Relax! Have Fun!

Hope everyone felt extra blessed this Thanksgiving weekend.
We spent a wonderful weekend with our daughter and her hubby. We had the best time. We helped them paint the new basement that includes a giant family room, a full bath, and an office/bedroom. We worked hard and laughed a lot! If you know us, laughing is what we do best! They are expecting our first grandchild in April and we are so excited! It was fun to see the ultrasound videos and talk about nursery decorating plans etc. We feel so blessed to have them include us in all of this.
This brings me to my point.
As Christmas approaches it seems the world goes into a sort of frenzy. Everyone becomes so wrapped up in what they feel are the "have tos" that we all forget to enjoy the simple moments of faith, family, and friendships. I can't help but think that if we would all just Relax and Refocus and get back to what is really important, the holiday season would be filled with the magic and wonder of our childhood memories. I for one am going to try this and quit trying to create the "perfect" Christmas. I love Christmas and have a zillion Christmas traditions. I have more decorations than anyone should have,I could open my own shop and fill it up I think. There is such a thing as going overboard. While all of the "stuff" of Christmas is fun and part of our traditions, the reason for this season is Jesus and for me, this is where the focus should be. Won't you join me in trying to relax and simplify this holiday season?

Don't forget: I am offering a 15% discount at lovethedecor.com through Tonight as a gift to you my faithful friends. There are many wonderful gift ideas and home decor products for you or anyone on your Christmas list. Extende thru Dec 4th
Just enter code decor15 and discount will be applied to your order.
Also watch for my giveaway over at The Shabby Chic Cottage
Gina is doing a day of givewaways you won't want to miss!!

Happy Thanksgiving

Just taking a minute from baking to wish each of you a blessed Thanksgiving weekend. Praying you will pause in the busyness to relax and enjoy the moment. Remember to give thanks to the ONE who has blessed us with more than we deserve.
Thanks to each of you who let me be a part of your daily routine and for the constant encouragement you send my way.
~Happy Thanksgiving~

Look what I've been up to

As a decorator I often get the opportunity to decorate trees and homes for my clients for Christmas.
That's what I've done for the past 3 days. I love to do this and it is always fun to see how the trees will turn out from year to year. Though I often use the same items the placement of the items is different and it kind of takes on a life of it's own. The outcome of each tree is always amazing to me. I did not get great pictures, or many of them. This particular home is huge and I haven't taken the time to get pictures of everything yet. As always, I think the trees are prettier in person.
Thought you might enjoy a peek at what I do have.
Hope you have a great weekend.

Doors of Welcome

I am linking up with Karen from Some days are Diamonds today for the Doors of Welcome event. We are all showing off our doors dressed up and ready for fall and Thanksgiving. My porch doesn't change a great deal from Halloween to Thanksgiving, however I did add a few more fallish color to the wreath and put it on the door instead of the side wall. I also added a pillow to bring in a bit more color.
You know, you only get one chance to make a great first impression. This applies to your home too. Many times we are so concerned about the inside of our homes, we forget that the front porch or front door is actually the first thing people see of our home. So dress it up for the seasons and let it speak a warm welcome to your visiting friends and neighbors!
Welcome to my front porch... Door color: Sherwin Williams Red Barn SW7591. Enjoy looking and come on in for a cup of coffee
I would love to sit and chat with you!

Thanksgiving Traditions and a few Christmas ones too!

We have far more traditions for Christmas than we do for Thanksgiving. I am however, big on tradition. We almost always have the traditional turkey dinner. One of the things we have done over the years is spend the Thanksgiving Holiday with my hubby's family in a nearby city. If everyone comes there is 24 of us. The day is filled with lots of laughter, children, (his sis does foster care) and fun. Not to mention way too much food.
Something we have done, that I really enjoy is to put everyone's name in a bowl, pass it around the table, draw a name, and then talk about what we are thankful for about the person whose name we drew. Because families are not perfect and there is sometimes "drama " this "game" reconnects people and makes us all view a loved one through a different perspective. It is fun to hear what everyone shares and it just kinda gives you a warm fuzzy for the day.
Thanksgiving weekend is when I pull out the Christmas decorations. It takes days for me to decorate the house. I could open a store with the amount of christmas decor I have. Every room in the house changes for Christmas. It is almost like moving,packing away the everyday stuff and transforming each room for the Christmas season.
Another tradition we have, is playing Christmas music starting on Halloween. I think this started when my girls were very little and it snowed on halloween day. The girls thought it felt like Christmas so we pulled out the Christmas music and the tradition was born. My hubby thinks we are crazy but I even find him humming to the music now and then. We have several more Christmas traditions I will share later. What are your traditions? Link up with Is So Very Cheri for the party.
And Link up with Debra @ Bungalow for more Thanksgiving Sharing

