Decorating with Branches

We leave for Atlanta for Thanksgiving this weekend, and I won't be back until December 8. I'm staying a while longer than the hubbers to spend extra time with family and friends, whoohoo! I'm so excited! But that won't leave much time for Christmas decorating when I get back. Santa will be here before I know it, so I'm thinking something simple. I still have the vase with branches in our foyer, which will likely become the Christmas tree, and I just love the idea of some simple branches here and there to make things festive. Here are a few ideas for decorating with branches this holiday season.

1. Southern Living, 2. Country Living, 3. Country Living, 4. Country Living, 5. Casa Diseno, 6. Families Online. 7. Dottie Angel, 8. Emily Thompson via Little Love Blue. 

The Little Black Dress

Natalie Wood sure does look amazing in her little black dress here. I love this picture. She looks like she's about to conquer the city, maybe even the world! I went on a hunt for a new little back dress (for an occasion to come), and found quite a few at Zara. Every gal need a little black dress, right? I have a few, but they're old-ish, and I'm just a little bored with them. So I decided to get a new one. I love Zara. Their color palate is, well, a little lacking in color--quite neutral, but I often love their clothes. Zara did not disappoint. They had so much to choose from. I tried on a handful of little blacks, and could have come home with a new black dress wardrobe, but I settled on two. And the prices are so reasonable, I think, for the quality. Here are a few little black dresses from Zara right now.

And these last two are the ones I bought. They both look much better on, I think, than in the pictures. I especially love the last one. It looks really good on, and I love the fabric. All of these are in the dresses section on the Zara web site. 

Sewing Nook Peek

Lately I've been working on creating a little sewing space in our apartment. This area used to be the bar, but I'm turning it into my sewing nook instead. I'm just not motivated to sew with my sewing machine in the closet. I've been spending more time putting the little space together than actually sewing, but that's part of the fun. I'm not quite finished yet, but here's a peek. My favorite part so far is the wall that I covered in book pages from an old sewing classic. The book was falling apart anyway, so I didn't feel too guilty. I actually covered poster board so that I wouldn't have to peel the pages off of our rented walls one day. I just need a few more things to complete the spot, and then I'll post more pictures. 

Just Because it's Pretty

Yesterday when I was running errands I popped into a fun shop that sells housewares--things like lighting, furniture, kitchen goods and the like. Even though they have a lot of big, shiny merchandise, my eye was immediately drawn to a row of tiny heart bud vases they had on a narrow wooden board. They looked so sweet. I had to get one of those little heart bud vases. It looks pretty on our windowsill. 

Kicking Back with Papier Mache

A while back my friend MN over at Interior Divine told me about Papier Mache magazine, a quarterly online Children's magazine. I've been wanting to make Lois a doll and remembered seeing some really cute ones in one of their magazines. I thought I'd peek back for some doll-making inspiration, but then I just got lost in reading the magazine and looking at all the pretty pictures! It's a very fun, creative magazine. Don't you think so too? These images are from issue three, where I saw those cute dolls made by Jess Brown. A handful of the first images here are from an article on her, her work, and her home. And I could just look at her web site and blog all day. I'm in love with all of her dolls! 

This image above is from Jess's blog. The dolly on the right is wearing the Liberty fabric I just used for coasters. Looks very cute on a doll. And the images below are just a few other random images I like from issue three. 

Swarm

Leslie Oschmann's work has made the blog rounds for quite a while now (on Decor8 a few years ago, and more recently places like SFgirlbybay). I try not to rehash products that have already been featured by other very popular bloggers, but I just love everything Leslie makes! She gives new life to old artist canvases by repurposing them into great bags and beautiful chairs. Check out her web site, Swarm, to see more of her great work. Anthropologie carries her bags and chairs, which I saw in person over the weekend, and now I love them even more.