Dripping in Christmas-ey Bling!!

Hello, friendly friends!  I hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving and black Friday if you attempted to venture out into the madness.

Every black Friday my mom and I avoid the crazyness and head to some local shops to check out their Christmas decor.  

This has become a fun tradition and it's much better than sleeping in a tent outside Best Buy!  If you're wondering what I'm talking about read this post here. :)

We visit a local garden shop that also carries a fabulous selection of home decor.  They decorate every square inch of the store, it is dripping in Christmas-ey bling! 

They have wonderful vignettes set up everywhere and I get the best ideas.  The prices are a little steep for my Chic on a Shoestring budget but the inspiration is free!

I took several pictures which really don't do this place justice. I had my little point and shoot camera and the flourescent lighting didn't help but hopefully you'll get the idea.

A beautiful and blingy upside down Christmas tree.

 

 

I wish I would've gotten a better picture of the above vignette.  There are beautiful icicle like ornaments hanging down over the mirror from a greenery swag.  And the mirror and console table are fabulous!  These were part of the upside down Christmas tree display, just beautiful! 

This was also part of the upside down Christmas tree display, very blingy and fabulous. :)

Would love to try and make this wreath!

Love that there are 2 trees in this pot!

So cute, I am loving reindeer this year!

I am a sucker for cloches!

Another lovely vignette.



This green and white theme is so pretty!

 The fantastic flocked tree, part of the green and white themed dislay.

I could've posted one hundred pictures of this shop and still not capture all the fantastic details.  We spent over an hour there and each time I walked through an area I would find something new (and it's not a very large store!)

I hope you enjoyed my blingy Christmas tour!

Where do you go for inspiration??  (besides Pinterest!) :)

Flaunt it (Black) Friday 80!!

Hello, Hello! Happy Thanksgiving to you all!!

If you are not in a food coma or waiting in a tent outside of Best Buy for Black Friday please link up below.... :)
(There were 7 tents outside of my local Best Buy on Tuesday (yes, 2 nights ago), in the cold wind and rain!!!   Waiting to be first in line for black Friday!  Are they giving away a million dollars to the first 7 shoppers or something?? That's the only way you'd get me to do that!)

Who knows how many are out there tonight?? Crazy I tell ya!

This isn't really a "Black" Friday party, just being silly, link up your regular stuff folks!

Shabby Apple Dress Giveaway and 10percent Off Coupon Code!

Hi friends!  Remember a few weeks ago when I mentioned I was having a "giveaway extravaganza" and then only had one giveaway?  That was awesome right?!?  What an amazing extravaganza!! 

Ok, not really.  We hit a few bumps, people had things come up and schedules changed.  No biggee!  

I'm happy to announce we're back on with a super-exciting giveaway from Shabby Apple plus a coupon code!!  If you're an avid blog reader I'm sure you've seen their name popping up all over the place.  They sell super cute women's dresses, girl's dresses, and maternity dresses!   



"Gray Fox" in Royal Blue

 The thing I love most about Shabby Apple is that it is different, they have many vintage inspired dresses and unique dresses... things you're not going to find in the mall.  They also have tons of little black dresses, perfect for all of the upcoming Holiday parties!





"Beverly Hills" dress



Speaking of parties, the dress we're giving away here would be perfect for a Christmas or New Years party (or anything else for that matter)!



"Boogie Woogie" dress



Shabby Apple says about the Boogie Woogie Dress: "Some things are just better together: peanut butter and chocolate, Ella and Louis, love and dancing.  We decided to pair two things we love—the soft, cotton jersey of our favorite t-shirt, and the gorgeous sateen of our Jazz Age collection—to create the Boogie Woogie, an indispensably comfortable-yet-elegant little black dress.  A luxe jersey cap sleeve top is gathered at the waist with a wide satin sash, and a veritable bouquet of appliquéd, ruched flowers and leaves adorns the full sateen skirt that swirls just below your knee.  A truly inspired combination,the Boogie Woogie has star potential."

So how do you win?  You have several chances, please leave a separate comment for each entry.  If you are an anonymous commenter make sure to leave your email address in the comment.

