Faded Charm

~Lilacs~

2018-06-01T06:00:00.000-07:00

Since five months have past since I last posted here on my blog, I decided to share some lilac photos. Enjoy! K.

I finished this seating area in my bedroom this Spring.

These lilacs were a lovely addition.

More in the dining room....

And the breakfast area of the kitchen that I picked up at Trader Joe's before they were blooming around here.

These were some my sister who was kind enough to share with me since my bushes didn't produce an over abundance this year...not sure why....

And before I took them into the house, I took a couple photos of them in my vintage bicycle basket before all the pansies in these planter boxes were done for the year.

I'm hoping to get back into the habit of adding photos here again.

~Happy Holidays~

2017-12-20T06:00:00.000-08:00

This season I tried to not feel the pressure of the Holidays and enjoy decorating my home.
I've shared my front porch the last few years, so am showing the patio area which we added lots of fresh greenery.

I usually add fresh cedar and pine throughout the house and this year incorporated some hemlock.
Eucalyptus is another favorite and as always I force paper white bulbs during the Holidays and even into January.

I already had this grapevine wreath which I just added some cedar which was very easy and free.

More greenery and pine cones added to this area which always looks nice and simple among my ironstone.

This eating area of our kitchen got more of the same with cedar greens and poinsettas.

Both our trees this year are natural Noble Firs and this one in the living room is sitting in an old crock with just lights. More fresh greens and architectural candlesticks are on the mantel with red striped vintage grain sack stockings and pillows finishes this room.

The other tree is in my bedroom and is decorated in clay, wooden and birch stars. The chunky knit stockings and tree skirt in here are both from Crate and Barrel.

I was going to change out the indigo pillows and footstool, but decided I liked the pop of color in this area.

And the bed area was kept very simple.

The stairs come down right in front of these French doors and even though the weather here doesn't allow us to spend much time on our patio, I have enjoyed seeing this area outside these doors and the windows in my living room.
I always want so many wreaths that my husband and I made these ones with different kinds of greens from our property. We made them so there is greens on both sides so they look pretty from the inside as well.

Wishing all of you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

~Seasonal Changes on the Porch~

2017-11-17T06:00:00.000-08:00

It's hard for me to believe that Thanksgiving is less than a week away and that it's been four months since my last blog post. Every year I struggle to transition into colder wet weather and this year especially since I was very busy doing Shows and Summer went by in a blur!

This porch is my happy place during the warmer months.

This year I found these grey cushions for this metal outdoor furniture and really like how they look in this area especially with the front door. They are darker than what I've had in the past and easier to keep looking clean.

I always add pumpkins on the porch along with potted plants and succulents.

Unfortunately we're at that time of year where it's too cold to spend much time out here in this space, but I will look forward to Spring when the temperatures will rise again.

And I always look forward to decorating my porch for the Holidays with fresh greens, wreaths and more plants to provide a welcoming area for guests.

These pillars are a new addition to the area and trying to figure out what I should put on them...any suggestions?

Enjoy your weekend!

~Bedroom Blooms~

2017-07-12T06:00:00.000-07:00

Peony season has come and gone again for another year and I enjoyed them in my bedroom with their lovely scent. I only have one bush of white ones and am wondering why I don't have more....

Every year I place peonies on my nightstand so I can smell them as I drift off to sleep.

I will look forward to next Spring when these beauties will be blooming again.

This area still has a few things that need to be finished and hung, plus still looking for a rug, but I like how it's turning out so far:-)

If you are in my neck of the woods, I'll be at Lee Farms in Tualatin, Oregon this weekend for the Farm Fresh Vintage Fair hosted by my lovely friend Angela at The Oilery by The Little Door Friday, July 14th 10-6 and Saturday, July 15th 10-4.

Free admission and parking both days plus fun for the whole family!

~Living Room Changes~

2017-06-21T06:00:00.000-07:00

Early this Spring we added some shiplap to a wall in our living room to close up one side off the mantel and give it a more symmetrical look. After that was done I painted the whole area White Dove by Benjamin Moore.

I have quite a few Snowmound Spirea shrubs and love how these white blooms and the greenery look in this room.

The french doors lead out to our patio where we will spend a lot of time this Summer and I hope to share more of that space with you soon.

