slip from my clutches. Dark and beautiful gothic horror about my favorite monsters.

A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan.

Anything by Ian McEwan is a must-read. Courtney Milan is my go-to for romance novels. Chuck Palahniuk. Neil Gaiman. Jane Austen. Ilona Andrews for my urban fantasy fixes. A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas for giving me my One True Love, Rhysand.

I’m currently working through The Tiger by John Vaillant and it’s shiver-inducing, delightfully good. 

•Favorite pastime?

Playing otome, writing, cooking! Hiking and bicycling, reading, knitting and sewing.

•Do you have any regrets?

Not particularly. I’m very much a ‘things happen because they’re meant to’ kind of person. If there were things about the past I changed, even the ugly bits, I wouldn’t be where and who I am today.

Maybe the usual - not saying the things that should have been said, to those who are now gone. Always remember that life is short.

•Dream job?

A writer. Or a chef.

•Would you ever like to be married?

Done it, second time is the charm!

•Would you like to have kids?

Too late to say no now, isn’t it? But yes, I have always looked forward to kids, and my three little bugs are my world.

•How many?

^^

•Do you like shopping?

I do! Clothes shopping is fun, but I will go absolutely nuts in a shoe store. And keep me out of the fabric or yarn or bookstores, or you won’t see me again for the rest of the day.

•What countries have you visited?

Born and raised in the US. I’ve been most parts of it, including Alaska and Hawaii, and to Puerto Rico. Mexico. Canada. France. England. Spain. 

•Scariest nightmare you have ever had?

I never remember my dreams. I can’t honestly tell you a nightmare I’ve had.

•Any enemies?

Life is too short for those. Live and let live.

•Any significant other?

Indeed. My husband is the closest thing to a real-life Shigezane you will ever meet, and he’s the light of my life.

Seriously. Get you a man that will still call you his bride, 10 years after your wedding day. <3

•Do you believe in miracles?

Not really. Good things happen to bad people, bad things happen to good people. The fall of the dice just sometimes works out better that way.

•How are you?

Grand! Loving the arrival of spring, and living for all the sunshine and flowers...and new otome routes. ;)

Tagging: @otomelin @sakura-daydream @ladyrinielbright I think lots of people have been tagged by now so if you read this and want to hop on, go for it!

#about me

[okaywowcool]

 hey guys! back again for another monthly favorites post, this time for july! read below the cut to hear some of my favorite clothing pieces, new shops, trends, and makeup and skincare items that i’ve used in this past month! 

you can also check out this link to read through my past faves! 

CURRENT FAVE PERSONAL PIECES

Plus Size Grid Print Overall Mini Dress - $24.90, available in 0X - 3XL

Not too long ago I picked up a few pieces from F21 (mostly out of a Strong fear that they would be going out of stock in the near future, lol) and this was one of them. The zipper feels sturdy with the metal they used (I was worried, since this runs slightly bodycon on a non-padded, average curvy body (if you’ve not read about how plus-sized models are commonly padded out to get the “ideal” shape or “ideal” fat distribution, check out this article here by Refinery29.) and the zipper is the functional closure of the dress. The dress has zero stretch, so I was a little concerned about something flimsy that I felt like would break eventually, but so far so good. I’ve worn it with a super cute beatnik type get up out to lunch and errands with my girlfriend (black turtleneck sweater, beret, and chunky black sandals) and felt super cute, but still a little self conscious just since the more bodycon silhouette is something I’m still not super confident in wearing, which is something I’m trying to get better about. So a big recommend! I’m a size 22/24 and got a size 3XL and thought that was perfect, not too tight, but still hugging my curves in a cute way. 

Plus Size Grid Print Tie-front Shirt - $19.90, available in 0X - 3XL

I have a serious problem finding button ups that are cute on me...I have a fairly large bust but smaller shoulders and it’s hard to find something plus-sized that isn’t either totally oversized and weird looking on me fit wise, or so tight there’s massive gapping between the buttons at the biggest part of my bust. But this button up really works for me. I’m not sure if it’s the slightly relaxed cut or the fact that it’s a crop, but it’s absolutely perfect...it’s rare you buy something online and it fits exactly the same on you as it does on the model, but this did and I was so impressed! This is definitely going to be a new staple in my wardrobe, as soon as it’s not too hot to commit to long sleeves.

I ordered a few more things that I haven’t had much of a chance to style/wear yet, but everything worked this go round which is pretty rare...this was very much me that day:

Surgeon General’s Dress - $35, available in XS - 5XL

I’ve been wearing a lot of my own stuff here lately, mainly because it’s so easy to throw on and and still be bold enough for it to feel like a Look, while totally keeping me cool. This dress’s print looks super bold from a distance, but y’all would be surprised to see how long it takes people in an office setting to actually find out what the print is of, since it’s so blown up it can read as abstract. The fabrication is also really good at keeping you out of the hot hot hot hell zone, and is super cute with a breezy sheer cardigan thrown on over it! 

FAVE NEW SHOPS

Avocado Bag, $40

I want to own pretty much everything in this entire store since I found out it existed just a few weeks ago, and if I didn’t have some self restraint I would have preordered at least 3 bags from here so far. Miju Miju is a cute shop full of bags that were originally intended for use as cute, unique ita bags, but they’re also totally cute to use to display your pin collection, or even just leave plain with the empty clear window showing the cute pop of lining color. The fact that they’re convertible from a crossbody purse to a backpack also makes them a literal dream for me, since that’s pretty much the only kind of bag I like to carry. They also have a discount code running right now for the preorder, you can use BOW7 to get $7 off one of these bad boys! I know I want the avocado, egg, and pink coffin ones all sooooo bad. 

Pastel Rainbow Shooting Star Necklace - $60

Petey Hana is an etsy shop with a lot of super cute hand painted jewelry, perfect for all kinds of kawaii fashion styles and also just bold statement pieces. I’m so in love with the obviously hand made look, especially with ceramic and polymer clay jewelry, because it just feels like there’s extra love put into it. Combine that with all the bright colors and I’m just in love with this whole shop! 

Strawberry Milk Cocktail Knit Sweater - $31

I’m not sure why it took me so long to realize that the Ester Loves You collab “Ester loves Chuu” was referring to a shop’s name and not just the cute Japanese kissing sound effect....but it took me until doing that cute request for rabbit purses recently for me to figure out that Chuu was indeed, a store. This shop is adorable and has lots of unique styles in it for super affordable prices. I can’t fit into any of it myself really BUT it’s still been a big inspiration to look at their photography and see how they’re styling their pieces! 

Walk the Line Striped Dress - $78, available in US size 10 - 30

I wanted to use this cute image from Fat Girl Flow, since it was Corissa’s IG where I first saw this shop as well AND because it’s so helpful to see products on non-models. Soncy is a really cute really incredible shop. Y’all know I’m not the biggest fan of the whole Fashion Nova curve look, it just never has felt very “me,” even though it’s a staple for many other plus-sized bloggers/influencers. Soncy feels like Fashion Nova’s classy older sister who has her own very successful etsy business selling fancy leather goods--which is not at all a bad vibe...one part hippie, one part mature, and one part sexy. Still a similar style, but there’s not as much emphasis on the whole Kylie Jenner booty body-con everywhere look, and things just look higher quality...they’re more expensive, but everything in the shop is available in sizes 10 - 30 and everything is miraculously under $100, which is just awesome. 

FAVE JULY SILHOUETTES

Pier Pursuits Cropped Jumpsuit - $64.99, available in XXS - 4XL

Right now, one of the silhouettes I’m obsessed with is super wide leg jumpsuits. This one was really the first one that sparked the intense love for me, the proportions are so unique and perfect and I love that these jumpsuits are starting to show more traditional dress like necklines...this one from ASOS curve does a similar thing which I really adore. 

Front Twist Flutter Sleeve Tee - $9, 0X - 3XL

Twist front crop tees (even the ones that are just from twisting a not in a normal tee!) are just such a look for me right now. There’s something very nostalgic about them, almost like how when tying jackets around the waist was coming back as a styling choice when 90s nostalgia started going strong, that makes me just super happy and it’s a natural type of ruching that is really attractive without looking kind of dated and old. It just looks good on everyone, truly. 

PRINTS & COLORS

Fluted Sleeve Mini Dress in Ditsy Floral - $51 // Infusion Cut Out Bralette in Vintage Floral - $52 // Ditsy Floral Ruffle Jumpsuit - $40

There’s something so nice and vintage feeling about a ditsy floral print, and I’ve been wanting to create some of my own patterns that mimic this feel for a while but still haven’t quite gotten around to it. It’s just such a nice subtle way to wear florals, a print that I tend to be really picky about since they can go ugly fairly easily or run the risk of looking dated or matronly depending (and I mean dated like...2008 versus a nice vintage feel) but ditsy florals just always look so cute and nice, too subtle to ever really be offensive and easy to transition from season to season. 

Daisy Street Cami with Peplum - $24 // True Stripes A-Line Skirt - $38 // Miss Selfridge Pinafore Dress - $56

i’m also just really feeling chambray this month, especially with a subtle white pinstripe. aside from chambray just feeling really lovely to the touch (bc i’m all about those textures y’all) it’s such a lovely soft approach to denim that feels so airy and perfect for summer. 

MAKEUP/SKINCARE

LIPHOP Ombre Lip Balm - $2.59 

I bought this little lip balm for real cheap off of aliexpress a while ago, in quite a few shades since it was so cheap. I’ve found that the darker shades are by far my favorite, though they don’t look quite as dark on me as they do in the photos. It’s very similar to just putting on a little chapstick--these just add a natural little pop of color for a fresh bitten look to the center of your lips while hydrating them overall. I like that it gives that popsicle stain look without the matte feel of some similar products, like Glossier’s Generation G and Colourpop’s Blotted Lip, or the actual commitment of doing a proper ombre lip look. 

Bliss Makeup Melt Jelly Cleanser - $12

This one is actually not one I’ve gotten to try yet (it’s sitting in my cart to be purchased as soon as my current cleanser runs out) but I wanted to include it on this list anyway because I’ve been wanting to try it for a while now. It’s supposed to be a really good dupe for Glossier’s Milky Jelly Cleanser, but has a smaller price tag ($12, vs Glossier’s $18) as well as coming with more product (6.4oz vs Glossier’s 6oz). Last winter I was looking for a good cleanser that wouldn’t dry me out quite as much as my current one does. I’m currently using Tony Moly’s Peach Foam Cleanser, which I think is really lovely in a lot of ways--the foaming is fun, the smell is amazing, and it does really make you feel clean, but it dries my skin out sooooo much right now, even in the summer where I have a little more oil. It claimed to be moisturizing and gentle but I guess my skin is still just too wimpy to take it, and I’ve been looking for a change. This dupe is also rose scented, which I’m super excited about--I’ll be sure to tell you all how it is! 

so that’s it for july! look forward to seeing some of my highlights for august next month and feel free to let me know if there are any other categories you’d like me to add each month! <3 

#plus size fashion #plus size blogger #psblogger #july favorites #monthly favorites #fashion #july #kawaii #pastel #long post

[thehappyfeminist-22]

Okay, girls, let's talk about marathons. No, not that kind of a marathon – I'm talking about movie marathons! Movie marathons and sleepovers aren't just for kids anymore. People get together for Super Bowl parties and other sporting events, and this is no different. Why? When it boils right down to it, what is a sporting event and why do people have parties just to watch it on TV? Because it's something that they're passionate about and they want to gather with like-minded people to celebrate it. In that respect, movie marathons are no different; they can be opportunities for you and your lady friends to get together, socialize, share movies you love, and of course, eat. You can have an all-day marathon or stretch it out into a sleepover if you can all coordinate your schedules.

