Burlap Garland and Christmas Mantel

Hello everybody! I had an awesome lesson learned this weekend. 1. Babies will eat anything. 2. Glass ornaments and babies do not mix. 3. Apparently the red ones are the best tasting. Yep. The babe decided to eat a red glass ornament. She bit right down into it like an apple. The hubs woke me up screaming to come help him; I ran into the kitchen to find her mouth full of blood and glass. That's something you don't want to wake up to. So, we spent the morning in the ER checking up on her. Luckily, the lacerations in her mouth healed quickly, and they couldn't see anything in her system. We got sooo luckily. That could have gone wrong in so many ways.

And now because of this, my tree is lacking some red on it. I immediately came home and took off all the glass ornaments. I knew when putting them up they were some what of a danger, so I put them high...I thought out of reach. I figured the worst that would happen is her grabbing one (if she could reach it) and bang it on the floor or something. Didn't think at all about her trying to eat it :( . You live, you learn and then hope you don't experience something like that again.

This story...somehow...leads me to my Christmas mantel. I guess there's red lacking there...that's the tie in :) I tried to add some red but it was looking silly so I decided to just keep a little bit of red on the balls on the ends and call it good. The hubs says it's too beige-ish though. Oh well...you would think he would be used to this kind of thing by now :) At least it's not all white like last year.

I decided to bring in some natural elements with the pine cones and wreath but still have a little sparkle with the glass and silver stocking holders.

A few years ago, I used lit garland on the mantel, which I loved but haven't done it for awhile. I didn't have any garland on hand this year but I did have some burlap, so I decided, hey why not have burlap garland? I just wove it through the stocking holders and secured it on the end with a cute burlap flower I found at Hobby Lobby.

I also changed up my stockings since I showed you my living room last week. I was on a mad search for reasonably priced cable-knit stockings but couldn't find any. So, I decided to make my own..again. This time out of old sweaters. Not cable-knit, but I still like them :) I'll have a tutorial on this in an upcoming post.The hubs doesn't like them...he says they look too much like real stockings :) I think that's why I like them so much. They aren't fussy looking...just kind of relaxing :)

I love how this mantel looks with my redecorated bookshelves. It just seems so cozy :)

 This is the second time I have changed this mantel this year...hopefully the last time :) I hate it when you decorate something and just aren't happy with it. I think I'm at the happy stage with this one. Now on to decorating my dining room :) ...we'll see if that really gets done lol.

My Christmas Living Room

I was torn this year when decorating my living room for Christmas. First off was where to put the darn tree and if I really wanted to go through the pain of moving the sectional back into the front room. I love having the tree in the middle of the windows in the living room. But, I figured I might as well try to put it in the corner. I wasn't thrilled about the idea, but hey, it was worth a shot to see if it would fit. And luckily it did! I just had to move the couch a couple of inches back and boom..total fittage :) Still a tighter fit than I would like but I'll take it over moving the sectional any day lol.

Second, I went through a ton of different ideas for decorating and I think I finally got one that I'll stick with :) I initially started with an all white theme like I did last year. But then again...I did it last year. Then I decided I really like the look of the white and red that I did in the front room and wanted to incorporate that throughout the house. Luckily I had a lot of red on hand :) So, I decorated in white and red in the living room too. And I liked it, but something was missing. Plus my mantel was completely lacking. It was white...and then I incorporated the red and it looked ridiculous.

Finally, I decided to add some burlap. I actually thought about taking out the red and just doing burlap and white but since I had all the other red decor out and just bought new pillows and yadda yadda yadda..I was kind of invested in keeping the red. So, burlap...red...and white....and brown lol. I guess the burlap is brown.

I'm really liking the burlap and white; I don't know why I didn't think of it earlier. Hopefully I'll remember how much I like it next year :) Plus, I think the hubs is really happy that I added some red. He's told me on a number of occasions how sick he is of the white. I just like bright white rooms...if I could have the sun shining in all day every day that's how it would be. Just super bright :)

The red does add some warmth though. I had to go through my hoards of covered pillows though to find these red/maroon ones.

The only thing I didn't like about moving the tree to the corner was the shadow that it cast on the bookshelves. It's driving me nuts. And since it was driving me nuts, I decided to change up the shelves to see if it would help. Here it was before:

It of course didn't help the shadow but I really liked how it turned out! Luckily I have a ton of books lol. I could have probably filled up the entire shelves with books had I wanted to, but I thought that it might be nice to have a few little pictures and what not stay in there.

This is the babe's first Christmas. I am so beyond excited! I know she won't have any clue about what's going on, but I'm super excited for her to rip open some presents....although I'm sure it will go more towards the chewing side :) When she gets older, this will be the view she sees when waking up Christmas morning....of course, with more presents hopefully. It gets me giddy just thinking about her waking up and peering over the banister in the wee hours of the morning to see what Santa left her :)

I really do wish that this Christmas feel lasted more than a month. If it weren't for my husband, I swear this stuff would have been up the beginning of November :)

Merry Christmas!