Since there was going to be a lot of empty space behind the shiplap, we added a cubby to hold extra wood and a cupboard to store blankets, books, magazines, candles etc...

I added an industrial lamp to the wall for extra lighting.

These snowball Viburnum blooms are a great size to fit into small jars inserted in this oblong wooden bowl and I look forward to filling it with many other different kinds of flowers throughout the Summer.

The other side of the room got simplified a little bit as well by adding another industrial style standing lamp and a few statuary pieces on a bench behind the sofa.

I love all the texture in this area and have more sealife shells and fans to add to the coral now that Summer has arrived:-)

We are finally getting some warm sunny days, schools out and I look forward to spending time with my family and working outside in the garden.

I hope you have fun plans this Summer!

~Upcoming Vintage Markets~

2017-06-14T06:00:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe that three weeks have already passed since The Great Junk Hunt in Salem.....Time has a way of slipping away from me, especially this time of year.

I had a great Show and was amazed at how many people showed up for this one. It was very busy and many of these items went to new homes.

Thanks to everyone who bought from me and it was nice to see some people I haven't seen in a while and meet many new faces behind social media:-)

I have a few more exciting venues lined up this year, so I hope you can join me! I will list them here on this post and on my sidebar along with keeping you updated on both my Instagram and Facebook accounts.

My next Show is coming up in about a month and is going to be at a beautiful venue in Tualatin, OR at Lee Farms called Farm Fresh Antiques & Vintage Fair on Friday, July 14th 10-6 and Saturday July 15th 10-4. It's such a beautiful outdoor location with white tents filled with all kind of goodness. For more info check out Angela at The Little Door's Facebook page here

Then a few weeks after that we'll be heading south down to the Medford, OR area for the Barnstormer Farm Vintage Fair which is held at the Jackson County Fairgrounds on Friday August 4th 4-9 and Saturday August 5th 9:30-3:30. I'm really looking forward to this one and have heard wonderful things about this amazing Show!

And once Fall rolls around we'll head over to Hermiston, OR for the Junk Barn Girls on Friday October 6th 4-7 and Saturday October 7th 9-4. I had such a great time doing this Show last year with the friendlies customers ever!

Hope you are all having a wonderful week!

~Lilac Blooms~

2017-06-01T06:00:00.000-07:00

It seemed like forever for my lilac bushes to bloom this year due to our very cold and wet Spring and when they finally did a heat wave came through and they only lasted about a week!

These blooms come from my oldest shrub which was loaded this year and they are so fragrant.

While this darker variety blooms a couple weeks later and seem to last longer on the bush, there are only ever a handful of blooms each year.

I always have bouquets of them in my bedroom where I can enjoy them and their fragrance. I'm not quite done with this area in my newly painted bedroom, but wanted to take a some pics of these lilacs, so I'll just share a few peeks of what I'm working on. I still need to secure the mantel to the wall, hang a couple industrial sconces on either side of the mirror, fill the surround with some wood and find a rug that works in this space....along with convincing my husband we need to rip up the carpet(which btw, I never wanted in the first place!) , but that's probably for another time:-(

So there are a couple of these tufted chairs on either side of the mantel and I love these new pillows from Cat at LiLou House on Etsy. She does a great job with quick and friendly service.

I also have a perfectly aged wood piece with hooks to hang above the trophy.

I'll be sharing the whole room with more pics of the bed which I moved to the other side of this area later this Summer after I finish getting it exactly how I want it along with my living room which is pretty much done and just needs to get photographed so stay tuned for more house progress coming soon:-)

My latest Show in Salem at The Great Junk Hunt was a huge success and I finally have some time to go through those photos which I'll share in my next post and give you a list of a few more venues I'll be selling at this Summer.

Have a wonderful weekend!

~Vintage Farmhouse Style~

2017-05-16T06:00:00.000-07:00

I started doing Shows years ago because I had accumulated too much for my own home. I buy what I love for the home and garden in a vintage farmhouse style and have a few different venues that I will be selling at in 2017.

These photos are from a a fun Pop-up Shop I participated in April at a beautiful vineyard in West Linn called Tumwater Barrel House Tasting Room. It was the perfect venue where you could order a glass of wine and shop the many different vendors wares.

I will be keeping you posted on upcoming Shows as they approach here on my blog as well as my Instagram account and Facebook page. My booths are always filled with vintage farmhouse furniture, chippy architectural pieces, lots of garden elements and of course ....ironstone.