Now before we go on, I should point out that this post is aimed at mature teens and adults because most of the movies I recommend below are a little too mature or scary for most kids, except for the Disney movies.

You can have gatherings of friends, have a mom-daughter get-together, or just have moms if you can work out the logistics of all that babysitting and getting dad out of the way. These get-togethers can even be as small as two people (my mom and I do this all the time and it's no less fun than larger groups).

Every good movie marathon or sleepover has three main components: the movies, the activities, and the food. We'll tackle those one by one.

First thing's first: Pick your theme! Below I have a list of movies organized by theme. Of course, you can work out your own list; these are just suggestions pulled from my own movie collection.

Aliens: Paul My Favorite Martian Men in Black The Day the Earth Stood Still Signs War of the Worlds (the original) Dark Skies Independence Day Independence Day: Resurgence Super 8 E.T. Alien

'80s/early '90s: Footloose Dirty Dancing Tremors Pretty Woman Sister Act  Mrs. Doubtfire Robocop Gremlins My Cousin Vinny Ghost To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything The Birdcage

Halloween: Sinister The Nightmare Before Christmas Corpse Bride The Werewolf (from 1956, starring Steven Rich and Don Megowan) The Little Vampire Crimson Peak Only Lovers Left Alive The Haunted Mansion Silent Hill The Grudge Hotel Transylvania Frankenstein (from 1931) The Haunted Palace (starring Vincent Price) Paranormal Activity

Action/Adventure: Jurassic Park Jurassic World Journey to the Center of the Earth (the original) 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (the original) King Kong Kong: Skull Island

Fantasy/Medieval: Clash of the Titans (the original) Snow White and the Huntsman The Huntsman: Winter's War The Dark Crystal A Knight's Tale Alice in Wonderland (live action) Jack the Giant Slayer

Disney (I know everyone has a list of their favorites, so here's mine): Tangled Treasure Planet That Darn Cat The Sword in the Stone Monsters, Inc. The Great Mouse Detective Fantasia Fantasia 2000 Sleeping Beauty The Princess Diaries The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement Bedknobs and Broomsticks The Emperor's New Groove Mulan The Hunchback of Notre Dame The Brave Little Toaster Hercules The Black Cauldron Tarzan Robin Hood My Favorite Martian

Marvel: Captain America: The First Avenger Iron Man Iron Man 2 Thor The Avengers Thor: The Dark World Iron Man 3 Captain America: The Winter Soldier Guardians of the Galaxy Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 Deadpool Deadpool 2 The Avengers Age of Ultron Captain America: Civil War Black Panther Thor: Ragnarok

Vintage Horror/Suspense: The Werewolf (the same one mentioned above) The Day the Earth Stood Still War of the Worlds (the original) Dial M for Murder Frankenstein (the same one mentioned above) The Ghost and Mr. Chicken Night of the Living Dead Carnival of Souls House on Haunted Hill The Haunted Palace (the same one mentioned above)

Here's a list of other themes to pick from: Christmas Murder mysteries Sherlock Star Wars Doctor Who Supernatural Indiana Jones Harry Potter Studio Ghibli Jurassic Park Paranormal Activity Gravity Falls The Hobbit/Lord of the Rings Your favorite childhood movies Make a marathon out of your favorite TV show Veg out on your favorite true crime shows

The hostess can supply the movies or have each guest bring one.

Now on to the food! You can obviously have any type of food you want, but finger foods and snacks are typically best for these kinds of gatherings. They're quick and simple to make, they're portable, and they're miniature versions of regular foods that you can eat with your fingers – what's not to love?

I have decided not to include any recipes in this post because there are literally dozens of different ways to make the same thing. For example, you may decide to add additional ingredients to punch up the flavor, or you may need to substitute an ingredient to accommodate dietary needs or allergies. So here's a list of ideas that you can play with however you like:

Sweet potato fries Rice Krispy treats (they're so versatile because you can add food coloring or sprinkles to make them suit any theme) Meatballs, little smokies, or sliced Polish sausages in the crock pot with any sauce you like Pigs in blankets Finger sandwiches (so many types of fillings!) Egg rolls Sliders Pizza rolls Bagel bites Snack mix (again, so versatile because you can make your own and customize however you want) Cheese straws Tortilla roll-ups (also called pinwheels) Taquitos Chicken nuggets Hot chocolate Party punch (you can make a delicious basic punch using Sprite, pineapple juice, and any flavor of Hawaiian punch; you don't even have to freeze any of it if you don't want to – just pour it all in a big bowl!) Brownies (or brownie batter...seriously, no one is judging you) S'mores Cupcakes Buffalo wings And what marathon or sleepover would be complete without COOKIE DOUGH?

Another fun idea would be a chip-and-dip night. Each person brings a different kind of dip, and the hostess supplies the chips!

You can also make foods that are featured or mentioned in your movies. There are tons of Disney and Harry Potter recipes out there, Star Wars literally has its own cookbook, and if you are having a fantasy-medieval-type marathon, I highly recommend the World of Warcraft cookbook. The possibilities are almost endless! Have fried chicken and a chocolate pie if you're watching The Help. Have spinach puffs if you watch The Emperor's New Groove. Have a red velvet armadillo cake if you watch Steel Magnolias. You could even have Tang and Spam if you watch Kong: Skull Island.

If you want to take a break from movie-watching, here is a list of slightly more grown-up activities for you and your ladies to partake in:

Coloring Homemade spa treatments Do each other's nails Make friendship bracelets Crochet/knit (or make a game out of learning how to) Truth or dare Play Twister (it's not just for kids, either) Jewelry making Movie trivia Dance party Wine coolers and gossip (as long as everyone in your group is of age) Planning your next marathon!

#movie marathon #sleepover #slumber party #girls night #party food #finger food #Disney #Marvel #Halloween #Gravity Falls #Ghibli #Star Wars #nerdy #nerd girls

[hannahkevin40]

Designer Spotlight: Annie Lupton

#wehave #beautifuldesigns #enjoylearning

(This post, Designer Spotlight: Annie Lupton), was originally written and published by The Loopy Ewe. © TheLoopyEwe, 2021)

Today we have Annie Lupton, owner of Boho Chic Fiber Co in our Spotlight. She has beautiful designs, and I know you’ll enjoy learning more about her. Annie and her family live in Cape Cod, MA.

Corelle © Annie Lupton (try it in Knerd String Sport)

Loopy: Hi Annie! Thanks for being in the Spotlight today. How long have you been a knitter and who taught you to knit?

Annie: Hi Loopy! I have been a knitter since high school so about 18 years or so now. I initially learned to knit from a book and my latin teacher in high school taught me how to knit cables! I put it aside for a while and really started getting into knitting probably my last year of college in 2008/2009. I would knit as I did my laundry in the laundromat to kill time and on the T in Boston as I commuted to school at UMASS.

Boho Texture Triangle © Annie Lupton (try it in Jamieson & Smith 2 Ply Jumper)

Loopy: Knitting is a great pastime for those types of occasions, isn’t it? And productive at the same time. What is your favorite type of item to knit?

Annie: My favorite thing to knit is definitely sweaters, I feel like the design potential is endless and they are the knit item I most like to actually wear.

Vintage Damask © Annie Lupton (try it in Sandnes Garn Peer Gynt)

Loopy: I think it’s really wonderful to be able to knit the perfect fit, style, color and shape for sweaters. You can’t get all of that when you buy in stores. What is the most challenging thing that you have knit to date? Annie: I can’t think of one specific design that was challenging to knit. A good pattern allows you to take it step by step slowly, and I am self-taught so if there is a new skill to learn I usually can figure it out. Learning a new technique can be tricky, it took me some time to get the hang of brioche but like everything else I got much better with practice. 

Kerrytown © Annie Lupton (try it in Fibre Co Lore)

Loopy: Thank goodness for YouTube help videos, when we have to figure out the new techniques. When did you start designing? Annie: I started designing when I was pregnant with my son about 6 years ago. Back then I hand spun and dyed yarn that I sold at craft fairs. I had knit a couple shawls I designed to sell and people kept asking for the patterns so I wrote them up and my design career was born. I fell in love with designing and slowly my business shifted from making and selling yarn to designing!

Mindfulness © Annie Lupton (try it in Fibre Co Canopy Fingering)

Loopy: Equally, if not more challenging, for sure. Do you have a favorite pattern that you’ve designed? Annie: It’s so hard to pick a favorite design, they are all my babies! I really enjoy knitting colorwork designs like my Cacti Crop and more complicated designs like my Boheme Crop, but I tend to wear the simpler patterns more often like my Rays Crop and Puff Crop patterns. I guess crop tops are my favorites right now haha!

Cacti Crop © Annie Lupton (try it in Jamieson & Smith 2 Ply Jumper)

Loopy: Well the nice thing about crop tops – less knitting! What is your favorite part of your designing? And your not so favorite part: Annie: My favorite part of designing is dreaming up ideas and doing the actual knitting. I don’t really enjoy writing the patterns, grading and editing, that takes a lot of focus and energy and I like the creative part more! Thankfully I have a wonderful tech editor who helps me get my patterns ready to release.

Meara © Annie Lupton (try it in Stonehedge Shepherd’s Wool)

Loopy: Tech editors are worth their weight in gold. I couldn’t do what they do. Do you do this business full-time, or on the side? And is that hard? Do you have other jobs outside of pattern designing? Annie: I design full time now. I also have 3 young kids so it can be challenging fitting in enough work time with all my mom obligations, but I do what I can. Now they are finally all school age so in theory I have more time… But then covid came and that all went out the window as they have been home much of this year for remote learning. So I make use of weekends and nights to get work done as well.

Boho Romance Crop © Annie Lupton (try it in Malabrigo Arroyo)

Loopy: I’m glad you still get a bit of time to design. What a crazy year it has been. Does anyone else in your family knit? Annie: I taught my girls (7, and 9) to knit but they haven’t really taken to it yet, I hope when they are older they will want to try again and become my knitting buddies!

All Things Autumn © Annie Lupton (try it in Cascade 220)

Loopy: I hope they will want to, too! Are there other hobbies that you enjoy? Annie: Besides knitting I enjoy cooking vegan food, being in nature, walking my puppy and exercising. I cycle or run most days for my sanity!

Swanky Chic © Annie Lupton (try it in Uncommon Posh Fingering)

Loopy: Fun that you have a puppy to walk with.

What would be your favorite way to spend a day off? Annie: When you work from home and you have kids there never really is a day off haha! BUT if I had a true day off I would love to go on a daytrip with my husband, get some good food and enjoy nature. There would probably be some knitting too but no pattern writing or computer work!

Rays Crop © Annie Lupton (try it in Fibre Co Tundra)

Loopy: Knitting for the sake of enjoyment sounds like a good addition to a day off. Ok, last questions – Morning or Night person? Coffee or Tea? English or Continental? Solids or Multicolors? Annie: I am more of a morning person but I love a good night out, Coffee 100%, I prefer solid yarn solids. I actually knit kind of a combination of styles, I throw the yarn but with my left hand!

Retro Rings © Annie Lupton (try it in Cascade Heritage Sock)

Loopy: Thanks again for being with us today!

Annie is offering a discount for 20% off of on of her patterns from her Ravelry Pattern Shop. The code is: loopy (and is valid 3/5-12, 2021)

Happy Weekend, all!

