A Perfect Pair

I always get so excited when I see a piece at the French Market that reminds me of rooms that I adore. This home from Cottage Living has been a long time favorite of mine and well, so has this chair. I am over on Mrs. French sharing a few more pairings and have a French Market annual sale announcement.

The family and I are heading to Atlanta for a little over night adventure. I Hope you all have a wonderful New Year and I truly can not wait for a new year to share with all of you. I am sure 2011 will be quite grand.

Baking

Ellie and I made these sweet pumpkin pie custards in mason jars for a few of the neighbors on Christmas eve. I got the idea from Black Eiffel who listed a few great links on how to's. I went with inchmark's how to who used the recipe from Martha Stewart's Everyday Foods. I could not find the tiny mason jars like she did so I went with the 1/2 pint jars and doubled the recipe which made eight. It also increased the baking time to almost an hour where it only took inchmark 35 min. I would just keep an eye on it. I then topped it off with homemade labels. Oh, and it really is just a pie without crust, hence I call it a custard. We will most definitely be trying this again with other pie recipes, so fun!

A White Christmas

This year I was able to host Christmas and it could not have been any more fun. We spent the morning watching the kiddos open gifts, relaxing, and cooking the main course. Christmas eve day Ellie and I began the festivities with quite a bit of baking. One of my favorite traditions is baking Jesus a birthday cake and this year we went with the Sprinkles mix, so good. Ellie then was sure to let Jesus know she was going to save the best one for Him, but He would have to multiply it if He wanted to share with everyone in Heaven. I set the table using my late grandmothers dishes and it made my day when my father walked in and said it looked like a table my grandmother would have done. Oh, and the best part? It snowed for the first time on Christmas day since I have lived here.  That's 14 years! Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas also.

Merry Christmas!

Loved this cover from the Sundance catalog. It exudes pure holiday cheer. Ellie insists that this lady is me, she says we have the same smile, ha! Hope you all have a Merry Christmas!

Pretty + Practical

Today I am over on Mrs French sharing my love for pieces that add not only warmth, but extra storage. I am practical like that. 

{image via Cottage Living scanned by me}

Pink Done Right

I saw these images over on The Neo-Traditionalist and was instantly smitten. You know I adore my sea of neutrals, but I must say the pink sofa's have me falling head over heels. Not sure if the Mr. would ever go for it, but wouldn't it be fun? It's from the home of Ann Mashburn owner of the Ann Mashburn boutique in Atlanta. I am thinking I may need to make a stop in while Marianne and I take a day trip to Atlanta to visit a few of our favorite shops.

{images and interview found here}

*Please excuse my scarceness over the past week and this week. We have family in town and I have been working on some last minute projects for others that have had me away from the computer. I will be back after Christmas to catch up on all your blogs and emails. I truly miss so many of you!

Kitchen Obsessed

During my local real estate stalking I came across a home that I have been in love with for quite some time and the price dropped... again. Oh happy day! Well, happy day for someone who is the position to move. The reason I loved it so much was because of this kitchen...

Which happens to remind me of this kitchen from one of my favorite  homes  that was featured in Cottage Living years ago. It also happens to be for sale in the area.

You can see the rest of this storybook cottage over on Mrs. French today. Do you think a house is to much to ask for for Christmas? Just a thought.

Feeling French

Ever have those days when you are lacking in inspiration? Well today I am over on Mrs. French sharing how this simple image inspired me during one of those times.

LIVE LOVE SMALL

Have you seen the newish blog LIVE LOVE SMALL? It is chalk full of inspiration based around the small ones. I came across this room on her blog and was rather enamored with it. It's a huge departure from my own kiddos rooms, but the wooden bed, chalky walls, star lights, and cozy bedding have me wanting to recreate this look. In the mean time I will stick to simpler things inspired by this room. My Ellie would look rather sweet in this dress, KJ loves a good hat and I sure he would be smitten with this one, and as always a fabulous piece of art is always needed.

THIRTY-ONE

Tomorrow my Mr. turns thirty one, but we are shooting a wedding so we are pretending today is his birthday so the kiddos won't be heart broken. We will be celebrating with steaks, cake, and of course presents. Ellie continually made sure I didn't forget the presents. The kiddos think he is the best thing since peanut butter and jelly and I must say that I do agree. I thank God for allowing him to be mine. I simply could not adore him any more, love you babes!

My Favorite Palette

Sharing the rest of this home on Mrs. French today. I simply adore it and it's color palette. 

*image via here

The Long or Short of It

I think this dress is rather lovely. Long or short would do. I think a pair of  rugged boots, a slouchy bag, and glamorous bracelet would make it work for me. A simple braided up do would round it all out nicely. Of course it is in the 30's so perhaps a cute cropped jacket would be needed. Then again this little get up is just a dream so in my dream it could also be in the mid 70's.

Table Settings

Today I am over on Mrs. French sharing a few table setting ideas that the ladies and I from the shop put together. We had so much fun although I am sure they pulled out the Lysol after I left, I could not stop coughing to save my life. Hope to see you there. I would love to know which one is your favorite too. For today this one is mine.

A WIN

Sorry for the missed post on Friday. I have this funk that I can not seem to shake and spending time on the computer is not at the top of my list to be honest. Saturday I woke up feeling rather decent thankfully. We had tickets to the SEC championship in Atlanta. We had a blast with friends, Auburn won, and dinner was amazing. It really could not have been a better day. Sunday I woke up feeling like I got run over by a bus, boo. Today is a new day and we will just see how that goes. Hope you all had a wonderful weekend.

*By funk I mean cold/sick sorry for the confusion. I am doing well.

*pics taken with the blackberry hence the whacked out colors.

A Tree

Today I am over on Mrs. French where I am sharing our advent calendar for this Christmas season. I can easily see it becoming a Christmas tradition. 

Also I would like to say a huge thank you for all your kind words on yesterday's post. I really wish every one of you could come over for a cup of tea and some cookies.

Decking the Halls

As I mentioned yesterday I wanted to go for a more simple and rustic theme for this Christmas and this is what I came up with...

Last year we had a Charlie Brown tree, because I was quite under the weather for the season. This year I was determined to get a huge tree, so we did, 10 ft. I could not be any more excited.

Every year I get the kiddos each a new Krinkles ornament. I then label the box with their name and the year. When they grow up and have their own tree I then plan on giving them their ornaments to start them off right.

We were all home sick yesterday so we watched a lot of netflix hence Dora being on. I thought I would just be real. Ellie thinks the Mr. and I have ugly stockings and the nutcrackers were given to me by grandmother when I was just a child. I adore them.

This little display was made from the trimming of the tree. Cost effective and I rather enjoy it. Oh, did I fail to take a pic of the blow up snowman? So sorry, but it was raining, ha!

We already owned most of the decor I used, but I added fresh greenery and a  few other things. The key in keeping it simple for me is to also keep it budget friendly. I am sure I will add a few things here and there though. I also need to do the dining table up all pretty like, but that will be for another day. Did I also mention I am hosting Christmas dinner here this year? I feel so grown up.