New Cabinet Install

At long last, our new living room cabinet is finally installed and it looks amazing!

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It was made by a young, self-taught, local woodworker and it was definitely worth the wait. It's just what we wanted to break up the main floor space and more clearly define each area. The finish is what I love the most. We didn't want it to look as though it was brand new and matchy-matchy with what we already had in the house. We wanted this space to look and feel as though it had been put together over time, and it does.

A reminder of the original cabinet design.

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And the real deal.

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When it started coming in the house - in a million pieces - I was nervous about how it would all come together. I am a worry wart, what can I say?

It's got great storage on both sides, and is fully wired to plug in stereo and t.v. components.

The dining area side has storage for all my cookbooks and cake stands. The closed storage is for all those unsightly magazine clippings of recipes I've accumulated over the years, and table linens.

I'm still deciding how things will be arranged, but it's already a welcome addition to the main floor.  Love it!

Quick Home Holiday Touches

I really scaled back on the amount of holiday decor in the house this year. But, I have a touch of Christmas in nearly every room...it's just not smacking you in face as it has in previous years.

Enjoy a peak at my holiday home!

I couldn't resist decorating that little princess tree for my vanity. Who doesn't love Disney princesses and Barbie?!

Another Christmas Tree!

Last year Mr. Mel and I went away for the holidays and decided not to set up any Christmas décor. This year has been a lot of fun and a lot less pressure than I usually feel. Maybe doing this every other year is the best way to keep it fun for me.

The second tree this year is in the bonus room upstairs. We spend alot of time up here so I like to have decorations going on around the holidays.

This year's tree is my good buddy the 7' (unlit) tree I've had for many years now. The cost of this tree was a significant investment at the time and the quality shows many years later. Nothing against discount or big box store brands, but this tree is truly beautiful and so well made. Well worth the money...even if I do have to string lights on it.

Again, the storm before the calm wink wink.

Lots of colour going on with this tree...which makes me smile. I went with shades of gold, turquoise, red, green and purple. A few touches of whimsy in the form of a purple owl and a tutu wearing hippo, and it's complete!

I honestly don't think I could fit one more ornament on this tree...it's stuffed full. While it may not apply the rest of the year, at Christmas time MORE is definitely better!

I Love When it Looks so Festive 'Round Here

Ok, Ok, I know I;m a few days late...but time has a way of  getting away from this chick these days.

No lie, folks. I begin to plan my Christmas tree themes/colour schemes in early October. A tad obsessive, yes. I get so inspired by all of the beautiful trees and decorations out there in the blogosphere that I can't help myself.

This year is bittersweet for me. It will be the first Christmas since my mom passed away and I will miss our little traditions, most of which revolved around obsessing about our Christmas trees!

My mom just loved the attention I gave to my trees, and it revved her up to beautify her own tree. Every year we'd go ornament shopping and hit up all our favourite out-of-the-way boutiques and shops, always spending far more money than we intended to. My mom would not-so-subtly gather intel on the theme I was working on and buy ornaments that matched, then "surprise" me with them at the end of the day. I always knew what she was up to, but she enjoyed doing it so much I couldn't bear to ruin her fun. She'd take home her own new treasures and carefully select the perfect place on her tree for each of them. It was always an awesome day, and I will miss spending it with her.

Onto happier thoughts....

This year's main floor tree is new; a 7 1/2 ft flocked tree from Martha Stewart. I've wanted a flocked tree for a few years now so decided to finally go for it.

I have never done a tree in blue, and decided it was about time. My sister often does her tree in shades of blue and I am always struck by how pretty it looks.

In the interest of full disclosure, this is the scene when I decorate a tree.First, approval by the kitties, then the massive sort. Mr. Mel typically makes himself scarce for this process, as my OCD goes into full effect!

Almost 500 decorations, 5 hours (plus or minus another 30 mins to vacuum up the flocking that was everywhere)...and this is the finished product, I hope you like it. My only regret here is that I should have used a ribbon or garland. But, despite that, I am so happy with my blue tree!

 

And for my mom, a memorial angel...