Indian Corn Wreath

Hey y'all!

I wanted to share with you the wreath I made this week, inspired by Pinterest!



A medium sized straw wreath form + 32 mini indian corn + hot glue = Wreath LOVE.



I really like how the warm fall colors look against our red front door {Classic Burgundy by Benjamin Moore--the perfect color for a red front door!}.

The inspiration image was from Better Homes and Gardens:


It's something different from my usual wreath with faux mini pumpkins. And I'm loving the change! Have you started your fall decorating yet?

{I'm linking up with Rhoda's fall door decorating party--if you need inspiration, head over there!}

Pinning Away

Hello All! It has been FOREVER since I posted. Or 7 months. Which is forever in blog-time.

Anywho--what have I been up to? Raising two sweet, rowdy boys. And lately, pinterest. Have you heard of this? Surely you have. It's an online bulletin board where you can save all of those neat ideas that you find online. Which is kinda what I use(d) this blog for, but pinterest is much faster and easier.


{me and my youngest little guy, now 20 months old}


{my oldest at his 5th birthday party this summer}

I have been busy pinning all of the cool stuff I find as I read other blogs. You know, ones that update more frequently than every 7 months. Here is my pinterest page if you are interested:

Amber on Pinterest


Check out the pics I have found. I am getting really inspired!


{I am completely obsessed with that light fixture. Pic from the latest issue of House Beautiful}

And if you are on pinterest, leave me a comment and let me know. I would love to follow you!

Enjoy your summers, friends! :-)

Favorite Wreaths

It's safe to say that I have a slight wreath obsession. We have one on our front door all year, and I change it out seasonally. I think it just gives a nice finishing touch to the outside of a home. Here are a few photos of my favorite wreaths for this time of year...

Here's the wreath on our front door--a square pinecone wreath from Southern Living at Home, with a painted metal letter added. It's pretty simple but it looks nice with our red door and dark brown shutters.


A magnolia wreath--the leaves are lacquered so you could use it year after year.


I love the outside of this house. Wreaths on each window make a house look so festive.


I like this whole photo! Including that gorgeous curtain fabric. This would be a fun spot to address Christmas cards.


Holy HUGE wreath. But it's the perfect size to offset that grid of prints. And a smaller wreath would be lost on that window.


Crisp, clean, white, simple. The plain evergreen wreath really stands out. And how cozy to have a fireplace in your dining room.



{1. Southern Living, 2. Southern Accents, 3. Southern Accents, 4. Southern Accents, 5. Cottage Living}

Letters to Santa

Have y'all seen this adorable letter to Santa? {found via Tatertots and Jello}

Our oldest doesn't like anything in a costume--Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, clowns.... So actually sitting on Santa's lap and asking him for gifts is out of the question! Last night we rode the Polar Express, and we filled out this little letter to give to Santa. It was the perfect way to "interact" with Santa for our little guy.



See how he's trying to snuggle into me? Not a huge Santa fan. At. All.

Anyway

People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered.
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives.
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies.
Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you.
Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone may destroy overnight.
Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, there may be jealousy.
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will forget tomorrow.
Be good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough.
Give the world the best you have anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God.

It was never between you and them anyway.

Kent M. Keith

Toddler-Proof Tannenbaum

I thought I'd show y'all our Christmas tree this year. But first, let me prepare you with some photos from myhomeideas.com of other gorgeous trees:

This first one is my favorite. It's originally from Cottage Living, and it's a vintage Christmas theme. I love all of the texture. Chippy wooden wheel over the fireplace, burlap stockings, textured walls. Swoon.


A gorgeous tree done in jewel tones.


Holy huge sparkling tree! With gorgeous colored coordinated packages underneath!


Beautiful, classic tree complete with huge fresh wreath and creatively wrapped gifts.


And here's our tree this year. Just perfect for this house with a new walker who likes to grab and eat anything within reach.


And here's the little Christmas tree bandit.


Is your tree up yet?

Holiday Style at Shutterfly

Do you send out holiday cards? It's something that I really look forward to, especially since having children. We don't live in the same town as the rest of our family, so it's always fun to send them photos and updates on the kids. I also really enjoy receiving cards from family and friends, and I love to display the cards we get in the mail. I strung them up in the kitchen window last year!

This year I'm so excited to send out our Christmas cards! My sweet neighbor, Jennifer, took our pictures last weekend and was able to get some good shots. Here are some outtakes:




Our youngest Peanut will be one next week (WOW!), and the boys are both at fun ages for smiling in pictures.

Jennifer did such a good job with the photos, so now all I have to do is choose the card and which photos to use! I've looked around on several sites, and I am really loving the choices from Shutterfly this year. Here are a few of my favorites:

I love this one for it's simple elegance, and because it has the year. Down the road when the kids are older and my memory is fuzzy, I'll easily be able to tell what year we sent this out! haha!


I just love the phrase "merry and bright" related to Christmas. To me, it's what the season is all about, and with children, they definitely help make the holidays merry and bright with their enthusiasm and smiles and excitement.


I love this one because it's so true for us this year. In spite of the economy and so much going on in the world, we are blessed. It's always good to remember that and be thankful.


There are so many great choices, so I'll probably have to get my sister and Mom to help me decide when we visit them for Thanksgiving! I want to order my cards and get them out ASAP.

What about you? Are you sending out Christmas cards? Do you love receiving them in the mail too? How do you display them?


{Disclosure: I was a blogger chosen to review Shutterfly's current holiday offerings. I'll receive 50 free holiday cards. However my opinions are 100% mine.}