All I Want For Christmas is a West Elm Shopping Spree

You see- my parents get a whole lotta catalogs at their house- especially this time of year.  By a whole lot I mean at least 5 a day. It's slightly absurd, but at the same time, a good way to pass the time.

The winter West Elm came yesterday- and I went through and chose my favorite pieces- all in a variety of prices. Great gift ideas (for me;) and most likely someone on your list! Take a look see-

First on my list- the Bliss collection. It's really lovely. My qualifier for a good sofa is one that is deep enough that I can easily sit with my legs crossed...and this bad boy is DEEP!- like, take a nap on it deep- right up my alley!

The chaise is quite nice too.  I love the classic lines of this collection- but they are still very modern and clean.  I also love the gray slub upholstery- very versatile.

This dhurrie wrapped ottoman is great! Very functional and durable (especially in a house with kiddos!) It adds a nice texture and ethnic vibe to a space.  It's also something that could be fairly easily replicated. Buying a flat weave rug/carpe remnant and reupholstering something like a square ottoman is totally doable- especially if you have a heavy duty staple gun.

Love this modern and clean rocker.  It would be a great piece in a nursery, or a cozy corner of your living room!  It's a warmer spin on the Eames rocker- but in wood and upholstery (rather than metal/molded plastic).

The mirrored trend is fabulous in my opinion.  It adds a little glam and  interest to a space- without adding color or too much glitz.  This piece would be divine in our dining room to replace the white cabinet monstrosity.  I can see it with long white shelves floating above it holding plates, and glassware.

This little metal wrapped side table has the same effect- smaller scale.  It's such an interesting little piece- so much better than a plain wood side table, don't you think?

OOOHH and this dresser totally caught my eye! SO lovely. I love the texture of the stacked wood pieces in the drawer fronts- and I also think this is something that could somehow be DIY'd...maybe with rectangular tiles or something? Very cool!

They also have a bunch of fun decor that is holiday-esque, without being over the top.  It's more winter themed I'd say. Wreathes are something that I like on our front door during the holidays- and this feather one is so pretty and wintry- also- a total possibility for DIY. How awesome would a HUGE one of these look above a mantel?

and this one made from felted wool balls- LOVE- also totally doable (although more time consuming than hot gluing feathers would be!)

Here's a great new light fixture that I'm seriously digging for our dining room- or possibly for a future dream kitchen? I love how simple and modern it is- but it has an industrial flair to it.  I think it would look really clean and crisp in our dining room- and it's under $250- which is a great price for a chandelier!

These trays are simple, fun and super useful to hold accessories- or possibly glasses on a bar/buffet in a dining room.

and I love these owl plates. They are fun and neutral- they would totally work as a little accent plate with our everyday dishes!

I've posted about these hanging planters before- so pretty in front of a window- and a great way to bring a little nature inside the house!

I LOVE these mantle clocks (white would be my pick- FYI)

all images from West Elm

 Happy shopping!



Snownado 10/11 and Halloween #1 of 2

The snownado came in earlier expected Saturday afternoon. Driving home from work at 5pm was scary- 1 lane of traffic on the highway.  Scariest was what I saw when I got home- already on our street there were trees down all over the place- branches everywhere and the worst was still to come...

We lost power around 6pm and started to prepare for a long winters fall night.

We got the fire roaring in the fireplace which thankfully warmed things up. The kids were snug in their jammies- playing with Duplo blocks and reading Christmas books...

...(Zella was reading the self titled book- Beau and Baby Jesus to the dog;)

We spent the night snuggled in front of the fire on various couches/cushions- with numerous blankets to keep us all toasty...and we woke up to this less-than-lovely scene...

It literally was as if a snownado had blown through much of the northeast. So many trees and power lines down- so much damage.  Honestly- I felt bad for all of the trees.  Many of which,  in our yard still had all of their summer leaves on them (hence the incredible amount of damage).

I had to work Sunday- so we made the executive decision to clear as much as we could of the snow/ice and head to my parents (who THANKFULLY) have power.  We have been there ever since.  I went back on Monday to reassess the damage and take more pictures- here is the scene without all the snow.

you cannot access the children's playhouse...

and the saddest thing is that the playscape got crushed in numerous spots:(

the branch in the shot above is down in the neighbors yard in back of us- it reminds me of a dinosaur...it's HUGE-  it's just a branch from a tree and it's literally as tall as their 3 story house! INSANE!!

One thing I will say about all of this mess- despite the lack of power, the crazy lines at the gas stations, the cold nights, the tree massacre in my back yard, the amount of clean up we have a head of us, and the huge inconvenience...it could always be worse.

We are safe, we are warm, we are together as a family, and I am grateful.

Halloween was postponed in town until Saturday- and since we are currently residing at Shuggie and Pop's (40 min.s away)- we still celebrated Halloween on Monday- I called it a "trial run".  I barely finished the costumes- but I got it done.

May I introduce you to Starbright Rainbow Starbright- the Ballerina Unicorn!!

(The gorgeous sweater was recently finished by Shug- and was the perfect topper for the costume on this unusually chilly/snowy Halloween night!)

She's a little spooked in this shot- I think she saw a ghost!

and- I don't know what is up with my camera settings- but capturing a pic of the frequent prancing was tough...

but capturing a picture of the Cookie-Boy was even tougher!!! He refused to wear the costume (his idea- I swear! He's been requesting it for weeks). We had fun- but I will say there's nothing like trick or treating in the close to city suburbs (where we live). Out in the country (where my parents live) it took us 2 hours and we only hit 6 houses! In and out of the car/carseats and driving to relatives houses is tedious!

I hope everyone is holding up okay- despite the crazy end of October snowstorm-that will surely go down in history!!