LAST MINUTE GIFT?

Do you need a quick, last minute gift idea? Well, here is a good one for you! I made loaves of apple sauce bread for Brandon's co-workers and it was so good I wanted to share the recipe. Surprisingly, it is healthy! It is made with whole wheat flour, apple sauce, and a few other simple ingredients. I was able to use my kitchen aid mixer for the first time and it sure made the job easier. I made six loaves in two different batches and I didn't have to stir anything!

After the bread was done I used flour sack towels to wrap the loaves and tie it off with twine. I had these leftover fruit baskets from a wedding project so they were the perfect "basket" to deliver them in. I just noticed the holly tree out front of Melrose so I picked a few sprigs to adorn the punched name tags I made. What do you think? I think for a 2 hour craft project they turned out pretty cute! I hope Brandon's co-workers will enjoy it!

If you are looking for another great idea, I posted about gifting home made BBQ rub during my wedding planning. It was such an easy, but unique present to pass out to our hosts. 


In other "cooking" news, I found two great holiday items that are amazing and you need to try. If you love your house to smell like Christmas then you need to make this potpourri I found on pinterest. It smells wonderful and the best thing is you can leave it on your stove and just add water and reheat the mix. Usually I simmer cider on the stove with similar ingredients but this is so much easier. 

And, In my Christmas decor post I mentioned I host an annual Feliz Navidad party, well this year I decided to forgo the margaritas and make this champagne strawberry punch I found on pinterest instead. I had high hopes of making both to represent green and red, but time got the best of me. It was quite delicious and a big hit. What gets easier than combining a bottle of champagne, ginger ale, and frozen strawberries? 

Do you have any holiday recipes you love? Please share!

ALL THAT GLITTERS IS GOLD!

I know that saying isn't perfectly true, but in my mind it is! This time of year everyone is representing in their sparkles and sequins and ready to ring in 2012 in style. Here are some of my current favorite items that are glittery and gold!

zara glitter heels - wouldn't these be perfect for New Years?

 jayson home gold swallow ornament - Our tree is full of birds and I love collecting new ones - especially sparkly ones!

scalloped glitter garland - I would love this hanging from our mantle!

anthropologie sequin swirled pullover

 pottery barn's glitter eiffel tower tree topper

 west elm gold sequin stocking

west elm glittered sphere ornaments

 mod cloth gold-oriented flats - I really wish I wouldn't have waited too late to order these!

 jcrew gold iphone case

And, my favorite - tory burch gold one shoulder top (on sale for $199)

Although glitter is my fav during Christmas ...

I heart this poster :)

IT'S CHRISTMAS TIME!

Wow is it a week until Christmas all ready? Time flies when you are having fun! This December has been exciting with all the Holiday parties, Christmas movies, gift wrapping (yes, I love to wrap presents!), fire enjoying, and more - that I have not had much time to post! I am happy to squeeze this post in to share our festive Christmas decor. You may have seen a tiny peek at it here when I posted about our first fire.

Like I have said before - I love Christmas and filling the house with wonderful scents and decor is one of the highlights. I host an annual "Feliz Navidad" party for my girlfriends and that always helps kick to me in to full decorating mode. Here are some details from around the house. I am still collecting my Christmas decorations so each year I have been able to add a few new touches! 

The mantle - those are red and green bulbs (not pink like they look!). I wanted a larger wreath but that was the biggest natural wreath I could find, oh well!

I love my glitter reindeer!

This is a newbie for 2011 and it will definitely be repeated next year - I used this image as my inspiration and created a garland card holder. I bought 18' of natural garland from a local nursery and draped it around the doorway (I used command hooks to hold it) with lights. I used glitter clothespins my co-worker made (via pinterest) to clip the cards on the garland. The more sparkles the better! I was so happy with the way this project turned out! Since then we have collected many more cards, so here is a recent picture + a close up of the clothes pins (via my instagram).

p.s. you can see a tiny glimpse of the new baskets I hung over the buffet.

The tablescape

clippings from our tree are in the center surrounded by popcorn berries, pine cones, candles, and glitter deer (of course!)

Our Christmas china - Old St. Nick by Vietri

Also a newbie for this year - a glitter church, tree, and caroler purchased in Blue Ridge, GA during our couples trip to the mountains! I thought it was so cute and I could not resist the sparkles. It sits a top our buffet behind the dining table. 

The tree! Sorry I don't have a good picture ... this one is taken over our sofa so the bottom half is cut off. Bummer!

I made this DIY burlap garland last year, but with all the wedding festivities I got too tied up (no pun intended!) to post about it. So, I plan to share the directions this year! It adds the perfect neutral, and natural, touch to the tree.

My favorite gift wrap tied up with this red/white twill ribbon

glitter tulle!

Last but not least, one of my favorite Christmas traditions so far is the Homewood tradition of lining the streets with lit Christmas trees. It just seems so magical - I know that sounds cheesy, but it is so fun to ride around and see everyone chiming in. I took this picture one day on my ride home ... I just couldn't resist.

Merry to you and yours this December! I hope you all have a sparkly Christmas.

MASTER BR: sneak peek!

Melrose's master bedroom is slowly, but surely, coming together and it is so exciting! While I wait on a few last pieces the final reveal, I wanted to give you a little sneak peek to keep you on your toes (haha)! Lately I have been swamped with wedding designs, Christmas card designs, Christmas parties, holiday decorating, etc. but receiving these new pieces have kept me motivated and happy. Oh how I love Christmas! Check out these detail shots!

And, to make things even more exciting, we had our first real fire in Melrose! No smore's makin' or popcorn poppin' was involved, but toes were warmed and wine was enjoyed! Now I am obsessed with having the natural warmth - although, it makes Melrose smell like a campfire!

What do you think so far? I hope everyone has a great weekend and it's filled with Christmas spirit! More pictures to come!