Dreaming of Christmas

Source: here

December has always had that magical touch in my heart. Aside from having my birthday at the beginning of the month, December has always been filled with magical lights and special family reunions. From as long as I can remember, we used to get dressed up real nice, get our hair and makeup done and drive up to go visit some family members. On each side of my family, I had aunts that have always went out of their ways to decorated Christmas as if we were truly at the North Pole. As a little kid, it really felt magical.

Even now as an adult, Christmas still holds a special place in my heart. 

Unfortunately, we don't have much space in the apartment to put up a Christmas tree this year. (Imagine as mall space filled with boxes on top of boxes and a few other random things here and there - and there you have an idea of our apartment situation). I've been joking around saying I only have space to put up a car scent in the form of a tree. But hey - at least the apartment would smell extra good and it wouldn't be too much of a hassle to store afterwards. Haha! 

All jokes aside, this doesn't stop me from dreaming about decorating our house with Christmas decorations next year. So, I thought I would share some inspiration with you.

Source: here

LIVING ROOM

By now, you've probably noticed that I love a house with a rustic feel. The country girl in me can't help it. Therefore, I would simply keep the Christmas decorations in the living room as simple as possible. By that, I mean keep the overall look filled with greens (Christmas tree) and perhaps add a few green garlands on top of the fireplace, maybe a bit of burlap.

Source: here

XMAS TREE

I love how full this xmas tree looks but still not overwhelmed with colors. I'm not usually known as being ''matchy-matchy'' but I do like to see well coordinated colors. In this case, the burlap and the green works magic together. 

Source: here

WRAPPING

This is where I usually have the most fun but not much talent. Growing up, whenever I would wrap someone's gift - it would end up looking h-o-r-r-i-b-l-e. To the point where you couldn't even guess the shape of the gift because it was all over the place. And no, it wasn't on purpose. But, over the years, I have become more and more patient when it comes to wrapping and have appreciated taking the time to do a great job. In the image above, I love how they all look original yet simple.

Thanks for letting me share my xmas inspiration. Hopefully, next year, you will get to see the real deal and not just pictures I found on the net. :-)

Happy Monday!

- Jessica

Progress on the House

This morning, I had the opportunity to go visit the site of our future house. I met with a construction site supervisor who then showed me around the house as we talked about the progress. 

It was the first time I saw the brick on the house. I personally REALLY like the look of bricks. The supervisor told me the siding will be white and beige. I'm not a big fan of beige but I have faith in them that they have thought about the aesthetics of the house prior to making that decision. Fingers crossed that it will look good. 

Side note, the ground in front of the house was quite uneven while walking around. It will all be evened out prior to moving in. But it did remind me of a bumpy downhill skiing trail. Do I have winter on my mind much?

Standing in the Master Bedroom. Left of the picture will be our walk-in closet. On the right will be our washroom. 

Standing in the third bedroom looking into Junior's bedroom.

Standing in Junior's bedroom looking into our bedroom. Top right is the third bedroom.

We started the tour by walking around upstairs. It felt a little surreal being able to see through the walls. For some reason, it made the rooms appear smaller than the ones in the model home. But, the supervisor assured me that it's a common comment among people and that it will all appear a little bigger once the rooms are finished. 

Standing in the dinning area.

Standing in the kitchen area.

Standing in the living room looking into the kitchen area.

Next up - the main floor. Since the main floor has more of an open concept, it made it easier for me to visualize the settings. One thing I fell in love with in the model home was the staircase. There is something about the staircase that can add so much personality to a home. I once lived in a house that had a spiral staircase and I loved how it gave an open concept. This reminded me of that spiral staircase and I love how open it looks. Having a split staircase also allows for the home owner to save space as it's typically one on top of the other. 

When we purchased the house, we were told that a fireplace was included in our home. I LOVE fireplaces. I love how it can center a room as well as adding that perfect touch of drama. I can easily picture a Christmas garland hanging up top the fireplace next year. Ahhhh, the dream!

Our kitchen was the hardest to visualize since it's still no where near complete. Don't get me wrong, I know nothing is currently completed in the house but there will be so many various things added that even the outlook of it ad the moment will look completely different. The site supervisor advised me that the kitchen will be completed the first week of January. He mentioned that if we were interested in seeing it prior to our move in date, we could give him a call for a visit. I think this may just happen :-)

Tah-dah! This is a little preview of what our house will look like in less than 3 months. I haven't shared any pictures of the basement on purpose. Quite frankly, it's just boring. Our basement will be unfinished and we're planning on simply letting it be for at least a few years.

We're pretty excited about the progress. It's amazing how everything goes by fairly fast once it gets going. Every week, something new is added to the house. Exciting!!!

Thanks for letting me share such a cool and exciting moment in our lives :-)

- Jessica 

Junior's Bedroom - Inspiration (and before pictures)

LEGO THEME

This little boy LOVES Legos. When Steph was younger, he used to have TONS of Legos and would play around with them even when he was a teenager. Junior definitely inherited the Lego gene. Therefore, we've decided to make his room a Lego themed bedroom.

LEGO ACCESSORIES
While I don't plan to go overboard with the theme, my goal is to have various Lego theme accessories throughout the room. For instance, he will be getting a (really nice!) Lego themed bedspread. I've also found these really cool Lego vinyl stickers as pictured above on Etsy (link here).

BEFORE PICTURES (from the model home)
Still not quite sure what to do with these closet doors. They aren't horrible but, for some reason, it reminds me of 1970's houses. Not my style. A project I will tackle down the line. Not a priority.

HIDING SPOT/ READING NOOK
I love that he will have a little reading nook (aka bay window). I've always wanted one as a child. I'm thinking of putting a whole bunch of pillows on the floor and put a row of curtains to divide it from the rest of the bedroom. Therefore, he could have his little hideaway spot in his own bedroom. Oh the days when I used to squeeze into my tiny closet to have my own little hiding spot. Memories! I'm also thinking about painting one of the walls with chalk paint so he could let his creativity fly whenever he wants.

LITTLE DETAILS

To balance the Lego theme, I also plan on adding various little details to the room like adding dinosaurs handles to a dresser. I'm also considering changing the ceiling lamp in his bedroom into something more fun. Any suggestions?

I think out of all of the rooms in the house, this might just be the one I'm MOST excited to decorate. Perhaps its because I feel like when it comes to kid's bedrooms, you can really let your creativity run loose. Can't wait! This will probably be one of the rooms I will start decorating first. 

- Jessica