New Year's Eve

What are your plans for the big night?  { You know:  December 31st?  Last day of the year??} Hopefully they involve sparkly clothes & sparkly drinks & sparkly company. 

{ inspirational photos courtesy of Once Wed blog }

For the last few years I've copied my friend Rebecca's "to do... to be... to have" format for my new year's resolutions.  So here goes.  Hold me accountable, blogworld!

To do:
* travel to Europe *.  This plan has been in the works for a while & I've gotta get on booking our hols.  Can't wait!

{ vintage posters found here have me a-dreamin' }

To be:

* more organized*  I feel so much lighter & on top of things when everything is in it's place.  I've got a month-by-month plan to sort through each area in the house but I may ramp it up a bit and do a few per month.  

{ gorgeous art supplies all tickety-boo }

To have: 

*enjoyment in the moment*  Why do I find this so hard?  I am a planner.  I'm always thinking what next, what next, what next.  It's good to plan but I can miss out on the "moments that make up my life" {listen here: "Getting Late" & you'll see what I mean }

{ pure joy, in the moment }

Happy New Year, blogland.  Review your joys of 2011 & may you continue to be blessed in 2012.

Old Faithful

I stumbled upon the Old Faithful Shop today after hearing about it from my gal pals in the know.

{ Old Faithful Shop in Gastown }

The shop is awesome for 'just browsing', but I bet you won't be able to get out of there without purchasing something!  Especially at Christmastime, it is a must go-to for those hard to buy gents on your list.  They stock this book which is written by GQ's The Style Guy:

{ sartorial fears relieved }

They sell Mast Brothers chocolate (direct from Brooklyn):

{ dried Cranberry looks yumm-oh }

And a cool assortment of lighting fixtures & old school lightbulbs to go with:

{ brass cage pendant }

Long story short, get your sweet little self down there.  You won't be disappointed.

Pinterest Obsessed

I've been using Pinterest for almost a year now & still find it as addictive as ever.

{ Pinterest Home Screen }

My Christmas Board is a bit sparse but my Stylish Kiddies Spaces Board is brimming with ideas for me to try at my place or for clients.

What about you?  Are you a Pinterest user & if so, can you get lost in the boards for.like.ever {as my daughter says}?

Advent Calendars

This post is a bit belated.  It's December 5th & five of the advent calendar windows have been eagerly opened at our house.  But, I'm finding so many lovely advent calendars online that I simply must share.

I bought a 'fill your own' advent calendar from Ikea that is festive & sweet.  I'm finding that Ikea has a lot of goodies in their Christmas department this year:

{ Swedish Santa delivers pint size goodies each day }

I found this image on a blog by Stephanie Lynn that I just discovered.  The image is from Pottery Barn but Stephanie give instructions HERE to make your own.  I love the idea of adding a decoration to your tree each day:

   { countdown to Christmas }

Because my five sisters & families are scattered across North & South America I sent them a virtual calendar this year.  It is by Jacquie Lawson & while is a teeny bit twee the kids are LOVING it.  There is also a free advent calendar by Norad Tracks Santa {click here to view}. 

This is a practical advent calendar idea for the chilluns in the house.  The domestic goddess Martha has come up with a sock advent calendar.  Get 12 pairs of socks in festive colours  and string them up for a useful way to count down to Christmas:

{ stocking countdown }

And for some sweetly simple, neutral advent calendars that you can fill with any goodies you please check out these which I found at French By Design's blog:

 { simple & sweet }

{sweet & simple }

What about you?  Are you opening an advent calendar in your house & counting down the days 'til Christmas? 

Festive Children's Rooms

Do you decorate your kids' rooms for the holidays?  Sebastian & Paulina each have an itsy bitsy tree for their bedrooms that they decorate with wee ornaments.  We'll have to get one for Hugo this year.

Scouring the web, I came across these fun ideas for kids rooms....

I love this old schoolhouse light & the mitten/hat garland hung between the bookshelves:

{ Scrooge's baaa humbug bedding from Garnet Hill }

Speaking of nasty-turned-nice-in-the-end Christmas story characters, the Grinch is a favourite of mine.  This bedding from Pottery Barn Kids is hilarious:

{ trim up the tree with Christmas stuff 

like dingle balls & who-who fluff }

How cozy does this look??:

{ hoho bedding from Pottery Barn Kids }

I like the fact that this next photo from the UK website House to Home isn't too over the top Christmassy.  Stars & candlelight & a garland on the bedposts are the perfect touches:

{ lovely cozy spot to lay one's head }

 I love these garlands from Land of Nod.   {And free shipping is always good!}.  The ornament, mitten & tree garlands are the perfect addition to a kids' bedroom or perhaps a playroom?

{ garlands galore } 

This decorated tree branch featured on Oh Dee Doh would be sweet year 'round.  No need to take it down!

 { falling asleep would be a dream under that tree }

And more from Garnet Hill for shared spaces:

{ Garnet Hill's Snow Day bedding sets }

What do you think?  Do you decorate all the rooms in your house or is it the most you can do to get a tree up before December 25th?

Either way, Happy December 1st & best of the season to you & yours...