Ireland

Mr. Chrisman and I took a trip to Ireland for our anniversary.
It was beautiful.
These are some of the moments I captured while we were there.

I love you sweetheart. Thank you for a wonderful vacation trip.

Great things for Fall

This time of year, rich and cozy with crisp mornings and falling leaves, is definitely my favorite.
I love bundling up, cooking up pots of steaming-hot soup, and having an excellent excuse to burn deliciously scented candles.

Here's my list of must-haves this year for Fall...

A great sweater. This one is inexpensive, but abundantly cuddly and warm.

Leather boots. To pair with dresses and sweater tights, skirts or skinny jeans. Ever so classic.

'nough said

A great candle in a scent you won't get tired of. I like this one. Not only can you freshen your home and fill it with the scent of fall, you also get gorgeous ambient light. Win-win.

A great teapot. If you're a tea drinker, or intend to entertain one for the holidays, that is. I have a Brown Betty. I recommend it. You want one that will keep your tea hot for a while after brewing, 'cause there's nothing worse than lukewarm tea on a cold day.


Pumpkins. Well, like...duh. But really, there's nothing quite like a trip to the pumpkin patch (with someone you love) to launch you into autumn. Bring a few back with you and transform your home for the season.

Happy Fall!

Happy Anniversary...

I love you Mister C, and after 2 years of marriage I am more than ever certain that I want to spend the rest of my life with you.

What is your style?

Have you ever been to Homegoods? I hear it's a fabulous place, a home decorators dream. There is one in the general area, so I will check it out sometime, but in the meantime I'm just checking out their fun style quiz.

Here are my results -I think they are spot-on, actually!

Albion, you are an Earthy Casual

You're interested in creating a welcoming home where people feel comfortable and happiness flourishes. You appreciate the warmth and individuality of natural materials and handcrafted things and are inspired by colors and forms from nature. You love mixing up different textures and are sensitive to the tactile qualities of objects. Your style is grounded and solid, not flighty or frilly. And you are never taken in by the trend of the moment.

You value serenity. While there are probably a lot of interesting things in your home, they are joined by your taste or a certain palette that keeps them in harmony. You appreciate the beauty in simple forms. Whether fancy or plain, you appreciate things that are well made and function as well as they look. You also have a strong respect for the environment and craftsmanship. You care about how things are made, and how they are used.

If you want to take the quiz, you can find it at HomeGoods.com

Just for fun and comparison, I also tried a quiz from Sproost. This is what they had to say about my style:

Your specific style combines three more general styles:

40% French Eclectic

40% Cottage Chic

20% Zen Style

French Eclectic

Parlez-vous français? Even if the answer is no, you can confidently say your home does! French Country, like its name, somehow manages to both be formal and casual, classy and unassuming at the same time. You like your spaces to feel inviting from the moment you (or your guest) opens the front door and this feeling should continue even after you've entered your most formal room. Even though there are French antiques here and gold details there, the rustic elements provide a balance and warmth that seems to say, "come in, relax and stay a while." Your love of antiques leads you to flea markets, garage sales and hours of eBay hunting.

Click here to take the Sproost quiz for yourself.


Hmm...not as close, but good. For good measure...just one more quiz? I think so...
This time, a "What's your style" quiz from Ethan Allen (which you can take here). Annnnnd....here's my style according to that quiz:

my style is

glamour

The verdict is in—your style is Glamour. Glamour is the penthouse with a view, the Old Hollywood mansion, the home of the connoisseur. A knowing marriage of fashion with sumptuous comfort. A fearless blending of Art Déco, Chippendale, and Modern. Glamour is shamelessly smart, elegant, and timeless.

Cool, I like it! I'd like to think I'm elegant and timeless in taste. I love Art Deco, so score one for Ethan Allen. Chippendale rocks, so there's another point. But it's not a very good reflection of the styles I like in my home.

Of course, these quizzes are limited. It's amazing how quickly they narrow down style types though. In less than a minute you can have a pretty decent assessment of your style, and it's fun to boot :)

So what do you think of these style quizzes? Do you think any of these captured your style better than another?

One lovely word: giveaway!

Giveaways are fun, don't you think? the very idea of possibly being the recipient of free stuff makes me wiggle in my chair and grin like I've already won.

Emily over at Jones Design Company is currently hosting an AMAZING giveaway, and since I'm in love with her products (think feminine and refined, with a hints of whimsy and vintage charm), I definitaly entered, and you should too!

Take a look at the gorgeous goods she's giving to a lucky winner!

Beautiful

*sigh*

With just one dollar

Mr. C and I are prepping for guests, and one of our pre-company goals was to get a twin-sized bed for our 2nd guest room.
First things first, we needed a mattress (and boxspring). Alrighty. So we checked prices online and local retailers (including Ikea) and found that the best deal was at Sleeptrain. With low prices, free delivery, and a 10% off coupon (get yours here), they were by far the best deal.

OK, next thing next we needed a bed frame. We found a cheap set that included a headboard at Ikea, and planned to drive to Ikea on Saturday to purchase it. That didn't work out though, because we found a FREE one on the way. We stopped at a garage sale that had 3 free bed frames and scored the best looking one of the group. The only snag was that it didn't include any sort of headboard. Looks-wise, not to mention comfort-wise, we had decided a headboard of some sort was a must.

We figured we'd find a cheap one at a garage sale or thrift store, but the answer was already sitting in our garage, in the form of a small $1 table-top from the as-is section of Ikea.

Inspiration struck when I was looking at this headboard project over at Young House Love...although I tweaked the general idea, I've gotta credit them for the inspiration.

Here is our final result:


...a simple $1 tabletop (we routed small holes out of the back to hook onto screws in the wall) became a headboard.

By the way, regularly this tabletop is $3.99, so even at full price it's a steal. It's Ikea name is Vika Amon, in case you want one of your own.

A quick centerpiece

Last week we had dear friends to dinner. It was informal, spur of the moment...so I had to figure out something easy for table decor. I whipped up (a version of) a Martha Stewart centerpiece...just using things I had on hand -rice, water glasses, twine, tea light candles, small plates and a couple roses.

Here's Martha's very pretty centerpiece...


And here's mine!


It is SO easy. I literally looked at the picture and copied the general idea.
I think you could use almost anything you have in your yard instead of roses. Some non-flower choices that would look chic are a sprig or two of rosemary, a leaf of fern, or a pretty weed (chicory? or a dandelion perhaps?).