Snow Day!

image credit unknown

Philadelphia got about a foot of snow this weekend!  It would have been completely lovely if not accompanied by 50 mile per hour winds.  But now that the storm has passed, the wind is gone, the sun is out, and we have gorgeous blue skies.

And, guess which back-ordered item arrived a couple of weeks early?!  My bean boots! 



My husband bought me this pair for my birthday, and I love them!  I love the shearling, love the leather, love that this style has been around for almost 100 years.  They keep my feet warm and dry.  They're great.  (If you're thinking of ordering a pair, buy a whole size smaller. Really.  Even with thick socks they fit perfectly. One whole size smaller.).

Happy Snow Day wherever you are! 

And, I hope you all had a lovely Christmas holiday!  My folks drove in for a quick visit and we all braved the weather to see the Cleopatra exhibit downtown.  It was fascinating, and if you haven't seen it yet, book your tickets now!  The last day to see Cleopatra at the Franklin Institute is January 2nd.  (ps. The jewelry alone was worth the trip).

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A Product Of The (Gingerbread) Housing Market

Isn't this hysterical?  My childhood friend and his wife made this "upside down" gingerbread house.  It made me laugh, so I thought I would share it with you.

Happy Tuesday!

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Mountain Cabin Chic

Did you guys see this house in the recent issue of Elle Decor?  It's fabulous isn't it?  This "cabin" tucked away in the Idaho mountains was designed by the homeowner and built by ForestStudio, a Laguna Beach based architecture firm (yay for my hometown!).  I love the mix of modern, woodsy, and European elements (those ceilings!)...

The homeowner that designed this beauty is Mary Lynn Turner.  She teamed up with her two very accomplished and stylish daughters, Marie and Emily.  Marie has a masters degree from Christies of London in fine and decorative arts.  While Emily went to the London School of Economics.  The three have teamed up to create M. Elle Design, and their portfolio is stunning.  I encourage you to check it out.

Happy Thursday!

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DIY Boxwood Wreath

Like I mentioned over the weekend, I made my own Christmas wreath this year!  I really wanted a square boxwood wreath for our front door, but didn't want to pay a small fortune.  So, I went to a local farm and bought 25 feet of boxwood garland for $14.99.  What a steal! 

How do they make boxwood garland, anyhow?  How is a plant that grows at a glacial pace (about 1" of growth per year!) capable of providing this much foliage?  Are they harvesting one branch from hundreds of boxwood?  You aren't supposed to prune boxwood in the fall, so are all of these boxwood kept in greenhouses?  As you can see, I'm amazed by this.  If anyone can provide some insight to this confused blonde, I would love to know how they make boxwood garland possible.  :)

Ok, so I had my boxwood greenery.  Now, all I needed was a wreath form.  I went to 3 different craft stores and came up empty handed.  No square wreath forms.  Then, I found these inexpensive forms online at the Maine Wreath Company, but I didn't want to wait for them to ship it to me. 

I'm impatient and after all, Christmas is a mere 11 days away!  So, I decided to get creative and make my own wreath form.  I found some scrap wood in our basement, and cut it to size.  Then, I screwed all four pieces together, primed it, and painted it green.  Our front door has a large glass panel, and I didn't want to see ugly scrap wood from the other side.  The green frame blends in quite nicely.

materials needed:

25 feet of boxwood garland

square wreath form (mine is a DIY and measures 15" square)

floral wire

wire cutters

floral clippers (not pictured above)

Start wrapping the garland around the frame, tying it onto the frame with floral wire as you go...

Keep wrapping and wrapping until all 25 feet of boxwood is used up...

Then, with your floral clutters, trim the excess so that is starts to resemble a square...

To hang my wreath, I bought 4" wide, white satin ribbon from Michael's, and 5/8" black twill tape...

To create a look inspired by this black and white piping...

the FABULOUS wrapping at Williams Sonoma Home (my favorite store in the world)

I trimmed the white ribbon with the black ribbon.  I don't have a photo of this step, sorry.  But, it's simple.  Just hot glue the black ribbon to the edges of the white ribbon to create a "piped" look (like the gift boxes above).   Loop the newly piped white ribbon through the wreath and...

