happy 6th birthday aston!

 

happy birthday to our special guy!

we are proud to be your parents and we pray you will continue to be a loving little  guy that yearn to learn more and will grow up God-fearing and humble. never cease to be curious, never stop to be courteous and respectful. always be thankful.

we will celebrate this day with such grateful hearts that we have been blessed by you in our lives!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ASTON! 

~ images by ailynne

blue state of mind

i'm seriously thinking of ordering blue drapes or curtains for our home. possibly adding them to our existing roman blinds for the family room. it may be too much fabric already but we always roll up the roman shades anyways. it's hardly down so i was thinking of adding some color to our two-storey family room wall of windows. 

still debating on either doing a solid blue or a patterned one. another dilemma, what shade of blue? i'm leaning towards royal blue or cobalt or blue toile or navy stripes. too many options, it's making my head dizzy. 

let's take a look at some inspiration........let me know what you think!

Source: cocokelley.blogspot.com via Lili on Pinterest

Source: decorpad.com via Lili on Pinterest

Source: beneaththemagnolias.com via Lili on Pinterest

Source: bhg.com via Lili on Pinterest

Source: bhg.com via Lili on Pinterest

Source: marthastewart.com via Lili on Pinterest

Source: cotedetexas.blogspot.com via Lili on Pinterest

                                     

                                    

                                                   : theprepheritage.tumblr.com via Lili on Pinterest

                                       

donuts and carnations [a valentine's day centerpiece]

i've seen so many dessert tables using these irresistible powdered sugar donuts and since we're in the midst of some freezing temperatures here in houston, i couldn't help but set up a valentine's day table centerpiece that you can easily create in your own home using some of your available vases, inexpensive flowers, cakestands and tucked away goodies in your pantry! 

i played around with my camera and came up with i hope a lovely tablescape that will inspire your upcoming valentine's day plans at home.

my husband is going to be annoyed with me.
he will have to finish off those donuts (and he's trying to eat healthy)!

christmas ornaments

i was in a blog giveaway winning streak last week and scored me the most adorable baby JESUS ornament from crafty sisters via paula's blog giveaway. it very timely got in the mail today and is now perched on our tree. thank you so much for this lovely giveaway prize!

while trying to find the perfect spot for it, i got to lovingly look and inspect all our other special ornaments collected through the years. some new, some old - all are special and dear to our little family!

i am wishing one and all the merriest Christmas and a joyous blessed new year ahead! 

home for the holidays

the last of the turkey leftover is gone and with countless trips to the garage for more of the stored christmas decor, our tree is finally up. despite the presence of the little rascal (who still managed to break two ornaments with a flick of a finger), we succesfully decorated the house from top to bottom!

kudos to the efforts and help of my mother and sister (who was in town), now the other posing problem is taking it down - ha! in the meantime, we are enjoying the festive mood in our home and I'm loving the apple-pine-cinnamon scent of christmas in the air!

i am excited to use square fresh pine wreaths this year. it gave our front door a more rustic feel that matches it's medieval look!

the past years we've had our traditional red and gold tree and i've always wanted to try silver and gold. i've bought 4 boxes of silver ornaments from costco last year which i've never put up and i'm able to hang it out this time!

the leftover red ornaments that didnt make it to our tree, i added to the staircase banister, mantle and buffet table garlands. i guess our house is not completely gilded but adding the red touches made it more festive and "christmas-y"!

of course there's some technical issues involve (and im not talking about installing the christmas lights), ms. londen of sixty-fifth avenue posted about how difficult it is to take perfect photographs of the christmas tree and i echo her sentiments. i dislike taking pictures during the day because i believe the complete beauty of the tree shows with the speckled lights on at night. and oh boy, it is HARD to get the perfect shot (plus adding the fact that i'm using an archaic camera). oh well, i did try my best. this last shot captured a portion of the staircase banister and our formal dining room with its christmas lights glory!

aston's christmas trees [holiday decor]

ever since we've had aston 3 years ago, we traditionally put up a baby christmas tree decorated with kid-friendly ornaments. we will keep this tradition as long as he looks forward to decorating his own tree each year. we first thought of keeping that tree in his bedroom but since he hardly ever stays there, we've opted to put it out by the fireplace. each year i try to keep a fun light theme for his tree. let me go back on those fleeting baby years as i really am glad to be sticking to this tradition.

this was his first ever christmas tree the year he was born, 2007. i hung baby blue and silver baby-themed ornaments. they are so precious. this set was found in target that year.

the following year in 2008,we had put our house in the market as we were scheduled to close on our new home that december. we decided to only do the baby tree and decorated it with my collection of beanie babies. we loved it and decided to do that baby tree again for aston last year in our new home. see photo below.

for this year i have collected some inexpensive fun ornaments from michaels $1 dollar bin. i was excited to find sports balls-themed ornaments (which he already broke 2 from flicking them) and also plane, taxi and boat ornaments. i topped it with his "A" ornament and this year's baby tree is all set!

i know everyone's busy putting out their tree (if you haven't already done so) but let me ask, what are your holiday decor traditions?

friday faves [home edition]

these are things in our home i've bought and collected over the past two years that i think were good deals. they are not big ticket items but they certainly added some personality and warmth to our home when we moved almost two years ago.

Yesterday my husband moved several boxes from his garage to a separate storage location and i'm now wondering what were those things left unopened in those boxes we packed from our old home. i'm surely missing a few coffee tablebooks but i think i'll be fine. we always pack so much stuff (junk) in our house but i cant resist these lovelies. they are my new favorites and i'm glad i found them when i did!

i immediately grabbed this damask and trellis tablecloth from homegoods earlier this year. also shown below on the leather wingback chair are a pair of keep calm and carry on pillows found at the same place (they've since been moved upstairs in the guestroom). i love the celadon and sea blue calm cool colors ~ just what the very popular slogan says!

here is a pair of burlap scented sachets i found at an etsy store that i adore. it hangs on the study frenchdoor knobs where it adds a touch of casual femininity on an otherwise formal masculine room. my husband does not know this yet but i may takeover this space pretty soon and it will undergo some major decor renovation!

a bunch of great finds from various places fills this guest room. the kid's pink chair is from ross ($ 40), headboard from jcpenney (twin size for under $ 239 on sale) and beddings from homegoods. i still need to get a sidetable and im debating on a mirrored one or a lucite sidetable. i have not made up my mind about that yet.

these lovely milk vases are from etsy too. they are so delicate and dainty to look at!

lastly, these milk bottles i used as vases were from homegoods yet again ~ scored them for under $ 5 each!

stay tuned for my next post soon ~ i'll share some photos of some things i liked/needed/wanted but was seriously not sure if i should take them home back then.....!