Miscellaneous Monday~ Red, White and Blue

Tomorrow is the big day!  My house follows politics regularly, sometimes much more than I care to.  We are all looking forward to election day for a couple of reasons. We are ready to let our voices be heard, but we are also ready to move forward and be DONE with all of it! LOL  I will be dragging my kids with me to the polls so they can be a part of the process because I feel that it is crucial for me to show them how important it is for them to vote when they are able.  So many people before us fought hard for our (women) right to cast a vote and have our voices heard, and I want them to see that it is not something to be taken lightly.  They are excited about the election, but not excited at all about standing in line for me to vote. They are currently trying to come up with some kind of plan to get out of it. ;)  No such luck though, they will be by my side.  My husband voted early, but for me there is just something about casting my vote on election day.  It makes me feel more connected to the process, I guess.  No matter who you are voting for tomorrow, please just vote.  We live in a country where we have a small say in what happens, but if you don't vote your voice is never heard.  It is important, and your kids are watching.

Now that I have done my PSA on voting, I have got to show you what was waiting for me in my driveway today!
That is 5 BIG boxes my friends.  I wish I could tell you that it was something great that I ordered online to do some fabulous decorating in my house, but it's not.  They are not for me at all in fact.

Instead all 5 boxes are full of these beauties!  I cannot tell you how excited I am to have them arrive!  All 214 of them!  Now, of course I have to figure out where we are going to store all these babies.  Luckily we never seem to hang onto them for very long. We are officially ready for the holiday season to begin!  So exciting!  

Have a great night all!  Get out the vote tomorrow!

Embellished Living

https://www.etsy.com/listing/102337263/usa-jute-wrapped-home-decor

I need inspiration!

Congratulations to Amanda for winning the mustache and lips wine glass giveaway at My Un-Entitled Life!  We hope you love them!

Before the advent of Embellished Living, I spent a fair amount of time following crafty and DIY blogs. I also spent a fair amount of time on projects in my own home.  Our last home was a brand new builder grade home when we moved in.  During the 6 years we lived there, we painted every single wall in the house, replaced all the carpet with a good laminate, added crown molding to a couple rooms, tiled the bathrooms, kitchen and laundry room, built a fence, landscaped, and I redecorated each of the bedrooms at least twice.  Our family grew, and our house wasn't big enough, so it was time to move on, but, wow, it was hard.  Many of those projects were done with the help of family and the house had a lot of sentimental value for me.  We're 2.5 years into our new home and I've yet to make my mark.  Only my eldest son's room has been painted, and minus a few accessories, is done.  The rest of the house has furniture, artwork, rugs, some window treatments...but it's basic.  It's time to spend a little time scouring those DIY blogs that I loved.  Time to search for inspiration and start making our house feel like our home.  Between Pinterest and Blogs, surely I'll see something that will encourage me to pull out that paintbrush and start adding life to these beige walls!  In my quest for inspiration, I came across SAS Interiors blog post for today.  While it relates to furniture and not walls, the nightstand makeover from Mandi at Vintage Revivals is amazing and worth checking out, you won't believe how she got that finish!  That nightstand caused me to click over to her site and I came across a post for building a simple barn door.  Not only am I loving her tutorial and thinking of where I can put one of those handmade beauties (with a different finish) in my home, but I also loved the stenciled wall behind the barn door.  Thank you Mandi and SAS Interiors for giving me some gorgeous inspiration and plenty of food for thought.

Tell me, what's your favorite DIY/Makeover/Crafty blog?

What's Up Wednesday

Today, for one day only, I'm taking a break from the crafty Christmas preparations.  While Halloween isn't one of my favorites, it sure is a favorite for my two boys (well, three if you include the Mister)!  Meet Wolfman/Guitar Hero and Tie-Dye Morphsuit guy.  Creative names, I know, but I'm running on empty with a bit of a sinus infection.  That's as good as it gets.

Each year we try to out do what we did last year as far as pumpkin carving goes.  We love seeing what new patterns Zombie Pumpkins has each year, and keeping with the theme of his costume, D chose a wolfish design.  J just loves the pirates, so while it isn't what he is dressed up as, he chose the Jolly Roger.  This year was a BIG step for me since no one wanted (or needed) my help beyond printing the pattern and making sure it was on straight on the pumpkin.

My husband is in charge of the gutting of the gourds since he enjoys roasting the seeds.  This year he went with his usual savory blend of garlic salt, Italian seasoning and Parmesan cheese, but he also tried a new recipe with honey, white and brown sugars and cinnamon.  Both batches are delicious!