1.  Go to http://www.shabbyapple.com/ and a choose your favorite dress, tell me which one it is in a comment below. (mandatory)
2.  Follow Chic on a Shoestring Decorating. (1entry)
2.  Like Shabby Apple on Facebook  (1 entry)
3.  Sign up for Chic on a Shoestring Decorating email (1 entry)
4.  Like Chic on a Shoestring Decorating on Facebook (1 entry)
5.  Blog about this giveaway (1 entry)
6.  Tweet about this giveaway (1 entry)

 Also, don't forget to take advantage of the 10% off coupon code:

shoestring10off

Good for the next 30 days!

Giveaway ends 11/30/11 at 11:59pm cst.

The fine print:  The winner must have a US shipping address. And there will be no exchanges for the winning dress.

"North Shore" Dress

Christmas Mantels (or Mantles?)

Hey friends! Have you started putting out your Christmas decorations yet? I know, I know, it's not even Thanksgiving yet!  But hey, a few more days and it's full on Christmas!

I started pulling mine out yesterday, I had planned on doing it last weekend but just couldn't get into it, I have to be "in the mood" for Christmas if ya know what I mean.
I needed a little inspiration while dragging stuff out of my basement so where did I go??

Pinterest, of course.

I was looking at Christmas mantels.  By the way, did you know that it is ok to spell mantel this way and mantle this way??  Too weird.  I prefer mantel, I don't know why.  So to all those "mantle" folks that thought I was a bad speller, think again, you're the bad speller!  Oh, wait... :)
So back to Christmas Mantels on Pinterest.  Look at this fabulous one!  Isn't it the best you've ever seen?!?

My 2010 Christmas Mantel 

Ok, it's mine, I guess my blog name at the bottom kind of blew my cover. :)  Anyway, this is mine from last year.... I was shocked to find that it had been re-pinned 70-something times in the past 2 weeks!  I'm sure that's not very much but it made me smile, especially when it's out there with tons of other beautiful Christmas mantel pictures to choose from.  I'm planning on some variation of this for this year, I put mine up but am still tweaking it... will share it soon!

Here is some lovely inspiration from Pinterest...

So elegant!

A natural look from Better Homes and Garden

Pretty and Unique!  Not sure what kind of greenery that is but it's different for Christmas.

Ballard Designs is beautiful (of course!)

Simple red and green looks fab but is anyone else confused by this stocking placement?? Still like it though...

Lovely!

Are those real trees?  That looks awesome!  Love the angel too.

I love the grapevine swag with ornaments! 

Centsational Girl always get it right...

Well, I hope if you haven't started busting out the Christmas decor yet that this post will get you a little more excited to do it.  Christmas is coming whether we're ready or not!! 

Are you ready???

PS:  Photos are sourced where I could find, all are on Pinterest!

Flaunt it Friday 79!

Hi, friends!

My apologies for the slightly late posting of Flaunt it Friday (although it is only 7:45 am on Friday, as you probably know I usually post FIF late on Thursday night).

I was at a client's home last night putting up Christmas decorations until Midnight, it was a blast!  (no, really, it was!)

Can't wait to see what you've got for me this week, I'm expecting the Christmas cheer to be coming out in full effect!  :) 

Enjoy the party!! 

Are you lighting up the hood Clark Griswold style??

Yesterday it was 66 degrees here and sunny.  On November 15!!  This, my friends, was a miracle from God. 


Did I take advantage of this lovely weather and put out the outdoor Christmas decorations like any smart person should. 

Ummmm, no.

Nice going, totally blew that one. 

I did have a good excuse though, my little guy was sick and he didn't even take a nap so I really didn't have the option to do it.  Mr. Chic didn't get home until it was dark (since it gets dark and 5stinking-O'clock these days).

Now Mr. Chic we'll be forced to do it in the cold November weather... unless we get really lucky and have another beautiful day like yesterday.  Not holding my breath on that one...

While I should've been decorating outside I was pinning inside, some lovely Christmas porch ideas.  Here are a few of my faves....


Just Beautiful!



Something besides little Christmas trees in outdoor pots.



I'm pretty sure this is a catalog pic but I heart it anyway. :)

Beautiful!

I LOVE these lanterns but are you really gonna light lanterns every night?  (especially when it's freezing outside!)



The trees have citrus fruit as ornaments, how clever!  And I love the grapevine throughout, I'm a sucker for decorative sticks. :)

Simple and classy.



LOVE this too, wish I had room for a bench on my porch.



