Happy Holidays to you and yours

Ok, please excuse me as this time of year always fills me with great, great joy!  Holiday dresses come out to play, yummy things are being baked and oh the holiday songs!!!  Let's take a look at this years Holiday Home Musts!  But first... 

I simply cannot contain myself and I must burst into song!

Frost on the windows and snow capped blue mountains

Bustling cities and Central Parks fountains

Tea at the tearoom and antiques and rings

These are a few of my favorite things

Dressing the table and lighting the candles

Being in Grand Cayman and sand in my sandals

Duo Amaral strumming their guitar strings

These are a few of my favorite things

Paris at sunset and pasta in Florence

Wine trails through Nappa and Switzerland's forests

Warm Belgium waffles all topped up with creams

These are a few of my favorite things

When the rain falls, rude remarks sting

When I'm feeling blue

I simply remember my favorite things

And then everything seems new

Dresses from Anthro and apples from orchards

Blue jays and grey jays and songs from all song birds

Dancing to a song while my Victrola sings

These are a few of my favorite things

Indian sari and Old Paris porcelain

Dining at Assaggi and table clothes in white linen

Hot air balloon rides feel like I have my own wings

These are a few of my favorite things

My friends and my family and laughter and kisses

Writing long letters to Misters and Misses

Kicking my feet high on childhood swings

These are a few of my favorite things

When the rain falls, rude remarks sting

When I'm feeling blue

I simply remember my favorite things

And then everything seems new!

I think I like my version better:)

Now that it's the first week of December, you're probably blowing the dust off your holiday totes and digging out your treasures from years and years of collecting!!!  Your picking your trees, lighting your Menorahs, preparing for your Karamu and gifting all around:)  So many beautiful traditions, religions and most importantly, the gathering of friends and loved ones.  

Whether you come from a family of two or a hundred, this is a wonderful time of year to be thankful for who we have in our lives and the sweet, precious time we're given to enjoy life!  This is also my favorite time of year to create the magic I surround myself with outside in the spring and summer, inside in the fall and winter!  I love snuggling inside my home, wrapping up in fleece blankets with a cup of hot chocolate and french madeleines!  I like to feel the glow of the Christmas tree on my skin and watch one of my favorite holiday movies! I like to dress up my table and add a little sparkle and shine!

 When it's time for guests to come for dinner, continue to win their hearts with place settings fit for a queen and king, dust off your holiday chargers and dinnerware, polish up the silver and wash off the cordial glasses, it's a time to celebrate!  Small gifts of scented candles or glittering ornaments and the bursting of confetti and tiny treats inside holiday party crackers will delight them at every turn!

Mercury glass is a stunning way to create beauty in your home, whether you use mercury glass candle holders, like I have done here on the table or fill a mercury glass bowl with decorative spheres or ornaments to dress a coffee table or sideboard.  Whatever your choosing, mercury glass will dazzle you every time you walk past it and it's a beautiful way to add a little holiday shine!  

Holiday decor is so fun in the home, I've placed a whimsical Santa and a reindeer on my sideboard a glow with red candles and dried roses. 

The living room is adorned with a slim tree, wrapped in an Anthropologie peacock feather skirt I found years ago, I ate rice and chicken for a month I think, because I was broke after buying it!  Worth every penny!!!  I will cherish it for years and years to come:)  Next to the tree sits a Nutcracker who stands about waist high at his tippy top, another one of my favorite pieces!  He is called The Peacock King, dressed in teals and purples with peacock feathers on his crown!  For me, this was the perfect accompaniment to my tree!!!  

Ornaments are very special to me, picking out the right ones takes years of collecting, only purchasing the most special and most beautiful!  My advice, check out the most uniquest of shops and gather a few from here and there.  Make it a mixture of color and interest!  I covered my tree in gold and teal poinsettias, peacocks, song birds, and a blending of gold, white, teal and green spheres.  I also like to add a touch of fancy, I have a mermaid and a blowfish, a hot air balloon, and a peacock I made at my sisters ornament making party a few years ago.  If you can tuck away some time for yourself, handmade ornaments are wonderfully fun to make and they carry much more personal weight than store bought:)   

Last but certainly not least, tiny treasures can make a BIG impact!  Like this small, egg statue made from a hand painted, real egg shell, with a stunning winter scene inside depicting a few children frolicking around a snowman in a snowy town square.  I found this at an antique shop years ago and have yet to ever see anything like it again, so in love<3  And it pairs rather nicely near pictures of those you love;)

Don't forget to check out all the great shopping and festivities going on around your home this Holiday season as well, you can head out to tree lighting ceremonies, small business shopping specials and amazing restaurant deals!  Well, I'm off to bake, clean and....relax, at some point!  Until next time, enjoy your holiday season and make the most out of every moment:)  Have fun creating your own winter wonderland in your own castle:)