Yay! It's Friday!

It snowed here in Nashville last Sunday. That's a big deal people! So, I ran outside and took a picture of our house decorated for Christmas with snow all around! Yay!

you can kind of see our Christmas tree in the window second from the left.

I love snow. Love love love snow. It's gone now though. It rained yesterday and washed it all away. Sad. Now that I have shown you the outside of my house...here's a few pictures of the inside...

our tree in our kitchen - it's white even though it looks pink

Our real Christmas tree. Love me a Fraser Fir!

the tree is where our dining room set should be ;-)

I got this hand painted ornament in Chicago. Kinda pricey, but so worth it.

The tree that's in our bedroom. Same as kitchen, but smaller.

You think 3 trees is enough?

Have a great weekend, friends! Mine will be a busy one!

Girls Weekend - Chicago

A few weekends ago I headed to Chicago for a girls weekend! It included long days and late nights, but it was so worth it and I had so much fun.

I have known the 3 girls I went with for years. I met Nellie and Lauren since elementary school and Ashley since middle school. I cherish the unique friendships I have with each girl and am so grateful for the time we were able to spend together! Here are some pictures from our fun filled/jam packed weekend!


Christmas tree in front of John Hancock Building



L to R: Lauren, Ashley & Nellie



I can't remember the name of this church, but it's my favorite.



Lauren & Nellie



Pretty snow and lights



Lauren & Me



Lights on Michigan Avenue



Crate & Barrel



Skyline from our hotel room



another view...Trump Tower



Same view as before, but in daylight



yep



Christkindlmarket...it was awesome



Nellie, Me & Lauren chillin' with a nutcracker



pure Christmas overload



Nellie, Lauren & Ashley - humoring me. I was a little too excited



Hence this picture. I want to go back every year so I can get a new mug. :)



Hand-painted ornaments. Beautiful.

Macy's on State Street

Famous for it's window displays. Love the kids dressed in bright colors.

The Chicago Theatre

at the bean

So fun



The girls!! (and John Peter - Nellie's son)



Backlogged

Last week was C.R.A.Z.Y. Please bear with me as I get caught up and get my act together. I should have lots of pictures to come soon (maybe more pictures than writing, but who are we kidding...pictures are all we really care about)!

I'll be back soon to update ya'll.

Here a are a couple of teasers until I return...I had some work friends over this weekend for a cookie exchange! Read all about it over at Tara's blog! Last but not least, be sure to check out this video.

It is one of the most powerful testimonies I have EVER heard. Seriously, it left me speechless. I feel so lucky that I get to work with artists like her.

Soon and Very Soon

Nate and I have been waiting a long time (and so have our friends in CO who have graciously been allowing us to store all this in their basement for a little over a year now) to bring "our" antique dining room set to our new home in TN! Finally, it seems that these beauties will be making their way home sometime near the end of this month! I can't wait!

Nate's parents offered these pieces to us last year (they were his Grandma's) and we jumped at the offer. They are antiques (they think from 1930 or 1940s) and one of the reasons I love them so much is because they are "small" pieces (compared to most furniture now - we need small) and I love the detail. Okay, ready to see them?

China Cabinet. I love the details in the glass doors. It is the perfect size for our house: 33” W x 16” D x 67” H

36” W x 54” L x 30” H and it also has an extra table leaf that will extend the table length another 10"

I also LOVE how the table ends fold down (for compactness)

And the chairs...I love the design on the backs...I cannot wait to recover the seat cushions :)

So, that's it! That's our 'new to us' dining set. It looks like it has some dings on it...so we'll have to see how it looks once it is in our house. I love the red tones the wood has, but wonder how that will go with our floors. Hmmm. The other day I was actually thinking about painting the china cabinet white. *Gasp*

Who knows. We are definitely planning on living with it "as is" for awhile before we do anything drastic to it! So, don't worry! :)

Do you have any antique furniture? If so, did you leave it 'as is' or re-finish it? Also, do any of you know the style of the furniture? I'd love to learn more about it!

DIY Ornament Wreath

Good Housekeeping

Living Artfully

I love ornament wreaths and apparently they are pretty easy to make. With that said, I am thinking about making one of my own (who knows when). There are lots of different ways to make them, but if you're crunched for time here are some websites I found that have pretty good instructions:

Good Housekeeping
Living Artfully
Deep Fried Kudzu

Have you ever made one before? Was it easy? Hard?