Saturday, November 20, 2010

I challenge you... Christmas style.

I've been wanting to post a new blog for a while now but there are some days where sitting down and typing something out seems virtually impossible.... That was my entire week. Work was brutal this week as we had the owner's out for a big inventory that only happens once a year. I happened to get hired on about 2 months before this "big week." Meaning I've been spending most of my time in preparation for it. It's funny how things work out though, the less I stressed about it the more I realized it was a blessing in disguise! As a Visual, I am more inclined to remember something once I've seen it. I had the opportunity to physically touch every single accessory we have in our showroom. At first it sounded like an impossible task, but quickly became my saving grace since without it I would still be lost among thousands of unrecognizable pieces. With that said, it was a crazy week. 

In the meanwhile, Christmas decor had to go up! In retail Christmas decorations are up as soon as Halloween is over, so I was SUPER excited to bust open the huge boxes of decorations in my office that had been calling my name for the past two months! 

As I opened them I busted up laughing and thought to myself, "Oh ok, this is going to be a challenge."
We'll start with the wreaths... and I'm not talking about the little ones you hang on your door... I'm talking 60 inch wreaths that a grown man could use as a hula hoop! Which may have been beautiful masterpieces 4 years ago, but were now tattered and sad hot glued disasters. The hot glue being the challenging part... 
Needless to say, I was excited to tackle them and see what I could come up with. I knew it was going to be interesting because I had limited resources and was only able to use what was already there. I felt like I was on a design show and this was one of the challenges... (Except in the end I'd win nothing and have to go find a place to hang them. lol)

After peeling away hot glue and broken glass I started over, making bows out of crinkled pieces of hot gluey (yes, gluey) ribbon and creating make shift christmas ball hangers out of paperclips. Oh boy. When all was said and done I was sort of proud of my little wreathy creations. They weren't at all what I would've chosen to create from scratch, but sometimes you gotta make it work. Old wreaths need love too! :)

Below are a few of this week's "Challenges." Enjoy! 

    Before:

   After:
Before:
   After:

Before: (For this one I had to use a box of random purple decorations.)
After:
Before: (A Centerpiece... I think?!)
After:



And so, I challenge you. Find a torn and tattered Christmas decoration that needs a little lovin.. and love on it! It's amazing what you can do with some scissors and a little determination! :) 

And I'll leave you with this:

Our 12 foot Christmas tree (And a box of tree decorations that didn't match. haha!) 
Found the ones that worked together and tada!!

r.

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Dyson Ball-Yee haw.


Ok so, I know that 300-500 dollars is A LOT to pay for a vacuum. I do. But I am completely convinced that the Dyson is not a vacuum. It is a robot that knows exactly how to make my vacuuming experience amazing. It all comes down to this: It's "simple." The buttons are in all the right places, they do what they say they'll do, and the arm sucker thingy (yes, I just called it that) is hidden in the perfect spot, just the right length and extremely user friendly. 

My huz and I bought one when we got married and lived in our carpeted apartment. Less than a year later we bought our first home and put in hardwood floors throughout... So we were left thinking, "what the heyyyooo are we going to do with this expensive vacuum?!" Common sense tells you that you're still going to need one... If you have wood floors you know, dust bunnies live EVERYWHERE.. all the time. So you need a vacuum.. badly.. unless you feel like sweeping every single day. (Yea, no thanks.) But of course we wondered if we really needed a $400 one. Hmm...

Luckily we chose to keep it... figuring we'd still use it for the area rugs and to suck up the occasional dust bunny, even though the floor salesman SWORE it would ruin our floors.

I'm not one to read instructions... like, ever. So I didn't know that you can stop the rollers when you are vacuuming on hard surfaces (as not to scratch them!) Another awesome feature... How? Just press the button that has a picture of the rollers on it! Again, simple. But of course I found that out when I accidentally sucked up a robe and they stopped on their own... I thought I'd broken it and almost cried, but finally figured it out. (I will credit that to me always making something more difficult than it is... and never reading instructions. Ha!)

So, in conclusion: Whether you have hardwood floors, carpet, tile or laminate, a Dyson Vacuum is a very good investment. I plan on loving mine for many moons to come...




My only regret:

Not waiting until they came out with the RED one.

Rats! ;)


Saturday, November 6, 2010

It's Christmas time... Almost.

I cannot even begin to explain to you how excited I get about Christmas. If it were up to me Christmas music would be playing all year long, Starbucks would ALWAYS serve me drinks in little red cups and Home Alone would be on the tube every night just in time for me to get in my PJ's and cuddle up on the couch. Seriously, I love Christmas... and since I was recently blessed with an amazing design position; this year has the potential of being the best yet! This coming week I will be transforming my showroom into a Winter Wonderland... which truly is one of the best things about designing in a retail space; Christmas begins as soon as Halloween ends. Don't mind if I do! :)

Here are a few ideas I will be working on... as well as links to where you can purchase pieces to create the same feel in your home!

I lalalalooooove the Antler Chandelier... and I am definitely a sucker for a good lantern or two... The photo above has inspired some very 'Christmas in a cozy wood cabin' ideas in my mind and I am liking it a whole bunch!

Here is a link to a similar chandelier (an affordable version... I am a bargain hunter to the core.):

Hampton Bay Antler 5 Light Chandelier

If you are looking for something more high-end:

Cabela's 12-Antler Cascade Reproduction Whitetail Antler Chandelier with Down Lamp

and if you are truly blessed... the Antler Chandelier of all Antler Chandeliers:

The Grand Teton Whitetail Antler Chandelier


If you're anything like me, you'll search Craigslist first... you never know what you'll find! One girl's trash is another girl's treasure, right?!

Enjoy your Christmas fun search! Please feel free to share your Christmassy ideas! Trust me, this won't be the last you hear of mine! ;)

r.

Welcome!

Wonderful world, thanks for visiting my blog! Let me start by saying, "Sometimes I start a sentence with no idea where it is going and just hope that it comes to me along the way." - Michael Scott

With that said, I am not and will never be... in any way... by any means... for any reason... at anytime... in any place... ever... at all... in any way...

A writer.

Of blogs that is. Songs, yes... But blogs... No. So, you'll have to forgive me if I spell things wrong (which I will), or make no sense at all. Because to tell you the truth, non-sense happens to be my favorite kind of sense! :)

Please feel free to leave me comments! Nice... or not so nice. I will try to get back to you as soon as possible! If you would like to see some of my work or contact me you will find the appropriate links located at the top left of my blog.

I look forward to hearing from you soon!

r.