My Front Room Christmas Decor

  I'm not sure what happened...the planets aligned, the space time continuum shifted...but, my husband let me decorate for Christmas before Thanksgiving this year!! Well, he let me decorate one room ;) I guess it's about compromise...I'll take one room any day over nothing. I've been listening to Christmas music for the past two weeks and have been itching to get my Christmas stuff up, but he will not have it. I don't know what his problem is :)...good thing I love him lol.

Well, I figure since he let me decorate a room before Thanksgiving, I should share it with you all before Thanksgiving. We picked up this cute little shabby chic Christmas tree from Target the other day. I just loved how cute and sparse it is...plus the burlap base -who could pass up the burlap base? It was on sale for $100 but I had a few coupons and what not and got it for around $75. Probably could have spent a lot less to get a different tree in here, but I knew this would look so perfect.

Oh! And plus, this is the first time y'all get to look at my front room since the big switcheroo that happened this summer! Wow. I can't believe it's been that long and I haven't shown you this room yet. Which is really pathetic because it has been pretty much like this (minus the christmas decor) since the switch, but I just had nothing to put in the corner that the tree is in. So, I decided to make a cute console table. And I got half way done with it and it's been sitting in the garage ever since. That's like 4 months ever since :/ Yeah. Master of procrastination here :) So, really once this tree is gone, the room is back to be 'unfinished' in my eyes. Maybe I'll finish that table before that happens....maybe :)

I really love how cozy this room feels though. It really came together. At first, I was hating the way it looked but that was because I didn't have the right rug. Figures all you need to pull a room together is a rug. I did have just the two sheep skin rugs under the stumps...looked ridiculous. SO ridiculous lol. Then I found this cute Rug  at Target and boom! That's all it took to get this room looking decent.

don't mind the pup that is all of these pictures. He likes the spotlight...or he's just lazy ;)

As for the Christmas decor, I decided to add some texture in here with some pillows made from an old sweater (tutorial here). I super love this! I was going to save this sweater to make a stocking or two, but I'm so glad I made these instead.

The pine cones hanging are something I had made years ago for my stairs. But I thought they would look cute hanging over the pictures in here.

And my chalkboard...I can't bring myself to erase the "welcome". I know I should go ahead and do it, but I'm afraid I'll never get it looking so cute :) I want to put Merry Christmas on it...we'll see if that ever happens lol.

The jute trees are ones I made years ago (tutorial here) and still love them, and they are holding up beautifully.

I love how inviting this room is when you first walk in the door. I'm so glad I decided to decorate with a little red instead of all white like I did last year.

Now we'll see how the real tree in the living room goes. I'm sure the little babe will have a riot with those decorations lol. I can see it now...my tree will probably be only half decorated :) Full on the top...empty on the bottom. Welcome to parenthood :) She's already had her way with the presents under this tree. You can't see it in the pictures, but the back corners are completely chewed off lol.

Well, that's a little glimpse into my home for Christmas this year...hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!!!

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Chalkboard Paint Giveaway Plus a 25% off discount!!!

I'm super excited to have one of my sponsors, Urban Oasis Decor, do another giveaway for you guys!  As you may know, Lue (the owner of UOD) is the go to source for chalk paint...but now, she has a new introduction to her line...chalkboard paint! I'm in love with the chalkboard paint craze lately...as I know most of you are also :) So, whats a better thing to giveaway than Custom Color Chalkboard Paint from her collection??

This chalkboard paint can be applied to any clean, painted or primed surface. And who doesn't love chalkboard paint? If you don't, I'm sure your kids will :) You can paint a whole desk, a wall, plates..the possibilities are endless; just look on Pinterest :) ...oh, and while you are there, follow UrbanOasisDecor for more ideas!

Urban Oasis Decor's HomeBrewed ChalkBoard Paints make almost any surface write-able and, the paint is very workable and durable. Lue even admits to skipping the ChalkFinish Paint's on furniture pieces and using ChalkBoard paint instead because of its toughness...but also because it can be sanded and shabby chic'd as with ChalkFinish Paints, but it's a chalkboard! Even apply your wax to cure the paint and let your piece look beautiful as-is or use it as a chalkboard. A damp cloth is all you need to erase :)

I'm in love with this Dolphin Grey color::

 

Or if you want a little pep in your house during the dark days of winter, go for this tangerine: 

Or peaches and cream:

or a slew of any colors you can think of!