Sheri

By: Sheri Berger Title: Designer Spotlight: Annie Lupton Sourced From: www.theloopyewe.com/yarn-shop/blog/2021/03/designer-spotlight-annie-lupton Published Date: Fri, 05 Mar 2021 16:00:00 +0000 source https://www.theloopyewe.com/yarn-shop/blog/2021/03/designer-spotlight-annie-lupton source https://victoriamark932.blogspot.com/2021/03/designer-spotlight-annie-lupton.html

[laylaanthony40]

Designer Spotlight: Annie Lupton

#wehave #beautifuldesigns #enjoylearning

(This post, Designer Spotlight: Annie Lupton), was originally written and published by The Loopy Ewe. © TheLoopyEwe, 2021)

Today we have Annie Lupton, owner of Boho Chic Fiber Co in our Spotlight. She has beautiful designs, and I know you’ll enjoy learning more about her. Annie and her family live in Cape Cod, MA.

Corelle © Annie Lupton (try it in Knerd String Sport)

Loopy: Hi Annie! Thanks for being in the Spotlight today. How long have you been a knitter and who taught you to knit?

Annie: Hi Loopy! I have been a knitter since high school so about 18 years or so now. I initially learned to knit from a book and my latin teacher in high school taught me how to knit cables! I put it aside for a while and really started getting into knitting probably my last year of college in 2008/2009. I would knit as I did my laundry in the laundromat to kill time and on the T in Boston as I commuted to school at UMASS.

Boho Texture Triangle © Annie Lupton (try it in Jamieson & Smith 2 Ply Jumper)

Loopy: Knitting is a great pastime for those types of occasions, isn’t it? And productive at the same time. What is your favorite type of item to knit?

Annie: My favorite thing to knit is definitely sweaters, I feel like the design potential is endless and they are the knit item I most like to actually wear.

Vintage Damask © Annie Lupton (try it in Sandnes Garn Peer Gynt)

Loopy: I think it’s really wonderful to be able to knit the perfect fit, style, color and shape for sweaters. You can’t get all of that when you buy in stores. What is the most challenging thing that you have knit to date? Annie: I can’t think of one specific design that was challenging to knit. A good pattern allows you to take it step by step slowly, and I am self-taught so if there is a new skill to learn I usually can figure it out. Learning a new technique can be tricky, it took me some time to get the hang of brioche but like everything else I got much better with practice. 

Kerrytown © Annie Lupton (try it in Fibre Co Lore)

Loopy: Thank goodness for YouTube help videos, when we have to figure out the new techniques. When did you start designing? Annie: I started designing when I was pregnant with my son about 6 years ago. Back then I hand spun and dyed yarn that I sold at craft fairs. I had knit a couple shawls I designed to sell and people kept asking for the patterns so I wrote them up and my design career was born. I fell in love with designing and slowly my business shifted from making and selling yarn to designing!

Mindfulness © Annie Lupton (try it in Fibre Co Canopy Fingering)

Loopy: Equally, if not more challenging, for sure. Do you have a favorite pattern that you’ve designed? Annie: It’s so hard to pick a favorite design, they are all my babies! I really enjoy knitting colorwork designs like my Cacti Crop and more complicated designs like my Boheme Crop, but I tend to wear the simpler patterns more often like my Rays Crop and Puff Crop patterns. I guess crop tops are my favorites right now haha!

Cacti Crop © Annie Lupton (try it in Jamieson & Smith 2 Ply Jumper)

Loopy: Well the nice thing about crop tops – less knitting! What is your favorite part of your designing? And your not so favorite part: Annie: My favorite part of designing is dreaming up ideas and doing the actual knitting. I don’t really enjoy writing the patterns, grading and editing, that takes a lot of focus and energy and I like the creative part more! Thankfully I have a wonderful tech editor who helps me get my patterns ready to release.

Meara © Annie Lupton (try it in Stonehedge Shepherd’s Wool)

Loopy: Tech editors are worth their weight in gold. I couldn’t do what they do. Do you do this business full-time, or on the side? And is that hard? Do you have other jobs outside of pattern designing? Annie: I design full time now. I also have 3 young kids so it can be challenging fitting in enough work time with all my mom obligations, but I do what I can. Now they are finally all school age so in theory I have more time… But then covid came and that all went out the window as they have been home much of this year for remote learning. So I make use of weekends and nights to get work done as well.

Boho Romance Crop © Annie Lupton (try it in Malabrigo Arroyo)

Loopy: I’m glad you still get a bit of time to design. What a crazy year it has been. Does anyone else in your family knit? Annie: I taught my girls (7, and 9) to knit but they haven’t really taken to it yet, I hope when they are older they will want to try again and become my knitting buddies!

All Things Autumn © Annie Lupton (try it in Cascade 220)

Loopy: I hope they will want to, too! Are there other hobbies that you enjoy? Annie: Besides knitting I enjoy cooking vegan food, being in nature, walking my puppy and exercising. I cycle or run most days for my sanity!

Swanky Chic © Annie Lupton (try it in Uncommon Posh Fingering)

Loopy: Fun that you have a puppy to walk with.

What would be your favorite way to spend a day off? Annie: When you work from home and you have kids there never really is a day off haha! BUT if I had a true day off I would love to go on a daytrip with my husband, get some good food and enjoy nature. There would probably be some knitting too but no pattern writing or computer work!

Rays Crop © Annie Lupton (try it in Fibre Co Tundra)

Loopy: Knitting for the sake of enjoyment sounds like a good addition to a day off. Ok, last questions – Morning or Night person? Coffee or Tea? English or Continental? Solids or Multicolors? Annie: I am more of a morning person but I love a good night out, Coffee 100%, I prefer solid yarn solids. I actually knit kind of a combination of styles, I throw the yarn but with my left hand!

Retro Rings © Annie Lupton (try it in Cascade Heritage Sock)

Loopy: Thanks again for being with us today!

Annie is offering a discount for 20% off of on of her patterns from her Ravelry Pattern Shop. The code is: loopy (and is valid 3/5-12, 2021)

Happy Weekend, all!

Sheri

By: Sheri Berger Title: Designer Spotlight: Annie Lupton Sourced From: www.theloopyewe.com/yarn-shop/blog/2021/03/designer-spotlight-annie-lupton Published Date: Fri, 05 Mar 2021 16:00:00 +0000 Via https://www.theloopyewe.com/yarn-shop/blog/2021/03/designer-spotlight-annie-lupton

source https://victoriamark932.weebly.com/blog/designer-spotlight-annie-lupton

[victoriamark932]

Designer Spotlight: Annie Lupton

#wehave #beautifuldesigns #enjoylearning

(This post, Designer Spotlight: Annie Lupton), was originally written and published by The Loopy Ewe. © TheLoopyEwe, 2021)

Today we have Annie Lupton, owner of Boho Chic Fiber Co in our Spotlight. She has beautiful designs, and I know you’ll enjoy learning more about her. Annie and her family live in Cape Cod, MA.

Corelle © Annie Lupton (try it in Knerd String Sport)

Loopy: Hi Annie! Thanks for being in the Spotlight today. How long have you been a knitter and who taught you to knit?

Annie: Hi Loopy! I have been a knitter since high school so about 18 years or so now. I initially learned to knit from a book and my latin teacher in high school taught me how to knit cables! I put it aside for a while and really started getting into knitting probably my last year of college in 2008/2009. I would knit as I did my laundry in the laundromat to kill time and on the T in Boston as I commuted to school at UMASS.

Boho Texture Triangle © Annie Lupton (try it in Jamieson & Smith 2 Ply Jumper)

Loopy: Knitting is a great pastime for those types of occasions, isn’t it? And productive at the same time. What is your favorite type of item to knit?

Annie: My favorite thing to knit is definitely sweaters, I feel like the design potential is endless and they are the knit item I most like to actually wear.

Vintage Damask © Annie Lupton (try it in Sandnes Garn Peer Gynt)

Loopy: I think it’s really wonderful to be able to knit the perfect fit, style, color and shape for sweaters. You can’t get all of that when you buy in stores. What is the most challenging thing that you have knit to date? Annie: I can’t think of one specific design that was challenging to knit. A good pattern allows you to take it step by step slowly, and I am self-taught so if there is a new skill to learn I usually can figure it out. Learning a new technique can be tricky, it took me some time to get the hang of brioche but like everything else I got much better with practice. 

Kerrytown © Annie Lupton (try it in Fibre Co Lore)

Loopy: Thank goodness for YouTube help videos, when we have to figure out the new techniques. When did you start designing? Annie: I started designing when I was pregnant with my son about 6 years ago. Back then I hand spun and dyed yarn that I sold at craft fairs. I had knit a couple shawls I designed to sell and people kept asking for the patterns so I wrote them up and my design career was born. I fell in love with designing and slowly my business shifted from making and selling yarn to designing!

Mindfulness © Annie Lupton (try it in Fibre Co Canopy Fingering)

Loopy: Equally, if not more challenging, for sure. Do you have a favorite pattern that you’ve designed? Annie: It’s so hard to pick a favorite design, they are all my babies! I really enjoy knitting colorwork designs like my Cacti Crop and more complicated designs like my Boheme Crop, but I tend to wear the simpler patterns more often like my Rays Crop and Puff Crop patterns. I guess crop tops are my favorites right now haha!

Cacti Crop © Annie Lupton (try it in Jamieson & Smith 2 Ply Jumper)

Loopy: Well the nice thing about crop tops – less knitting! What is your favorite part of your designing? And your not so favorite part: Annie: My favorite part of designing is dreaming up ideas and doing the actual knitting. I don’t really enjoy writing the patterns, grading and editing, that takes a lot of focus and energy and I like the creative part more! Thankfully I have a wonderful tech editor who helps me get my patterns ready to release.

Meara © Annie Lupton (try it in Stonehedge Shepherd’s Wool)

Loopy: Tech editors are worth their weight in gold. I couldn’t do what they do. Do you do this business full-time, or on the side? And is that hard? Do you have other jobs outside of pattern designing? Annie: I design full time now. I also have 3 young kids so it can be challenging fitting in enough work time with all my mom obligations, but I do what I can. Now they are finally all school age so in theory I have more time… But then covid came and that all went out the window as they have been home much of this year for remote learning. So I make use of weekends and nights to get work done as well.

Boho Romance Crop © Annie Lupton (try it in Malabrigo Arroyo)

Loopy: I’m glad you still get a bit of time to design. What a crazy year it has been. Does anyone else in your family knit? Annie: I taught my girls (7, and 9) to knit but they haven’t really taken to it yet, I hope when they are older they will want to try again and become my knitting buddies!

All Things Autumn © Annie Lupton (try it in Cascade 220)

Loopy: I hope they will want to, too! Are there other hobbies that you enjoy? Annie: Besides knitting I enjoy cooking vegan food, being in nature, walking my puppy and exercising. I cycle or run most days for my sanity!

Swanky Chic © Annie Lupton (try it in Uncommon Posh Fingering)

Loopy: Fun that you have a puppy to walk with.

What would be your favorite way to spend a day off? Annie: When you work from home and you have kids there never really is a day off haha! BUT if I had a true day off I would love to go on a daytrip with my husband, get some good food and enjoy nature. There would probably be some knitting too but no pattern writing or computer work!

Rays Crop © Annie Lupton (try it in Fibre Co Tundra)

Loopy: Knitting for the sake of enjoyment sounds like a good addition to a day off. Ok, last questions – Morning or Night person? Coffee or Tea? English or Continental? Solids or Multicolors? Annie: I am more of a morning person but I love a good night out, Coffee 100%, I prefer solid yarn solids. I actually knit kind of a combination of styles, I throw the yarn but with my left hand!

Retro Rings © Annie Lupton (try it in Cascade Heritage Sock)

Loopy: Thanks again for being with us today!

Annie is offering a discount for 20% off of on of her patterns from her Ravelry Pattern Shop. The code is: loopy (and is valid 3/5-12, 2021)

Happy Weekend, all!

