Napkin ring nirvana and a napkin ring giveaway!!

Hi there and happy Sunday to you.......hope you are having a great weekend. I was in Boston which was loads of fun, got to see a few friends and met my blog buddy, Amy over at her gorgeous shop Mason Decor (more on that later this week). As things are settling down and slowly getting back to normal around here post Hurricane Sandy, I am busy busy busy with my own little shop, ordering, fulfilling orders,etc....and having so much fun. I have to say it is truly a labor of love:) One of my most popular items since I started carrying them is the magnificent napkin rings, all are custom and hand done, pewter coated and best part...made in the good ol USA!! These are truly works of art and comparable rings from well established competitors are fetching upwards of $200 per ring. I have introduced these at a very very well priced 45.00 a ring. They will be going up  (slight price increase) soon but will still remain at  far less than the competition.

 Best part you can literally customize your ring! You can say 'I love those dogs on the slide but want instead for it to be a terrier or a Cocker spaniel" or I want " a lab pulling the cart not the squirrel". You dont' get to customize much in today's world so this is partly why they are so special. I think these could well be collectors items one day! Many of my customers personalize the rings and several have bought them for large sit down holiday dinners and have personalized them according to the person who will be sitting there...love that idea!! I am happy to feature some brand new additions to the gorgeous napkin ring family.....

I am offering 2 custom rings to be given away as a giveaway! One lucky winner will get to choose her two customized napkin rings. All you need to do is visit my shop under napkin rings, tell me a favorite and how you would use them. I will announce a lucky winner on Friday morning. In the meantime here are the new styles...some really fabulous additions I must say!

Lab and pheasant

Lighthouse

Sailboat 

Animal conga line (can be customized with any assortment of animals and/or pets)

Schnauzer in a tub (can be with any dog or cat)

Sly fox and 2 birds

Mama kitten washing baby kitten

Love this new one! Two animals and a tea party

Another combination of animals at the tea party

One of three varieties of the "tea party"

Cat giving a "haircut" to his puppy friend

2 pelicans standing guard

Beautiful cherub holding baby

Another view

Pair of animals on moving see saw (again can make with any pair of animals)

LOVE the Santa's!!! They come in a smaller Santa holding something and a bigger Santa

Close up of the detailing....can you imagine a beautifully set table with these?

Holding a Christmas tree...so festive!

One of my personal faves, the deer!! I just ordered 12 for myself for my holiday table...exquisite!

They are each slightly different

These are the bigger Santas

Love the one of him with the little dog! 

 

Basset Hound hanging on a park bench

 

 Sailor boy with anchor

 

Other side

 

Basset Hound going down slide (can be any animal)

    Aren't they beautiful? I get so excited when I get a delivery..they are sometimes hard for me to pack up and send off. I want to keep all of them! The normal reaction when people get them is to write me telling me how much more beautiful they are in person (very true) and that they are so heavy (also true). Just very special pieces! Click here to visit them and come back here and tell me your favorite. I will announce a lucky winner on Friday morning.  Remember....all anonymous you must put a first name and last name initial. For those of you who often email me with your entry, you must leave a comment HERE on this post. It is very easy even if you don't want to/have  a gmail account. Just go to where it says "leave a comment" On the drop down you can choose either "name" or "anonymous" and then type in your comment. That easy! Just remember for those leaving a name to include your last name initial (often there are more than one with that name) Good luck! Happy Sunday to everyone......

A real home makeover by Thom Filicia!

Real Simple and Chase Blueprint awarded one very lucky winner a $20,000 home makeover by the wonderful Thom Filicia!  That lucky winner of the contest, "Blueprint to a Beautiful Home" was Stephanie Gayol Phillipou of Mountainside, NJ.

The Philipou's moved into their home December 2011 and had to start preparing for new baby, leaving no time to add their personal style to the home.

Check out her home's amazing transformation!

Before:

What's amazing to me is how their home looks barely lived in, it was in major need of some character!

After:

The blue paint is so refreshing.

Before:

After:

I'm really loving upholstered dining chairs these days, it makes the space elegant and comfortable.

The bedroom and living room are a great study in how to mix patterns. The rug and comforter are in a neutral gray, which makes it easy to add pattern and color without worrying about clashing. The smoky lavender walls are restful, and the global accents remind the Phillipou's of their safari honeymoon in South Africa.

As always, Filicia did an amazing job.  What do you think of this transformation?

You can see and read more about the transformation in the December 2012 issue of Real Simple.

Blissful bedrooms: Inspiration for a restful space

I am tired today. Like, super uncharacteristically tired.  Maybe because wedding planning is a full time job in itself and I drove a combined 4 hours yesterday to look at two different wedding venues, or because ever since Sandy blew through the east coast hasn't been seeing much sun.

Either way, I slept through my alarm, getting up an hour and a half late, and somehow slept-walked over to my dresser and hit snooze on my alarm NINE times and don't remember any of it.  Luckily I work for myself and from home, but I still feel like a bum when I don't get up at a reasonable hour.

Anyway, plentiful sleep aside, all I want do to is crawl under my down comforter and dream the afternoon away.  I guess this bedroom eye candy will have to do, since deadlines never care how tired you are.

Love the dark wall, the headboard, the quilt, the floors...

Okay, so this is an add for linens, but how gorgeous is that bed?

pastels always look nice in the bedroom

How cute is this?  Especially for a teenager.  And the palette bedframe adds extra storage for magazines, shoes, etc....

What do you think of the draped wall behind the bed?  It definitely adds romance and softness to the space, but I want to see it in person.

1. via Pinterest via My Favorite and My Best  2. - 3. 91 Mag 4. -6 Adore Home

French Chandeliers

We are replacing the chandeliers that are in the house we just bought.  They are nice chandeliers, just not our style.  I will be taking the chandeliers to a consignment shop.  Here is the one currently in our dining room.  Keep in mind that I am painting the walls a different color, too.

I decorate in the French Country style.  I have been looking on Houzz.com  for some ideas and here are a few I found.  I didn't realize how many different styles of French Country chandeliers there were!

Traditional Dining Room design by Philadelphia Design-build Echelon Custom Homes

Traditional Dining Room design by Kansas City Photographer Chad Jackson Photo

Traditional Dining Room design by Sacramento General Contractor Landmark Builders

Traditional Dining Room design by Baltimore Photographer Buchanan Photography

Mediterranean Dining Room design by San Francisco Interior Designer Todd Peddicord

Traditional Dining Room design by St Louis Home Staging Interior Makeovers by Annie OCallaghan

Mediterranean Dining Room design by Austin Architect Cornerstone Architects

Traditional Dining Room design by Orange County Design-build Spinnaker Development

Traditional Dining Room design by Newark Interior Designer Maureen Fiori, AKBD, Allied Member ASID, CAPS

Is there anyone here that strikes your fancy?  We have actually already bought the new lighting for the house.  The chandelier we chose for the dining room is similar to a couple I have shown you.  

We are moving forward - no pun intended - on our move.  The flooring that was ordered is now in, and after it is delivered to our house it has to acclimate for 72 hours before they can start laying it.    We are not going to be able to get the house painted before we move in due to time constraints, so we will just deal with that after we move.  Got to go with the flow, right?

I am packing still, and the move in date is still set for Nov. 26th.  I can't wait to get in there and start house whispering!  I am looking forward to showing you real pictures of my home and not just inspiration photos!