Thursday, November 29, 2012

"God Jul"

Hello everyone!
 
Since I decided to decorate my Christmas tree in a Scandinavian (Swedish) style this year, I thought it would be appropriate to wish you all Merry Christmas in Danish.  (Hence, my title.) As I've been studying this look, I've learned so much about this style.  It's so much fun!  Instead of Santa's (like we have here in America), they have Danish Elves. 
 
 
 
Aren't they just the cutest?!
 
Swedish decor is often  red and white with a bit of grey mixed in.  They use a lot of natural materials from the outdoors and homemade ornaments.  Since it is usually very cold and snowy outside, many of their decorations are made from wool, felt or sweater materials. It all gives the feeling of being warm and cozy inside.  Images such as snowflakes, animals, and hearts are very popular.
 
Here are a few images that I found envelop this look.
 


 
 
 
So..............without further ado............
 
here is my version of a Swedish Christmas tree.
 
 
 
 

 
 
 


 
I added every one's initials on the tree and filled it with animals, snowflakes, mushrooms, ball ornaments and other "outside" themed objects such as hats and ice skates.  I found most of these at Target!  They were part of their Northern Horizons collection.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
This cute little sack came in a package I ordered from Dreamy Whites.  It had butcher's twine in it, so I just painted the "25" on it and used it as a decoration. 
 
 


So, what do you think?  Did I capture the "Swedish look"?  I live in the south, so technically, I should be decorating with fruits and magnolia leaves.  But, I'm just really drawn to this look this year. 
 
 
I hope I was able to share a little inspiration on this look with you today.
 
Thanks for stopping by!
 
~ Kelly ~

Inspiration pics from here.
 
 
 

 

 
 
 

 
 
 


Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Nordic Christmas Decor

Hello everyone!
 
I am happy to say that I'm done with my Christmas decorating.  I kept things simple and light this year and it actually helped me enjoy it more this year.  I've even already made a fresh gingerbread house for the kitchen.  What????  Guess I'm feeling the energy from the medicine my doctor put me on from my illness I suffered recently.  They're called "steroids".  LOL!  Guess I'll enjoy them while they last a few more weeks.  Too bad I can't stay on them.
 
Anyway............moving right along.  Here are some pics of my family room in the fresh "Nordic style" that I've come to love.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
It's just a simple mix of greenery, white and silver ball ornaments, ivory sweater stockings, paper whites, pine cones and candles.  I love how uncluttered it feels and has a wintry feel to it (despite all the white). 
 
My tree is done in a red, white and grey Swedish country style that I'll share later.  It's in the next room over.
 
Thanks for stopping by!
 
~ Kelly ~
 
Linking to:  Wow-Us-Wednesdays
 
 
 
 
 
 


Sunday, November 25, 2012

Snippets of Christmas

Hello everyone!
 
I've started decking the halls around my house for Christmas and thought I'd share a few snippets for you.  I'll do the full reveal in another post.  Still working on the staircase and dining room.  Also, a few tweaks to the Christmas tree.  Almost done!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 



 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 




 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Are you decorating for Christmas yet? 
 
Thanks for stopping by!
 
~ Kelly ~
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 

 


Friday, November 23, 2012

Thanksgiving at my Brother's

Hello everyone!
 
I hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving with your family yesterday.  We celebrated at my brother's house. We all ate a lot of good food and waddled out of there ready to take a nap!
 
Here are few photos I took of the tables decorated for the big feast.
 
kitchen
 
 
dining room
 
 
living room
 
 
kids table
 
 
(I believe the kids had already begun rearranging this table setting before I snapped the pic!  Ha!)
 
 
The food was served buffet style from this island in the kitchen.  We had turkey, dressing, green beans, creamed corn, rice and gravy, sweet potato casserole, macaroni and cheese, cranberry sauce and rolls.  For dessert, there was pumpkin pie, chocolate chess pie and a berry pie.  It was all soooo good!
 
The best part was to have everyone under one roof to see and catch up with each other all day.  That's my favorite part of Thanksgiving.
 
Now.............I'm off to start Christmas decorating today.  Gotta lug out some boxes from the basement and start hanging some wreaths.
 
Hopefully, my decorations will turn out better than this!  Ha!
 
 
Hope you all have a good "Black Friday" today and a great weekend!
 
Thanks for stopping by!
 
~ Kelly ~
 


 



 


 



 


Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hello everyone!
 
Just wanted to take time out to wish all of you a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family tomorrow.
 
 
Remember this, too, after you've eaten your big meal.
 


Hopefully, your table will not look like this either.
 
 
But if it does, just follow this advice.
 


Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!
 
 
~ Kelly ~
 

 


Sunday, November 18, 2012

Winter Whites

Hello everyone!
 
I have been doing some planning for my Christmas decor this year.  I think I'm going with a Nordic Swedish vibe in my decorating this year.  It will include lots of greenery accented with white and a few pops of bright red. I've got my tree, mantel and outdoor decorations all planned out and ready to go.  Now, I'm getting excited! 
 
In the quest to get things purchased and "in the spirit" for all things Nordic, I did a little shopping at "Tar-jay" this weekend.  I came home with a few goodies to get me started.
 
I found this darling kitchen rug.  I had to pull up the burlap one because it kept getting dirty and it isn't meant to be washed very frequently.  So, after I cleaned it (once again) it's now draped over a basket.
 
 
This one works much better.  It's even padded so it feels squishy under foot. 
 
Then, I had another dilemma.  Remember the long grain sack pillow I made for my sofa?  Well, my hubby just wasn't comfortable with it.  It wasn't squishy enough and was too obtrusive for sitting down.  I've decided that style pillow works best on a bed for decoration or...................
 
a bench in the foyer!  I just happen to have one of those. 
 

 
This works much better.
 

 
Also, during my trip to "Tar-jay", I found this adorable sweater pillow with pom-poms.
 
 
So, it now takes place of the large obtrusive grain sack pillow (that I loved here) on the sofa.  Now, my man is happy once again.  He's got movable squishy pillows.  All is right with the world once more.  Can I get an "Amen"? 
 

 
Right around the same aisle that this darling little pillow was on, I spied this "too cute to stay on the shelf and must come home with me" faux paper whites arrangement.
 
 
Oh yeah!  Don't you agree it is perfect?
 
 
I love real paper whites, but they always get so long and lanky and start falling over. So, these will last all winter without worry and even into next year!  Hee Hee.
 
And one last little change in here that I did and haven't shared yet is this little Florentine table that was in my basement.  You do remember that I have a basement that I shop from don't you?
 
 
I've been seeing them pop up all over blog land lately, and I've had a set of them down in my basement for years!  I decided to bring just one of these up and see if I liked it.  And.....I do! 
 
So, these are a few of my "winter whites" that I've added to my home recently.  I'm really looking forward to getting started with my Christmas decorating after Thanksgiving.  I'll share my "Swedish Christmas" with you then.
 
Thanks for stopping by!
 
~ Kelly ~