Beautiful Things

One of the most famous—and highly anticipated– pretty things  during the holiday season is the annual tree lighting of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree in New York City. Talk about a spectacular holiday event!

Since 1933, the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree has been a New York City must-see during the holiday season. The Rockefeller Plaza , which leads up to the tree, is ornately decorated and the tree overlooks the famous Rockefeller Center skating rink. The site of the tree is visited by millions of people every year.

This year, the tree is an 8 ton, 72 foot Norway spruce. The tree lighting ceremony takes place on December 3^rd.

I know, I know, we’ve barely digested our Thanksgiving turkey and the Christmas season is already upon us. I took my kids out to the craft store yesterday, amidst the Black Friday hustle and bustle. They spotted the gingerbread house kits and begged me to buy one for them.

So that’s what we did last night—built a gingerbread house.

Gingerbread houses can be quite beautiful, and there are many gingerbread house contests across the country. Some people design gorgeous gingerbread houses—and they even do replicas of their own homes!

We didn’t have much trouble with ours, and the “frosting” actually worked to hold the sides of our house together. Then my kids topped the roof with gumdrops and hard candies. All in all, a fun family project that made my kids extremely happy.

If you’re like me, you already have a ton of Christmas ornaments. I swear they multiply while they’re boxed away all year. Still, every year I seem to add a few new ornaments to my collection. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I think a Christmas ornament is a great hostess gift to bring along when you drop by a friend’s house over the holiday season. An ornament given by a friend is special. All of my favorite Christmas ornaments were given to me by family members or friends.

Some gorgeous Christmas ornaments are made by companies like Inge Glas, Polonaise, Waterford, Ne’Qwa Landmark Creations, Joy to the World, Luna Moth, Mia , and  Alexander. Hallmark also makes collectible ornaments, with new issues each year. Also, check out the Christmas ornaments at your favorite department or home décor stores— you can often find unique, sparkly designs.

Thanksgiving is one of the few days of the year when I actually like to stay home. There’s something about the smell of the turkey roasting in the oven, the din of the Macy’s Parade on TV in the background, and those glorious Black Friday shopping ads spread out all over my living room floor. And then, of course, there’s family.

I grew up in a large family, so holidays were always fun. It’s not quite as much fun today, though, now that everyone has their own families and 2 sets of in-laws to visit. It’s nearly impossible to get my entire family together for Thanksgiving these days. We’re scattered.

Still, I enjoy the memories of my childhood Thanksgivings—and I hope to create some of the same types of memories for my own kids.

If you want a quick update to your dining room, consider buying a new table runner. A table runner will add a splash of color to your table, and they’re inexpensive enough to swap them out seasonally.

Recently I purchased an embroidered leaf table runner for my dining room, perfect for Fall. Next week, after we’re done with Thanksgiving, I’ll bring out my sequined Christmas table runner.

You can buy a table runner at just about any home décor or department store, but I often find the best selection at Crate and Barrel. This season, Crate and Barrel has some gorgeous runners, in a variety of sizes. I like to make sure the length of my table runner is 12 to 18 inches longer than my table top (for instance, I bought a 90” runner for my 72” table), but there are really no rules regarding length.

This Thanksgiving will be different than last year’s. First of all, the American economy is in the toilet right now.  People are losing jobs, their home,  and their retirement money. This is causing millions of people a lot of stress, so it’s sometimes hard to take a pause and remember the things that we are thankful for. Well here’s my list, in no particular order except the first one.

1.       My family (including my kids, my husband, my parents, my siblings and their extended families)

2.       My health

3.       Warm, sunny days

4.       Our yearly beach house

5.       Comfort foods like mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese

6.       Paint

7.       My DVR

8.       The library—and books in general

9.       Daisies

10.   Hugs from my kids

11.   Online shopping, because I can’t make a decision in a real store

12.   The time in the early morning where I’m up and working and everyone else in my house is asleep

13.   Peppermint

14.   Classic movies on a rainy Sunday

15.   Rainy Sundays

When it comes to decorating, fabric is important. The type of fabric you choose for pillow covers or bedding greatly influences the look and feel of the room.

I love paisley, for instance. I think paisley can work in a  living room, bedroom and even a dining room if it’s the right color.  Toile is another pretty pattern, although a bit more feminine. Some toiles can look old fashioned to me, while others add a whimsical look to a room.

Floral patterns  vary greatly—a large-scale floral can look modern, while smaller florals can have a more country look to them. I like both, but it depends on what room I’m decorating.

Modern patterns, like circles or geometric patterns, can give any room a contemporary feel.

Mixing patterns, like florals and stripes, looks great when it’s done right—just make sure to tie in the colors to make it all come together.

Right now my kids are arguing. They’re fighting over a bouncy ball, of all things. We have about a million bouncy balls. Every time we go to Old Navy, we get one out of the ball machine. The balls are 25 cents each and we go to Old Navy a lot. But they’re fighting over the light green bouncy ball.

My husband is at work right now, and he would have zero tolerance for this.  Every few minutes my kids alternately come in to my office to tell me that the other one won’t give them the ball and I just calmly tell them “Work it out”.  It’s not worth me stressing over. They’ll figure it out. One of them will get tired of it, realize that the bouncy ball is not all that important, and move on.

What I’m grateful for as I’m listening to this is that I’m a  mom and I have more patience and tolerance than I ever thought I’d have….

Every year I’m tormented over what to use as a centerpiece on the Thanksgiving dinner table. It looks bare if I don’t put anything, but I don’t like to put a bunch of stuff all over the table, since we need room for all of the food!

Last year I came up with some simple votive candles, surrounded by some faux orange berries. Pretty and simple, and it didn’t take up much space. Another ideas is to skip the table centerpiece, use  a gorgeous plate setting with wine glasses and decorative napkin rings,  and then just put a large floral arrangement on your buffet or server.

Whatever you do, make sure you leave room to show off your turkey!

With Christmas just a month away, the holiday decorating will start soon enough. For a quick and easy update, try changing out the covers on your throw pillows—or add a new festive pillow to your couch. When looking for quick pillow updates, I turn to my trusty home decor store, Potterybarn. Potterybarn is one of the few stores that sell pillow covers, so you can just change them out without having to buy a whole new pillow.

This season, Potterybarn offers some great velvet and linen pillow covers, in a variety of rich colors that are perfect for fall and winter. I fell in love with the sapphire blue, but went with the green for the upcoming Christmas season. Another gorgeous choice is the 16 X 26” paisley, velvet pillow cover.

Switching the covers on your pillow each season is  a fun and inexpensive way to update your home.

Photo Credit: Potterybarn