Sheri

By: Sheri Berger Title: Designer Spotlight: Annie Lupton Sourced From: www.theloopyewe.com/yarn-shop/blog/2021/03/designer-spotlight-annie-lupton Published Date: Fri, 05 Mar 2021 16:00:00 +0000 source https://www.theloopyewe.com/yarn-shop/blog/2021/03/designer-spotlight-annie-lupton

[beckettdoll-blog]

Get the Scoop on Barbie Doll Dress Before You're Too Late

Choosing Good Barbie Doll Dress

No matter which you decide on, this project is fairly simply even when you're a beginner. The options are limitless in regards to Barbie games. Whichever game you opt to play, it's not going to matter for as long as you receive the fun and excitement that you truly deserve. You'll be amazed by the number of games which are waiting for you.

You are able to print it and begin with these tutorial videos. Well Barbie itself and Barbie games are among the most favorite playoff types that are obtainable for girls. This has been among the oldest Barbie games. They are not only for kids though.

The Do's and Don'ts of Barbie Doll Dress

This is the way that it should look. Beach balls that could be kicked around increase the fun. For more information about how to adjust the size (in case it doesn't fit), the notion is exactly like the one described in Barbie Basic Socks. So you've got to think accordingly. Spend just a little time to customize your Barbie's looks according to the occasion.

Mark the point at which you would prefer the base of the sock to be with a pin Mark the middle of the cap of the sock with a pin On the left side of the greatest pin, stitch a little zigzag or knit stitch to the pin at the bottom and stitch out to the left side. Thimbles may be used to guard those precious little digits. If you've got a sewing machine, velcro will be simpler to attach. A lot of the larger chains are going to have fantastic range of dolls, play sets, and accessories, but often only carry some of the different fashion sets which might or might not be what you're searching for.

You're able to make pretty much any sort of Barbie fashion at home, and if you like doing so, you may want to think about turning it into a means to make some fantastic additional money. To begin with, make a decision as to what shape you are interested in getting the dog bed to be. Here is something which you're looking for. Begin with her living room and work your path to the kitchen.

It isn't difficult to maintain or add entries to once it's completed. The web is also a great place to look. With an internet search you may discover clothes that are designed and made by men and women with the exact same interests as you. As it is for my personal usage, I didn't cite your site, but for the email in your pattern. There are a lot of reasons to want to find the very best and latest fashions for all sorts of dolls, and with a resource like the internet you can more easily see what's available. Rather than buying it from the current market, you can just apply your crochet experience and expertise to crochet a beautiful one at home!

To start with I would advise making a top and circle skirt for your very first outfit. A crumb coat is no more than a light layer of frosting over the full cake. It's been crocheted in pink that's the most liked girlish color! The dress is sleeveless and has a very small bandana that's simple to make with a little quantity of machine and hand stitching. You're able to observe how I traced out the pattern on the sock. If there's a noticeable pattern (stripes), ensure the grain markings are in accordance with the pattern.

If you by chance delight in sewing, this is an excellent way to add to Barbie's fashions. You can also select the shade of her makeup which you think will match her outfit. Look no further than our giant group of dress up adventures, which are here in order to suit each one of your requirements! You should produce the torso and the bottom more time to make the clothes fit. You may find Barbie doll clothes on auctions websites such as eBay, where you're able to discover some amazing bargains on fashion clothes. Utilize my vintage Barbie patterns to make your own looks.

In case the school doesn't provide diaries you can purchase one for your child and speak to their teacher to make certain that all work which they are given is written down. Perhaps it's time to meet it. Ruth Handler produced a dream for every small girl in the usa and around the world! Go through the diary to be sure that the child has done all that they should do. You and your children may add furniture to make it resemble a attractive scene from a movie. Your son or daughter might get irritated if you attempt to play but find the story wrong or aren't paying attention to the particulars of the story. Grab younger siblings and have a break to sit down and revel in the show.

The New Fuss About Barbie Doll Dress

To help then pick the best career first you need to ask then what they would like to be. Doing this will reap tremendous rewards. Girls gaming industry isn't as big as boys gaming market. It is crucial to support your children in their career paths so they can be motivated to work hard and prosper in the assorted careers.

The Debate Over Barbie Doll Dress

This normally includes giving Barbie the appropriate hairstyle and accessories for a specific appearance, including a background in many instances. Simply have a brush and style her hair how you feel suits her the very best. And with the broad selection of styling heads readily available today you're almost bound to locate your youngster's favourite doll character has a styling head in their product range. There's no need to go out and purchase the special Barbie cake pans. Therefore, you might get a person to train them or do it yourself until you ensure they are bale to handle it by themselves. The filling in addition to the materials may be used for this objective. These small clothes can be challenging, but only need small sums of fabric when supplying a excellent deal of satisfaction for seamstresses of all ages.

The Secret to Barbie Doll Dress

Don't neglect to present your digital doll the appropriate look with her make up. Once you are finished with the conventional stuff, select the https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-SGvWKhW5M party scorcher makeover. We easily get fascinated from these terrific creations, which are popularly referred to as mascots. 1 trip to the toy aisle and you will locate dolls that suit nearly every taste. Then you can pick from a wide variety of outfits and accessories to provide your fairy that special look you would like them to have. Barbie dolls houses come in assorted sizes.

Barbie Doll Dress: No Longer a Mystery

Many animated characters result in popular wallpaper. As an issue of fact, there are many kinds of Barbies offered and all of them are different, wearing diverse outfits to suit their mission. If you're going to take part within this type of character play with Barbies it is great to obey your child and find a feeling for what is happening with their story so it's possible to fit in with their game. A few of these games are fantasy-esque while others are somewhat more realistic, sometimes using true princesses from all over the planet.

[gothify1]

As you’re probably well aware by now, you in no way need to buy expensive items to have an expensive-looking outfit . In fact, many of your favorite retailers—from Nordstrom to H&M —are filled to the brim with those high-end-feeling staples that won’t actually make a massive dent in your bank account. But rather than send you on a day-long hunt scrolling through the pages and pages of merchandise out there to uncover said fanciful items, I narrowed down the best of the best affordable fashion pieces right here so you can start building your posh 2020 wardrobe. Below, I curated a sampling of the chicest, cheapest must-haves (separated by category from dresses to sweaters to footwear)—all under $75. Keep scrolling to find your new elevated treasures, and upgrade your closet. The pretty shade of blue and wraparound feature makes this cardigan feel extra special. An ultra-flattering sweater in a festive hue for the holiday season—and beyond in 2020. Yes, this pullover is as cozy as it looks. And fun fact: JoyLab is actually having a 30% off sale today, December 14. The houndstooth pattern feels a bit more unexpected than a standard print—and also incredibly forward. Animal print isn’t going away anytime soon. There are so many things right about this cardigan—the cool floral pattern and puff sleeve to name a few. A simple yet chic and modern cardigan. Make a statement with this eye-catching turtleneck paired as is with jeans or layered underneath a jacket or cardigan. As you can see, this luscious violet fuzzy pullover is even chicer from the back. All about the vintage feel of this comfortable cardigan. The square neckline and slight puff at the sleeves gives this fuzzy knit a modern twist. The LBD you’ll wear to every holiday party—and every event next year. This ribbed wrap dress with the flared skirt would work for a multitude of occasions. If you don't have the ideal sweaterdress yet, this is your moment. A smock midi dress with a stand-up collar is cozy and chic. Is it a blazer? Is it a dress? It’s both. And with that velvet fabric, it’s perfection. The ultimate party dress with the metallic shine and drapey sleeves. Wear this sweaterdress by itself with boots or layered over your favorite leggings. Legit nobody would guess that these gorgeous mules would be under $100. The buckle detail gives these classic black ankle boots a downtown feel. Elevated flats will rise up to be one of the biggest footwear trends of next year. These pointed-toe booties seriously look triple the price. Why blend in with your sneaker game? Loafers will get an elevated twist come 2020 with comfy block heels. Add these to your closet before everyone else does. The mid-calf boot is a fashion-girl staple RN. Practical and honestly quite cool in that ironic sort of way. Colorful sneakers are where it’s at. Your new wear-everywhere peacoat, found. This is not your average puffer—it’s 10 times chicer. Indulging in a new moto jacket is never a bad idea. This faux-shearling coat looks far more expensive than it actually is. This water-repellent parka is legit spot on. A tried-and-true camel coat is definitely worth having in your wardrobe. If you haven’t heard, flared jeans are BACK. The wider cut here just feels so current. Cargo jeans are especially fashion-forward. Just imagine these with statement ankle boots and a playful blouse for a night out. Hey, it might be time to upgrade your black skinny jean selection. Just sayin'. Pair these with your favorite sweatshirt, slip into sneakers, and you're set for that off-duty life. These drop earrings look far more high-end than their under-$20 price tag. You’ll see bags with large front buckles even more next year. Guaranteed. Amp up your cold-weather vibe. This paperclip chain necklace feels incredibly special. Just $40 for this expensive-looking bag? Done and done. You’ll wear these cat-eye sunglasses for seasons. The perfect finishing touch to any formal look. Next, check out 25 cheap Nordstrom staples bound to sell out by 2020 .

[archienewling]

Welcome! Come on in and take a look around! My daughter Eleanor, 10-years-old and an absolute delight, wanted a room makeover. She and I worked together to update her room from little kid to tween, and it will carry her right through the teen years with way more style than I ever had when I was growing up.

Thank you to Linda at Calling it Home for organizing the One Room Challenge and inviting me to participate again! Six weeks goes by so quickly (especially when you have a somewhat indecisive kid and a major color scheme change midway through), but it’s always the most fun and a really good kick to get a room totally redone.

Pinky/purple/lilac/lavender/orchid/thistle. What do you call this color? I call it a color I never would have chosen myself, but one that my daughter wanted and that I have come to love. If you know me, you know I love pink, but I prefer it less saturated and on the peachy side. It may seem funny, but this particular color is a little outside of my comfort zone!

The room had white walls and wood trim when we moved in. We painted it dark blue when Eleanor was four (she chose the color then, too), but six years later is a long time in kid years, and she was ready for a change.

From Sherwin-Williams Loyal Blue to Benjamin Moore Magic Potion with Barberry painted trim.

How pretty is that Rifle Paper Co. for Loloi Rosa rug? It was the first piece we decided on for the room and it set the tone for everything to come. It works beautifully with the mix of bedding you’ll see throughout the photos. The jersey-knit sheets are Eleanor’s favorite because not only does she like the lilac pattern, they feel like a soft t-shirt. All of the bedding is from Garnet Hill, and it can mix and match together in different ways to give E some options.

I had planned on making an upholstered headboard but instead found a secondhand Serena & Lily Pondicherry headboard to reupholster. Or more accurately, slipcover. It turns out we really liked the fabric it came with, so a slipcover will allow us to switch it up and keep the original patterned fabric safe and sound for future use. Slight problem: I’m not an experienced seamstress. It’s going to take me some time to learn how to do the slipcover, so I draped the fabric over top as best I could to give you an idea of what it will look like with the different bedding combinations. Which version do you like best?

Obviously the bed in a bedroom, especially when it takes up as much space in the room as it does here, has a huge impact on the entire look. The tone on tone look quiets the design and is in line with my original intent for the room. E prefers the slipcover option too — every big decision in the room was made together.

The slipcover will be made from Fabricut Devon wool fabric in Orchid with Lotus piping. Curves and piping on a huge upholstered piece for someone with the cheapest base model sewing machine from a decade ago. Ambitious! I’ll figure it out.

I recovered a small ottoman with Inner Circle fabric to give E a place to perch besides her bed. I also figured out how to make functional Roman shades!

