Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Famous Christmas House #2

If you don't know which movie this famous Christmas house is from, then you haven't truly experienced Christmas!  Well, okay...I guess you can experience Christmas without it, but you'd be missing out.

Probably my mom's least favorite movie because us kids watched it over and over and over again, during any month of the year, at my grandparent's house for YEARS!!!

My dad, brother, Husband and I however, throroughly enjoy it more and more every year.

Can you guess?

That's right....that would be The Christmas Story.  A story about a young, bullied boy, with a crazy father, a soft-spoken mother and a little brother who just "...can't put my arms down!"  I can hear his voice now.

While the house itself is not fully adorned with Christmas decorations, it is still a well known Christmas house that will hopefully stick around and become another Wizard of Oz or Sound of Music (okay, exagheratting again, but you know what I mean.)

My Husband has always thought it would be nice to have one of these barn sinks.  If you look in House Beautiful and several other home magazines, these sinks have come back into style and are quite functional as well.  I actually really like the green cabinets (though maybe not quite as pea green).  Very mission style, a style that I've always loved.

Ah, nothing says Christmas like a fake leg lamp in the window.  We all know the contreversy around this leg.  And if you don't.....GO RENT THE MOVIE!   "Fra-geeee-leyyyyy"

I love the telephones from those days.  I'm sure people back then thought the contraption was a little modern for household taste.  I can say the same of telephones these days with all their high-tech gadets.  I love these old phones.  I guess it's just a reminder of the times, a little more simple in the 1940's.   "It was....It was.....soa, soap-poisoning!"  -Insert loud cries.

One of the things I love about this house is the simplicity of Christmas.  I mean, every other Christmas movie has the entire house decorated in green and red from carpet to wallpaper and even the furniture! 
I don't know about you but I sure do have fun putting away my normal season furniture into my outside storage shed and bringing in my Christmas furniture.

Not with this house.  They have the gaudy real tree that drops pine needles and a few streamers in the dining room, the typical simple decorations that don't look like a stylist came in and charged you an arm and a leg in decorating fees.

It's just simple.... perfect!

Here's that gaudy tree I talked about.  I love it!!  I love the HUGE massive bulbs (I think my parents still own some of the massive bulb Christmas lights).  The lopsided star and the cheap tinsel.  It's great.

Now I know this is not of the house, but it's what I've always imagined shopping would be.  A department store filled with decorations with people absolutely packed into the store with their puffy jackets, scarves and gloves.

In South Florida, we go to the mall in tee-shirts and shorts, so even though it actually is as crowded as elsewhere, there's less surface area covered as we don't have all the puffiness! 

I miss the puffiness. :(

If you missed Famous Christmas House #1 - Click HERE!

Happy Tuesday Y'all!

Monday, November 29, 2010

Apalachicola - November 2010

It feels like I haven't blogged in weeks, when really it's only been about 10 days!  I was busy getting ready for our week long Thanksgiving vacation in Apalachicola, Florida with my parents.  Sorry I didn't tell you where we were going, but we have a rule in our house.....no announcing on the Internet when we're going anywhere.  Safety first!

Anyways, this will be picture overload, so be forewarned!

My parents rented a house on Apalachicola Bay, on St. George Island for the week.  It was a beautiful home with screened in porches, french doors everywhere, a private dock and a beach right next door!  We went sailing, fishing, shopping....my dad went oystering.  A very relaxing place to visit and we are definitely refreshed!  Plus, it was great seeing my parents.  It had been since June since we saw them last, so we needed a grandparent fix.

We arrived last Saturday and immediately went out for oysters at Papa Joes!!!  Husband and I must have eaten at least 5 dozen each by the time we left.  If you include my dad, I'd say we downed about 20 dozen total in 6 days!
Lallie LOVES to accessorize!

Lallie in Lilly, on our little beach!
We enjoyed going sailing on my parent's sail boat.  Here's Husband steering her in.

Monday (or I think it was Monday), we headed out with the whole family.  Lallie was a little unsure at first, but quickly adapted.  She hadn't been on a boat since we sold our motorboat a couple years ago.
(Yes, she's wearing socks with sandals...don't judge! - we didn't have any boat appropriate shoes for her and we couldn't risk her little feet getting cold).

Fishing off the dock of the bay, our own private dock.

The biting was fabulous!  Dad and Husband caught a Sea Trout with nearly every cast!

Here's a picture of the back of the house, pretty isn't it?
Mr. Heron (as Lallie named it), sat no further than 5 or 10 feet away from us the entire time we were fishing.  It almost caught a shrimp (and hook!) a few times!

