Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays!

I don't think I'm ever as conscious of my position in life as I am around the holidays. I am a lover of New Year's resolutions, cleaning up on Boxing Day and putting your best foot forward to close/begin the year. The house is no exception.

In fact, it was torture trying to not begin a new project this past weekend. Every time I'm on Pinterest or looking for last minute gifts, I bookmark more and more ideas for the house; from side tables to bookshelves to knickknacks. I'm hoping that some Ikea gift cards are in our future.

Not only are we having a small Festivus party next weekend, but my parents-in-law will be visiting the house for MLK weekend. That's two very big reasons to get the house looking like we didn't just finish college.

This year's Christmas tree.
It's Cardinal-themed, although we only have three cardinal ornaments,
the colored ball ornaments have painted trees with little red birds in them.

Did you know the Red Cardinal is the state bird of Virginia?
My grandmother gave me this ornament so I don't forget.

Vader is not a state bird, but he has a spot on the tree;
along with a stormtrooper, Hello Kitty, Nic Cage (above)
and this copper frying pan ornament from Williams-Sonoma.

Back to the project side of this blog, two weekends ago, I started finally painting the Master Bedroom. Thanks to an early Christmas gift card from my best friend Merritt, we picked up the supplies we needed at Home Depot. The project took about two days cumulatively, since my arms felt like they were going to fall off by the first night. 

The first coat. Big difference from the original light blue. 

Behr "Sailboat"

Yes, it photographs very very dark, partially because of the front windows

A bit of a better view. Dark blue walls. Clean white trim.

Now that the walls are done, Troy was able to mount the new TV we bought on Black Friday.
The wire rack is temporary until I can find a suitable media table.

Lastly, the accent table for the entryway arrived from Target. My father gave me a little slack for not buying "real" wood furniture. I know that compressed wood from Target and Ikea aren't ideal. However, I am 28 years old with a limited budget and an empty house. Anyone who feels strongly about the real vs. fake wood debate is more than welcome to buy us the real stuff themselves.

Minimal setup for the holidays. We're planning on hanging an oversized mirror above the table later on.

Still not sure what to put on the shelf below, but the matching Hunter Rain Boots make it quaint. 

We have a lot of plans coming up for the next couple months; including the parent visit, a bridal shower and our first spring. Stay tuned!

A Home Wish List

I love this time of year, pre-Christmas. Making lists of gifts to buy, taking advantage of sales, setting up the first Christmas tree of our first house. And while it's thought of as a hectic time, December and January are historically the least hectic for us. 

All of our friends and family are asking what we'd like for gifts. While I can't really ask for the things we need around the house, or even knowing a place we could request a gift card, I have put together our house wish list. 


1) Ledge shelves with this awesome tutorial

2) Finishing the office Gallery Wall

3) Repainting the Master Suite
The Spa Blue feel that I was going for was a little disappointing. We picked the color hoping it would be calm and relaxing. Instead, it looks like we sleep in a nursery. Now, I'm falling in love with this dark, inky blue color. It's very modern and masculine, but so is Troy. 

4) Finishing the Foyer
On Black Friday, I bought this side console table from Target, for our front entryway. The red will look great, since everything in our front area is white. We'd like to work in some oversized mirrors for the walls, and we'll check out World Market and Target for other accents.

5) More and More Bookshelves
Lastly, on Pinterest last week, I saw these Ikea Expedit bookshelves. Yes, everyone has them, but I love how these were used floor to ceiling. It gives the room great height and would be a perfect wall unit for our office. It would give us more storage space without taking up square footage. 

That is our December plan for getting this house ready for the new year. Luckily, they are all projects that can be done in minimal time. Here's hoping for gift cards.