Early Mornings

My husband stayed up late to watch football and my Daughter was out late with friends.

So I have the indulgent early mornings to myself. I heat up my lavender neck wrap and turn on the Keurig.  I love to Heat a quest protein  bar/ rocky road ( new flavor)  and grab a bottled water. I sit in my favorite white velvet chair  and peruse social media and look up diy tutorials on how to change a MK watch battery… Really the jewelers charge a bit much for that service . Watch makers should include a spare battery and tools because that would be a wonderful marketing idea.

I also get to look at my handy work of Christmas decorating…. Solitude is not overrated In My book… I enjoy the quiet time of early mornings. How about you?

White Roses

I love the pure and clean look of white roses. I have set them as a center piece for my Christmas table scape. The first thing I do is cut them so they just hover above the vase. I throw away the  baby’s breath  or use it for another arrangement. I also remove all the leaves off each stem. This allowsfor a cleaner look. 

My theme is more winter wonderland than the traditional decorating I leaned to when the children were young. I really want to upgrade to a flocked Christmas tree. The look of snow drenched branches  is just beautiful! I revived my two white Christmas trees again this year and I am  very pleased with they way they turned out…

Fall Fashion trend obsessed with Wine

Warm hues like rich Cabernets and Merlots maybe burgundy is a more mundane way to describe this color.

I have recently invested in a long skirt with a high front slit. I also have purchased a jersey tunic. I am currently obsessed with nordstroms suede jacket and Steve Maddens New caddy sandal.

Also I am currently loving Essie’s gel polish spiked with style.

This color palette looks amazing with charcoal gray and winter white…. Also navy…

I have provided a few photos of the skirt, shoes and jacket below

Jacket is from Nordstroms and is a best seller! $188.00

Skirt is on Sale at New York and company for $21.00

And the shoes are Steve Madden $98.00 

Winter Storm 2016

Tags

cold, family, musings, snow, thoughts, videos, weather, winterstorm

Winter Storm 2016… There is something very special about snow we must admit.. Most everyone gets a little giddy about the possibility of a free/snow day and why not? The world seems to slow down a bit and we have a snug window of a moment to enjoy loved ones by cooking soups/stews and maybe warm beverages. Followed by Sledding and building snowmen and creating memories.. It is the bright ray in the darkest coldest season. A beautiful moment to enjoy. 

Gifts

Tags

collections, decorating, Fashion, gifts, glamour, nutcrackers, Pier One Imports

My husband and I typically do not exchange gifts on Christmas. We have all that we need snd purchase  items we want during the season.

Well while doing our family shopping together I spotted this female nutcracker at Pier One Imports. I loved it! I have collected nutcrackers for years. However, displaying all of them each season can be a bit of a chore. I just could not justify spending the cash on something whimisical.

So what a wonderful surprise when   My husband surprised me with her on Christmas Eve!

She is a red haired glamorous shopper nutcracker or at least thats my interpretation…

So cheers and happy season and hete is to wonderful surprises.

  

Grooming for the Holidays

Tags

beauty, nails

As I have stated in previous posts.. I can be a bit adventorous when it comes to pedicures. Well I have been gel free for about 3 months.. I had a nail fungus 🙄  now it was quite benign and daily applications of tea tree oil cured it.. My  finger nails have been…gasp… Naked!

Well I became inspired by a Kate Spade holiday list of things to do…..

So I decided to do both my fingers and toes in rose gold shimmer with black tips… Excuse my old hands in the pic but oh what holiday fun…. 

 

Celebrating the Holidays ( very untraditional )

  
Now that the kiddos have grown up. One over seas protecting the country the other a senior in college and chasing the mighty dollar.. She is actually Working on Thanksgiving!  We. The four that was available actually celebrated on a Tuesday .. Two days early at a steak house … I know! No turkey or dressing or cooking.. This is not because we can not cook. We have done turkey in brine and homemade cranberry sauce ( serious food network junkies ) in the past. Trust me my filet was perfect.. 

As the family dynamics changes.. So does tradition… And that goes for decorating as well. So away with the fresh $80.00 fraser fir  with all the traditional trimmings and welcome to my  twin artificial white christmas trees… I am embracing change with a new-decorative mind set…

I had no idea how I was going to decorate   them .. What color scheme?  So I did what any woman living in the 21st century would do and perused Pinterest!! 

I love the elegant look of silver and gold.. I used a combination of old ornaments that I actually had forgotten about ( middle age fog brain )… But let me tell you this! My old lights had green wire and that stuck   out like a sore thumb.. So off I go back to the nearest Hardware store to find  lights with a white wire!! Lessons learned.

Next tree took another 24 hours. Decisions , decisions! I decided to use what I had because most if the silver and gold ornaments were exhausted on the first tree. I used red and gold with a few personal ornaments thrown in…

Here is the second tree.  

 I used that fluffy snow stuff instead of expensive tree skirts..

Heres to celebrating the holidays in a new style! Have you changed your traditions?

Date Night

  On the way to dinner last night. Why oh why is it so difficult for us to chose where to dine? I believes it stems from boredom. We started out with a local eatery as a choice then moved to a new joint but that place waa crazy packed and my hubby has no tolerance for lines. We settled finally on Sushi.. Then furniture shopping .. Then food shopping… 
Well as we were heading to dinner 1-40 was flirting around with the twilight scene.. I thought what a lovely image. The blue ridge mountains surrounded by the warm glow of the sunset…

Photograph  credit : me

Location: Interstate 40. North Carolina

Sunny Daze

After the third rainy Monday in a row and the last one was truly a monsoon! Enough already I say. Well the weather Gods must have heard me because it has been a beautifully sunny week! There is something about those warm rays that that cause the slightest tickle at the corner of your mouth…. Yes I am smiling. My eyes are sparkling and my wardrobe has improved with this change in weather. 

Sometimes it really is the small things that I cherish. A beautiful day after much rain and in the Month that hints at even bleaker weather.

Photography credit: me

Location: Conover, NC

  

Room with a view

Capturing everyday beauty… Take time to appreciate the immediate aesthetics around you… This is the view from my dining room window.. I am always aware of the beauty surrounding me and I am happy that I possess a handy tool.. Aka the  

 iPhone.. To quickly capture the beauty my eyes behold… What everyday things do you capture?