Holiday Roundup

Can you believe Christmas is already a week away?  It's a stealthy little minx, huh?  I figured I'd pop in today with a rare Thursday post to make up for my lack of posting yesterday with a little bit of festive inspiration.  Lately I've been loving all of the holiday DIYs and home tours that I just had to share some of the highlights with you. **As per usual, please pin responsibly.  Please click through to the original sources to pin from.  Muchos gracias!!**

I was scrolling down my facebook feed the other day and was stopped dead by this adorable tree topper featured on an Apartment Therapy home tour.  It just goes to show that despite seemingly every tree in blog-land being curated and themed, you can still accomplish a chic, stylish tree with mis-matching and personal ornaments.  Whoooo knew?  (pun intended)

I'm absolutely in love with Nicole Balch's holiday mantle over at Making it Lovely.  What can I say, I'm a sucker for a good silver gold and white combo- much like my own tree.

If you're in need of a super simple way to style up your holiday buffet, might I suggest popping over to Little Green Notebook where she created this stellar buffet backer (again with the puns).  What I love most about this idea is that you could bring the chalkboard backer out for the next event and draw a different backdrop.  Confetti for New Years, candles for a birthday, or even a beautiful hand written meal menu.  I think I may need to be making one of these in the future. (And hello, can we PLEASE swoon over her chevron floors and well styled bookcase)

I've never been hugely into the holiday pillows thing, thinking it was a little kitschy, but once again Madam Emily Henderson proved me wrong and killed it with her glam holiday decor this year.  Somehow she seems to always manage to create rooms that are simultaneously ready for a magazine cover and invite you to curl up and get comfy at the same time.  Not an easy feat.

I've never been the biggest fan of the standard wreath for indoor decor.  Luckily for me, lately anything in a roughly wreath-like shape can pass for festive and I'm loving the creative options!

These cut wood wreaths from Sarah M. Dorsey are so simple and pretty.  With different decorative elements added, these could almost last year-round on a front door.

Along the same general shape lines, I've seen several versions of PVC pipe wreaths like this one from A Beautiful Mess and I love them all.  Maybe because it involves gold spraypaint.  I would probably like almost anything if you spray it gold.

The most unexpected wreath, but so simply chic is this geometric floral wreath from Brittni at Paper n Stitch.  This one might convert me to being a wreath-year-round type of gal.

Looking at all this awesome holiday festiveness is getting me in the mood to wrap presents!  How have you gotten in the holiday mood this season?

Cursed Cabinet

Ah, the post-time change slump.  I've said it before and I will say it again... every single year.  I am solar powered.  Once I start running out of daylight at 4:30, my energy and motivation go with it.  Lately I can find motivation in the flip, but non-flip DIYs seem to be on hold and my pretty new sofa and this sweater have been acting like magnets.  My apologies if I'm getting a little one note here.  You can tell me.  I can take it.  Anyway.... Do you ever get an idea stuck in your head?

Yeah, me neither.  Have a great week!

Ha!  Yeah right.  We all know by now that stuck idea syndrome is an affliction I often have and this time it's about finding the perfect small glass cabinet to use for staging over at Millie.  While the house is nowhere near the staging stage, I've been trying to keep my eyes open for vintage pieces that could be a great fit.

This cabinet has been haunting me.  Literally.

This specific craigslist cabinet is missed opportunity #2.  The first was pretty much exactly the same cabinet on sale for $50.  I fell in love with the waterfall edges on the top and can just see it in the new master bath holding fancy towels and toiletries much like this dreamy bathroom by H2 Design + Build that I came across on Pinterest.

While I e-mailed the seller promptly and asked for dimensions, my follow-up response saying that I wanted it was a mere 1/2 hour too late.  Whomp whomp.

Minutes after that one escaped my grasp, instagram taunted me with it's twin styled up with linens that were on sale.  I can't for the life of me remember who's instagram it was and it was about a month ago, swallowed into the instagram abyss, so I'll just live with the taunting memory.

Returning to missed opportunity #2- the wound is still fresh.

I noticed this exact elusive cabinet (image from the listing) listed for FREE on the curb.  I didn't see the listing until about 10pm last night, but I e-mailed to see if it was still there, assumed it wasn't, forgot about it, and went to bed.  This morning I woke up to 2 things.  Driving rain and an e-mail from last night stating that the cabinet was still hanging out on the curb.  Wet.  Ruined. (presumably) I will mourn it's loss.

At this point, I figure it's one of 2 things.  A. either I'm not meant to own this cabinet or B. when I do find the right one it'll be all the more sweet.

I'm thinking more A at this point.  I mean, how many of these cabinets living in Eastern Mass are bound to get listed on craigslist in the exact timeframe when I'm hunting for one?  Maybe I will find that unicorn.  And maybe I'll win the lottery.

And maybe I should just avoid dreary, rainy Monday mornings following a night of sleep disturbed by nagging feelings that something is off with the flip kitchen.  On the bright side, Thanksgiving is this week and I welcome the family, food, and forced day off.  Bring on the turkey leg!

Vintage Kitchen Planning

Ah, kitchens on the brain. When renovating an old house, there's a delicate balance of creating a nice new functional modern kitchen but still having it fit in with the rest of the historic house. Between Millie's kitchen and a friend's very old/new-to-her kitchen in need of renovations my head is deep in vintage kitchen land. How amazing would it be to live with one of these gorgeous vintage-inspired kitchens??

sources: Martha Stewart, Old House Online, Jeanne Rapone via Decorpad

I put together these quick sketches to show my friend my recommendations for her limited space.

Fingers crossed that Home Depot has pieces that fit in this puzzle.  That's always the challenge when doing a kitchen on a budget.  In a perfect world it would be all custom all the time!

Flip, wise, my thoughts have finally graduated from obsessing about Millie's bathrooms to the kitchen. As soon as I ripped out the remaining lowers last week I got to obsessing thinking.

For one, the plumbing is surprisingly centered under the window unlike the sink that I removed.  They had squished the sink to the side to allow for the dishwasher to sit adjacent, but I'm going to be a rebel and NOT have the dishwasher in the most physically convenient location.  I'd rather the kitchen look intentional than like the pieces didn't fit so you had to squeeze things in.  An extra step to the dishwasher is worth a kitchen that doesn't look accidental in my humble opinion.

Unlike my previous 3 houses, the probable buyers of Millie aren't going to be first time home buyers.  This means they'll be looking for something a bit higher end, and while I'll still most likely use IKEA cabinets, this is the time to step up from the base IKEA products.  If the budget allows, I'll be going for an integrated dishwasher and farmhouse sink.

With gray cabinets for the new, I plan to paint the original tall and upper cabinets a soft white for contrast.  Mix that in with the counter-to-ceiling backsplash of this gorg beaut

Throw in a bit more contrast with a black granite counter and some natural wood open shelves and doesn't that sound like a dreamy vintage-inspired kitchen??

I'm causing a little bit of controversy here in the Goodman household with wanting to put a farmhouse sink here.  Someone, not to name names *coughHubbycough* is not a fan of any farmhouse sink.  Personally I think the farmhouse sink fits in swimmingly in this bungalow kitchen and I honestly can't picture it without it!

What's your favorite vintage kitchen feature?