I can feel the winds of change coming...

And what perfect timing- the new year. Another chance to get things right. Does anyone else love this time of year because of all the possibilites it brings? I feel my slate wiped clean. I feel renewed and ready to get back into my routines after a month of holiday cheer.

My mind has been full of all kinds of ideas...swirling and fluttering around. So much so, that I needed to take to paper to get them all in order. {{I'm a 'list-making' kind of a girl, thanks to my daddy, so I feel much better once I get things written out and orderly.}} The main ones have to do with ever growing my relationship with God, getting my house to feel more welcoming, volunteering options, and getting more organized in my shop.

One thing I wanted to try this year was to give myself a word- a word that would symbolize me and the life I choose to lead in 2010. I wanted this word to influence any decisions I'd encounter or to inspire my way of living. I want to focus on, mediate on, and reflect upon this word as I go about my daily life... a sort of simple motto for the year.

And the word I chose was: create.

Not only does it serve to give me a reminder of the things I need to be doing daily...create a loving home for my family, create healthy and wholesome meals, create new designs for my jewelery, ect. but it also seemed to encompass the main goals I had for the year as well...

:: create a hospitable and welcoming home ::

:: create a deeper relationship with God ::

:: create peace throughout my home ::

:: create more opportunities for adventure and fun ::

:: create and cultivate a new friendships ::

:: create organization in my home ::

:: create

I'll touch on these more individually in the next post. But for now, why don't you grab a cup of coffee or tea, sit in a quiet area and think of word, too. Remember that this is your word. You don't have to fit it around any one else's life but yours.

I'd love to know if you decide to take on this challenge. Let me know what word you choose... or simply hold it close to your heart.

xoxo

dropped the ball on my 100th post

ok, so i seriously dropped the ball on my 100th post.  every since i started getting close to my 100th post i’ve been thinking that i should do something cool for it.  that’s about as far as i got though because today came and this is my 100th post and i don’t have anything cool to do for it.  i can’t believe i’ve already gotten to 100.  sorry that it’s going to be so lame.  hopefully you’ll still keep reading my blog even though i don’t have some cool 100th post giveaway or something. 

i did manage to run into homegoods today.  i hadn’t been in there in a while and thought i’d see what they had.  i typically try to avoid homegoods during the holidays if possible.  it can get pretty crazy in there.  i snapped a few photos of things i liked.  i took all the photos with my crackberry because i didn’t have my camera with me so the quality of some of the photos is a little off.  i was surprised that most of them came out ok though.  maybe the blackberry storm is good for something(i’ve hated it every since i got it).

so the first thing i have to show you is the crazy disco-like balls that they had.  i counted 8 in all.  not sure these will be flying off the shelf or anything but i just had to take a picture of them.  they might actually be cool in a fun kids room or basement. 

they also had this awesome distressed wooden bench.  it was really long but would be such a statement piece.  (cost $499)

there were lamps galore and great ones too.  my favorites were these two different shell lamps that were $79 each.

these ivory gourd lamps were so lovely.  the gray and ivory shades were very light.  my camera shows them darker than they were. (cost $39.99)

these pink and ivory ones would be great in a little girl’s room. (cost $39.99)

they had a couple garden stools for under $100.  i like the turquoise one a lot.

sage ruffle pillow. (cost $12.99)  ruffles are so popular right now.

these white trunks would be great stacked in a corner or even better…make a table out of two of them stacked on top of each other.  i didn’t get the cost on these but i can’t imagine they would be over $60.

i thought these little pouf baskets were adorable.  they looked sort of like moroccan poufs but they were actually baskets.  (cost small $12.99, large $19.99)

i saw this cute chair on my way out.  it’s a great buy for $199.  they had a couple of other ones in different fabrics but this one was my favorite.

so that’s it for my homegoods shopping trip.  if you want to check out any of these items i found them at the perimeter pointe homegoods in dunwoody.  if you’re not local to atlanta i’m sure the homegoods in your area would have most of these items too.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

well, i’m signing off until monday so i hope you all have a fun and festive new year’s eve wherever you may be.  i want to wish you all a very, very HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!  see you back in 2010!! 

xo,

cristi 

LiveJournal Tags: 100th post,homegoods,bench,lamp,moroccan pouf,disco ball,garden stool,ruffles

Howdy y'all!

We're back from a Christmas up north! We had fun but I'm happy to be back home with my cuddly babies. :)

In these parts, we're getting some real life snow, so I figured I'd just pop in to say hi while I was cozy in bed.

Did everyone have a nice holiday? What did y'all get? Southern Hubby got me an awesome lens for my camera! I was tres excited, especially since I have a class at SMU that I'm taking in February. Can't wait! It's fun to be acutally building up a small arsenal of lenses-- photography is so hard but the results are worth it.

Here are just a few of the pictures from our trip...

Baby Rex, our sweet and utterly adorable cousin.

This was Matty's first Christmas, so of course we had to spoil the heck out of him. Southern Hubby got him some goodies to make up for the past lousy Christmases he spent in the puppy mill.

Southern Hubby and his brother. We were walking to the bar where we ran into this guy...

