Deck the house

The Christmas season has arrived.
It began for me last week with the Santa Claus Parade. We braved the cold and crowds and took our kids for the first time. This past weekend we got our fresh tree and I'm starting to decorate the house. Each year, I give the kids their own tree which they are free to decorate as they please, while I reign over the main tree in the living room. They complain that my tree is boring because it's understated, and lacking in bright colours. Alas, my tree is not beautiful enough to post, so here are a couple of trees that I think make a real statement:

A girly tree



Stunning. I wish I could pull this off.

 

My lovely berry bowl from Restoration Hardware

 





Under construction

I have been living with various degrees of renovation for the past 10 years. Our current home is our second renovation. We have very litttle or no time to renovate so I'm looking forward to the holidays when the drywall in my basement may actually get finished. Meanwhile, I will have to be content and dream upon other beautiful (and finished) homes. Here are some photos of celebrity homes courtesy of Elle Decor that I love:

Candace Bushnell's living room

Monique Lhuillier's home - the carpet would go nicely in my home office.

Cynthia Rowley's home: The piano, gold leaf chairs, delicate drapes....

Nanette Lepore's home: I love the silver ottoman and chair, turqoise drapes, and moss green sofa.

Blog spotlight: Centsational Girl

It's been awhile since I've browsed through Craigslist or Kijiji. I'm in serious need of a little pick me up anywhere in my house to add some excitement to my routine yet unpredictable life. So, I look to others who do what I love to do, so much better. For example, I follow the Censational Girl blog. Kate has a great sense of style and is a master of decorating, and restoring and updating old furniture. Here is an imitation Dorothy Draper dresser she stripped and repainted so beautifully. I have been scouting a similar piece to redo myself but unfortunately finding a cheap, used one in this city and country is very difficult.

 

I'm also inspired by Kate's home office:

 

She has lots of other amazing craft ideas and pics of her place. Centsational Girl even includes a step by step process for others to try. Unfortunately, I don't have the patience to follow them but I do like her ideas. Thanks for the inspiration, CG!