I’ve wanted to use this Edie Stroheim fabric for years. It looks amazing in E’s windows, and I love that red/orange Spice color against the walls and trim. And friends, I see that some of you have doubted this particular fabric choice perhaps more than anything else in the room. I get where you’re coming from! It works because the wood tones in the dresser and floor are very orange, and the red in the rug has a lot of warmth to it (rather than being a primary bright). Also, take into account the sun streaming through the linen, and it all just works. I adore it.

I stole my favorite decorative pillow from the guest room because it looked so dang good with the bedding, but most of the time E will probably have the other one in here (with the horse print). She says this one is too bumpy for her. It’s almost like kids don’t realize that sometimes the pretty pillows you put on the bed are just for show and they aren’t always the most functional thing but we buy them and put them there only to take them off each night and put them back in the morning, but I digress.

The nightstand is from Target, and I used one of the original Art Deco handles from her dresser on it to tie the two together. A nightstand with both a drawer and a shelf is always optimal, and E’s radio is tucked underneath so she can listen with (or often without) headphones in bed. The BB8 is her alarm clock.

Opposite the bed is the entrance to the room, and Eleanor’s closet. Most of her toys are on shelves in the closet, but I rehung the circular shelf that was in the room before for E to display some of her favorite things.

Books, books, books on a low Parsons bookcase. She’s a voracious reader! (Takes after her mom and dad. *dusts shoulders off*) We had to pare the books down quite a bit to get them to fit, but she had a lot that she had outgrown so those got passed down to her little brothers and it worked out.

The details in Eleanor’s room will no doubt change over time. That’s what will let this room grow and change with her as she moves on from her tween years. Will she always love decorating with horses and cute animals? Maybe, but that’s for her to keep or change as she decides.

We kept the art that was in the room before, just shuffled it around some. The hanging bird was from Land of Nod years ago, the cats are a vintage tea towel hung with dowels, and the “just be cool” banner was a favor from when I took a video editing workshop that DesignLoveFest taught.

The silhouette art is actually a quilt! It used to hang in our living room ages ago, before Eleanor was even born. It was a made by an Etsy seller, long out of business (Dream of Stars), and I stretched it over canvas stretcher bars.

The antique Art Deco dresser was a Facebook Marketplace find. That and the Pondicherry headboard are probably two of my best FB Marketplace finds ever! E is a lucky girl.

The bed itself is from Tuft & Needle. E went from a twin size to a full (that was important to her — I think it makes her feel more grown up), so she needed a new mattress. It’s sitting on a box foundation and metal base that has supports to attach the headboard. The bed is so comfortable, it’s been a tempting distraction to me while working on her room all these weeks! Like, maybe a quick nap might be in order? Zzzzzzz.

Her room glows beautifully at night. The Crystorama Truax Pendant in the center of the room is oversized (16″ diameter, which is larger than the globes I have in our much larger double parlor), but it provides a dramatic sense of scale. There are three candelabra bulbs inside, so it’s bright without being harsh.

Flanking the headboard are a pair of POP Wall Sconces from Blueprint Lighting. They look like eyeballs and I love them! A happy bit of happenstance is that the headboard I found had curves that perfectly mirror the circles of the sconces. I hung colorful tassels from World Market to zhush them up a bit but if they look too little kid for E as she gets older, she can take them off and they’ll look cleaner and more modern.

I wasn’t sure about also including a task light on the nightstand. E says she can read by the sconces, but the task light is far brighter and I thought she may like it. It’s the same light she had before (from Target a few years ago).

The bookshelf got a pair of small resin lamps lamps from Target which were very cute and super affordable at $20 each. They came in pink and black versions too, but the green looked prettiest. The pink gourd lamp that used to be on the dresser before got moved over to the dresser. It was yet another lamp from Target (I think they’re always a great source for cute, inexpensive lighting for the kids’ rooms).

Thank you for following along as this room came together. It has been one of the most fun makeovers I’ve done because it was a true collaboration between me and my daughter. I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing it come together as much as we have!

I’ll work to get all of the sources listed on the Shop Our House page and will also add them below!

Pondicherry Headboard, Serena & Lily

Warwick Wood & Rattan Side Table, Target (Threshold)

POP Wall Sconces, Blueprint Lighting

Truax Pendant, Brian Patrick Flynn for Crystorama

Rosa Rug (Black), Rifle Paper Co. for Loloi

Resin Green Accent Lamp, Target (Project 62)

Follow along with the One Room Challenge participants!

• At Charlotte’s House  • Design Addict Mom  • Erika Ward Interiors  • Erin Kestenbaum  • Girl & Grey • Gray Malin  • Hommeboys  • I Spy DIY  • Jewel Marlowe  • The Learner Observer  • Making it Lovely •  Nicole White Designs  • Old Brand New  • Oscar Bravo Home  • Place of My Taste  • The Rath Project • Room for Tuesday  • SG Style  • Undecorated Home  • Veronica Solomon  • Media BH&G  • TM by ORC

My One Room Challenge Sponsors

Thank you to the following sponsors for generously providing product. • Blueprint Lighting • Crystorama • Fabricut • Garnet Hill • Loloi • Tuft & Needle

My One Room Challenge Posts

Follow along from the beginning! • Week 1: My Daughter’s Room • Week 2: The Design Plan • Week 3: Adding Interest • Week 4: A Disagreement • Week 5: A Lucky Find

And check out my previous One Room Challenges! • Spring ’16: Our Bedroom and Den • Fall ’16: Front and Back Entry, Stairs, and Hallways • Fall ’17: My Home Office

© 2019, published by Making it Lovely as One Room Challenge: Week 6 (My Daughter’s Room Reveal!) | 2 comments | This post may contains affiliate links; I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.

The post One Room Challenge: Week 6 (My Daughter’s Room Reveal!) appeared first on Making it Lovely.

[jerseyisforlovers]

Holiday House Tour 2017

I don’t know why I’m always compelled to start these holiday house tour posts by type-shouting “SMILING’S MY FAVORITE” but there I’ve already gone and done it. ‘Tis the season. Moving on. Here’s how we decked our proverbial halls for Christmas this year. As you may have heard in last week’s podcast, we’re continuing last year’s mission to simplify our holiday decorations. We still want our home to feel festive, but in a way that doesn’t feel too crowded and overwhelming (or take too crazy long to set up and take down). So the living room is pretty much just all about the tree and the mantle.

sofa / side tables / chairs / round marble table / blinds / ottoman / similar lamps & TV table

The tree is an artificial one that we’ve had for over five years.  It has some of the most realistic looking branches we’ve laid eyes on when it comes to fake trees, but at this point most of its original light strands are burnt out (we had a good run!) and last year we gave up trying to fix them (Sherry spent 30 minutes hunting down the wrong bulb only to replace it and watch the entire strand blow out again ten minutes later). So at this point it’s mostly lit with these strands from Target.

It took a few tests to find lights that matched the warm-ish color temperature of the original bulbs (all the LED versions were too blue looking) so we’ve hoarded a few extra boxes for down the road. The ornaments are all a mish-mash of sentimental and homemade items we’ve collected over the years and I think this year was the most fun the kids have had helping us decorate it. Maybe because they’re finally both old enough that Sherry and I are shouting “BE CAREFUL!” and “DON’T TOUCH THAT ONE, IT CAN BREAK!” less and less throughout the process.

Christmas tree / similar rug / similar tree skirts / similar stocking / garland / similar mirror 

Our typically colorful fireplace (which you can see in last year’s holiday house tour) is more subdued this year, thanks to Sherry’s greenery kick and this faux magnolia garland she bought a few months ago. She noticed it looked a little dark up there at first, so she added some ceramic white houses we’ve had for a few years (these are similar – ours are actually ornaments with the hangers cut off) and some battery operated fairy lights to bring some lightness to the mantle.

faux magnolia garland / similar stockings / battery powered lights / similar ceramic houses / similar mirror

We did pepper in some nods to the season on the living room bookcases too, but they’re easy to miss at first glance. I actually didn’t notice the mouse until I uploaded this photo (which I took!). Let’s play a little game of Where’s Waldo (Waldo the mouse, not that guy in the striped shirt).

Those small figurines are hand-me-downs from Sherry’s mom and it takes everything in Sherry’s power to not keep them out all year (miniatures are her true weakness in life). The holiday “terrarium” is a DIY project from a few years ago and we picked up the pink wooden trees at the gift shop of our local botanical garden last year during an office Christmas party (not our office – that would just be weird – it was for the ad agency where I consult).

pink trees / gold frame / holiday shadow box / our book ;)

The kitchen is also showing some holiday restraint this year. We’re using the area under the floating shelves to house the wooden house advent calendar Sherry picked up from the Magnolia collection at Target. I’ll be honest that we were a little perplexed as to how to actually use it as an advent calendar. Do you pull the “block of the day” out front as you count down? Move a little bow from house to house as you go? We decided just to turn them all around to hide the numbers and flip them to reveal each one as we go.

advent calendar / paper flowers / green candle / gold frame / shelf brackets

Hilariously enough, the description on the Target website doesn’t even seem to acknowledge that it’s an advent calendar – and weirdly suggests gluing them into their storage box (???). Guess there are lots of ways to use this thing.

Sherry did pepper some ornaments and greenery elsewhere in the kitchen, though. And yes, we’ve officially jumped on the letterboard bandwagon thanks to our friend Mandi at Vintage Revivals who surprised us with this one. You can get them on Amazon or on her site (where there’s a buy-2-get-1-free deal with the code FREEGIFT). We’ve been planning to take it the beach house, but decided we’d have some fun with it here first. Home Alone anyone?

letterboard / similar cutting board / blinds / page-a-day calendar

The K.I.S.S. greenery theme continues in the foyer (that stands for “keep it simple stupid” and not the face painted heavy metal band who famously flaunt their tongues). It doesn’t take much to get that wintery feeling in here, since the white-on-white stuff with all those layered textures already feels pretty cozy, so Sherry just added an evergreen branch and a white feather tree. I’m happy to report that this vignette can last us well through winter, so don’t be surprised if you still see it hanging around in March.

similar baskets / similar acrylic table / similar white feather tree / large glass vase / similar mirror

We also referenced Sherry’s hoard of bottle brush trees in last week’s podcast and this year she decided to cluster them in the office since they’re so colorful. It works well because that room is pretty busy (both visually and literally) so they fit right in.

similar bottle brush trees // round mirror / parsons desk / bookcase 

Nothing really happens upstairs except for a few mini trees. My personal favorite is the one that sits in the bonus room, because it glows from down the hall and we can see it from outside in the driveway too. This is a photo from last year (forgive me) but it looks pretty much exactly the same this year. We boxed everything up together when we packed it away last year (the tree, its ornaments, and even the extension cord) so setting it up was easy and fast.

similar rug / vintage rocker / similar tree / sofa / globe

This is another photo from last year (gasp!) but again, it’s nearly identical this season. It’s our daughter’s artificial tree that we added several years ago when she was old enough to handle the “responsibility” of her own little tree (aka: don’t pull ornaments off and put them in your mouth or attempt to hang them on the dog). The tree came with its own little plastic pot at the base, but Sherry likes to slide it into one of her woven baskets (that she painted) which looks extra cheerful.

similar lidded basket / similar tree / quote art / door color: BM Cinco De Mayo

What’s new this year is our son’s tree, since he can finally be trusted with one of his own. He picked out this green tinsel tree himself ($8? sold!) because, well, he’s three and it was just about the coolest thing he’d ever seen. Scratch that – it was the coolest thing he’d ever seen once we added a string of colored LED lights to it. Each year we let the kids pick out some new soft ornaments for the shared tree in the bonus room, but we let him sneak his favorite one (this knitted wreath, which he lovingly calls his “Christmas Donut”) onto his tree, along with some shatterproof balls.

dragon & gorilla baskets / similar woven baskets / similar rug / tree / lights / bookcase

I’ll admit it makes me feel a little Scrooge-y to keep talking about pulling back on our holiday decor, but as Sherry said in the podcast: we’re really just trying to focus on the decorations that make us all the happiest, and cut out the parts that seem more labor than love. Everyone loved putting up ornaments this year, so we focused on the trees. Sherry’s favorite pun of her entire life is “boots with the fir” – so those fir-stuffed boots landed on the porch with glee. And she loves going wreath making with the girls, so she made this hilariously giant one this year (which you probably saw on Instagram).

similar wreath / red boots / welcome mat / fake trees in those black pots (yes they’re fake!) / door color: BM Blue Lake

And, well, I love my shed. So while Sherry was off wrestling half of planet earth’s magnolia leaves onto a single wreath, I picked up a few strands of colorful LEDs and some roof clips to bring some cheer to my little home away from home. I’m not brave enough to attempt this on our real roof, but I thought this would be a fun way to dress up the backyard without being 30′ from the ground.

