{mantel decor and more}

I just realized that I never posted a picture of our mantel. We used items we mostly had around the house or that I got on clearance last Christmas. 

This is my favorite piece. I snagged this cutie at a thrift store back during the summer. Too bad he didn't photograph well (he's shy) but I'm lovin' the white ceramic style he is rockin'.

I placed these two wood ornaments on the mantel as well. They are two of my favorite words during this season.

I'm sure going to miss looking at this once the holidays are over. The lights make it so cozy. 

We use our dining room table all the time, for everything! We eat there, we use our computers there, I paint my nails there (true story) and basically sometimes it is the catch-all place as soon as walk in the house (please tell me this happens to other people too). So I added a small centerpiece that includes an evergreen candle so we can get that Christmas tree smell without the Christmas tree. This is very functional for us:

Switching gears, I want to give a big CONGRATS to Daniel and Jessica for tying the knot. Daniel went to high school with Todd and were also roommates in college. We were honored to celebrate with them this past weekend. The ceremony was a true act of worship honoring the Lord and the reception was a classy brunch. We were able to catch up with lots of friends which is always fun! Oh happy day!

That's all for now! We have a busy next few days but I'm looking forward to seeing family and friends! 

Cheers,

Sara

Cheap & Easy Art

I'm really into subway art these days. Lucky for all of us, it is easy to find free printables all over the web. Here is a picture of our photo collage wall that I snapped a few weeks ago (I really should have straightened the pics before taking this...oops, just keepin' it real). All of these frames are just random frames we had collected throughout college so we decided to just leave them mismatched. We still aren't totally satisfied with the placements and pictures we chose so some change may be happening but for now this is where my printed subway art is living.

This is the subway art I printed for the Fall....

For this Christmas season, I took a slightly different route. I still found some great word art but I wanted it to have great meaning. I chose this art because it has one of my favorite Bible verses on the birth of Jesus. Considering we don't have a Christmas tree either, this fills the void. I enjoy walking by it everyday and being reminded of the greatest gift of Christmas, our savior.

Source

Click source up above to grab it for yourself. I find most of mine off of Pinterest by searching subway art. I always save it to my computer then have it printed in an 8 x 10 at a photo center for $2.50. I've seen other Santa themed subway art that display wonderful colors and holiday cheer so check it out.

Have fun! 

-Sara

The Stockings Were Hung...

This may just be my favorite post yet of sharing our Christmas decor. When we got married, one thing I was most excited about was choosing stockings for our mantel. I started my search back in September for the perfect stockings. I chose to shop on Etsy because you can choose to buy handmade items from individuals. I like the idea that someone is putting extra care into my purchase and that the money is supporting someone who deserves it.

I narrowed my search down to burlap stockings since lately we are expressing a rustic house theme. Once I placed my order, we had to wait several weeks since we got them personalized with our names. The stockings came in late October and I squealed like a teenager with Bieber fever.

My favorite part is that I was allowed to choose an embellishment that represented Todd (you know, because evergreen and pine cones are so manly) and some flower bling that represented me along with our names.

I realize I technically could have made these but it was way more convenient for me to buy them from someone who did spend the time to make them. Win-Win. These two are very well made inside and out. Research burlap stocking on Etsy if you are interested. I couldn't find our seller at the moment but that may be because she doesn't make any this close to the holidays. However, I saw plenty more that were cute and who knows you may just find these after all.

I know we will cherish these for many years to come. If and when we have children, I will just search either for this same seller or find another that matches or do something completely different for the kiddos.

Do you have stockings or not? Do you even fill them? My parents have a different personalized stocking for each person in the family and Santa still brings us goodies on Christmas morning. Anybody else go for that mismatched look? I think they make any mantel look so cozy!

It's almost Friday....and I'm one day away from being finished with graduate school work for this semester and that makes me want to jump for joy! One more semester to go!

-Sara

Cards as Decor

Growing up I always loved opening the Christmas cards my parents would get in the mail. We would have SO many! It was my job to help dad put the cards around the border of our large dining room entrance. I loved all the beautiful colors and seeing how many people sent cards. Now that I'm older, I realize that all those cards represented friendships old and new and how blessed we were.

Now that I have my own place, I decided to create something to place our cards on display as they arrive in the mail. I know we will not have as many as my parents do but I found a few ideas on Pinterest that sparked interest in me to figure out a way to display cards. 

Source

Source

I ended up making the replica of the first one but used some of the directions from the second photo above. Basically all you need is an embroidery hoop, clothespins and ribbon. Hot glue the clothespins to the hoop but alternate so that some cards will face inside the circle and some will face out. 

Below is my version. Since it is so early in Decemeber we have no cards yet so in the meantime I placed two I already had (spoiler alert...some of you may be seeing those in your mailboxes soon) and a few flat ornaments for fun. You also get a sneak peek at our fireplace coziness. 

The entire project only cost me about $5! I was pleased with the way it turned out even if I opted out of doing a bow. The burlap I used was just too think for that but goes well with our rustic theme plus remember I told you yesterday I am not yet a bow master. My secret in attaching the bow to the mirror: velcro! I put some on the back of the mirror and on the burlap ribbon, viola. 