I will NOT bait my own hook.  I will NOT touch a shrimp.  I will NOT touch a fish.  I will NOT smell like a fish.
But I sure do love catching them!!

Lallie taking a try at the rod and reel.

Fresh gelato from a wonderful little shop in Apalachicola.  I love the shopping there, so many unique things!

Grandpa taking Lallie out to look for oysters.

Lallie got an early Christmas gift!
Sadly, we had to leave on Friday to head back home.  But we had a wonderful time and really wanted to stay for the start of the Christmas Festival in Apalachicola.  Santa Claus arrives on a shrimp boat with white rubber shrimping boots!  How fun is that?

Happy Monday Y'all!

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

How to Make Toddler Headbands / Day 2 of 30

Lallie is really loving headbands right now.  Mainly because she can get away with wearing one without mommy pulling on her hair to brush it and put in tie-backs!

However, headbands can get pretty pricey.  So I checked out etsy and found someone who sells twelve 1/4" plastic headbands for $3.00 (plus shipping).  Click HERE if you are interested.

Being a good southern lady, I have a plethora of grosgrain ribbon hidden in three drawers in my craft room closet.  So between the headbands, loads and loads of fabric and embellishment I have stored and ribbon, I made some pretty nifty hair accessories and Lallie loves them!

The How-To:

1.  Take a small piece of ribbon and hot glue over the ends of the headband.


2.  Place some hot glue on the end of the headband and begin wrapping and overlapping the ribbon all the way around the headband, dabbing spots of glue every couple of inches along the way.


3.  Add some accessories!  Get creative! 
 I've had this pink flower forever knowing I'd use it for something eventually. 


For this one, I took a long, thin strip of brown and white polka dot fabric and tied a bow (easy, peasy!). 


For  this Lilly-fied headband, I cut out five circles of old Lilly Pulitzer fabric and folded four of them into quarters and then sewed them to the flat circle.  I then took a small flower from an inconspicuous place on my laundry room floral bouquet and hot glued it to the middle of the flower.

 

I'm working on a fourth headband that is one long strip of fabric wrapped along the headband, for a "not so perfect" look (if that makes any sense).
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Day 2 of the 30 in 30 Challenge:
Cardigan: The Limited
Camisole:  Anthropologie
Pants: The Limited
Jewelry: Pearl strand and pearl earrings (of course!)
Purse: Louis Vuitton Batignolles
Shoes: Attilio Giusti Leombruni
Now, here's my version.  I am wearing The Limited cardigan, Ann Taylor pants, Ann Taylor shoes and a white Gap camisole.  You know I just LOVE to take pictures of my outfits (heehee, so don't laugh).  I don't look nearly as good as the model (if I did, I'd BE a model!). 
OH - and sigh....my pearl necklace broke :(, so I am wearing my sapphire and diamond pendant with a necklace that my husband gave me the night before our wedding.  He also picked out the pendant and it is very unique, I get lots of compliments on it.  This is my go-to necklace whenever I don't wear my pearls.


Happy Wednesday Y'all!

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Pirate Party at Oceanographic Museum / Day 1 of 30

Good morning Y'all!  Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

We didn't do much other than run a few errands and work in the garden and clean house.  However, on Saturday, we did go to a pirate birthday party at our local oceanographic museum (hence the black and gold beads and skull & crossbones)..

Lallie had the best time with her friends, exploring the wonderful sea creatures they have out for viewing at the museum.

Making animal footprints in the sand and then matching to the pictures of animals. 
Lallie was very interested in this project.
Arghhh mateys! 
Lallie really enjoyed looking at the sea cucumbers, mollusks, starfish and hermit crabs and
loved learning all about them.  She actually asked quite a few questions. 
Of course, she refused to touch them though (taking her cue from mommy who won't touch them either).

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As for Day 1 in the 30 in 30 Challenge: 

A very classic look coordinated with staples that every women should have in her closets\.  Solid colored cardigans, white button down shirt and black pumps.

It is amazing what you can build with staple pieces, the numerous amounts of outfits.  You'll probably see these black pumps and the white button down a lot in my 30 in 30, since as a business women, it's always best to dress classic but not flashy when in the office.  The red and houndstooth give just enough interest without being boring in all gray or black.

Houndstooth skirt (mine is from Banana Republic, the one pictured is Adrienne Vitaddini).
Red cardigan - The Limited
White button down - the Limited
Black Jimmy Choo pumps (which I don't own, but wish I did!  Mine are Nine West)
Of course, my strand of pearls and pearl earrings
and my Louis Vuitton Batignolles horizontal


Welcome to Polyvore!
   

Happy Tuesday Y'all!