Do you have any Halloween traditions?  We'd love to read about them in the comments below!  Tomorrow, it's back to crafty Christmas preparation!  Just 55 days until Christmas.

56 days!~ Miscellaneous Monday

Yes everyone, that title is a Christmas countdown!  We here at Embellished Living are definitely in Christmas mode.  We had Christmas items for sale at our craft show on Saturday and everyone seemed really excited about the upcoming holiday!  We are rolling out our new Christmas items at Simply Southern Marketplace this week in time for the town square's open house Holiday Celebration and our Etsy customers have already begun their holiday shopping as well.

I say every year that I am going to start Christmas shopping in January.  Strangely enough that never seems to actually happen.  I have had a couple of years where I start in August.  This, my friends, is not one of those years.  My kids are 8 and 12 which makes the idea of Christmas shopping much less appealing, because they don't want all of the fun toys anymore :(  I have no idea what I am going to get either one of them, let alone anyone else on my list.  I have to say, when I see that we only have 56 days left till the big day, I have a bit of an anxiety attack.  I think I am going to live in denial a little while longer and focus on helping other people cross names off their gift giving lists instead, that gives me less anxiety ;)
How about you...  Have you started your shopping yet?  I know one person at least that I would bet money is already done with her shopping.  Are you someone that waits till the last minute or are you done months in advance?  Are you like me and the whole thing gives you a bit of anxiety?

Happy 56 days till Christmas!

Unofficial Kickoff!

Tomorrow is the unofficial kick off to our busy season.  One year ago today,  we had no idea how crazy things were about to get.  If the past couple weeks are any indication, we'll be just as busy this year.  Either way, we're excited for the show tomorrow.   We always enjoy chatting with shoppers and other vendors, seeing other local artisans and crafters, and spending an entire day with each other!

If you're local, stop by and say hello.  We'll be at the Festival of Arts and will be giving a free magnet to any of you who stop by and tell us you follow our blog, facebook or twitter pages.

We'll be there 9-4, hope to see some of you!

What's Up Wednesday

Well, hello there!  I "mustache" you a couple of questions:  Have you entered the giveaway yet?  AND Are we going to see you this Saturday at The Festival of Arts and Crafts (First United Methodist Church in Murfreesboro from 9-4)?

This week has been all about mustaches at Chez Nous - that's 5 mustache wine glasses and a My Stache bank.  Somehow my two boys are under the impression that once a man  grows a mustache and beard, they can go to college.  Not sure how that relates, but they mention it every now and again.

 

Also, in filling out our stock at Simply Southern Marketplace, we realized that we had never made a Q or U Monogram Wreath!   So we took this opportunity to see what we could do!  I think they are so cute!

 

Hope you are having an excellent Hump Day, I really "mustache" and work on some more great creations for Saturday.  See you there!

 

Miscellaneous Monday ~ Friends

I am one of those rare people that has been lucky enough to have the same friend from when I was 1 year old till today at *cough* 32 *cough*.  As kids we were inseparable and now as adults and living 550 miles apart we still see each other once a year and talk on the phone as often as our busy schedules allow.  She is still one of my best friends and always will be in my life, she is my chosen sister.  I am well aware how rare this feat is, and trust me I do not take it for granted.

She married her high school sweetheart.  Seriously, they were 14 when they started dating.  He proposed at our senior prom.  Now it has been 13 years since their wedding and they have 3 fabulous boys.  They decided that 3 just wasn't enough and she is currently pregnant with baby number 4.  Being that this is their last, she wants to make it special and memorable for her whole family.  She was talking about photo ops and that got me to thinking about Embellished Living products ;)  So here is what I sent and how she used them...

She sent these photo's out on her big 20 week ultrasound day to all her friends and family as a teaser to let us all know the answer would be here soon.  She is a scrapbooker, and seriously, how cute will this page in the baby's album be?

After 3 boys, everyone is hoping that this time they will finally get the girl she has been dreaming of her entire life.  Drum roll please....

So happy for them!  Thank you Rachel for sharing your product photos!  We love seeing how our customers use our products in their lives.  If you have any photos of our products in action we would love to see your pics as well!  You can tag us on facebook or email them :)

Just for fun....
This is us at 2 years old.  I am the clown on the left, she is the clown on the right... fitting in hindsight ;)

This is us last summer at the NKOTB concert together just like we had been so many years earlier in 4th grade.  Don't laugh, it was a fabulous show!!  I again am the clown on the left and she is the clown on the right ;)  Do you have a friend that you've had your entire life?  I hope so, it rocks!