There are so many other Christmas card holder ideas on Pinterest that it was tough to decide what to make. Maybe I'll try another idea next year. Now I'm just hoping we actually get some cards ;)

Do you display your cards? Do tell!

Have a holly jolly day,

Sara

O Poinsettia Tree!

I have a secret...I decorated our house for Christmas the week before Thanksgiving! I know, crazy BUT hang with me here. I looked ahead at what our schedules would be like after Thanksgiving and realized we would be swamped with finishing school projects and soon we will be visiting family again. Thus, my reasoning was to get it done so we can actually enjoy the decor. Plus coming home after being away for Thanksgiving to a decorated house was very relaxing.

This week I'll be sharing with you decorations from our home so check back to see what else is new and how we are making our first Christmas together super cozy. I had fun decorating on a budget, gaining ideas from Pinterest and decorating small spaces (oh the joys of living in an apartment).

We opted out of putting up a tree since we would want a real one and we don't feel we can give it the best care with traveling so much this month. Also we really have no place for it and would rather not overcrowd our living space. However, I did pick up this live large beautiful poinsettia at Wal-Mart for 10 bucks. In fact the day I got it, a local florist was bringing them in and something about that made me smile. I wasn't a fan of the metallic wrapping it was in (sorry forgot to take a before pic) so I replaced it with postal paper and some ribbon I had on hand. The Dollar Tree sales the postal paper in a 30 feet roll which was great for this project and I plan to use it for something else this holiday season as well so stay tuned. Also, my secret on ribbon is to buy it after Christmas from places like Garden Ridge or Michaels. I always get mine 90% off! I'm loving the white and gold paired with the red poinsettia.

This picture really doesn't do it justice. I promise the plant looks very charming and warm sitting next to our fireplace in our living room. I'm not the best bow maker either which is surprising because my mom and mother in law are bow masters. Lessons anyone?

I'll post more pictures soon as I reveal what I did for our mantel and squeeze in our Thanksgiving fun including black Friday shopping.

Cheers,
Sara

Happy Halloween!

In the past few years we both seem to have been busy on Halloween and haven't dressed up since our college days the first time around. This Halloween I had class and I'm substituting the following day which means I'll go to bed super early. We don't sound very fun do we? We just don't get into it as much as we used to and quite frankly I'm glad it has come and gone because this lady is ready to decorate for Christmas. Yes, I'm one of those people. Todd is not so I'm afraid I'll have to wait a few more weeks before I break out the carols around our house.

Anyways, considering Todd claims to have never carved a pumpkin, we spent Friday night having our own in-house date night. We made a homemade pizza, watched the world series...

and carved a pumpkin!

Check out his super concentrated face...

He made up his own simple pattern and it turned out really great!

I forgot how bad the pumpkin guts smell and how messy it can be! I'm not so sure we will be doing that again until we have kids but it was fun. Now Mr. Pumpkinhead is chillin' on our front porch and looks very intimidating when he glows despite that goofy grin.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Cheers,

Sara

ps: Thanks for all the sweet comments on our wedding highlights post! I love this blog community, you all are so great. Remember to make sure your blog is public for me to see because I want to be able to keep up with you as well. Thanks for following friends!  

Annlyn's Room

The highlight of my weekend was going down the mountain to Hickory to help my sister and brother-in-law put the last finishing touches on their soon to arrive baby girl's room. The dark brown furniture was already in place along with a blue accent wall and complete bedding. We decided to add a few things to really complete the room.

This is the bedding we were aiming to match:

So my sister, Ronna, had the idea of making these fabric rings. I was weary of doing the big oval one but I love the way it turned out and this project was super easy! Just cut your fabric (ours is from Mary Jo's in Gastonia, NC) and place in the embroidery rings. Viola!

This lamp was bought at Target and we added the brown ribbon trim...easy peasy.

Then we added tissue pom pom's above the rocker. The only thing left in the room to complete is adding wooden letters above the crib of her name. She is will be here so SOON!

I am soooooo excited about the arrival of this baby! There is just something so cool seeing your very own sister prepare to bring a new life into this world. Ronna is due the week of Thanksiving so we are all on guard these days in case Annlyn arrives early. Keep us all in your prayers that we all remain healthy along with Ronna, Andrew and the baby! 

Cheers,

Sara

More Fall Decor

This past Saturday was gorgeous! Todd and I kept expressing to each other how blessed and thankful we are to be married and living in such a beautiful place. Since Todd has never carved a pumpkin before, we decided the first step would be to pick out a pumpkin. We went to The Mustered Seed in Blowing Rock.

I got a little distracted and fell in love with this red mum. I don't know anything about the cost of mums but this baby was $5.95 which is do-able so I said sold!

Red is my favorite color and when it is paired with orange my soul smiles. As soon as we were home I knew the perfect place for our new fall items. We are going to wait to carve the pumpkin until the week of Halloween!  

I think we got a pretty decent sized pumpkin and with a fairly good shape. Todd is very eager to carve that bad boy. 

A touch of fall also got added to our kitchen...

