House of Hydrangeas

Here are my other favorite Christmas tree styles-rustic and coastal (since we're moving to Florida).  Enjoy! Use tea stained manila tags to create ornaments.  So simple, yet so cute. This rustic tree has just the right mix of gold, silver and burlap...my faves!  The stockings are adorable too. Christmas at the beach anyone?  Starfish make the perfect adornments for a coastal holiday. Coastal blues bring this tree (and these presents) to life in this traditional home.  This tree is full of more starfish and the hydrangeas and chartreuse color palette remind me of my wedding :) Now to decide which style to use...or perhaps a mix of the styles is in order!  Do you change the theme of your tree every couple of years? Images via 1-Country Living, 2-Southern Living, 3-4 Unknown, 5-Better Homes and Gardens

Seeing all of my friends' Christmas tree photos popping up on my Facebook news feed has me all excited to decorate for the holidays.  Lately, I've been in love with trees and decor that have a bent toward traditional style.  Here are a few traditionally styled trees I've tucked away in my "Remember This Idea" file.  They all make my heart aflutter. Images via 1-Better Homes and Gardens,  2-3 Southern Living, 4-Pottery Barn

Your paper cutter has changed my life. Okay that's being little dramatic, maybe just my crafting life, but still. This guy is amazing. This is the 12" paper cutter from the Martha Stewart Crafts line. They sale them online at various sites and in craft stores (usually around $25). I got mine at Michael's with a 50% off coupon but even if I hadn't had the coupon, it would have been worth the money. I can't tell you how much use I've gotten out of this little guy since purchasing him back in September. He's got a clear ruler that flips up and down and helps secure your paper while cutting and allows you to measure for the right cut. He's got an expandable width ruler for your larger pieces. And he cuts everything so nice and crisp that you can come out with professional looking things like these labels with the perfect amount of white space on each side... These banners cut straight as an arrow... These tags...(created from sheets of $1.9

It seems everyone is in Christmas mode a little early this year.  But if you're one of the few that is still embracing fall and Thanksgiving, here are a few decorating ideas to make your Thanksgiving gathering even more beautiful. Personalized Pumpkin Place Setting.  Say that three times fast.  Painted mini pumpkins make the perfect place "cards" for your guests. Florals and produce centerpiece. Use a head of lettuce or cabbage instead of vases to hold floral arrangements.   Home Decor .  A simple tablescape makes a warm greeting for your guests.    Mantle Decor.  Nothing says fall like feathers and foliage. Cinnamon Wreath . Mmmm I love the smell of cinnamon.  It's a little treat for my nose everytime I pass one of those cinnamon brooms in the grocery store.  I'm not a big fan of using brooms for decor though, so this is a great solution.  Plus you could use this wreath on into the Christmas season.  Images via Southern Whimsy, Brown Turtleneck Sweater, HG

Jon and I are on our way to San Antonio to spend Thanksgiving with his parents. We have our fur babies in tow and are all jam packed in my tiny, two-door car. It should make for quite an interesting road trip :) While we're cruising along the interstate, I thought I'd share some of my recent finds at one of my favorite stores-TJ Maxx. TJ Maxx and HomeGoods are my happy place. I could easily spend hours of time and hundreds of dollars at them every time I go.  My favorite thing about them is that they sale designer style items but at budget-friendly prices.   And because they get new shipments in all of the time, you never know what goodies you'll come across!  Can you hear the excitement in my voice?  Seriously.  Kid in a candy shop=Mallory in TJ Maxx. We didn't have either of these stores close to us when we lived in Oklahoma, so I've been trying to not go too crazy with visits while I'm here in Alabama.  However, I have taken a few several trips in t

Last week I helped host a couples shower for our friends Colin and Maranda who are getting married in January. The overall idea was to create a vintage, western feel perfect for fall.  Maranda initially wanted to have an autumn wedding but the timeline wasn't right, so this was our slight nod to a festive, fall soiree.  Along with my own ideas, I also took to Pinterest (my new drug) and party sites like Hostess with the Mostess to get inspiration.  The largest inspiration was from this party on hwtm.com.  It had so many cute ideas that I had to steal borrow a few of them and add my own little twist to them.  The final outcome led to this: Here's a front view (everything wasn't quite out yet, but I wanted to show you this angle). I painted canvas with Colin and Maranda's silhouettes to anchor the center of the table and hung cafe lights (from my wedding) to light the backdrop (a striped bed sheet). Old wooden boxes from my great uncle's barn in Vir

I first discovered the Riggers tool bag when I was browsing stylist, Heather Bullard's website .  I first made mention of this bag back in August , and now that I own one myself, I can really give testament to its greatness.  What's so great about this bag?  Two things stand out to me: its durability and all of its little pockets lining the outside.  It easily stands up on its own without toppling over and is perfect for placing all of the last minute tools you made need when working on a project/party setup.  My bag arrived the day of my sister's baby shower, and I've used it on several occasions since then.  When thinking of purchasing it, I looked at several sites and found that Harbor Freight Tools was by far the cheapest retailer.  I got mine with a 20% off coupon for $11.99 which is a steal in itself, but HFT has made the price even better for today only!  They are having a huge 15-hour sale and if you get the bag today it is only $8.99 (plus shipping)!  This