A nice twist on Christmas colors.

Darlling present topiaries and I like the holly garland instead of pine greenery for a change.

Deep red with green, really makes a statement.

If you have a red front door you really luck out at Christas time, this looks fabulous!

  

Cute and rustic (and blurry!)


 



Tons of lights!!  Classy Clark Griswold style lights. :)

All image sources found on my Christmas Cheer Pinboard HERE.

Hope I've inspired you to get those lights out before the weather goes South... for some of us I think it already has! 

Have you got your Christmas lights out yet??

A Foyer Preview

Hello, friends! Happy weekend to you!

Have any of you used Olioboard or another website to make a "mood board"?  I don't know why they call them "mood boards", I mean, I do know why, I just think it's super cheesey, call them what they are, design boards. Thank you very much.

Anywho, I created one for a client that I thought I would share with you because I know you are all just dying to see a "mood board" today. ;) 

I am helping this client with her large foyer, it is 2 stories tall with an exposed staircase and paneling.  She asked for a modern style with silvers and greys.  I came up with this....



Designed by Chic on a Shoestring Decorating

 I found Olioboard easy enough to use with a big stock of items already in their library.  You can also upload your own which is very convenient.  The biggest perk is that it's free!  The only thing I didn't like was that you can not put any text on your board.  (or can you and I just couldn't figure it out??)

I wanted/needed to make some little notes on the board to my client as I was presenting it over email rather than in person. 

I wanted to say that the metal-squares-thingy in the right hand corner is art, a metal wall hanging (which she requested) that comes in a set of 2 but there wasn't enough room to squeeze the other one on the "mood board".  I also wanted to say that the stuff under the table are possible accessories and we would not hide them under the table in real life.  I also wanted to squeeze "designed by COASD" on there too.

Does anyone know if it's possible to add text to an Olioboard?  Does anyone know of a similar program that has that capability? 

Oh yeah, one more thing, what do you think of my "mood board"?  :)

Flaunt it Friday 78!

Hello party animals!! 

It's that time of the week already!

Show me what you got! :)

Thanksgiving Decor... and I'm not talkin' turkey

Well, hello there friends! 

Don't you think Thanksgiving is getting to be the "forgotten holiday"? 

We go straight from Halloween to Christmas.  The stores and big companies are the worst.  I actually saw a Christmas commercial 4 days before Halloween... can you believe that?!  Sadly, I'm sure you can.

Some stores have had Christmas stuff out for months (mostly the crafty types like Hobby Lobby- in JULY!! wow).  But many others get it out before Halloween if they have room (Wal-Mart).

I am going to get my Christmas stuff out a little earlier than usual just so we can enjoy it (and because it's a lot of work!) but not quite yet.  

First, I'm going to share the rest of my Fall Thanksgiving decor that will be staying up at least a little longer.

My coffee table vignette

I love pumpkins on pedestals

The Fall Thanksgiving decor in my living room...

Another touch of Fall Thanksgiving in our entryway.

The large apothecary jar has an old fall swag stuck in it which helps it to fill the jar without using a million leaves.  I sort of twisted it around the jar from the bottom up.

The little jar has mini-pumpkins purchased last year after the season for 90% off, I got two small packages for less than $1.50. 

Our dining room has this little pumpkin on the buffet.  Sticking a pumpkin on a ring of faux berries (either made from a swag or a candle ring) does wonders for a pumpkin! :)

Finally, I took the black birds off my Halloween mantel so that it can become just a Fall Thanksgiving mantel... easy peasy.

Do you decorate for Thanksgiving or do you just go straight to Christmas after Halloween??

Flaunt it Friday 77!

Hey, party people!!! 

First, I must start by saying Happy Birthday to Mr. Chic!!  I love you babe! 

What a great reason for a party!!  (Shhhh, don't tell him we were going to be partying anyway)

Sooooo... I'm thinking that some Christmas stuff is going to be showing up all over Flaunt it Friday this week... I can't believe it's that time of the year (kind of)!!

How many of you haven't even taken down your Halloween decorations yet???

C'mon now, be honest.....

I'm totally guilty! 

But, it's on my list so that means it will get done.  Sometime, umm, soon hopefully.

Anyway, let's party in honor of Mr. Chic's birthday!  Woot Woot!!