Plus, the kids are super into rainbow lights this year, so it felt like the perfect place to deviate from the all-white lights that live in the front yard. Methinks it might need some more though. Maybe next year!

Actually, the main thing on our list for next year is an artificial tree for the beach house. We don’t think we’re going to be there enough this season to really make it worth it, but you can bet your britches I’m gonna be hunting down a discounted artificial tree on the 26th to have there next year! Maybe even an extra tall one since we have 9′ ceilings downstairs in there.

And for good measure, let’s wrap this post up with a little “Get The Look” mood board that Sherry put together. It’s not a comprehensive list since so many of our decorations are a few years old, but we did our best to find comparable items and to link to the exact things we have & love whenever we could (like the magnolia garland, a few of our ornaments, our new advent calendar, and yes, that’s our exact tree in the middle).

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 / 14 / 15 / 16 / 17 / 18

Happy holidays everyone!

Psst- Want more holiday posts and ideas? Here are a bunch of holiday & entertaining posts from years past.

*This post contains affiliate links*

The post Holiday House Tour 2017 appeared first on Young House Love.

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[gitsygiddy]

Holiday House Tour 2017

I don’t know why I’m always compelled to start these holiday house tour posts by type-shouting “SMILING’S MY FAVORITE” but there I’ve already gone and done it. ‘Tis the season. Moving on. Here’s how we decked our proverbial halls for Christmas this year. As you may have heard in last week’s podcast, we’re continuing last year’s mission to simplify our holiday decorations. We still want our home to feel festive, but in a way that doesn’t feel too crowded and overwhelming (or take too crazy long to set up and take down). So the living room is pretty much just all about the tree and the mantle.

sofa / side tables / chairs / round marble table / blinds / ottoman / similar lamps & TV table

The tree is an artificial one that we’ve had for over five years.  It has some of the most realistic looking branches we’ve laid eyes on when it comes to fake trees, but at this point most of its original light strands are burnt out (we had a good run!) and last year we gave up trying to fix them (Sherry spent 30 minutes hunting down the wrong bulb only to replace it and watch the entire strand blow out again ten minutes later). So at this point it’s mostly lit with these strands from Target.

It took a few tests to find lights that matched the warm-ish color temperature of the original bulbs (all the LED versions were too blue looking) so we’ve hoarded a few extra boxes for down the road. The ornaments are all a mish-mash of sentimental and homemade items we’ve collected over the years and I think this year was the most fun the kids have had helping us decorate it. Maybe because they’re finally both old enough that Sherry and I are shouting “BE CAREFUL!” and “DON’T TOUCH THAT ONE, IT CAN BREAK!” less and less throughout the process.

Christmas tree / similar rug / similar tree skirts / similar stocking / garland / similar mirror 

Our typically colorful fireplace (which you can see in last year’s holiday house tour) is more subdued this year, thanks to Sherry’s greenery kick and this faux magnolia garland she bought a few months ago. She noticed it looked a little dark up there at first, so she added some ceramic white houses we’ve had for a few years (these are similar – ours are actually ornaments with the hangers cut off) and some battery operated fairy lights to bring some lightness to the mantle.

faux magnolia garland / similar stockings / battery powered lights / similar ceramic houses / similar mirror

We did pepper in some nods to the season on the living room bookcases too, but they’re easy to miss at first glance. I actually didn’t notice the mouse until I uploaded this photo (which I took!). Let’s play a little game of Where’s Waldo (Waldo the mouse, not that guy in the striped shirt).

Those small figurines are hand-me-downs from Sherry’s mom and it takes everything in Sherry’s power to not keep them out all year (miniatures are her true weakness in life). The holiday “terrarium” is a DIY project from a few years ago and we picked up the pink wooden trees at the gift shop of our local botanical garden last year during an office Christmas party (not our office – that would just be weird – it was for the ad agency where I consult).

pink trees / gold frame / holiday shadow box / our book ;)

The kitchen is also showing some holiday restraint this year. We’re using the area under the floating shelves to house the wooden house advent calendar Sherry picked up from the Magnolia collection at Target. I’ll be honest that we were a little perplexed as to how to actually use it as an advent calendar. Do you pull the “block of the day” out front as you count down? Move a little bow from house to house as you go? We decided just to turn them all around to hide the numbers and flip them to reveal each one as we go.

advent calendar / paper flowers / green candle / gold frame / shelf brackets

Hilariously enough, the description on the Target website doesn’t even seem to acknowledge that it’s an advent calendar – and weirdly suggests gluing them into their storage box (???). Guess there are lots of ways to use this thing.

Sherry did pepper some ornaments and greenery elsewhere in the kitchen, though. And yes, we’ve officially jumped on the letterboard bandwagon thanks to our friend Mandi at Vintage Revivals who surprised us with this one. You can get them on Amazon or on her site (where there’s a buy-2-get-1-free deal with the code FREEGIFT). We’ve been planning to take it the beach house, but decided we’d have some fun with it here first. Home Alone anyone?

letterboard / similar cutting board / blinds / page-a-day calendar

The K.I.S.S. greenery theme continues in the foyer (that stands for “keep it simple stupid” and not the face painted heavy metal band who famously flaunt their tongues). It doesn’t take much to get that wintery feeling in here, since the white-on-white stuff with all those layered textures already feels pretty cozy, so Sherry just added an evergreen branch and a white feather tree. I’m happy to report that this vignette can last us well through winter, so don’t be surprised if you still see it hanging around in March.

similar baskets / similar acrylic table / similar white feather tree / large glass vase / similar mirror

We also referenced Sherry’s hoard of bottle brush trees in last week’s podcast and this year she decided to cluster them in the office since they’re so colorful. It works well because that room is pretty busy (both visually and literally) so they fit right in.

similar bottle brush trees // round mirror / parsons desk / bookcase 

Nothing really happens upstairs except for a few mini trees. My personal favorite is the one that sits in the bonus room, because it glows from down the hall and we can see it from outside in the driveway too. This is a photo from last year (forgive me) but it looks pretty much exactly the same this year. We boxed everything up together when we packed it away last year (the tree, its ornaments, and even the extension cord) so setting it up was easy and fast.

similar rug / vintage rocker / similar tree / sofa / globe

This is another photo from last year (gasp!) but again, it’s nearly identical this season. It’s our daughter’s artificial tree that we added several years ago when she was old enough to handle the “responsibility” of her own little tree (aka: don’t pull ornaments off and put them in your mouth or attempt to hang them on the dog). The tree came with its own little plastic pot at the base, but Sherry likes to slide it into one of her woven baskets (that she painted) which looks extra cheerful.

similar lidded basket / similar tree / quote art / door color: BM Cinco De Mayo

What’s new this year is our son’s tree, since he can finally be trusted with one of his own. He picked out this green tinsel tree himself ($8? sold!) because, well, he’s three and it was just about the coolest thing he’d ever seen. Scratch that – it was the coolest thing he’d ever seen once we added a string of colored LED lights to it. Each year we let the kids pick out some new soft ornaments for the shared tree in the bonus room, but we let him sneak his favorite one (this knitted wreath, which he lovingly calls his “Christmas Donut”) onto his tree, along with some shatterproof balls.

dragon & gorilla baskets / similar woven baskets / similar rug / tree / lights / bookcase

I’ll admit it makes me feel a little Scrooge-y to keep talking about pulling back on our holiday decor, but as Sherry said in the podcast: we’re really just trying to focus on the decorations that make us all the happiest, and cut out the parts that seem more labor than love. Everyone loved putting up ornaments this year, so we focused on the trees. Sherry’s favorite pun of her entire life is “boots with the fir” – so those fir-stuffed boots landed on the porch with glee. And she loves going wreath making with the girls, so she made this hilariously giant one this year (which you probably saw on Instagram).

similar wreath / red boots / welcome mat / fake trees in those black pots (yes they’re fake!) / door color: BM Blue Lake

And, well, I love my shed. So while Sherry was off wrestling half of planet earth’s magnolia leaves onto a single wreath, I picked up a few strands of colorful LEDs and some roof clips to bring some cheer to my little home away from home. I’m not brave enough to attempt this on our real roof, but I thought this would be a fun way to dress up the backyard without being 30′ from the ground.

Plus, the kids are super into rainbow lights this year, so it felt like the perfect place to deviate from the all-white lights that live in the front yard. Methinks it might need some more though. Maybe next year!

Actually, the main thing on our list for next year is an artificial tree for the beach house. We don’t think we’re going to be there enough this season to really make it worth it, but you can bet your britches I’m gonna be hunting down a discounted artificial tree on the 26th to have there next year! Maybe even an extra tall one since we have 9′ ceilings downstairs in there.

And for good measure, let’s wrap this post up with a little “Get The Look” mood board that Sherry put together. It’s not a comprehensive list since so many of our decorations are a few years old, but we did our best to find comparable items and to link to the exact things we have & love whenever we could (like the magnolia garland, a few of our ornaments, our new advent calendar, and yes, that’s our exact tree in the middle).

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 / 14 / 15 / 16 / 17 / 18

Happy holidays everyone!

Psst- Want more holiday posts and ideas? Here are a bunch of holiday & entertaining posts from years past.

*This post contains affiliate links*

The post Holiday House Tour 2017 appeared first on Young House Love.

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8265713 http://ift.tt/2Aw8hqr via IFTTT

#IFTTT #RSSMix.com Mix ID 8265713

[jgomez10x]

Holiday House Tour 2017

I don’t know why I’m always compelled to start these holiday house tour posts by type-shouting “SMILING’S MY FAVORITE” but there I’ve already gone and done it. ‘Tis the season. Moving on. Here’s how we decked our proverbial halls for Christmas this year. As you may have heard in last week’s podcast, we’re continuing last year’s mission to simplify our holiday decorations. We still want our home to feel festive, but in a way that doesn’t feel too crowded and overwhelming (or take too crazy long to set up and take down). So the living room is pretty much just all about the tree and the mantle.

sofa / side tables / chairs / round marble table / blinds / ottoman / similar lamps & TV table

The tree is an artificial one that we’ve had for over five years.  It has some of the most realistic looking branches we’ve laid eyes on when it comes to fake trees, but at this point most of its original light strands are burnt out (we had a good run!) and last year we gave up trying to fix them (Sherry spent 30 minutes hunting down the wrong bulb only to replace it and watch the entire strand blow out again ten minutes later). So at this point it’s mostly lit with these strands from Target.

It took a few tests to find lights that matched the warm-ish color temperature of the original bulbs (all the LED versions were too blue looking) so we’ve hoarded a few extra boxes for down the road. The ornaments are all a mish-mash of sentimental and homemade items we’ve collected over the years and I think this year was the most fun the kids have had helping us decorate it. Maybe because they’re finally both old enough that Sherry and I are shouting “BE CAREFUL!” and “DON’T TOUCH THAT ONE, IT CAN BREAK!” less and less throughout the process.