Tile info and an Award

I feel as if I haven't been around with any good tips lately. The truth is I just wasn't feeling very creative. I think I used it all up on my last two design projects. My inspiration came this morning though, when a friend called with a question about tile and the difference between ceramic and porcelain tile. It seems her hubby got inspired to rip up the bathroom this weekend and now she needs to pick paint and tile.
It occurred to me that some of you might be wondering the same thing so here a bit of information to help.
Tile can add a sense of elegance to any room. Ceramic tiles are made up of clay and quartz ferrous sand material and water. Once the tiles are formed they are fired to high temperatures and in some cases their surfaces are glazed. The only difference between Porcelain tile and regular ceramic tile is that the clay used in porcelain tile is more highly refined and purified and often times they are fired longer and at higher temperatures. This causes the porcelain tiles to be denser and stronger than a ceramic tile.
Porcelain tiles are more rugged making them ideal for high traffic applications. Also, because of their higher density, porcelain tiles are less likely to absorb moisture (0.5%) which makes them more durable and more resistant to staining. Porcelain tiles are often found in outdoor areas and in cold weather climates where freezing can occur. With their low absorption capability they are less likely to crack in cold weather climates. The tiles today have so many new and exciting patterns and designs to choose from, that your tiled areas can become the decoration in a room. Weather it is your backsplash, countertop, or flooring, there is so much to get creative with in the way of tile. Be daring and have fun with it.
So there you have it. Hope this helps you in making your decision about tiling.

On a different note, I have been the recipient of a few blog awards. I will share about one now, and more in another post.
The over the top award from my friend Elizabeth over at inside me She has a great blog and she is a very talented scrap booker and wonderful lady in general!!
In recognition of this award I now must answer a list of questions with only 1 word replies for each...
1. Where is your cell phone? Desk
2. Your hair? Thick
3. Your mother? Tennessee.
4. Your father? Home.
5. Your favorite food? Chocolate.
6. Your dream last night? Odd
7. Your favorite drink? Coffee.
8. Your dream/goal? Christlikeness.
9. What room are you in? Family.
10. Your hobby? Decorating.
11. Your fear? Spiders.
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Debtfree.
13. Where were you last night? Home.
14. Something that you aren't? boring.
15. Muffins? poppyseed.
16. Wish list item? Italy
17. Where did you grow up? Washington.
18. Last thing you did? read.
19. What are you wearing? Jeans.
20. Your TV? on
21. Your Pets? Cute.
22. Friends? Lifeline
23. Your life? Blessed.
24. Your mood? content
25. Missing Someone? Daughter
26. vehicle? Mercedes.
27. Something you're not wearing? Shoes
28. Your favorite store? Silver Sage
29. Your favorite color? blue.
30. When was the last time you laughed? Today.
31. Last time you cried? Sunday
32. Your best friend? Jay.
33. One place that I go to over and over? Starbucks.
34. Facebook? yes
35. Favorite place to eat? Home
Thanks for the award Elizabeth right back at you!! :) I am now supposed to bestow the award to other bloggers but I just can't pick. You are all very special and are all Over the top to me in so many ways. So consider your self awarded and have a blessed day!!

New Project

I've been wanting to share with you a project I have been working on. I had an opportunity to redo an office in a neighboring city for an employment staffing business.
Here are some before pictures







We had to keep the carpet (ugh), but we could rip out cabinets and we were allowed to paint. The carpet is a blue gray and a goldish tan color and the logo for the company is navy. So we picked a blue brown and tan/gold color scheme.
We needed to have a reception area, a testing area, and a waiting "room". So we painted, we took out existing counters and built a new curved cherry one to greet clients as the come in. We shopped and we shopped.
Here is the result.



I must add that since this photo has been taken, the mirror in the above photo has been lowered to better fit the space.
My clients were very pleased with the result and we still have a few areas to finish up. There are 3 offices in the building, a break room and a conference room that have been painted and decorated too. I haven't been back to get all of the finished pictures. The owners will be sending them to me soon.

The winner is...

Thank you all so much for entering my first ever Giveaway. I appreciate all of your comments and kind words. Thank you to everyone who tweeted or blogged as well!! I love this candle line and am excited to have been able to share it with you. Please keep them in mind for all of your holiday gift giving and home decorating needs.
After writing all of your names and multiple entries on strips of paper, I am beginning to think that random number thing might not be so bad after all? :)
My very own "Vanna" to do the drawing (aka daughter Kara)


Anyway... the winner is... Bess @ See Bess Run
Congratulations Bess
Please email me and let me know your choices. I am sending you an email as well.