The next event is at the Oregon State Fairgrounds in Salem, OR in Columbia Hall this Saturday May 20th 10-4 with an early buying option starting at 9 am. You can go to Linda's site HERE for more info.

If you are local I'd love to see you. My booth is straight down the aisle from the main entrance along the back wall #78

I know I've been MIA from this Blog lately and have some changes to share that we've been working on around our home and you can always keep in touch with me on my Instagram account where I post daily.

Have a great week!

~Tulips~

2017-02-09T06:00:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe the first week of February is almost over, although with all the snow, cold temps and abundance of rain we've been having, Winter can't end soon enough for me. I miss the sun and am ready for flowers blooming in my garden.

I have to admit any time I am at the florist section of the grocery store or at a nursery this time of year the flowers like these tulips seem to actually jump into my cart.... they seem to help get me through the dreary days of Winter.

Also trying to add bits of color around the house like these French glass bottles on my bottle rack.

And items from nature as in antlers seem to find their way into bowls and arrangements.

I was going through some of my vintage items recently and decided to stack this trio of chippy white benches in the dining room. My favorite being this little guy on top from France. You can't go wrong with all this chippiness and beautiful blooms any time of year.

I'm hoping Spring comes quickly and that you have a wonderful weekend!

~Merry Christmas~

2016-12-25T06:00:00.000-08:00

It's hard for me to believe it's already Christmas Day as this year went by very quickly. I chose to let go of some stress this year for the Holidays and decorated minimally and as I had time. I did finally get a few photos of some areas as in my front porch all decked out this year.

Once again we got a Charlie Brown tree for the living room.

Not too much in this area but a boxwood wreath, cedar greens and pinecones along with paper whites.

The same types of simple natural items on these shelves in the kitchen.

Another tree in a basket for the dining room which I hung only stars.

And a rosemary tree and some greens in an ironstone tureen complete this space.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

~Winter Wonderland~

2016-12-21T06:00:00.000-08:00

We've already had quite the Winter weather in the PNW even though today is officially the first day of Winter.

It looked quite magical around our property with all the snow and ice on the trees, not so much fun having icy roads to drive on though!

Our white farmhouse blended in nicely with all the snow and this stuck around for five days as the temperatures just got above freezing here yesterday.

This is a view of our frozen pond down below our back patio.

Looking through the courtyard into the garden area and if you look closely you can see our dog Barley on the driveway.

Another area inside the fence of the garden.

And an apple tree.

The potting shed looks extra festive surrounded by snow this Holiday season.

Most of this snow is gone now, but looks like we might get some more toward the end of the week. Who knows, it might be a white Christmas after all.

~Christmas Pop up Shop 2016~

2016-12-02T06:00:00.000-08:00

I was so excited to be able to set up a Christmas Pop up Shop at MD Haney & Co. in McMinnville, Oregon this past weekend.

Darci is such a sweet person who I am very fortunate to have met with an amazing store and some of these treasures are still available and I will be set up until the end of December if you are local and have a chance to stop by.

I always enjoy decorating for the Holiday season and this was so fun to put together with many of my vintage pieces.

This table and benches sold over the weekend, but I will be taking in another chippy white drop leaf table with two chairs next week along with some other Christmas treasures.

I love this area that she let me use in her store to create my magic, especially this amazing mantel....not to mention those floors!!!

It's always fun to set a table to give customers ideas of what they can do in their own homes.

There are many handmade ornaments, ironstone, statuary, demijohns and bottles in this area.

This little area is across the room and is filled with lots of vintage goodness along with fresh greens for a wonderful Christmas feel.

I've had this scale for a while now and am so happy that it went home with the ever so lovely Rene' who was in town all the way from Idaho last weekend and came into the store to visit me. Thanks and it was so nice to see you my friend!

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend and hope you can make it into Darci's store sometime in December. She has so many gift and home items along with Annie Sloan and Miss Mustard Seed paint for your projects. Her hours are 10-5 Wednesday-Saturday

~Porch Living in Autumn~

2016-11-16T06:00:00.000-08:00

I love when warm dry weather carries over into Autumn so I can enjoy spending time outdoors. Unfortunately, this year October was the wettest on record. Luckily November so far has proved to be much better with quite a few dry days and warmer than average temps so I was able to get out and do yard work and even spend a little more time here on my front porch.