Christmas tree / similar rug / similar tree skirts / similar stocking / garland / similar mirror 

Our typically colorful fireplace (which you can see in last year’s holiday house tour) is more subdued this year, thanks to Sherry’s greenery kick and this faux magnolia garland she bought a few months ago. She noticed it looked a little dark up there at first, so she added some ceramic white houses we’ve had for a few years (these are similar – ours are actually ornaments with the hangers cut off) and some battery operated fairy lights to bring some lightness to the mantle.

faux magnolia garland / similar stockings / battery powered lights / similar ceramic houses / similar mirror

We did pepper in some nods to the season on the living room bookcases too, but they’re easy to miss at first glance. I actually didn’t notice the mouse until I uploaded this photo (which I took!). Let’s play a little game of Where’s Waldo (Waldo the mouse, not that guy in the striped shirt).

Those small figurines are hand-me-downs from Sherry’s mom and it takes everything in Sherry’s power to not keep them out all year (miniatures are her true weakness in life). The holiday “terrarium” is a DIY project from a few years ago and we picked up the pink wooden trees at the gift shop of our local botanical garden last year during an office Christmas party (not our office – that would just be weird – it was for the ad agency where I consult).

pink trees / gold frame / holiday shadow box / our book ;)

The kitchen is also showing some holiday restraint this year. We’re using the area under the floating shelves to house the wooden house advent calendar Sherry picked up from the Magnolia collection at Target. I’ll be honest that we were a little perplexed as to how to actually use it as an advent calendar. Do you pull the “block of the day” out front as you count down? Move a little bow from house to house as you go? We decided just to turn them all around to hide the numbers and flip them to reveal each one as we go.

advent calendar / paper flowers / green candle / gold frame / shelf brackets

Hilariously enough, the description on the Target website doesn’t even seem to acknowledge that it’s an advent calendar – and weirdly suggests gluing them into their storage box (???). Guess there are lots of ways to use this thing.

Sherry did pepper some ornaments and greenery elsewhere in the kitchen, though. And yes, we’ve officially jumped on the letterboard bandwagon thanks to our friend Mandi at Vintage Revivals who surprised us with this one. You can get them on Amazon or on her site (where there’s a buy-2-get-1-free deal with the code FREEGIFT). We’ve been planning to take it the beach house, but decided we’d have some fun with it here first. Home Alone anyone?

letterboard / similar cutting board / blinds / page-a-day calendar

The K.I.S.S. greenery theme continues in the foyer (that stands for “keep it simple stupid” and not the face painted heavy metal band who famously flaunt their tongues). It doesn’t take much to get that wintery feeling in here, since the white-on-white stuff with all those layered textures already feels pretty cozy, so Sherry just added an evergreen branch and a white feather tree. I’m happy to report that this vignette can last us well through winter, so don’t be surprised if you still see it hanging around in March.

similar baskets / similar acrylic table / similar white feather tree / large glass vase / similar mirror

We also referenced Sherry’s hoard of bottle brush trees in last week’s podcast and this year she decided to cluster them in the office since they’re so colorful. It works well because that room is pretty busy (both visually and literally) so they fit right in.

similar bottle brush trees // round mirror / parsons desk / bookcase 

Nothing really happens upstairs except for a few mini trees. My personal favorite is the one that sits in the bonus room, because it glows from down the hall and we can see it from outside in the driveway too. This is a photo from last year (forgive me) but it looks pretty much exactly the same this year. We boxed everything up together when we packed it away last year (the tree, its ornaments, and even the extension cord) so setting it up was easy and fast.

similar rug / vintage rocker / similar tree / sofa / globe

This is another photo from last year (gasp!) but again, it’s nearly identical this season. It’s our daughter’s artificial tree that we added several years ago when she was old enough to handle the “responsibility” of her own little tree (aka: don’t pull ornaments off and put them in your mouth or attempt to hang them on the dog). The tree came with its own little plastic pot at the base, but Sherry likes to slide it into one of her woven baskets (that she painted) which looks extra cheerful.

similar lidded basket / similar tree / quote art / door color: BM Cinco De Mayo

What’s new this year is our son’s tree, since he can finally be trusted with one of his own. He picked out this green tinsel tree himself ($8? sold!) because, well, he’s three and it was just about the coolest thing he’d ever seen. Scratch that – it was the coolest thing he’d ever seen once we added a string of colored LED lights to it. Each year we let the kids pick out some new soft ornaments for the shared tree in the bonus room, but we let him sneak his favorite one (this knitted wreath, which he lovingly calls his “Christmas Donut”) onto his tree, along with some shatterproof balls.

dragon & gorilla baskets / similar woven baskets / similar rug / tree / lights / bookcase

I’ll admit it makes me feel a little Scrooge-y to keep talking about pulling back on our holiday decor, but as Sherry said in the podcast: we’re really just trying to focus on the decorations that make us all the happiest, and cut out the parts that seem more labor than love. Everyone loved putting up ornaments this year, so we focused on the trees. Sherry’s favorite pun of her entire life is “boots with the fir” – so those fir-stuffed boots landed on the porch with glee. And she loves going wreath making with the girls, so she made this hilariously giant one this year (which you probably saw on Instagram).

similar wreath / red boots / welcome mat / fake trees in those black pots (yes they’re fake!) / door color: BM Blue Lake

And, well, I love my shed. So while Sherry was off wrestling half of planet earth’s magnolia leaves onto a single wreath, I picked up a few strands of colorful LEDs and some roof clips to bring some cheer to my little home away from home. I’m not brave enough to attempt this on our real roof, but I thought this would be a fun way to dress up the backyard without being 30′ from the ground.

Plus, the kids are super into rainbow lights this year, so it felt like the perfect place to deviate from the all-white lights that live in the front yard. Methinks it might need some more though. Maybe next year!

Actually, the main thing on our list for next year is an artificial tree for the beach house. We don’t think we’re going to be there enough this season to really make it worth it, but you can bet your britches I’m gonna be hunting down a discounted artificial tree on the 26th to have there next year! Maybe even an extra tall one since we have 9′ ceilings downstairs in there.

And for good measure, let’s wrap this post up with a little “Get The Look” mood board that Sherry put together. It’s not a comprehensive list since so many of our decorations are a few years old, but we did our best to find comparable items and to link to the exact things we have & love whenever we could (like the magnolia garland, a few of our ornaments, our new advent calendar, and yes, that’s our exact tree in the middle).

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 / 14 / 15 / 16 / 17 / 18

Happy holidays everyone!

Psst- Want more holiday posts and ideas? Here are a bunch of holiday & entertaining posts from years past.

*This post contains affiliate links*

The post Holiday House Tour 2017 appeared first on Young House Love.

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8265713 http://ift.tt/2Aw8hqr via IFTTT

#IFTTT #RSSMix.com Mix ID 8265713

[jennarocca]

Holiday House Tour 2017

I don’t know why I’m always compelled to start these holiday house tour posts by type-shouting “SMILING’S MY FAVORITE” but there I’ve already gone and done it. ‘Tis the season. Moving on. Here’s how we decked our proverbial halls for Christmas this year. As you may have heard in last week’s podcast, we’re continuing last year’s mission to simplify our holiday decorations. We still want our home to feel festive, but in a way that doesn’t feel too crowded and overwhelming (or take too crazy long to set up and take down). So the living room is pretty much just all about the tree and the mantle.

sofa / side tables / chairs / round marble table / blinds / ottoman / similar lamps & TV table

The tree is an artificial one that we’ve had for over five years.  It has some of the most realistic looking branches we’ve laid eyes on when it comes to fake trees, but at this point most of its original light strands are burnt out (we had a good run!) and last year we gave up trying to fix them (Sherry spent 30 minutes hunting down the wrong bulb only to replace it and watch the entire strand blow out again ten minutes later). So at this point it’s mostly lit with these strands from Target.

It took a few tests to find lights that matched the warm-ish color temperature of the original bulbs (all the LED versions were too blue looking) so we’ve hoarded a few extra boxes for down the road. The ornaments are all a mish-mash of sentimental and homemade items we’ve collected over the years and I think this year was the most fun the kids have had helping us decorate it. Maybe because they’re finally both old enough that Sherry and I are shouting “BE CAREFUL!” and “DON’T TOUCH THAT ONE, IT CAN BREAK!” less and less throughout the process.

Christmas tree / similar rug / similar tree skirts / similar stocking / garland / similar mirror 

Our typically colorful fireplace (which you can see in last year’s holiday house tour) is more subdued this year, thanks to Sherry’s greenery kick and this faux magnolia garland she bought a few months ago. She noticed it looked a little dark up there at first, so she added some ceramic white houses we’ve had for a few years (these are similar – ours are actually ornaments with the hangers cut off) and some battery operated fairy lights to bring some lightness to the mantle.

faux magnolia garland / similar stockings / battery powered lights / similar ceramic houses / similar mirror

We did pepper in some nods to the season on the living room bookcases too, but they’re easy to miss at first glance. I actually didn’t notice the mouse until I uploaded this photo (which I took!). Let’s play a little game of Where’s Waldo (Waldo the mouse, not that guy in the striped shirt).

Those small figurines are hand-me-downs from Sherry’s mom and it takes everything in Sherry’s power to not keep them out all year (miniatures are her true weakness in life). The holiday “terrarium” is a DIY project from a few years ago and we picked up the pink wooden trees at the gift shop of our local botanical garden last year during an office Christmas party (not our office – that would just be weird – it was for the ad agency where I consult).

pink trees / gold frame / holiday shadow box / our book ;)

The kitchen is also showing some holiday restraint this year. We’re using the area under the floating shelves to house the wooden house advent calendar Sherry picked up from the Magnolia collection at Target. I’ll be honest that we were a little perplexed as to how to actually use it as an advent calendar. Do you pull the “block of the day” out front as you count down? Move a little bow from house to house as you go? We decided just to turn them all around to hide the numbers and flip them to reveal each one as we go.

advent calendar / paper flowers / green candle / gold frame / shelf brackets

Hilariously enough, the description on the Target website doesn’t even seem to acknowledge that it’s an advent calendar – and weirdly suggests gluing them into their storage box (???). Guess there are lots of ways to use this thing.

