Christmas is all put away...

I took down all the Christmas decor on December 26th. :) It feels so good to have it done and now I won't have to worry about putting it away when I get back from LA. 

A clean state... 

I love this new little basket for the coffee table. The grey ribbon is what sold me...

Oh Finn...

Actually, there is still one little bit of Christmas left...the cookie tins in the kitchen, holding the leftover cookies...

And now we're off to buy a new tv. Ours broke yesterday, but at least now we get to have a smart tv. ;) 

Up next...the guest room makeover! 

~Lisa 

Guest Bathroom Makeover and Cookies!

The guest bathroom makeover is complete! Well, I may still paint it a lighter color like the rest of the house, but for now it's done. 

Again, there's no natural light in here, so the pics are a little dark. But here's an overall shot...

I love the striped shower curtain and that it's 100% cotton. So soft!

Before we get too far, this is a look at the old bathroom in all its blue and brown glory...

Remember when I said Monica Geller's blue and brown striped sweater inspired this bathroom? Well, I finally came across an episode with the sweater! Here you go...

Lol! It had a good run, but I'm really loving the new grey, black and white look in there now. 

Okay, back to the makeover. I didn't do much...just a new black and white shower curtain, dark grey towels, a light grey bathmat, a new wall cabinet and a new grey hobnail soap dispenser. 

Here's a close up of the bathmat. I have these in all my bathrooms because I love them so much. They're from Kohl's, are 100% cotton and are reversible. I wash mine at least twice a month and they hold up beautifully. 

Here's the tag that tells exactly which one it is...

What's funny is that I didn't even realize how well the black framed mirror and grey and white counters would go with my new additions! A happy surprise!

With no windows in here, it's always hard to get a shot of the light fixture, so here's my best try... 

You might notice I didn't add a lot of decor items in here and that was totally intentional. I streamlined my decor last summer and never looked back. You can see my new streamlined looks HERE and HERE. 

I love this little cabinet in here for extra storage... 

Ignore the bad lighting and concentrate on the cute hobnail soap dispenser and crystal knobs on the drawers... 

A close up of the details on the wall cabinet...

I love small details like this switch cover. We replaced almost all the light switch covers and outlet covers in our house with these. They're inexpensive and add a custom look...

They even have the ones that fit GFCI outlets now, so of course I had to get those too. :) 

I kept this metal scroll thingy above the door, but didn't replace the print that was above the towel bar. I might add something later, but for now I'm liking the minimal look. 

I also wanted to share a quick cookie idea I got from my friend Kris at https://junkchiccottage.blogspot.com/ 

Don't these look delicious?

See the bits of sea salt on top? It really brings out the flavor of the chocolate. Yum! 

Here's all you do...bake these Nestle Tollhouse cookies (or any chocolate chip cookie recipe) and grind a little sea salt on top during the last couple of minutes of baking. 

Thanks, Kris for the fabulous idea! 

And that's it! Thanks for stopping by!

~Lisa 

A Little More Christmas...

As usual, I added a couple more Christmas decor items just in the Nick of time. :) I seem to have a thing for signs that look like ornaments...

I couldn't resist this one (especially for $1!) and I immediately found a spot for it above the range...

This one also caught my eye and found a home on my pantry door...

I did a little baking the other day with these cute Christmas tree cookies...

I love how they have these cookies in different designs for all the holidays. I'm starting a new tradition of making these cookies each season. :) 

I showed you the first puzzle I did and this is the new one. It was 1000 pieces, which was almost double what the last one was. It took a little more time, but was a lot of fun. 

Look closely and you'll see Finn doing a big stretch as he walks toward the dining room to see what I'm doing. Such a cute photo bomber. :) 

Here's a close up. This was a fun one! 

Did I tell y'all my son Dylan is taking me to Los Angeles after Christmas?! He wanted to go there on vacation and asked if I wanted to tag along (his treat!) Of course I said yes. :) Cali is my favorite place and I'd love to live there someday. We'll be staying at the Beverly Hilton and plan on doing some hiking, sight seeing and eating at all the fun places. I'll be sure to post our travels on IG as they happen. I can't wait! 

~Lisa 

Christmas Decor Updates and a Bathroom Refresh

As usual, as soon as I posted my Christmas Home Tour, I changed things up. :) Do y'all do that too? 

I made this wreath and garland years ago, but it always bothered me that they didn't match exactly. 

So I removed the gold ribbon from this wreath and added red and green sparkly ornaments. Now it matches the garland...

I also bought more Christmas picks and added a few to this basket of cinnamon pinecones...

My hubby brought this door hanger home from Walmart and I liked it better than the other one, so I switched them out. I love how it looks like a big ornament. 

Here's a wide shot...

A friend of mine on IG (Sue @ordinarymiracles.5) is a whiz at puzzles and she has the cutest holiday ones. She inspired me to start my own collection. I started out with this cute Christmas one...

It was so much fun to put together and I've already ordered a second one. 

I shared this on IG too. Did y'all know Newman's Own pizza gives 100% of their profits to charity? I love that! We've been buying this once a week for a quick dinner. 

And last but not least, I'm finally doing a little refresh on the guest bathroom. Here's a little of what I'm thinking...

Nothing major, just a wall cabinet, shower curtain, bath mat and new towels. Oh, and that CUTE hobnail soap dispenser. :) Obviously, I'm going with a more neutral grey and white theme in here. 

This bathroom originally had a Rainbow Fish theme, then it matured into a blue and brown theme (that was totally inspired by a blue and brown striped sweater that Monica wore on Friends~seriously! Lol!) I think I'll like the modern farmhouse look in here with more neutral colors. Should be a quick and easy makeover. I'll keep you posted. 

Thanks for stopping by!

~Lisa 

Christmas Home Tour 2018

Hello and welcome to my Christmas Home Tour 2018! 

 Let's get started in the dining room...

The front porch...I was tired of my wreath, so I opted for this cute number on the door and added a new doormat too. 

Filled this basket with those cinnamon pinecones I told you about earlier. They make my house smell so good! I lined the basket with red tulle before adding the pinecones. 

The mantel...

I added this wreath to my tobacco basket, but I think I'll keep it up year round...

The living room...

I'm loving my new snowball garland!

The new tree collar from Michael's...

Here's a close up of some new Christmas picks I added to the tree this year...

And the kitchen...

I always like to include close-ups of the buffet so I'll remember what I did for next year...

This little basket has blue frosted pinecone ornaments in it...

See the "Days 'Til Christmas" chalkboard below? When my boys were little, they used to fight over who got to update it every day. They loved this countdown so much that I bought two extras about 10 years ago so they'd both have one for their own homes when they moved out. I just gave Dylan his this weekend. I hope he'll enjoy it in his new apartment. :) 

A close up of the ribbon on the canisters...

Never realized how well my new tea kettle would go with my Christmas decor!

A little "Let It Snow" sign I made a few years ago...

I went with pretty simple decor in here... 

A little Christmas cheer in the guest bath...

Please excuse the bad lighting...there is no natural light in here.


Found these guest napkins for about .25¢ awhile back...

The two framed "prints" in here are just flat ornaments I taped to scrap paper. :) 

Last but not least, I had to share my new iPad and Kindle Paperwhite covers. My 8 year old Kindle recently broke, so I had to get a new one. So glad I waited for the new one to come out.

 Love the sparkle!

Thanks for stopping by and have a very merry holiday season!

~Lisa