I didn't do much this year but add a few pumpkins and a couple white mums to the porch and I like the simplicity.

This little building gets a lot of use this time of year both inside and out.

These bistro chairs come in handy for morning coffee as well as a place to sit and take a break from gardening. I planted my window boxes with pansies which will last through Spring of next year along with another white pumpkin from the garden and more white mums.

As you walk through the door, the corner of this front room houses much of my gardening supplies and extra pots. We still need to finish the galvanized tin on the roof in here as you can see in this photo below.....always a work in progress!

Whenever I'm trimming back shrubs that still have berries or blooms this time of year, I can't bear to toss them so some of these cotoneaster branches ended up out here.

I recently moved this table in from outside since it was getting a little too weathered out in the elements. This room is were you will find me much of this week as I prepare for a Christmas Pop up Shop at my friend Darci's store in McMinnville, Oregon called MD Haney & Co.

If you are local we'd love for you to stop by the weekend after Thanksgiving for some holiday shopping.

~Junk Barn Girls Show-2016~

2016-10-06T06:00:00.000-07:00

Summer flew by this year and the past couple months I spent a lot of my time getting ready for a fun Show I just did last weekend called Junk Barn Girls in Hermiston, OR. Three friends: Alison, Angela and Katie put on this Show at the fairgrounds there and I have to say it was one of the most laid back, relaxing and fun Shows I've ever done, which is important as any of you vendors out there know how stressful it can get.

I hadn't done a Show in over a year being so busy with my kids and just needing a break for a while, so I had stockpiled quite a few goodies!

Fall Shows are always fun to add elements of nature to my displays.

Probably my favorite area of my booth was this corner with the shelf filled with ironstone. It sold pretty early into the first night so I had to disperse all these smalls elsewhere....but I was glad I had at least got some photos of it:-)

I got this table from a friend who was moving from the country to a house in town and I painted the bottom, put metal casters on it and sanded for hours....did I mention hours!!! to get all the thick dark varnish off the top. I love how it turned out and wasn't too disappointed that it didn't sell because it just might end up in my kitchen as an island. I have another similar table from their barn that I will work on next to replace it for my next Show.

The adirondack chairs were the first thing to sell Friday night and the cement swan along with the birdbath shortly after that.

Some other favorites were these horse stall doors I recently got from a friend. They have old weathered wood on the other side. It was fun to set this table with some of my items(until it sold and then I had to find another place for all of them) I guess that's why I like to take pics before the doors open.

Thanks again to the Junk Barn Girls for putting on such an amazing event!

I think I will be using my Facebook page from now on to post photos of my booths and you can follow along there to see where I will be selling next.

Enjoy the rest of your week!

~Beautiful Blooms of Summer~

2016-09-01T06:00:00.000-07:00

Summer is a time when I can have as many fresh blooms in the house from my garden as I want. Although today is already the first of September, I'd like to recap some that I've enjoyed over the past few months.

Old fashioned roses that grow on an arbor in the garden, not only look beautiful on the dining room table, but they smell heavenly too!

These are one of the many different kinds of hydrangeas I grow and all my bushes were loaded this year.

I especially like this variety early on with a little bit of pink and purple color to the petals along with chartreuse green. They are similar to the limelight hydrangea when it first starts to bloom.

They will turn more white as the season progresses.

This pinkish red variety were gorgeous out in pots in the courtyard area of the garden mixed with the greenery of angel vine, boxwoods and succulents this year and I can't wait to see how these will end up drying.

The blueish purple bush I planted a few years ago in the back yard behind our patio and this is the first year it has had more than just a few blooms.

And these lavender hydrangea blooms you see here are what the first ones I shared in the bathroom turn out looking like by end of Summer.

I bought a few more lavender plants to add to my yard and another butterfly bush as well.

The dried lavender usually ends up in my bathroom because I love the aroma.

Daisies grow abundantly out in our garden area along the fence.

Along with this lovely Queen Anne's Lace.

There are always plenty of flowers potted around my potting shed and in the window boxes.

And also in this area of our basement patio along with hops growing over the pergola.

I'm sad to see the hot Summer days gone and it is much cooler here with rain the next few days, but usually some of September is warm and sunny.

