Tag Archives | home decor

2014, Favorite Beach Accessories for the Home

August 16, 2014

Not everyone lives near the beach, but one can always bring a little bit of it into their home. These beach accessories and treats are some of my favorite things I’m currently enjoying and using in my home.
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1. Bring out decorative bright napkins {by Caspari } printed with coral, shells and starfish will put a little beach feel to a lunch or dinner. It’s available at many specialty retail stores, grocery stores and online store such as Paper Style.

2. Pewter shell/coral hors d’ oeuvre forks are great as a multipurpose picker-upper for cheese, shrimp, crab, veggies, fruits, and other yummy goodies. I purchased it at a local specialty store, hedge & vine. Here’s a link to an online store currently carrying these forks, The Bowl Company.

3. My new favorite candle scent is ocean by Linnea’s Lights. The scent is a soft ocean breeze, with a subtle hint of fresh citrus. It’s a nice addition to any room in the house.

4. Printable vintage coral print from the Zoological Society of London {1895}. To print a copy, click here.

5. Try a sailboat craft project made from driftwood. Click here for the tutorial.

6. A bowl of fun chocolate beach pebbles to snack on by Sunflower Food Company.

posted by Kay

2 comments

The Farmhouse, Magnolia Farmhouse

July 12, 2014

Magnolia Farmhouse

Recently, I came upon Chip and Joanna Gaines’ website, Magnolia Homes and discovered their show on HGTV, Fixer Upper. They are a beautiful, loving couple with four kids from Waco, Texas. Chip’s experiences in construction and real estate combined with Joanna’s interior design talent, established a successful company, Magnolia Homes. In their HGTV shows, they find a home, redesign, renovate and decorate it to suite their client’s needs and wants. The transformation of some of these homes featured on their shows were incredible and provide many great ideas and inspiration.

In 2012 the Gaines purchased an old farmhouse, believed to be over a hundred years old and fixed it up to make it their family home. The farmhouse combines rustic, modern with a lot of white and soft neutral colors. In one of Joanna’s posts on Instagram she said, “My three favs: wood, white, and antiques.” These touches are evident throughout the farmhouse.

The front Entry is warm and welcoming.

Neutral living room with shades of cream and soft touches of gray.

Open and airy white kitchen.

Simple storage with open shelves.

The bunk room for the boys.

Joanna’s garden.

Chip and Joanna Gaines

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more about Chip and Joanna Gains {click here}
HGTV, Fixer Upper {click here}
the farmhouse {click here}

Farmhouse Photo Credit: Molly Winn Photography

posted by: Kay

20 comments

Decorating with Peonies

June 7, 2014

With a few weeks of Spring left and before the start of Summer, I always look forward to seeing peonies blooming in my garden. Their long sturdy stems are great for cutting and easy to arrange in vases for displaying. Peonies are beautiful flowers, you can’t go wrong no matter how they are displayed.

Simple, sweet and no fuss flower arrangement.

Mix and match a collection of glass vases and bottles . . .

. . . filled with peony buds and small bunches of flowers for an instant grouping of flowers. By adding a tray for the vases will create cohesiveness.

In about two days these peony buds will be in full bloom.

A beautiful contrast of Rustic old bucket against white peonies gave the flower arrangement a little “shabby chic” look.

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This is one of my favorite little spots near our back door where we enter and leave the house. So nice to be greeted with flowers every time I entered the house.

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One large pink peony was all that was needed to fill this white bowl.

Beautiful!

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posted by: Kay

2 comments

Mother’s Day Flowers & Fran’s Chocolates

May 9, 2014

For Mother’s Day … I shouldn’t … but I do… like to help Bill with ideas. The simplest things to give are sometimes not obvious for him to think of. When Bill has a great plan, the kids think he’s pretty cool. That’s why I like to ….. ~~but I shouldn’t~~.

Flowers and chocolates are the classic combination to give for any occasion. Putting a simple twist on the idea can make it more special and personal. Find a few pretty containers and fill them with Mom’s favorite flowers. Arrange the flowers by grouping the same ones together. Then top it off with her favorite chocolate truffles.

I look forward to these gifts again and again.

A great thing about simple flower arrangements is that they are easy for the kids to help out with and put together. Each one could be moved to another part of the house, wherever Mom wants to enjoy it. .

Simply beautiful ranunculus, I could be quite content with just that.

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Fran’s Chocolates have been a favorite of mine for 20+ years. I remember going to the tiniest chocolate shop {about the size of a walk-in closet…maybe just a tad bigger} to buy some of the best chocolate truffles. Often times Fran Bigelow would be in the back room making it. Fran’s Chocolates have outgrown that space and expanded to three retail locations throughout the Seattle area. Today, Fran Bigelow is very well known and is considered one of the best chocolatiers in the country. .

Fran’s Chocolates are made with the highest quality ingredients, hand made in small batches from start to finish. The chocolate truffles are rich and creamy with a crispy thin outer shell. Their salted caramels are dipped twice in a special blend of chocolate made by Valrhona and carefully sprinkled with gray or smoked salt.

The attention to detail is utmost from the start of the first ingredient to the beautiful hand-tied satin ribbon bow on the package.

Having fun with this picture of Bill at Fran’s Chocolates in Bellevue.

Fran’s Chocolates, truffles, smoked salt caramels and other confectionery are available at many specialty retail stores throughout the United States. To find the best selection go online at Fran’s Chocolates or visit one of Fran’s Chocolates boutiques.

Fresh flowers with chocolate truffles is a wonderful combination to give for Mother’s Day.

images/sources: Fran’s Chocolates packaging 1 / packaging 2

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posted by: Kay

4 comments

Easter Table Settings and Decorations

April 12, 2014

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This past Sunday I had an unexpected and wonderful surprise from a friend. Hannah helped my good friend Ruthie put together an event and afterward she came home with a large tray of wheat grass and daffodils. Ruthie knew I would enjoy decorating with it.

Thank you Ruthie!

Wheatgrass is available at most grocery stores in the produce department and some home and garden retailers. While I will be decorating with it, most people will buy and use wheatgrass as nourishment for their bodies by juicing it. In terms of nutrition, it is rich in chlorophyll, amino acids, vitamins, and minerals. A multipurpose plant to enjoy as a drink and for decorating.

Here’s how I used wheatgrass and daffodils to decorate my house…

The containers wheatgrass came in were not the best for displaying. A simple solution was to wrap a long strip of white paper around the sides to cover it up. A white tray was used to hold two containers together.