Be sure to check out some changes I made to our blog. I added "pages" at the top with a few different categories that we thought would be useful and fun. We have officially started fall break which is a such a breath of fresh air. I plan on cleaning the house and cleaning out my closet. Todd's family is renting a cabin this weekend nearby so we are looking forward to spending some quality time with family. Oh, if you have any tips for caring for mums do share! 

Happy Wednesday!

Cheers,

Sara

Baby Shower

The baby shower was SO much fun and oh so cute!  With the help of my friend Keara, we made this banner with the baby's name on it. This was super easy because all we used was scrapbook paper, scissors and a little hot glue.

I also made these adorable favors for our guests. Basically you take scrapbook paper, cut it down the center and wrap your popcorn bag. I made the cardstock labels as a template on Microsoft Word. If you want to get real fancy you can cut about 1.5 inches off the bottom of the paper with decorative scissors to give it added flair. These were SO easy to make and really cute. In case you can't see it says: Ronna is About to Pop! Arriving soon....Annlyn Kristina Rawls.

Doesn't Ronna just look wonderful?! My goodness I hope I can look as good as her one day whenever I'm pregnant. By the way, I never thought I would be that person who rubs a pregnant woman's belly but  I'm totally guilty. Good thing it is just my sister. I just can't help it, she is too cute and I love talking to Annlyn. I sound like a crazy aunt! Also, Keara and I also made the pom poms that are in the background of that picture. We found an online tutorial and they were also cheap and easy!

Ronna received lots of great gifts to be prepared for the baby. Here she is holding a quilt which is the same pattern for her crib sheets and bedding from Pottery Barn. I love how stylish and classy it is.

Our family keeps growing and growing! Jamie and Chris are getting married on June 30th so not only do I get a NIECE soon, I also get another brother-in-law. These are the best days and I think we are all glowing in our own little ways.

Do you think we could be triplets? The older we get the more and more we talk, act and look alike. For the record they are twins and seven years older so there is much truth in the fact that they really do act and look alike. I just keep them looking young. I really love my sisters and I just can't wait for November to arrive so I can hold Annlyn in my arms and tell her how awesome of an aunt I am.

;)

Xo,

Sara

Happy Fall Yall

Okay okay so I know the official first day of fall isn't until next Friday but with these cooler temperatures, I just can't help myself! Fall decorating in my house has started and I'm lovin' every moment of it.

Remember the mantel decor I did back when we moved in this spring? My goal at the time was to create mantel decor that could easily be changed to accommodate the seasons. The best part of my fall mantel switcheroo was that it cost me zero dollars.

The plan is real easy. I switched out the grassy stuff I had under the candles for coffee beans. Last weekend we went to a beautiful wedding for two friends of ours, Kristen and Chris. (Forgot the camera...oops!) Their wedding favors were coffee beans! Such a cute idea so Todd and I both took a bag. I don't drink coffee but I do love the smell so I used my beans as the base to my candles.

Then on the other side of our TV, I switched out some greenery I had for these awesome orange leaf-like flowers that were given to me from my sister in law Melissa who didn't want them anymore. Thanks, Mel!

I also added this guy to our downstairs living area. The scent is called "Autumn" which suits this time of year perfectly and smells amazing! I got it months ago back when they were slashing prices. Thanks Bath and Body Works!

I also made a wreath today from some supplies I bought at Michaels. The entire store seems to be on sale so this cost me a total of $10 bucks for everything. I love good deals and I love good wreaths. 

I also realized today that I've never shown a picture of the outside of our home. How dare me! So here is our humble abode....we love this townhouse and it will always hold a special place in our hearts.

On top of all that decorating I cleaned out several closets. It is amazing how much stuff you can accumulate in just four months of marriage or how much stuff needs to be rearranged. Next on my list is to add a few more decorations (which are in my childhood bedroom closet back home) and possibly a fall printable for our wall collage. So are you in the mood too for fall??? If so, do tell!

TGIF,
Sara

So after still mourning this week the loss of my ottoman (check the last post if you missed that story) I decided it was time to let you all rejoice with me with the good that came from that shopping trip. Some of you even guessed correctly....LAMPS!

I found those beauties at the thrift store for five bucks each! They each still had the cord wrapped and socket cover as if they were never used. However, I wasn't digging the gold for our tropical escape so for a few bucks I bought some spray paint that matched our mirror and ceiling fan and went to town on those babies.

Looking fresh, eh!? I'm lovin' them. I also scored two new shades from Lowes on sale for $9.98 a piece which just puts the icing on the cake. 

So for a total of about $35 I was able to create the look I have been searching for. Chances are if I would have found brand new lamps that came with lampshades, I would be spending at least $35 on each lamp. I'd say I'm one happy camper and pleased with my low budget lamp search for sure. Doesn't it just make the room look so much better?

I'm amazed at how well it improved our room which is now officially finished. Hooray! Now I can move on to other rooms that need that final touch. The moral folks of today's lesson: don't give up on finding that thrifty deal. Even if it takes months to find and a lost ottoman in the process!

Have a great weekend!
-Sara