Voila!  You're done.

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Christmas Tidings

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Happy Weekend (and Friday's Giveaway Winner!)

(image from the newest issue of Lonny Magazine)

Happy Weekend, everyone!  Do you have any exciting weekend plans?  I heard that the upper midwest is getting buried in snow!  Are you snowed in?

I have a busy weekend planned, but at some point I hope to make a wreath for my front door (if it turns out ok, I might have a wreath DIY post this coming week!).  Again, thank you ALL for commenting on my Week of Giveaways this week!  It was so much fun to read all of your comments.  I hope you'll keep commenting, even though the giveaways are over!


That being said, let's announce the winner of the final giveaway!

Congratulations, Fran!

You are the winner of the brass apple & brass pear!

Have a lovely winter weekend, people.  I hope you are staying warm!!

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Friday's Giveaway (and Thursday's Winner)

Today is the last day in my week of giveaways!  Let me just say that I've had a blast reading all of your comments this week!  Thank you all for participating.  I have the best readers, I think.  And if I had more money?  I would give presents to everyone (in my best Oprah voice I would say, "YOU get a car! YOU get a car! YOU get a car!"). 

Today's final giveaway is a classic High Street Market find...

A vintage brass apple & pear!

These brass pieces are actually little bells-- perfect for the holiday season!

Made of solid brass and polished to reveal their original shine.

the pear measures 4" high

the apple measures 3" high

I love decorating with quirky vintage finds like these!  They bring so much personality to a space.

Here is a similar brass apple from my shop, featured in a past issue of Lonny Magazine!

(in the home of Victoria Thompson)

To win this giveaway, just leave a comment at the end of this post. 

Make sure that a correct email address is associated with your blogger profile, so I can contact you if you've won!   Tomorrow morning, I will draw a winner at random.

**The winner must have a US address (within the lower 48 states)!!!!

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Now, let's announce the winner of yesterday's giveaway, shall we?

 

Congratulations, Molly Alexander!

You've won a vintage silver plated Paul Revere bowl!

Happy Friday, dear readers.

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Thursday's Giveaway (and Wednesday's Winner!)

Today is Day 4 in my week of giveaways.  Every single day this week, I've given away something from my shop, High Street Market!  We've already awarded a porcelain toast rack, a snow leopard pillow, and a 3-peice set of Westmoreland milk glass. 

And, today's giveaway is one of my favorite items, an absolute STAPLE in any home...

Vintage Silver Plated Paul Revere Footed Bowl,

by Bailey Banks & Biddle

This silver plated Paul Revere style bowl is an absolute classic, and it's extremely versatile.

Use it to hold fruit, serve snacks (like chips and popcorn!), or even use it in the office to catch mail!

9" wide and 4.25" high

a vintage piece by Bailey Banks & Biddle Co.

I have a few of these vintage bowls, and I use them all around our house... 

I used one last fall to hold a flower arrangement in our (then) dining room:

To win this giveaway, just leave a comment at the end of this post. 

Make sure you that a correct email address is associated with your blogger profile, so I can contact you if you've won!   Tomorrow morning, I will draw a winner at random.

**The winner must have a US address (within the lower 48 states)!!!!

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And, now for yesterday's winner!

Congratulations, "Love This Life"! 

You've won the Westmoreland milk glass bowl and the pair of matching candlesticks!

Happy Thursday, everybody.

xoxo

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New Vintage!

If you're signed up for the High Street Market newsletter, you already know that I added a bunch of new stuff to the site today.  But, in case you didn't know...  here's a sneak peek at some of the new inventory.

(I love the handmade, glass Christmas tree set...  and that fabulous brass ice bucket-- perfect for champagne on New Year's Eve!)

And, if you're interested in giving a unique, vintage gift this season...  you can shop by price in my shop!  Just check out the left hand column (you'll see links for "under 30 dollars," "30 to 50 dollars," etc...).  I even put together a little vintage gift guide... 

Gifts Under $30.00:

And, Gifts Under $50.00:

And, just a reminder: I am offering free gift wrapping on all small items.

 

Plus, all purchases ship out within 24 hours.

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