Pre-holiday Spruce-Up: The Vintage Blue Tile Bathroom

This week marks the official start of the holiday season (though, according to malls and big box stores, it's perfectly appropriate to start celebrating and shopping in September!). As such, I had the itch to get a jumpstart prepping for holiday guests; the first place I wanted to start: our vintage blue bathroom. 

I shared the photo above on Instagram one morning last week, as I could hardly wait to show off this work-with-what-you've-got spruce-up, which required little more than incorporating items I already had into an otherwise-ignored space. In the spirit of Thanksgiving gratitude and contentment, I challenged myself to work within the limits of what I had rather than undertaking a full (and completely unnecessary) renovation and, in doing so, I proved to myself that the smallest changes could turn one of my least favorite spaces into one of my favorites.

Classing It Up with Cloth Napkins...and an Upcoming Giveaway!

This is a pretty personal question, but honest with me: 

Do you use cloth napkins or paper napkins with your nightly meals? 

I have to fess up: I use paper napkins, specifically these recycled napkins from Marcal.

But, on the cusp of my twenty-eighth birthday (which is tomorrow, ahem), I'm resolving to grow up/class up my life through simple changes--and I'm starting is by retiring my paper napkins for their cloth cousins.

Sure, the convenience of paper napkins can't be beat, but there's just something special about sitting down to a table where pretty cloth napkins have been set out, am I right? Suddenly even the most standard grilled cheese-and-tomato soup dinner is classed up.

Not convinced that there are cloth napkins chic enough to compliment your next dinner?

Let me prove you wrong with a few of my favorites:

1. Peony pink napkins from High Street Market

2. Green ikat-print napkins from Sur la Table

3. Check linen napkins from Fog Linen

4. Snow printed napkins from West Elm

5. Amanda blue napkins from Roberta Roller Rabbit

6. Check, please napkins from Luru Home

7. Sister Parish Burma napkins from Alicia's Table

8. Liberty London cotton club napkins from Sue Fisher King

Aside from the premade cloth napkins that abound online and in stores, why not try your hand at sewing your own cloth napkins? There are several tutorials for napkins with mitered corners that are easy to follow and will guarantee a professional looking result (try Design*Sponge and Skip to My Lou)

(via Design*Sponge)

All this talk of handmade cloth napkins brings me to my upcoming giveaway!
On Wednesday, March 1, you'll have a chance to win a set of 4 linen napkins hand-sewn by moi!
The giveaway is sponsored by Online Fabric Store, where you'll find lots of supplies for your next sewing or decorating project.

So, do you use cloth napkins or paper napkins?
I hope you'll consider making the switch and, certainly, checking back on Wednesday and entering the cloth napkin giveaway!

Festivities with Friends

On Saturday, we celebrated the holidays with our friends.
It was so much fun to prepare our home and menu for the event!
Here's photographic evidence of the good time we had:

A collection of Christmas trees: CB2 glass and bottlebrush trees from AC Moore:

Our spread:

Inspired by Katie did's idea, I strung lines of some of my favorite Christmas songs from the ceiling. They added a spirited effect:

Rockin around the Christmas tree...

Adam and I enjoyed hosting our first holiday party this past weekend and, from what I observed, our friends enjoyed the holiday party as well.

Countdown to Christmas: 5 days!

TGIF, 12/17/10 Edition

(Tape tree via Bloesem Kids via VT-Wonen)

We are just a week away from Christmas Eve, can you believe it? There's so many things to look forward to this weekend, including:

• Our holiday celebration. It's happening Saturday and I can't wait to catch up with friends from near and far.
  

• Our long-awaited ottomans. They are ready! Can't wait to show them off next week.
  

Before I can enjoy the weekend, I have an afternoon date with a radiologist:

• It turns out my test on Wednesday was inconclusive, so I'm scheduled for a CAT scan today. I'm nervous, friends, I really am. I'm deluding myself that a CAT scan doesn't involve radiation or an IV, but careful examination by a group of competent feline doctors...

(via Cracked)

Something tells me, though, that HUP isn't about to hire Dr. Kitty Meowington anytime soon, no matter how good her credentials.

But enough of that! I am excited to share with you details of our party (including my decorations) and the ottoman before-and-after next week.

Stay warm, dear readers.

Purl Bee's Linen Thanksgiving Napkins

We aren't hosting Thanksgiving next week, but if we were, I would have prioritized this linen napkin project from Purl Bee.

(via Purl Bee)

Could you imagine wowing your guests with napkins trimmed in the full spectrum of colors? I certainly could. Since I'm not hosting, I'll save this project in my files for the future. For more info, see the easy-to-follow directions here.

Do you have any Thanksgiving decor that's still in your queue?