havin' myself a merry little christmas almost a month early

BEFORE

welllllllllll...so i kind of sort of may have severely jumped the gun on the christmas decorating this year. but that's okay, i was in the mood this weekend, and now it's done so i can focus on more important things like cookies, peppermint mochas and mariah carey on repeat. t & i went to whole foods yesterday and bought our little darling tree for 20 bucks. it came with a stand and everything and was easy to carry home with us. to decorate the bugger we bought cranberries and i made popcorn and i made a garland. it was a little harder than i thought it was going to be. i pricked myself with the needle one too many times and i think i stained our coffee table red. but it looks lovely! in photographs, here is my attempt to make the garland. 

i then added obnoxious plaid mccalister family placemats and used the left over bowls of cranberries as table decorations. i hope they don't rot. 

i then lit as many candles as possible that smelled like balsam fir because you know, that scent is rather hard to come by in new york. 

after the candles were lit and the garlands strung, i added silver ornaments and the most darling angel tree topper that is actually a bell.  

the end result is a little guy who is no longer naked and is ready for the holidays. 

AFTER!!!

DIY

i found both these images on etc. i think i could easily recreate these in my own apartment. i'm not sure how practical the sticks around the lamp are, but i'm absolutely loving the shells as a jewelry tray.

milk bottles

while at the grocery store yesterday, shopping for ingredients to make pumpkin chocolate chip cookies (thanks L for the recipe), i stumbled upon a glass milk bottle! in 2009! talk about a relic from the past. it was only 2.50 for a pretty large bottle, so i had to buy it. milk always disappears quickly in our apartment and i knew i would have great use for the bottle when it was empty. i think i'll use it as a vase, here are some inspirational pictures that i found this morning.

(images via flickr and olivet)

apple crates

(via flickr)

(via apartmenttherapy)

(via audrey hepburn complex)

i think the use of apple crates as furniture is really cool. utilitarian, cheap and creative! my favorite is using one as a nighttable. they look so classsic with a few old books tucked inside and a simple lamp on top. i wonder where i could find some? maybe the upper rust? :)

paper cranes

my boyfriend asked me this weekend if i had ever done origami (he was trying to fold a pocket square and I was incredibly unhelpful), and sadly i said no. i remember people trying to teach me growing up, but i was certainly not patient enough for the delicate folds of a paper crane. however, i think they are so beautiful. i love it when a bunch of them are attached and made into a mobile. maybe make a paper crane will be my next DIY. But somehow i think i still don’t have enough patience.

DIY

picture clotheslines. i have seen these in a few different places now, and i'm starting to feel a DIY project coming on. they look so adorable. i particularly like these two examples. one is from a wedding and features baby pictures of the bride and groom. the choice of the earthy wooden clothespin in the outdoor setting is perfect. the other i think it just a bedroom decoration, but using the polaroids and colorful clothespins makes it extra clever. (via oh, hello friend)