Sherry did pepper some ornaments and greenery elsewhere in the kitchen, though. And yes, we’ve officially jumped on the letterboard bandwagon thanks to our friend Mandi at Vintage Revivals who surprised us with this one. You can get them on Amazon or on her site (where there’s a buy-2-get-1-free deal with the code FREEGIFT). We’ve been planning to take it the beach house, but decided we’d have some fun with it here first. Home Alone anyone?

letterboard / similar cutting board / blinds / page-a-day calendar

The K.I.S.S. greenery theme continues in the foyer (that stands for “keep it simple stupid” and not the face painted heavy metal band who famously flaunt their tongues). It doesn’t take much to get that wintery feeling in here, since the white-on-white stuff with all those layered textures already feels pretty cozy, so Sherry just added an evergreen branch and a white feather tree. I’m happy to report that this vignette can last us well through winter, so don’t be surprised if you still see it hanging around in March.

similar baskets / similar acrylic table / similar white feather tree / large glass vase / similar mirror

We also referenced Sherry’s hoard of bottle brush trees in last week’s podcast and this year she decided to cluster them in the office since they’re so colorful. It works well because that room is pretty busy (both visually and literally) so they fit right in.

similar bottle brush trees // round mirror / parsons desk / bookcase 

Nothing really happens upstairs except for a few mini trees. My personal favorite is the one that sits in the bonus room, because it glows from down the hall and we can see it from outside in the driveway too. This is a photo from last year (forgive me) but it looks pretty much exactly the same this year. We boxed everything up together when we packed it away last year (the tree, its ornaments, and even the extension cord) so setting it up was easy and fast.

similar rug / vintage rocker / similar tree / sofa / globe

This is another photo from last year (gasp!) but again, it’s nearly identical this season. It’s our daughter’s artificial tree that we added several years ago when she was old enough to handle the “responsibility” of her own little tree (aka: don’t pull ornaments off and put them in your mouth or attempt to hang them on the dog). The tree came with its own little plastic pot at the base, but Sherry likes to slide it into one of her woven baskets (that she painted) which looks extra cheerful.

similar lidded basket / similar tree / quote art / door color: BM Cinco De Mayo

What’s new this year is our son’s tree, since he can finally be trusted with one of his own. He picked out this green tinsel tree himself ($8? sold!) because, well, he’s three and it was just about the coolest thing he’d ever seen. Scratch that – it was the coolest thing he’d ever seen once we added a string of colored LED lights to it. Each year we let the kids pick out some new soft ornaments for the shared tree in the bonus room, but we let him sneak his favorite one (this knitted wreath, which he lovingly calls his “Christmas Donut”) onto his tree, along with some shatterproof balls.

dragon & gorilla baskets / similar woven baskets / similar rug / tree / lights / bookcase

I’ll admit it makes me feel a little Scrooge-y to keep talking about pulling back on our holiday decor, but as Sherry said in the podcast: we’re really just trying to focus on the decorations that make us all the happiest, and cut out the parts that seem more labor than love. Everyone loved putting up ornaments this year, so we focused on the trees. Sherry’s favorite pun of her entire life is “boots with the fir” – so those fir-stuffed boots landed on the porch with glee. And she loves going wreath making with the girls, so she made this hilariously giant one this year (which you probably saw on Instagram).

similar wreath / red boots / welcome mat / fake trees in those black pots (yes they’re fake!) / door color: BM Blue Lake

And, well, I love my shed. So while Sherry was off wrestling half of planet earth’s magnolia leaves onto a single wreath, I picked up a few strands of colorful LEDs and some roof clips to bring some cheer to my little home away from home. I’m not brave enough to attempt this on our real roof, but I thought this would be a fun way to dress up the backyard without being 30′ from the ground.

Plus, the kids are super into rainbow lights this year, so it felt like the perfect place to deviate from the all-white lights that live in the front yard. Methinks it might need some more though. Maybe next year!

Actually, the main thing on our list for next year is an artificial tree for the beach house. We don’t think we’re going to be there enough this season to really make it worth it, but you can bet your britches I’m gonna be hunting down a discounted artificial tree on the 26th to have there next year! Maybe even an extra tall one since we have 9′ ceilings downstairs in there.

And for good measure, let’s wrap this post up with a little “Get The Look” mood board that Sherry put together. It’s not a comprehensive list since so many of our decorations are a few years old, but we did our best to find comparable items and to link to the exact things we have & love whenever we could (like the magnolia garland, a few of our ornaments, our new advent calendar, and yes, that’s our exact tree in the middle).

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 / 14 / 15 / 16 / 17 / 18

Happy holidays everyone!

Psst- Want more holiday posts and ideas? Here are a bunch of holiday & entertaining posts from years past.

*This post contains affiliate links*

The post Holiday House Tour 2017 appeared first on Young House Love.

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8265713 http://ift.tt/2Aw8hqr via IFTTT

#IFTTT #RSSMix.com Mix ID 8265713

[jayyd0ll]

Holiday House Tour 2017

I don’t know why I’m always compelled to start these holiday house tour posts by type-shouting “SMILING’S MY FAVORITE” but there I’ve already gone and done it. ‘Tis the season. Moving on. Here’s how we decked our proverbial halls for Christmas this year. As you may have heard in last week’s podcast, we’re continuing last year’s mission to simplify our holiday decorations. We still want our home to feel festive, but in a way that doesn’t feel too crowded and overwhelming (or take too crazy long to set up and take down). So the living room is pretty much just all about the tree and the mantle.

sofa / side tables / chairs / round marble table / blinds / ottoman / similar lamps & TV table

The tree is an artificial one that we’ve had for over five years.  It has some of the most realistic looking branches we’ve laid eyes on when it comes to fake trees, but at this point most of its original light strands are burnt out (we had a good run!) and last year we gave up trying to fix them (Sherry spent 30 minutes hunting down the wrong bulb only to replace it and watch the entire strand blow out again ten minutes later). So at this point it’s mostly lit with these strands from Target.

It took a few tests to find lights that matched the warm-ish color temperature of the original bulbs (all the LED versions were too blue looking) so we’ve hoarded a few extra boxes for down the road. The ornaments are all a mish-mash of sentimental and homemade items we’ve collected over the years and I think this year was the most fun the kids have had helping us decorate it. Maybe because they’re finally both old enough that Sherry and I are shouting “BE CAREFUL!” and “DON’T TOUCH THAT ONE, IT CAN BREAK!” less and less throughout the process.

Christmas tree / similar rug / similar tree skirts / similar stocking / garland / similar mirror 

Our typically colorful fireplace (which you can see in last year’s holiday house tour) is more subdued this year, thanks to Sherry’s greenery kick and this faux magnolia garland she bought a few months ago. She noticed it looked a little dark up there at first, so she added some ceramic white houses we’ve had for a few years (these are similar – ours are actually ornaments with the hangers cut off) and some battery operated fairy lights to bring some lightness to the mantle.

faux magnolia garland / similar stockings / battery powered lights / similar ceramic houses / similar mirror

We did pepper in some nods to the season on the living room bookcases too, but they’re easy to miss at first glance. I actually didn’t notice the mouse until I uploaded this photo (which I took!). Let’s play a little game of Where’s Waldo (Waldo the mouse, not that guy in the striped shirt).

Those small figurines are hand-me-downs from Sherry’s mom and it takes everything in Sherry’s power to not keep them out all year (miniatures are her true weakness in life). The holiday “terrarium” is a DIY project from a few years ago and we picked up the pink wooden trees at the gift shop of our local botanical garden last year during an office Christmas party (not our office – that would just be weird – it was for the ad agency where I consult).

pink trees / gold frame / holiday shadow box / our book ;)

The kitchen is also showing some holiday restraint this year. We’re using the area under the floating shelves to house the wooden house advent calendar Sherry picked up from the Magnolia collection at Target. I’ll be honest that we were a little perplexed as to how to actually use it as an advent calendar. Do you pull the “block of the day” out front as you count down? Move a little bow from house to house as you go? We decided just to turn them all around to hide the numbers and flip them to reveal each one as we go.

advent calendar / paper flowers / green candle / gold frame / shelf brackets

Hilariously enough, the description on the Target website doesn’t even seem to acknowledge that it’s an advent calendar – and weirdly suggests gluing them into their storage box (???). Guess there are lots of ways to use this thing.

Sherry did pepper some ornaments and greenery elsewhere in the kitchen, though. And yes, we’ve officially jumped on the letterboard bandwagon thanks to our friend Mandi at Vintage Revivals who surprised us with this one. You can get them on Amazon or on her site (where there’s a buy-2-get-1-free deal with the code FREEGIFT). We’ve been planning to take it the beach house, but decided we’d have some fun with it here first. Home Alone anyone?

letterboard / similar cutting board / blinds / page-a-day calendar

The K.I.S.S. greenery theme continues in the foyer (that stands for “keep it simple stupid” and not the face painted heavy metal band who famously flaunt their tongues). It doesn’t take much to get that wintery feeling in here, since the white-on-white stuff with all those layered textures already feels pretty cozy, so Sherry just added an evergreen branch and a white feather tree. I’m happy to report that this vignette can last us well through winter, so don’t be surprised if you still see it hanging around in March.

similar baskets / similar acrylic table / similar white feather tree / large glass vase / similar mirror

We also referenced Sherry’s hoard of bottle brush trees in last week’s podcast and this year she decided to cluster them in the office since they’re so colorful. It works well because that room is pretty busy (both visually and literally) so they fit right in.

similar bottle brush trees // round mirror / parsons desk / bookcase 

Nothing really happens upstairs except for a few mini trees. My personal favorite is the one that sits in the bonus room, because it glows from down the hall and we can see it from outside in the driveway too. This is a photo from last year (forgive me) but it looks pretty much exactly the same this year. We boxed everything up together when we packed it away last year (the tree, its ornaments, and even the extension cord) so setting it up was easy and fast.

similar rug / vintage rocker / similar tree / sofa / globe

This is another photo from last year (gasp!) but again, it’s nearly identical this season. It’s our daughter’s artificial tree that we added several years ago when she was old enough to handle the “responsibility” of her own little tree (aka: don’t pull ornaments off and put them in your mouth or attempt to hang them on the dog). The tree came with its own little plastic pot at the base, but Sherry likes to slide it into one of her woven baskets (that she painted) which looks extra cheerful.

similar lidded basket / similar tree / quote art / door color: BM Cinco De Mayo

What’s new this year is our son’s tree, since he can finally be trusted with one of his own. He picked out this green tinsel tree himself ($8? sold!) because, well, he’s three and it was just about the coolest thing he’d ever seen. Scratch that – it was the coolest thing he’d ever seen once we added a string of colored LED lights to it. Each year we let the kids pick out some new soft ornaments for the shared tree in the bonus room, but we let him sneak his favorite one (this knitted wreath, which he lovingly calls his “Christmas Donut”) onto his tree, along with some shatterproof balls.

dragon & gorilla baskets / similar woven baskets / similar rug / tree / lights / bookcase

I’ll admit it makes me feel a little Scrooge-y to keep talking about pulling back on our holiday decor, but as Sherry said in the podcast: we’re really just trying to focus on the decorations that make us all the happiest, and cut out the parts that seem more labor than love. Everyone loved putting up ornaments this year, so we focused on the trees. Sherry’s favorite pun of her entire life is “boots with the fir” – so those fir-stuffed boots landed on the porch with glee. And she loves going wreath making with the girls, so she made this hilariously giant one this year (which you probably saw on Instagram).

similar wreath / red boots / welcome mat / fake trees in those black pots (yes they’re fake!) / door color: BM Blue Lake

And, well, I love my shed. So while Sherry was off wrestling half of planet earth’s magnolia leaves onto a single wreath, I picked up a few strands of colorful LEDs and some roof clips to bring some cheer to my little home away from home. I’m not brave enough to attempt this on our real roof, but I thought this would be a fun way to dress up the backyard without being 30′ from the ground.

Plus, the kids are super into rainbow lights this year, so it felt like the perfect place to deviate from the all-white lights that live in the front yard. Methinks it might need some more though. Maybe next year!

Actually, the main thing on our list for next year is an artificial tree for the beach house. We don’t think we’re going to be there enough this season to really make it worth it, but you can bet your britches I’m gonna be hunting down a discounted artificial tree on the 26th to have there next year! Maybe even an extra tall one since we have 9′ ceilings downstairs in there.

And for good measure, let’s wrap this post up with a little “Get The Look” mood board that Sherry put together. It’s not a comprehensive list since so many of our decorations are a few years old, but we did our best to find comparable items and to link to the exact things we have & love whenever we could (like the magnolia garland, a few of our ornaments, our new advent calendar, and yes, that’s our exact tree in the middle).

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 / 14 / 15 / 16 / 17 / 18

Happy holidays everyone!

Psst- Want more holiday posts and ideas? Here are a bunch of holiday & entertaining posts from years past.

*This post contains affiliate links*

The post Holiday House Tour 2017 appeared first on Young House Love.

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8265713 http://ift.tt/2Aw8hqr via IFTTT

#IFTTT #RSSMix.com Mix ID 8265713