Our 2014 Christmas Kitchen ...

Greetings, friends!

You know those books that don't have any words ... where you make up your own story as you go along?

Well, let's just pretend that this post is one of those books ... I'm going to inundate you with pictures (lots and LOTS) of our Christmas kitchen and sunroom and let you fill in the story as you take a peek!

And, there you have it ... our holiday kitchen and sunroom.  I just hope that the remaining days until Christmas go by slowly!

Thanks so much for stopping by,

Joining:

The Nester for her Christmas Tour of Homes party.

Read More

Quick Way To Beautify A Garden!!

How was your weekend dear friends, mine was super hectic with lots of work assignments in hand and son's studies, I didn't even realized and it's Monday again. I did so many things in past few months, some DIY projects, paintings and few more exciting things. I added some elements in my balcony garden last month and post about it was lying in draft since then. My husband is a great support, because of him I was able to meet all the deadlines and got time to publish this post. 

Sharing some tips and images of my garden with you. A corner in my garden was looking a little dull and I wanted to cheer it up without spending much time.
First have a look how it was before. Since long time the arrangement had been like this and I got bored of looking at it. I wanted to rearrange and add something.

This is what I did..

I am quite happy with the look (at least for a few months). Now if you want to create this look in your garden, follow these easy and simple steps:

1. Take a clay/plastic plate. Plate because you will place Buddha on it.

2. Put soil and manure in the plate.

3. Sow seeds or if you have saplings you can plant them (I did both). Plant only on one side of the plate, as on the other side you will place Buddha. 

4. Place Buddha figure on the plate. Club together pots of the same size and place the plate on the center (where you see the void).

5. You can place small colourful pots on the edges of two adjoining pots, like I did. I placed orange watering can and coconut planter too. 

6. Arrange the pots in a way that all the taller plants should be on the back side and smaller ones and creepers should be in front.  

Here is closer look of the corner....

Plants I planted in the plate are very lovely. They are almost in five shades. I don't know the name of this plant, if anyone of you are aware what this plant is called, please tell me the name.  

I always wanted a Zen corner in my garden, so that I can spend my evenings there doing some creative work or writing a blog post. Now I love looking at this corner, it's serene!! Sometimes I place different flowers on Buddha figure I enjoy peaceful moments that I spend there :)

Take a tour of some beautiful gardens and read more about gardening (Click here).
Hope you liked this quick and easy way to beautify a garden. Stay tuned for more such ideas!!

Read More

A Nordic Christmas | American Swedish Institute | Minneapolis.

The delightful holiday season is in full swing here in Minnesota.
Twinkling lights outline homes, there are shiny angels and festive wreaths on doors, as you pass homes you catch a glimpse of the festive atmosphere with families sitting cosy near fireplaces and the bright christmas trees.

Weekends leading to Christmas are filled with holiday markets and events.
We decided to visit Winter Wonderland: A Nordic Christmas at American Swedish Institute and the
Julmarnad last weekend.
Minnesota has a large Scandinavian population and I have always admired their design style characterised by simplicity, minimalism and functionality.

It was a bright sunny day with a thin blanket of snow.

The exterior of American Swedish Institute.

 A snowflake welcome:-)

The Institute was bustling with festive fervour as people walked around trying to pick up one of a kind Swedish holiday gifts.
The aroma of Glogg permeated the high hallway. With the snowflake sticker stuck firmly to our jackets we made our way into rooms filled with wonderful handcrafted and unique gift items.

Loved the simplicity of the tree.

With Christmas music filling the building we wandered into rooms of the Turnblad Mansion with winter light filtering in through stain glass paintings and lace curtains.

You bet we were entering the Winter Wonderland!

During the holiday season the rooms of the Turnblad Mansion are decorated in the different styles of Scandinavian countries.

I was completely distracted by these massive chandeliers and had to click them before concentrating on other elements in the rooms;-)

Each room had a table which displayed a holiday table setting depicting  each of the Scandinavian countries and their quintessential style.

 A bright yellow and black pattern table setting from Finland.

 Vibrant red and white combination with elements of nature from Denmark.

 Loads of glass and black elements in Swedish table-setting.

 A traditional Norwegian Christmas table-setting.

To experience the traditions of the Scandinavian countries all in one place in Minnesota was a very enriching and lovely experience. A lovely holiday tradition.

We came home with a Swedish Dala Horse and these miniature vintage mitten ornaments by Steller Handcrafted Goods.

Hope you liked A Nordic Christmas in Minnesota:-)

Stay tuned another Christmas post coming up soon!

( Images by Arch and are copyrighted. Please do not use without permission)

Read More

Vignettes of Christmas 2014

Vignettes of Christmas in my home...
                              no words needed! 
                                                    Just Enjoy...






















































































Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas!


These parties I love to link up to or check out my Blog Parties tab

Monday

Metamorphosis Monday @ Between Naps On

Read More

The Cutest Wool Trees

One of the favorite things
that I do every year
to get myself in the
Spirit of Christmas
is go to an Open House at a local natural crafts store called
Ohio Street Originals.

This post is not about this store (but you can see an old post I did on that store HERE)

What this post is about are the fun and adorable little wool trees that I discovered there and how to make them!




I purchased

Read More

Our 2014 Christmas Great Room ...

Greetings, friends!

Come on into our great room, where the colors of the season have taken over everything!

Let's start over here where inexpensive wreaths from Michael's dress the windows and festive "Vinter 2014" red/white pillow covers from IKEA add a splash of holiday to our sofa.

Leftover scraps of ribbon were "saved" and tucked into the garland around a simple hurricane ... 

*Speaking* of our mantel ... there it is ... still not thrilled with it, BUT, I'll do better next time (hopefully)!  You can see more of our mantel, along with 10 other mantels that are beyond inspiring by clicking HERE.

A red, cable throw from IKEA is an easy way to add color to our white slipcovered chairs.

While we used to have a 9 ft. tree in our great room in our old home (thanks to vaulted ceilings), it was a tad bit too tall for this room, sooooo, we bought a new "faux" tree from Lowe's ... a nice, fat tree ... and we love it!

When I spotted these cute "chalkboard" ornaments from Target, I knew that they'd tie in nicely with our "chalkboard" sign above the mantel ... so, in my cart they went!  

Glittery white reindeer and large snowflakes that I've collected over the past few years are great fillers!

Admittedly, I love the room "all aglow" at night!

Does Christmas "have" to come so soon ?!

I hope you'll join me again soon in our Christmas kitchen ...

Thanks for stopping by,

Read More

Ticking In Time for Christmas

As my mind was

dreaming up

a new way to display

my Christmas decor

(It's boring if it's put up the same way every year, don't you think?)











I decided that I needed

a new runner

for my buffet...












I had picked up some black and white ticking for another project that I didn't end up using it for, so this fabric was available in my stash to use.


I wanted to have it hang

Read More