Year 3 and Counting

Since January, we have been very busy. My daughter and I started our own charity called JessiCakes Project. My daughter came up with the idea of selling our baked goods and donate majority of the proceeds (after expenses) to her favorite charities. Now that we're 9 months into baking for charities, we have decided that we can turn JessiCakes Project into a business, but still continue to donate to charities. There's a mountain of paperwork that we still need to complete, but that's another topic for another blog site.

We have been enjoying our home for more than 3 years now. There are still a lot of work to do. We're hoping to ramp up the backyard improvement again in 2012. By that time, one of the two cars would have been fully paid, so we can spend a little for landscaping. I hate looking at the overgrown weeds every year after the rainy season. I also hate spending $150 to get them cleaned up  year after year. I do hope we can make progress by April of 2012. Wish me luck!!!

Is it Spring Yet?

These trio of vases I bought separately from Ross last year. They were on top of the console table adjacent to the dining table in the dining room. This year, I decided to lessen the amount of flowers on the tallest vase to give that minimalist, clean look. They now proudly sit on top of a glass console table in the hallway adjacent to the kitchen's eating area and dining room.

I decided not to change our color scheme.  The turquoise-and-brown combination is still very appealing. I decided to cover the table with pure brown tablecloth to protect its top from scratches and burn. There are ring marks from hot bowls of soup my nieces and nephew were eating back in our former home. I never got around to removing those. Maybe this year, I would be able to.

The centerpiece is a vase I bought from Home Goods last year that I used on top of our living room's coffee table. I stowed it the past winter. Now it holds silk flowers (2 magnolias and 1 white hydrangea). The soup bowls match the colors well, so I kept them, minus the chargers. Then, I placed the napkin rings on top and inserted turquoise napkins in each ring. I will take photos and upload them soon.

The console top had items from my previous posts, but I added a clear bowl with wooden fruits.

Updates on Blue Winter Decorations

Winter 2010 is all about blue, blue and more blue!

Blue...calm, cool, peacfeful. Something old...something new... I love blue.

The glass bowl has been with us since 2000. I used it for dried potpourri many winters ago. During Spring, I replace the potpourri with wooden spheres and place the bowl in the family room. Now it contains assorted blue, gold, copper, silver and white ornament balls and now sits on top of the red-and-blue storage chest in our living room.

The huge plate on the side table was a hand-me-down from my mother-in-law in 2006. She bought it from Pier1. All year, I took the plate off the rack and placed the plate on the dining table. The white glass vase on the side table was purchased from Pier1 in 2006 with a larger identical piece. It has been a centerpiece in Winter 2006. Now, I added the silk magnolia and hydrangea flowers that I purchased from Beverly's in 2006.

The table runner (matching the one on the dining table) was purchased from Tuesday Morning in Spring 2010. The two runners sat inside the storage closet until Winter 2010.

The table settings have been around for so many years. The blue glass plates and glasses were purchased from Walmart back in 2005. I used them to stage our patio table when we were selling our home in Antioch. Each piece cost about $2. I got them all on mark down sale.

The soup bowls were part of a complete set, which we use every Thanksgiving dinner. I bought them in Winter 2001 from Mervynns as a gift to my mother-in-law, but she returned the set to us in 2003 because she decided blue was not her favorite anymore. They work well because of the turquoise and green vines with small purple grape fruits that decorate the rim of plates and cups. The set fits our vineyard home perfectly.

The four pieces of napkins were $0.50 each from Burlington Coat Factory, purchased in 2006. I purchased the blue and jaded napkin rings from Pier1 a few days ago for $3.49 each. Yep, I splurged on those rings, but you have to agree, they added the much needed bling!

The capiz placemats were purchased by my mother-in-law when she traveled to the Philippines in 2004. The set was her gift to us.

The two vases were purchased in 2004 from the 99 cents store in South San Francisco, CA. Yes, they cost $0.99 each, believe it or not. They used to hold the red and green berry ball for 4 years, until I decided they needed a face lift this year. I added the feather "nests", which were actually ornaments purchased for $1.49 each at K-Mart just last night. I bought four (the last four pieces), the two are under the peacock ornaments, which I purchased in 2006 from Target for $7 for both. (I used to hang each peacock on top of our paintings. The peacocks were in storage for 2 years since we moved to this new place. Now, I finally got to use them.

I added glittery blue sticks on each vase. I bought 2 bunches for $2.49 each at K-Mart last night along with the feather ornaments. I also added silver thistles with strands and stars; they were part of our New Year's decor in 2007.

The two golden votive candle holders were purchased in 2008, which I use every Winter since then.