Enjoy the holiday weekend!

~On the Porch~

2016-08-10T09:18:00.001-07:00

Welcome to my front porch. It gets afternoon and evening sun, perfect for reading a good book and is a favorite place to be in Summer.

I've added some chippy white pieces and lots of pots filled with greenery.

When we painted our house white last Fall, I decided to paint the front door a lovely grey color called Kendall Charcoal by Benjamin Moore which I think is a nice addition to this area along with some shutters i already had painted a similar color.

I love the simplicity surrounding my front door and these topiaries that I found at Lowe's last Spring

I took some photos of these wonderfully fragrant old fashioned roses earlier this summer and enjoy these old terracotta pots filled with plants.

We've had some cool and cloudy weather here the past few days, but the forecast is calling for 90's by the weekend, which I'm okay with because I'm no where near ready for Summer to be over yet...I have a lot more porch sitting to do!

Hope you are all having a wonderful week.

~Tips for Brightening your Home~

2016-07-25T04:00:00.000-07:00

I hope you had a wonderful weekend and I'm happy to be part of a Bloggers Home Tour put together by Summer at She Leaves a Little Sparkle where we are talking about "Tips for Brightening your Home" Welcome all of you who are coming from CC and Mike's wonderful blog where I love her photography skills!

I'm using this opportunity to share a few photos from my youngest daughter Brenna's room. She had cleaned it so nicely one day(which being 16 years old is a feat in itself) and I had these lovely blue lace leaf hydrangeas blooming that I thought would look so pretty, so I grabbed my camera before all the clutter reappeared!

Her room sits on the sunny side of our house and has white walls along with mostly white furniture....which in my opinion always brightens everything:-) The blue and white striped bedding adds some color along with these beautiful blooms.

I think fresh flowers brighten not only your home, but your mood as well and I love to add them everywhere in my house especially in the Summer months.

On the wall opposite her bed sits this white slip covered chair with a pillow for another pop of color in the room and we put ruffled sheer curtain panels which allow lots of light to be able to spill inside.

I added slip covered sofas in the living room a few years ago and was amazed at how much brighter this space became.

My last tip is adding ironstone to cupboards and shelves for a clean and bright look

I hope I helped give you some ideas on brightening even a small area of your home that you were having trouble with and I hope you take the time to stop by Kellie's beautiful blog Gratefully Vintage

"Please visit my other friends' blogs for more lovely home pictures and great tips!"

SheLeavesALittleSparkle.com

LindsayHillInteriors.com

LifeIsBetterAtHome.com

HappyHappyNester.com

TheGraceHouseInteriors.com

CCandMike.com

FadedCharmLiving.com

GratefullyVintage.com

Studio7InteriorDesign.com

~Simple Cleaning~

2016-07-05T11:43:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone had a nice holiday weekend. It's back to reality around here and my home is in need of some cleaning with all the activity of the kids being home all Summer.

Do you ever come across cleaning products that you love and want to share it with everyone. I had been hearing about Murchison-Hume and once I tried their products, I was hooked!

Not only are they great, there are many different products to choose from and they come in these lovely brown bottles so you don't even have to hide them underneath the sink. I love the grapefruit scent and Murchison-Hume is graciously offering 20% off their products to my readers. Just hop on over to their website and add the code "Charm20" to your order.

On another note, I've really been enjoying working outside in my garden lately and am missing all the peonies I had this year. My hydrangeas are starting to bloom though and I love this stage when they first start out. It's always fun to watch them change color as Summer goes on.

I also recently came across an amazing website Vivi et Margot Charlotte has some amazing French products. I started a new collection of French cheese molds and this one is from her store. Love it for both holding soap or on this shelf in my bathroom where this air plant fits perfectly inside. I highly recommend stopping by and browsing all of her wonderful items.

Enjoy your week!

~White Blooms~

2016-05-20T09:13:00.000-07:00

White blooms will always be my favorite, especially in Spring. Enjoy! xoxo K.

I love how these Snowball Viburnum blooms start out with a hint of chartreuse green to them......

......and then after a couple weeks turn all white.

This vintage galvanized sink is perfect for filling buckets with water and then arranging the blooms.

One of my favorite plants in Spring is "Saxifraga Touran Limegreen"with it's green foliage and tiny white flowers.

