Choosing the Right Furniture for Your Room

Are you confused by Louis XIV, Neo-Classic, or Rococo period furniture? What is it? I really just included Rococo because I like the name. Maybe because it sounds like cocoa? Anyway, I don't blame you for not knowing. Whenever I visit a museum someone tries to talk to me about the period or style of the artist and I want to say,"I just like the colors." Or, "Why doesn't the Venus de Milo have arms?"

However, when it comes to actually buying furniture I want to make sure I'm not making a mistake. Why? It's because I'm frugal and want the piece to last as long as possible. I am not against mixing styles, but it does need to be intentional. For example, I love what Joni from Cote de Texas calls "the Houston look." Casual furniture that fits great with our warm Houston climate, but combined with European antiques for an elegant look. Perfect!

I've combined styles myself by choosing a French bistro chair and an off-white table in my breakfast room. The chair is rustic enough to blend with the cottage style table, but the elegant lines tell a different story.




I love the warmth and elegance of this chair so much that it inspired me to change a few other things in my living room.



The ginger jar, horse and orchid vase accent the chair in the breakfast room. It also keeps this room from looking too coastal. I love a coastal style, but prefer mixing it up to avoid a themed room. This works especially well if you are like me and love too many styles to choose just one.

If you need a little help identifying different furniture styles, check out One King's Lane new resource guide. To view it on their website, click under "site map" and then "home décor resource." You can also click here. I found a plethora of information and I especially love their guide on how to choose statement chairs. Who knew that one breakfast chair would send me on a tangent to switch up the rest of my great room?

We could all copy a look we see in a catalog and it would look fabulous, but most of us want to see a little of ourselves represented somewhere in the room. I think this is why almost no one does it. Our homes give us the most comfort when they reflect a little bit of our thoughts and experiences. You can tell I crave a spa-like environment when I'm at home with all of this white. I do have three boys and say,"Calgon take me away!" on a regular basis. Can you also tell I love the beach and was greatly inspired by my trip to London and Paris? Yes, this room feels like me. :)

Plugging Back In

The Christmas craziness is over! Have you recovered? I'm exhausted! It's hard being mom this time of year, but these smiles on Christmas morning make it all worth it.




And, reactions like these are priceless!



After stressing over the holidays, we decided to take an impromptu trip and unplug so we chose a remote location in Arkansas. Note to self, there's no unplugging when dealing with my boys. They have two modes-on and unconscious. It was still nice to get away from the responsibilities of home.

And the view of the Ozarks was all worth it.




The first night we stayed at a lodge in a state park. It reminded me so much of the Wilderness Lodge at Disney World, but with a view of the mountains.




My boys appreciated the indoor pool more than the view.



Then, we took a scenic drive through the Ouachita National Forest to another state park outside of Hot Springs. This time we rented a cabin that sat right on the lake for a bit of hiking and fishing. I really just wanted to read and sit by the lake, but we kept busier than we thought.








My little guy enjoyed the view of the lake from the screened porch...for about 30 seconds.



I have no idea why he only has on one sock. I'm not sure why he does a lot of things!

And my middle son helped dad start the grill...for about 30 seconds. He came back when it was time for smores, of course.




The hike to the waterfall at the park was a highlight of the trip. The path was a bit more treacherous than I thought it would be, but we made it and had a lot of fun on the way. My little guy took his Minecraft sword to kill any bears that might attack us. We obviously only had to worry about dad having too much fun with the kid sword.



I can't say I'm recharged and ready to tackle any new projects, but I am happy to be home and slowly get back up to speed. How was your Christmas? Are you getting ready for New Year's Eve?

We'll be spending ours here in the backyard-swimming in the hot tub, grilling, and making s'mores.



We may or may not stay awake until midnight. Exciting, right? Have a great New Year's!

Christmas Tablescape

Can you believe tomorrow is Christmas Eve?! There are so many last minute details to wrap up today and tomorrow that my head is spinning a bit. I know I’m not the only one out there wrapping presents, running to the store, and getting their home ready for guests. At least I imagine everyone is just as busy as me because it makes me feel better.

One item I can cross off my list is this year’s Christmas table. As always, my tablescapes are impromptu and very inexpensive since I usually shop my house and use glass containers that can be filled with holiday décor I already have. I don’t think I shared how inexpensive they are. My Thanksgiving table this year cost a whopping $3 for the gold pinecones I used as vase filler. I spent a bit more on Christmas, which came in at $14. I think this is the most I have ever spent!



I was so excited to find this red tablecloth on sale at Target for $8. I knew it would match my centerpiece perfectly that I put together from an old garland I made years ago. Reuse and repurpose when you can!



The Christmas plates were a gift many years ago and the champagne glasses were purchased at Ikea last year.






I was too exhausted last night to worry about ironing the tablecloth. I’m hoping the wrinkles will fall out today. If not, I’ll live. Raising three boys has beat any type A personality traits out of me.



I filled the glass cylinders with real cranberries, sprigs of garland from my breakfast room chandelier, and floating candles. My husband said, “what?!” when I started filling them with water to make the cranberries and candles float. Ha! I got the idea from wedding tablescapes I’ve seen on Pinterest. There are so many different things you could do with these glass cylinders-ornaments, branches, candles, pinecones, snow, etc. I picked them up several months ago at Target for $10 each knowing I would use them over and over again without ever having the same look.



At least this room is ready for Christmas! Are you ready?

A No Bow Christmas

I love beautifully wrapped presents as much as the next person, but I’ve had kids and pets long enough to know that bows will not last a week in my house. By Christmas Day, I’m lucky if I even have one bow left on a present.

Recently, I came across this idea on Pinterest. You can buy the wrapping paper, ribbon and labels at this Etsy store.




But, I decided to try this using store bought tags and ribbon. One day I’ll be crafty enough to make my own, but not this Christmas. Here is my version.






You could definitely make this prettier with nicer wrapping paper and tags, but I let the kids pick out their own paper. I just asked that it have blue or silver this year to match the tree. I love that I can stack the presents on top of each other now without having to worry about the bows getting crushed. Why didn’t I think of this before?! Now, if I could just figure out how to keep the presents wrapped since prying little hands are undoing the edges of the paper.

Fall to Winter Fashion

I overdosed on Christmas décor blog posts this past week. I bet many of you did too with so many beautifully decorated homes. I really think this has been the best year yet, but now I have Christmas fatigue. I'm sure I will get over it in a few days. :)

Now, that my house is decorated and almost all of the gifts are bought, I need to focus on my lack of a winter wardrobe. I may wear yoga pants almost every day, but I still need a few outfits for the days I do go somewhere other than the grocery store. Here are my favorite cold weather looks from my fashion Pinterest board.













I'm dying to own a tutu.






My favorite handbags













And shoes...









And I really want this...

It's fun to dream!