Guess Santa needs a rum and diet around the holidays like the rest of us...

Southern Hubby's cousin and his wife are due in February. They asked me to take a couple of pictures for them.

We woke up to this type of meal every single morning....yummy sugary goodness. Sadly, I gained almost 5lbs during the holidays. Boo. Guess it's back to my gym after the new year. I'm giving myself a couple more gluttonous days. :)

 

With some cousins-- on our way to see my brother in law play at a bar. He's in an awesome band.

I hope everyone had a fabulous and safe time with friends and family. I have other Christmas goodies I want to share with you in the new year. So, I'll be back soon. Hope everyone has a safe and happy New Year's Eve. Bring on 2010, baby!!

xoxo

i’m nominated…

for apartment therapy’s blog awards, the 2009 homies.  the nominations close at 5pm on the 29th so if you like my blog please nominate me again.  you can click here to go to the site.  i’m so thankful for those of you who have already nominated me.  you guys are the best.

the way these awards work is by nominations.  you can nominate as many blogs as you would like.  at the end of the day tomorrow they will take the blogs that have gotten the most nominations and put them on a voting list.  then there will be a week or so of voting.   then the winner will be announced after the first of the year. 

head on over and start nominating your fave blogs…hopefully mine will be included in your list.  you’ll have to sign up for an apartment therapy account before you can nominate any blogs but it’s a painless process.  all you have to do is click here, enter your name and email address and then verify the account by clicking on the link that they send to your email.  it’s very simple and you can opt out of having any other emails sent to you. 

there are tons of blogs that have been nominated that i’ve never heard of, and i’ve really enjoyed looking through their pages.  maybe you’ll find a few new blogs to read too.

happy monday or tuesday…depending on when you read this!

LiveJournal Tags: apartment therapy,the homies 2009

bye, bye perimeter z.gallerie

for those of you who live in atlanta if you have time you should run over to the z.gallerie at perimeter mall.  they are closing their doors and are having a huge sale.  last i checked everything was 50% off.  the furniture is pretty picked over but they still have a good bit of accessories.  they also have a large selection of floral stems and art. 

the perimeter z.gallerie was the closest one to me so i’m sad they are closing.  i’ll have to make the drive up to alpharetta or down to atlantic station to go to one now.  i’m not sure why they are closing and i hope that the other atlanta z.galleries don’t follow suit.  i was there over the weekend and snapped a few photos of some of the stock they had left.

miscellaneous accessories…

trellis pillows orig. $39.99

one of my fave chandeliers orig. $369.00

jasper sofa orig. $1,099.00

LiveJournal Tags: z.gallerie,store closing,perimeter mall,atlanta

my own horse art

i hope that you all had a very merry christmas.  i know i sure did.  it was great to spend time with my family.  i always have such a fun time when we all get together.

i thought that i would share with you the christmas gift that i made for my mom.  i have spoken about my love for horses and horse art before on my blog and my mom also has that same love for for them.  i don’t really know that there is a more beautiful animal than a horse.  i grew up on a farm in alabama and showed horses until i was about 17.  my love of horses started at a very young age and has been with me ever since. 

recently i have seen two horse art pieces in particular that i really liked.  One is from palecek (it’s discontinued now though) and one is from pottery barn.  i’ve pictured them below.  the palecek piece is on the left and the pb piece is on the right.  palecek’s piece retails for about $500 or $600 and the pottery barn piece retails for about $200.

   

i started thinking that i could probably put my minor in art to good use and make some similar art for my mom for her christmas gift.  here is how mine turned out.  i was pretty proud of myself.  and the best part is that it only cost me around $35 for the two of them plus my time to make them.

i also made one for myself.  here is that one.

if anyone is wondering how i did it made these, here is a step-by-step guide.

first, i found an architectural salvage shop and purchased the old wood.   i got one of my neighbors to help me cut the boards down to the size i wanted. 

next, i roughed the pieces of wood up with a sander.  i also sanded the sides and corners to make sure they were smooth and didn’t have any splinters.  after that i stained them a walnut color to make them darker.  the natural wood finish would have been too light.

then, i drew a horse onto poster board and cut it out.  to get a big enough horse i had to tape two poster board pieces together.  once i had it cut out i positioned it on the 3 boards, taped it down on the underside with painters tape and used ivory spray paint to spray the boards.

i sprayed on two coats of spray paint and once it dried i removed the horse silhouette.  then i sanded the piece all over with really fine sandpaper.  i also distressed areas on the horse as well as the wood to give it an aged look.

when i finished sanding the front i added picture hangers to the back of each board.  the finished art was about 30” x 40”.

and that’s how i did it.  the hardest part by far was drawing the horse.  now i really want to experiment with other silhouettes.  maybe i’ll do my dog next.