I like to enjoy the added greenery inside among my ironstone and enamelware for a while before I plant them in pots and urns out on my porch.

These white camelias are one of the first bushes in my yard to bloom and always a welcome sight after the cold Winter months.

My Bridal Veil Spirea bushes are just gorgeous when all in bloom and all the green foliage is perfect to add as filler in bouquets throughout the Summer.

And here is one area where the snowball blooms from the sink ended up.

I hope you are all having a lovely week!

~Lilacs~

2016-05-09T11:09:00.000-07:00

My lilacs are done blooming for the year, but I wanted to share a few photos with you to reminisce about how beautiful they were. Enjoy! xoxo K.

Before I brought them into the house I wanted to take some photos of them inside this fishing basket attached to my vintage bicycle because I can imagine back in the day riding down a windy country road and coming across a lilac bush where you could cut a few branches to take home and enjoy.

My sister graciously gave me some of these beauties because her bushes bloom earlier than mine since we live at a higher elevation and I knew mine weren't going to have very many blooms this year for some reason:-(

The fragrance in my home was so intoxicating!

This variety of paler purple blooms came from my bush and were a lovely addition in my bathroom next to my claw foot tub.

I also added a couple bouquets of them on in the vintage loving cup trophies I have sitting on the nightstands on either side of my bed where their aroma helped lull me to sleep at night.

Lilacs are such an old fashioned, timeless flower and I really do miss having them in my home to enjoy, but will patiently await them to bloom again next year:-)

Have a lovely week!

~Spring~

2016-05-04T13:05:00.000-07:00

After a four month break from blogging, I feel ready to start posting again. Spring is a great time to start again where everything looks fresh and new, don't you think?

I've realized that I missed having this as my own journal and I can post as frequent as I like, so that being said, I won't let any pressure get to me and only post when I have something to share as time allows. I appreciate those of you who have been asking where I was and all of you who follow along with me on my journey. Enjoy! xoxo K

After Winter all the blossoms on our fruit trees are a welcome sight like these from an apple tree and it's a joy to go outside and cut a few branches to bring indoors.

When the holidays were over we purchased a new chair(from Costco, of all places) for the living room and rearranged the sofas for a different look. It quickly became my favorite spot in the house!

These pear branches graced our kitchen for a while and they usually last longer than most flowers.

Thanks again for everyone who stuck with me during my much needed break and I look forward to catching up with you all again. For more inspiration you can find me daily on Instagram.

~2015 in Review~

2015-12-31T13:25:00.001-08:00

2015 was a good year for my family with wonderful memories. I'm still striving for simplicity in both my life and home and look forward to working toward that in the New Year! Enjoy! xoxo K.

I added a little bit of color into my normally neutral palette with some touches of blue in the living room with an old door, pillows and this primitive blue cupboard filled with blue glass.

Some green was added to the laundry room.

I'm always happy when the first shrub to bloom produces these wonderful camelias.

The kitchen got a couple updates to give it a farmhouse feel.

It's always a happy day when I can cut some lilac blooms to bring indoors to enjoy♥

I have two different varieties and this darker purple looked and smelled wonderful next to my bed.

Snowball viburnum are another Spring favorite....

and having fresh herbs in the kitchen to easily use for cooking is a joy!

Peonies are such a dreamy, delicate flower......

along with old fashioned climbing roses!

Next come hydrangeas.

I think you all know how much I love being outside and gardening and we had such a beautiful, warm and sunny Summer.

The last of the blooms faded.....

and the leaves started to turn colors.

We had an abundance of ripe juicy apples this year as well and the nice warm weather lasted throughout Fall.

A few pumpkins and some berries came inside during October....

and we enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner with my parents.

Then the weather turned cold(and quite wet and blustery) and as always I enjoyed adding fresh greens for the Holidays.

Christmas came and went.....

and tomorrow is the start of new beginnings.

I've decided to cut back on social media and am taking a break from blogging this year. We'll see how I feel if it is indefinitely or just a short break, but I am planning on still posting on Instagram which seems to be less time consuming and more personal for me right now.

Thanks to everyone who follows along and wishing you all much happiness in 2016. Happy New Year!

