Saturday, December 18, 2010

White House Christmas Party

Where do I even begin to talk about this experience. I have been on White House tours and family events from When I was young and my father worked for the Clinton administration. He used to take my mother to galas and cocktail parties but I had never gotten to go. So this year when my father received an invitation for the Christmas party he decided to take me as his date. The Hose is beautiful itself, but add Christmas decorations and it is breathtaking. A fresh coate of snow had fallen during the day so the walk through the grounds to get through the main entrance was spectacular.

As you walk in the front entrance your are greeted by Marine Corps Guards every step of the way, and their gallant uniforms are just as much decoration as the Christmas trees. My second thought always when walking through the white house is how accurate the Westing Wing TV Series got it! After coat check you walk up a large white marble staircase and enter the main hall. from the main hall you can walk through the 2 ballrooms and interior rooms of the west wing. The food was spectacular and the decorations incredible. The funnest part may have been sitting on the beautiful furniture. Just think of all the other influential butts that have sat there before! Haha!

Ok now for the pictures! It was difficult taking some cause there were many people in attendance, but when certain rooms thinned out I snapped some good shots:)

This is the Green Room, and guess what all the decorations are made of? Old book pages, newspaper and magazines, sprayed gold and glittered!
Who would have thought that they would have been so crafty! Trying not too look like a crazy person, I looked to see how it was all put together and here is what I came up with.
This tree is all book pages. and it is at least 7 feet tall and there were 2 of them. There were also 2 large rolled paper wreaths hanging above them.
These are trees made of old magazines with the pages folded down and sprayed gold.
This tree was made of paper squares.

This is in the Hallway and its a big Bo with little paper mache dogs and cats all around him.

This is the main tree ch=elebrating the harvest and heartland of America. It looks like a state fair tree with large prize ribbons and other ornaments. Each ornament represents all the great food items we enjoy here in our Country.


Here you can see the hand sewn crab, and on the ribbon there are potatoes.

These ornaments are a salmon and on the ribbon there are bananas.

This is my favorite room. It's the most Dramatic and the decor was red, fuchsia, and purple. So Decadent!



That's me sitting on the red brushed silk setee!

This is my second favorite room with all the first wives portraits. And of course my fav Jackie O.
Ladybird Johnson

the food in the ballroom, I took this one towards the end of the night while people were getting their photos done, so you get a pretty good view.

Christmas trees in the ballroom flanking Lincoln's Portrait.

Main Hall

Arent those branch urns in the main hall just gorgeous? I am obsessed with them, there were 4 2 flanking each side.

Marine Corps Band



And last but not least, the spectacular nativity scene. each character was about a foot or so tall.

I hope you enjoyed these pictures! I love to here feedback and I can't wait to replicate some of these ideas in my Christmas decor next year!


We just got our picture in the mail!!!

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

2010 Christmas Decor

This is really my first Christmas with full on Decor and I pretty much centered it around leopard print ribbon I found back in September! Although leopard print can be a little funky I tried to use it in an understated way, combining it with traditional reds and rustic accents.

This is my package from my Boyfriend! He wrapped it himself and googled directions for how to make the bow. He also went through my supplies and made a hand stamped gift tag that matches the other gifts I wrapped. So sweet:)


Christopher's gifts with twine and coffee filter flowers:)

I need to update this pic cause I have added some stuff, but this is the general jist!

This is a close up of the tree and the Leopard, gold and red ribbon.

Tree Top!

ooh ahh!

This pic also needs updating but this is the garland in the dining room.

Dining room Chandelier:)


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Friday, December 10, 2010

Christmas Holiday Party Surprise

So... I have been invited to a very high profile holiday party and I can't wait to take lots of pictures and share them with you all! Guess where I am going... it rhymes with Shwhite House.
You guessed it! Next week I will be attending a Holiday Reception at the White House in Washington DC!!

My father worked for the Clinton Administration and we used to go to stuff there all the time, but I never thought much about it when I was younger. This is just one of those things you appreciate more as an adult. I do remember going on the White House Christmas tour a few times and I remember that it was pretty awesome then, so I can't wait to go looking around this time.

The party is next Thursday so expect some posts on Friday!!!


This is a marzipan replica of the White House and the Obama's dog, Bo:)

Holiday Season Beauty Favorites

I want to share with you some of the products I can't get enough of right now!


Burlesque Beauty Collection ($112 Value)
This kit is bananas! It is only a whopping $35 and it is worth $112 if you were to buy everything individually. I have always loved Smashbox and they are my favorite makeup brand... aside from Bare Minerals. My favorite item in this kit is HANDS DOWN the liquid eyeliner pen! It makes putting on liquid eyeliner a breeze. The color pallet for the eyes give such a smoldering look that you can play down for day and intensify for an evening look. And the lilac shimmering powder has just the right amount of twinkle to it!