LiveJournal Tags: horse art,palecek,pottery barn

merry christmas, and the winner is…

thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway for the jill rosenwald rug from csn.  i had 43 comments and 42 entries for the giveaway. 

now for the results.  random.org chose lucky number 13 as the winner.

and number 13 happens to be leigh ann.  here’s what leigh ann had to say.

thanks for your comment leigh ann and CONGRATULATIONS!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

image – by me (my tree)

have a blessed holiday with your family and friends.  i’m headed to the mall for my family’s annual christmas eve shopping outing.  we go every year on christmas eve.  it started one year when my parents didn’t have time to get their christmas shopping done, so we ended up doing it all on christmas eve.  we had so much fun that the tradition stuck.  we don’t do all of our shopping on christmas eve anymore but we just go for the fun of it. 

i’ll be back on monday.  see you then.  i hope that you all have a very Merry Christmas! and please remember the true reason for the season this year. 

xo,

cristi

LiveJournal Tags: giveaway,christmas,jill rosenwald rug,csn,christmas tree

sign off and a peanut brittle recipe

well, i’m signing off until christmas eve when i come back to announce the winner of the giveaway (make sure you enter to win if you haven’t already).  billy and i will be heading up to the smoky mountains in the morning to visit my dad and grandmother.  we’ll be coming back early next week.  then my mom and brother come into town. 

i can’t believe that christmas is 7 days away!  it feels like it was just here yesterday.  this year has been a wonderful whirlwind of a year and has flown by faster than ever.  i hope that your holidays are off to a merry start and i hope they are filled with lots of love.  if you’ll be traveling this upcoming week i wish you and your families safe travels.

i’ll leave you with some beautiful christmas images and my peanut brittle recipe my mom’s peanut brittle recipe.

image – apartment #34

image – cottage living

image – elements of style

image – my home ideas

yummy microwave peanut brittle

ingredients:

1 c - light karo syrup

1 c - peanuts – dry roasted and salted

1 tsp -  vanilla extract

1 tsp -  butter

1 tsp - baking soda

directions:

grease a baking sheet with pam and set aside.

mix together karo syrup and sugar in a large microwavable glass bowl.  heat in microwave for 4 and a half minutes. 

remove from microwave and mix in peanuts.  heat in microwave for 3 and a half minutes.

mixture will be very hot.  remove from microwave and mix in butter and vanilla.  heat in microwave for 3 more minutes.  the mixture should have turned a golden color.  once the 3 minutes is up if the mixture is still a little light put it back in the microwave in 30 second increments until it turns a golden color.

remove from microwave and mix in baking soda.  when you start to mix in the baking soda the mixture will foam up.  once mixture has foamed immediately pour onto baking sheet.  the mixture will spread out on its own. 

place mixture and baking sheet in the fridge to cool for about 5 – 10 minutes.

remove from fridge and break apart.  place in a tupperware container to keep it fresh.

*****the mixture gets really hot so make sure to use a potholder to remove from the microwave.  the mixture will also stick to your spoons and pots.  the best way to clean them is to run them under hot, hot water and let the hardened syrup melt away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

see you all back here late next week. 

have a wonderful weekend!

LiveJournal Tags: christmas,giveaway,peanut brittle recipe

 

Today's To Dos

* Finishing up a couple of handmade gifts for my sissies.

* Still looking for those elusive riding boots.

* Exchanging a skirt at J.Crew

* Looking for cute tights (any recommendations?)

* hair appointment at 11am

What is everyone up to today?

xoxo

csn stores and a jill rosenwald rug giveaway!

many of you may be familiar with the boston based company csn, but in case you aren’t let me tell you about them.  csn stores is an online company composed of more than 200 different online stores and shopping sites which all operate under the csn umbrella.  most of their stores offer products for the home at very comparable prices.  Some of their online stores sell products like living room furniture, sofas, and fireplaces.  i also know from personal experience that csn’s customer services is great.  i’ve used their rug store many times in the past and have never been disappointed in their service or the quality of their rugs.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

now for the GIVEAWAY!!!!

the great people over at csn contacted me earlier this week and asked me to select an item to giveaway to one of my readers.  i was so excited and immediately thought about the jill rosenwald rug that looks so much like the discontinued west elm rug that we all loved so much. (you can read erin’s post from elements of style on this very topic here, and i featured this rug on my “loving…” post here.)  i asked if they would be ok with giving away the jill rosenwald rug to one of you, and they were thrilled with the idea. 

so, the giveaway will be a 2x3 jill rosenwald fallon rug in your choice of color.  here are the color selections offered by csn rugs.

                                                         

{this giveaway is now closed}

now for the rules of the giveaway…..

to enter leave a comment on this post telling me what color you would select if you were to win and also let me know where you would put it.  the giveaway will run from today, december 17th, through midnight on wednesday, december 23rd.  then i’ll announce the randomly selected winner on christmas eve.

good luck to all of you!

***PS ~ if you are having trouble entering a comment (i’ve gotten a few notices that people are having trouble) please send me an email (charmhomedesign@gmail.com) with your comment and i’ll manually post the comment for you.  in the subject of the email please write “rug giveaway comment” so that i’ll know to post it.  sorry for the inconvenience.  not sure why that’s happening to some of you.

LiveJournal Tags: csn stores,giveaway,boston,living rooms direct,csn sofas,csn fireplaces,allmodern.com,rugs,jill rosenwald rug,elements of style blog,loving...