~Holiday Home Tour 2015~

2015-12-21T11:20:00.002-08:00

I finally had time to edit some photos I took of our home decorated for the Holidays. I kept things simple this year and am focusing more on the true meaning of Christmas and spending time with friends and family. Enjoy! xoxo K.

Welcome to our home! This is what will greet you as you walk up the front steps of our porch. To the side of the door I added shutters to hang a boxwood wreath and a tree in a French olive bucket. The shelf that houses pots while not in use also got a few festive touches.

As you enter the front door there are hooks to hang your coat and stay awhile.

Through the french doors to the right is the dining room.

And from there is a doorway leading into the kitchen.

Around the counter is an area with our round table.

I used blue and white vintage ornaments to decorate the tree in the living room this year.

And heading up the stairs is the master bedroom.

Another small tree is placed inside a galvanized French pitcher with silver balls and clip on candle holders for an old fashioned look.

Now after I wrap a few more presents and bake some more goodies, all that's left to do is enjoy the season with loved ones♥

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!

~Holidays on the Porch~

2015-12-14T06:00:00.000-08:00

My front porch got some simple Holiday touches this year with fresh greenery. We've been having tremendously dark, wet and blustery weather here with no sun in sight for weeks, so when I saw the sun trying to peak out from the clouds and cast just a bit of light, I grabbed the camera and ran outside to take these photos.....and it lasted about 15 minutes before it started pouring again. Such is life in the PNW. Enjoy! xoxo K

We painted the outside of our house this Fall and as I was putting things back on after we were done, I felt the need to change things up and have a less cluttered look.

For quite a few years now I've wanted my house to be painted white with a wood door which is often seen in old farmhouses. Our door is wood, but had previously been painted white and the thought of stripping the door was stressful with how busy I was and the weather had turned cold and rainy so I ended up going with my backup plan....which was this wonderful grey color I found at Benjamin Moore called Kendall Charcoal. I love how it turned out, but still have wood door envy, so when I'm willing to tackle that process it can still be an option.

To the left of the door are a couple chairs and this cupboard I previously had along the wall when you first walked up the stairs, to hold gardening supplies and extra pots. A boxwood wreath and rosemary tree were all that was needed for this area.

My little helper, Ella usually follows me around when I'm outside taking photos. She's not as good at sitting still for me to take her photo though and won't ever look at the camera. I brought out some cushions(because I don't leave them out all the time during Winter) and by the time I had put them on this one chair and went back in to grab the others, she had already jumped up(muddy paws and all). I can't blame her, they are pretty comfy♥

I had these grey shutters in our storage area and I thought they would look good with the door and they look great with a boxwood wreath wired onto them.

The bistro chairs and table fit in this area nicely and a tree inside a vintage French olive bucket finished off this corner.

It really doesn't take much to get a festive look and I love how simple my porch is now!

I finally have all of my house decorated, but haven't been able to get any more photos yet. I'll still try, but it's so hard for me to take good ones when it's so dark outside. Hopefully we'll have a break in the weather and I'll be able to share even a little bit more with you before Christmas.

Have a lovely week♥

~All Through the House Tour~ Dining Room

2015-12-10T04:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the

All Through the House Christmas Tour

This Christmas Blog Hop is hosted by

Town and Country Living and The Everyday Home.

We also have a special co-host...

Mr. Christmas Mouse

We are very excited to share all of the great blogs and beautiful

Christmas Rooms throughout this week, so please come back often

as each day will feature a different room.

Well, you know the rest of the story.

Welcome to our homes...

I'm keeping things pretty simple here this year for Christmas by adding natural elements. Besides buying a few poinsettas, a couple wreaths, garlands and fresh flowers, I've used items I already own.

I had to snap these photos very quickly one day when the sun decided to shine and it's a good thing I did because it's been so dark, blustery and wet ever since!

I don't think it takes much to get a festive look and many of the items I use in my home this time of year come from nature and are found on our own property.

Fresh cedar greens are cut from a tree we have growing along the house and pinecones are always in abundance. Both look great mixed in with ironstone in my vintage corner cupboard or among candles as a centerpiece.

A few blue items added in with all the wood and white furnishings gives this room a light and airy feeling which is a look I'm striving for these days.

I'm hoping to share more photos of the rest of my home, but need that sun to come back out in order to take them......wish me luck!

Please take a moment to visit all the other lovely ladies below.

An InLinkz Link-up