And this is why I love my sponsors so much....they care about the non-winners too :)  For any of my readers, Lue is offering a 25% discount off your whole order! Just use the  Coupon Code: ThriftyAndChicFan @ checkout. Shop now for Pint and 1/2 Pint Paint sizes, which snuggle in perfectly as a stocking stuffie :) Go check out UrbanOD's Etsy store to start shopping today :)

And now for the giveaway! 
One of my lucky readers gets to win a quart of their very own Chalkboard paint, a color of your choice :) All you have to do to enter is:

1. Tell me in the comments what you would use your Chalkboard paint on.
2. Like Urban Oasis Decor on Facebook and let me know in the comments that you did!
3. Follow Urban Oasis Decor on Instagram and let me know in the comments that you did!

The giveaway ends November 29, 2013 at Midnight MST (black friday!! ;) )! You are eligible for 3 entries!  I will notify the winner by email  so please be sure to leave a way for me to get a hold of you.

Click here for giveaway rules.
Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a “sponsored giveaway post.” The company who sponsored it compensated me via a cash payment, gift, or something else of value to write it. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

5 Places To Shop for Thrifty Decor

I never pay retail for anything...well maybe except for food. But for home decor and clothing...and shoes, I never pay retail. Back in the day before I knew any better, I was a spending addict, mostly on clothing and shoes. I would pay top dollar for stuff because I wanted it then and there. Luckily, I got a great job working retail at Dillards my first years of college. It was then I realized the crazy mark up on everything. Like thousands and thousands of percent markups. I also realized if you just wait you can get amazing deals on things. Instead of paying $400 for a coat, I would wait until it was marked down to 75%, and then wait until they had an extra percent off clearance sale, and then of course, I got my employee discount. I got that coat for like $40. Still more than I would pay for a coat nowadays. But none the less, I learned that you can get a deal, you don't have to spend a ton of money to get the right stuff. You just have to know when to shop, where to shop, and how to shop.

Here's a list of my favorite stores I shop for all things home decor (that is if I can't make it on my own):

Target: I could never tell you truly how much I love Target. Well I could, but then you would think I'm a loon :) Target is my go to place to shop. First off, their sales change every week on Sundays. So if you can wait a week or two, more than likely the piece of home decor you want will be on sale. To save even more, you can print out some coupons from their site. You can usually get a deal like save $5 on a $20 home decor purchase. You can also download Cartwheel, and save even more. Right now they have a deal that is 15% off rugs. You can find a ton more deals on there too. And if you download their mobile app, you can get their mobile coupons. Coupling all these together will save you a ton of money. And the icing on the cake? Get their debit card, and get 5% off your entire purchase and free shipping on online orders. And one more thing :) If you have their pharmacy rewards, with every 5 prescriptions filled, you get a 5% off an entire day discount both in store and online. So, lets put this in other terms. You can have $100 rug, and with all their discounts and in store sales, you can get that rug for $65..maybe even less. So, right now you just saved about $35 on your rug :) (estimated of course) And if you shop there often enough, you maybe lucky to get a print out coupon for $10 off $100 or $5 off $50.

Plus they have really cute rugs, pillows, curtains and accessories. They keep on trend with what you see in the blog world. If you see a common theme on Pinterest, bets are that you will see something similar for sale in Target the next month or two.

Home Goods: Home Goods offers mass discounts off of really cute home decor. You can easily get lost in their mounds and mounds of merchandise. They have cute occasional chairs for decent prices, huge rugs, designer towels and accessories. This is my go to shop for organization stuff. They have super cute canvas storage totes right now for like $8-$14 depending on the size. In case you don't have a Home Goods near by but have a TJ Maxx, TJ Maxx has a small selection of what Home Goods usually carries.

Ikea: This is the only place that I don't get a discount :( But, their deals are so good I like to think that I'm getting a discount. You can get a rug for $20 and long, long curtains for $20 (for both panels!). Their frame selection is awesome and accessory and storage items are decent deals too. This is where I like to get my chairs, rugs and accent tables....oh and frames :) ..and candles...I guess the question is, what don't I get there?? :)

Hobby Lobby: This is my go to source for fabric, knobs, and glass wear. Their holiday decor is really cute too, and usually on sale up to 60% before the given holiday. If you check out their 80% aisles, you can get some really good deals and cute decor, especially if you are okay with spray painting some stuff to get it to look how you want. They also have all their furniture permanently on sale for 30% off. And don't forget, their 40% off coupon available on your smart phone :)

TaiPan: If you have a few hours to waste, this is the perfect place to go. They are wholesale decor to the public. Their prices use to be better than they are now, but they are still priced well. This is a great place for holiday decor...any holiday...and cute accessories and wall decor. If you wait until the spring for their outdoor sale, you'll get some killer deals.

I have a ton more places I like to shop but here's just the beginning and the main stores :) I hope this helps in any decorating adventure you're on!