I placed glass marbles and rocks of blue, green and white on the table runner and placed one strand of glittery chain. These were part of previous decorations many years ago. My daughter used to play with the marbles when she was 7 years old. Now that she is a teen, I decided to add them as decorations. The glass marbles and rocks make the table sparkle, like ice.

The glass snowflakes (2 blue on dining table and 2 clear on side table) were purchased from K-Mart for $1.49 each.

I hung a 12-piece set of icicles (K-Mart $1.49) on our dining room chandelier. They came in grayish blue, baby pink and silver.

The hurricane lamp on the side table was from HomeGoods, purchased in Spring 2010. I bought a votive with blue-green candle for $1 from Dollar Store back in Summer of 2010. I put the lamp together in Fall 2010 and placed it on our kitchen counter. Now, Winter 2010, the lamp decorated our side table in the formal living room.

By reinventing what we already have and giving them a different look by adding some bargain finds and re-arranging things made the decor looking fresh and new without breaking the bank!

Feather Wreath- A Lightweight, Versatile, Year-Round Wreath

Got this wreath from HomeGoods for $19.99. The price is quite reasonable for a wreath; however, I can make one for less than $10.00. Read my full article with instructions published via the Associated Content from Yahoo! Click on the emboldened hyperlink below:

How to Make a Feather Wreath

Blue Winter Holiday Decorations

Read how to achieve this look for your home. Click on emboldened hyperlink below:

Home for the Holidays: How to Decorate Your Home in Blue for the Winter Season

2010 Winter Decorations (L)- Table settings in blue, green, white, silver, copper and gold.

Non-"Christmassy" Winter Decorations

Foyer of our former home in Antioch, CA Winter of 2004 (L). Below are photos from 2008 taken in our current home.






Unlike many people in America and other parts of the world, we do not celebrate Christmas. Our religion forbids it. However, I do love to decorate in different seasonal themes. My favorite season may be fall, but when it comes to home decorations, I love decorating for the winter, too. So, how does one decorate for the winter without putting "Christmassy" stuff on? My husband wrote on eHow.com an article two winters ago-- in 2008, entitled, "How to Decorate for Winter if You do not Celebrate Christmas."

Many commented that the tips and photos he shared work well even if you celebrate Christmas, but want to tone down on the Christmas items such as Santa Clause, Christmas tree, reindeer and Christmas stockings. The photos he included were all from this house. I have been wanting to post it here for quite some time now, but I had been too busy lately. I thought of posting them here again in hopes of inspiring others who do not celebrate Christmas or those who do not want the usual red-and-green Christmas decorations.

Honeysuckle- 2011 Color of the Year

Honeysuckle blossoms.

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Well, well...I woke up this morning, turned on my Facebook and I see a wall post from HGTV announcing the 2011 Color of the Year. I clicked at the link redirecting me to HGTV's website and looked at the photos of decorated rooms using honeysuckle. My first opinion-- what a big difference from turquoise (2010's color of the year). Honeysuckle is definitely at the opposite side of the color wheel. It would be a challenge to add this to our home, which I decorated in turquoise, inspired again by HGTV.

Pantone, the authority on color, had announced the new 2011 color-- honeysuckle! Honeysuckle is a vibrant, reddish-pink similar in color to the flesh of watermelon. It looks a bit like fuchsia pink in color. However, in the plant kingdom, honeysuckle blossoms have sweet scent and taste. You can make tea from honeysuckle blossoms. Some use honeysuckles as healing herbs.

When my teenage daughter heard this, her immediate reaction was a resounding -- "Yuck!” My daughter is definitely not the typical girly-girl. She told me already not to put honeysuckle in her room. I may be able to get away with in other parts of our house, but never in rooms marked as hers such as her bedroom, bathroom and her study room. Oh well, can't really argue with her. I am outnumbered 2 to 1. My husband does not like honeysuckle either.

Turquoise, this year's color did not receive such unwelcome reactions. When I decided to use turquoise in our formal living- and dining rooms, the coolness and calmness it brings was a breath of fresh air. It took me almost a year to change all the boring browns and tans to turquoise and browns. The theme remained neutral, but with a bit of modern vibe to it. I was going for understated elegance. I think I was able to accomplish that-- judging from reactions of my husband, daughter and those who visited our home.

I am not going to change turquoise to honeysuckle...at least not in a major way. I might use honeysuckle as accessory to add punch in areas that need a bit of vibrant mood. I will update this posting with photos. I am sure honeysuckle will do great with turquoise or greens that we have in our home.

For tips on how to decorate with honeysuckle, please read my article published on Associated Content from Yahoo by clicking on the link below.

Decorating with Honeysuckle: 2011 Color of the Year