Second is Aveeno's Positively Radiant Daily Cleansing Pads
Product Image Aveeno Active Naturals Positively Radiant Daily Cleansing Pads - 28 pads

At $7 you can get these at any chain drugstore. I even cut them in half cause the pads are big and the suds up so much. Each pad has a soft side and a gentle scrubbing side. It's just the right amount of scrubbing to leave your face feeling fresh and clean.

Third is the Orchid Jojoba Soap from Carolina Natural Soaps
I love the fresh smell of this soap and it has wonderful exfoliating ingredients that leave your skin feeling soft and moisturized. It's a great deal too! $3 for 60z. and $5 for 10oz.

Restoration Hardware Gifts

I just wanted to take a minute and share with you one of my favorite gifts to give around the holidays. The first recipient of this gift was my boyfriend. The following year we gifted them to his parents and brother. This year I have purchased a few more as gifts as well.

It's the plush throw from Restoration Hardware usually priced at $59, this year they are offering it for a steal at $29 bucks! Rumor has it that this may be the last year they offer them though:( So looks like I am going to have to go back and by some for backups. It is hands down the softest and most durable plush for the price. Even at $60 I would have to say the same. You can throw it in the wash and it keeps its super luxurious feel. Unfortunately they have sold out online, but you can still get them in stores!
Luxury Plush ThrowLuxury Plush Throw

Another Item that I love and is on my wishlist is the set of Flameless Candles. Now, these come at a heftier price but I think the splurge is worth the investment. The Pillar strung candles plug into an outlet and they have a dimmer, but they look like real candles.

Pillar Candle Light String
They are $103.99 for the set.

I adore this store. My entire House is painted using their paint colors. They have loads of other fun trinkets and stocking stuffers that are really great too. Even better, it all goes on sale after Christmas and you can score some really great deals on high quality items:)

Pink Christmas at Bijou and Boheme

I stumbled across this great style blog and fell in love with their pink Christmas decor! Now that my boyfriend and I live together, my pink decor has been kept to a minimum. But, boy I would have loved to decorate like this in my single days!!!



Check out Bijou and Boheme's blog for more Pink Christmas photos HERE and Click HERE for the main blog site. Enjoy!

Monday, November 29, 2010

Texas Wrap Up!


I am back in Florida and this week I will be in overdrive preparing for the Gift market this weekend. Texas was great and I got TONS of inspiration and ideas there for current and future projects. Here are a hodge podge of items I wanted to throw in. Above is delicious pralines and divinity Christopher's grandmother and aunt made for us to bring home! Yum Yum!
I discovered the brand Consuela this week at both Treasure Hunters Gallery and Beau Kisses (pictured).

The following were taken at a great little Mexican restaurant in Pasedena called Don Key. They had the greatest Christmas decorations chock full of all kinds of handcrafted folk art ornaments!
The tree had chili pepper garland, clay flower bunches, and colorful tin ornaments.
I need to get better at taking pics with my iphone, but this is a closeup of the tree.


They had garland all over and it had sombreros, dolls and scarves tied on them with fun tissue paper flowers too!

Thats all from Texas for now!!! I have tons of projects and DIY's coming your way over the next couple of weeks! Plus we are getting our Christmas tree in the next couple of days!!! Love to hear feedback from y'all so keep it coming! And I have noticed some new followers in the past couple weeks so welcome and shoot me an email if you would like me to feature your blog sometime!!!

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Houston Boutique Shopping: Katy

We went to lots of shops in Katy, both Old Town and some at La Centerra.

My favorite shop in Old town is NY Texas Style. Unfortunately, they do not have a website but they are located on 2nd St. Nancy is the owner and she has really adorable western boutique items, many from local artisans. There is also Casa Mendiola, where Gus hand crafts Mexican inspired furniture and has many beautiful Mexican imports. His custom furniture is truely a work of art. The last stop we made in Old Town Katy was The Junkie Kloset. This boutique just opened a week ago and their clothes and accessories are adorable and very well priced. Not to mention the boutique itself is so swanky!

I snagged these flats @ The Junkie Kloset for under $30!

On our way home we walked through La Centerra and there were 2 shops that I thought I would mention. Apricot Lane is a clothing boutique with really great clothes and accessories. I also went to Beau Kisses which was a really fun gift boutique and right now they have every kind of Christmas ornament you can imagine.

I hope all my Houston Ladies can stop by these shops and check out all of their goodies. I would also like to give a shout out to Cherie, my shopping partner in crime and chauffeur to all of these great shops.

Houston Boutique Shopping: Jubilee

Jubilee in the Heights is probably my all time favorite boutique. I have never walked out of there with out buying something. The shop is set up fabulously and they always have the cutest Christmas stuff! You can get everything from clothes, jewelry, gifts, candles, housewares and so much more! So many one of a kind items and everything is really well priced too!!! It was super packed when we went so I didn't get a chance to take many pictures and they said they will have their internet store up and running soon:) Yay!!!



There are a handful of adorable shops all throughout the heights...I will review some more in December when I am back for Christmas:)

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