Winter Coffee Table Basket

While I receive so much joy from decorating the halls for Christmas, taking it all down and redecorating with a clean slate and new perspective is my favorite. I am one of those people who moves right along after the holiday is over. My house was taken apart and cleaned by the time I sat down for dinner on Sunday night. I know, I have some serious OCD...I just can't help it. 

I had a lot of fun putting together this basket for my coffee table. I used a new candle from Shop Terrain along with pine cones and my cotton stems. The basket under neath is very "twiggy"... a gift from my mom! All the pieces together create such a warm, "wintery" feel with just the perfect amount of texture. 

Beach Plum Farm: Cape May, NJ

If you aren't aware: I love Cape May, NJ. Like, really love it. We have been going there as a family since I graduated high school (10 years ago). About 8 years ago, my family bought a beach house there and every summer since, we are down as many weekends as we can. When my husband and I first started dating, he came along the second weekend we were together. In my family, if you don't like the beach, you just may not be a contender for the long run! Know what I mean? Thank goodness he passed the test and has fallen in love with it more and more ever since. 

The best thing about Cape May is the quiet atmosphere and all of the history. One of my absolute favorite places there is Congress Hall. It is a gorgeous old hotel that was restored several years back and has grown in popularity since. The design is my favorite inspiration ever. Les (husband) knows exactly just how much I love it (I make him take me there every single weekend) and actually proposed to me on the front lawn one warm night in May of 2012. 

Congress Hall is a part of the Cape Resorts umbrella, who also owns a few other hotels, the West End Garage (an old garage in West Cape May that they converted into a store full of local vendors who sell their crafts and goods- also a favorite place), and most recently the Beach Plum Farm. Aka just another place to add to my weekly itinerary every weekend in the summer. 

Here are some snaps of my visits there. Tell me that isn't just perfect?

Neutral Shelf Styling

I had a lot of fun styling this small shelf in my guest room this weekend. It all started with a $2.99 bouquet of Eucalyptus branches from Trader Joes. This is one of my favorite Christmas greens and I always get a bunch every year. It is my favorite green color- still seasonal, but not too bright! This was the inspiration for today's post!

The shelf is from a booth at the Country Living Fair in Rhinebeck, NY that I attended with my mom and sister in June. (So much fun by the way!) Most of the other things are trinkets I have found along the way while perusing flea markets and antique shops, with the exception of the bust and baskets which were found at Home Goods. I kept the coloring neutral and monotone, which really brings it all together. Each piece brings me a lot of joy, and that's the most important part!

I hope you all are having a wonderful Monday so far and finding joy this Christmas season!

PS. Are you following me on Instagram? You should! It's a lot of fun over there.

Comfy Cozy Living

As I said in my previous post, we love spending time in our living room. It is the first room you enter as you come into our home and just past it is the kitchen. It is certainly our "hub" and where we spend most of our time. It is furnished with an extra-large Pottery Barn couch, our large television (so much honesty here- we love our tv shows and movies, ok?), a large comfy chair, a gorgeous hand-made coffee table from my father, and pillows....ALL the pillows. It is also where I love to cozy up with a furry blanket and sip my cup of coffee. I don't know about you, but my December calendar has a lot of writing in the margins- so many Christmas parties, projects, errands, etc to keep up with! It is so important to find even just 5 minutes for yourself and "get your fill" so you don't feel completely depleted during this busy season. How do you find that time to relax? For me, it's 5 minutes to read my devotional, 5 minutes to enjoy my coffee, a few minutes of reading a favorite magazine, an hour of crafting, or a few minutes of rearranging a room. I am thinking about you today and hope you are able to find that perfect peace! 

Sources below. 

Christmas Couch Tour

I have officially named this post, my Christmas Couch Tour. If you know anything about South Philadelphia row-homes...ok, even if you don't, let me explain. They are small. We ain't working with much space, so I decorate to my little heart's content. But you won't see any grand dining rooms on this blog. My favorite room in the house is my living room, which also doubles...triples....err... as our front entryway, main sitting area, occasional guest bed (ok, we have a guest room, but I guess we should have put out a little more for the mattress!), and the dining room. If we are glad we splurged on any of our newlywed purchases, we will never regret our couch purchase. We love it and spend so much of our time there. Maybe too much of our time...

Anyways, I went to town with the Christmas decorating this past weekend and here is the result of my couch decor. So, I bring you the Couch Tour! All sources tagged at the bottom of the post!

Couch: Pottery Barn PB Comfort
Knit Pillow: Ikea USA
Wreath Pillow: Home Goods
White Velvet Pillows: Ikea USA
Beige Linen Pillows: Ikea USA
Shutters: local antique store
Felt Ball Garland: West Elm
Jingle Bell/Pom Pom Garland: Tommy's Folly Boutique at Congress Hall, Cape May
Pom Pom Stockings: West Elm
Cotton Wreath: DIY with stalks of cotton from Shop Terrain
Table: Made by my Dad!