Whats your to do list looking like??

7 days till christmas:

Whats your to do list looking like??

In an order to completely divert your's & my attention away from all  things to do.
Heres what I've been up to:
Took stock of a new book 
"French Ties" by Jane Webster:

Not really sure when I'll get to read it,Its so pretty though.
I have her first book & loved it, perhaps I'll get a chance over the holidays!

I've ordered my christmas present for myself....
A new camera, I'm so excited,After SO MUCH research...No I'm kidding, In fact a girlfriend of mine who just purchased herself a new camera had just done all of the research so I just bought what she had & I mean exactly the same: 
I was ticking the boxes on the online order sheet like a pro :
1 camera base...Check!
1 extra lens.....Check!
1 SD card.....Check!
1 camera bag....Check! all done! 
Thanks to my darling friend Helen who did all the research,my present is on its way.


So lets get on with all things distraction:

Media Room makeover----

BEFORE PHOTO:

What a horrible before photo, sorry this was taken at night, however the room was pretty boring.
All I had done was paint the room, had the curtains hung & 2 mirrors & 2 sofa's. apart from that.... Oh and the ottoman that I had made. All of this was done quite a few years ago.
The buffet table under the TV is a relatively new purchase along with the side tables (you can see one lower R/H Side.)
The small white sofa that you can see the back of is temporarily in here, not really sure were that will go!

So far : 
These Floral cushions are a jumping off point for colours for this room as I just love them!

These Mirrors were originally in a gold ish/Bronze hue & I thought that I'd do something different with them......
After doing the painted furniture thought I'm kind of having second thoughts as I really like green & gold/Bronze look ......Oh well....too bad!! 

Mirrors Painted in Gris.

No wax yet, I'll be using the dark wax & that will bring back the antique character.

Bright Green??

Or Cobblestone?? Very poor first coat!!

I picked up 2 of these chairs from an antique shop in Malvern, I just need to use that green as I love it & as I've decided to use the blue on the console,these will be perfect!

Bright Green (1st coat)

Final Coat done...have not waxed yet!

I painted it this afternoon whilst doing this.....

DONE!! 

 I Know......I paint on the carpet,Well on cardboard,On the carpet.....SO NOT GOOD......But I'm so lazy that I just cant be bothered to even take the chair outside, however as theirs no smell, I really have no reason to take myself out of the comfort of my room!!

 I'm loving navy & green........

OK ....so I went with the cobblestone for the T.V Console & green for the chairs, I'm loving this fabric its a Navy flocked what do you think??

The power points need to be lowered above the console!!

So far this is were I'm at ! 

I'll need to do something with this wall to disguise the T.V.....

T.V's are so ugly, I could paint the wall black however I really don't like feature walls (Sorry!!!!).
I don't mind a wall done in a co-ordinating wallpaper (or stencil as the case may be) however I'm not a fan of one solid wall of colour that pops.

I've just ordered 2 more stencils,What the heck am I thinking as I declared that I would Stencil no more! after I did the office that is !! However the reality is that I cant really justify wallpaper as we will be moving in a few years & probably developing our land......and that means that the house will have to go!!
So hence the fact that stencilling is by far a cheaper option for a wall that may not be standing in a few short years.
I am thinking of using perhaps "Nearly Black" or "Bright Green" on this wall for the stencil to create a distraction from that BIG BLACK nuisance of a T.V!
We will have to see.......


I'm really loving these green fabric samples........I think that I'll use both the patterns on co-ordinating cushions for the sofa & perhaps the solid green as well (I've ordered some green cushions on-line & really not sure if they will go, a little bit of pot luck really!!) If not, this one will be fine.

I will keep you updated. Hope you have a great week 

 LL

MEDIA ROOM MAKEOVER STAGE1

BEFORE PHOTO:

All I had done was paint the room, had the curtains hung & 2 mirrors & 2 sofa's. apart from that.... Oh and the ottoman that I had made. All of this was done quite a few years ago.
The buffet table under the TV is a relatively new purchase along with the side tables (you cant see them!)

So far : 
These Floral cushions are a jumping off point for colours for this room as I just love them!

These Mirrors were originally in a gold ish/Bronze hue & I thought that I'd do something different with them......

After doing the painted furniture thought I'm kind of having second thoughts as I really like green & gold/Bronze look ......Oh well....too bad!! 

The Colours of Christmas

The Colours of Christmas & the Traditions that ensue.

Christmas is only 15 days away! Are you organised?

Well I'd love to say that I am, however the truth is the complete opposite.

I have no idea that its even December! I'm in complete denial!

With spring turning into summer....Im soooo behind.

I'm really not ready yet for that End of year wind down.....Finalising things I have yet to finalise. 

And the truth is I LOVE CHRISTMAS!

I love the smell of the Christmas trees, I love decorations & wrapping prezzies, setting the table......

I love to see my children's faces & I love the feeling of christmas day & the chaotic present filled,wrapping paper piled high,wafting food smelling house & ok I must admit that starting the day feeling hung over due to lack of sleep (not even due to alcohol) is always a given & that afternoon naps are long gone as a mother...

But its such a magical day......& I will be organised I swear! Or Everything will be done last minute!

So lets talk about  -----"The Colours of Christmas"---------

Are you a Traditionalist? 

Do you have Red,Green &white?

Or a lover of Classically Elegant White & silver or Gold?

Or perhaps a little more modern & into Blue or Turquoise?

well  for me, we have had 2 trees every year for the last 8 years since we've lived in this house as we had 2 main rooms that we spend a lot of time in & 2 kids. so we let the kids have their own tress.(Now when I say their own trees,They weren't allowed to decorate them/touch them or decide on colours!!..ok so I'm a bad control freak mother,who's obsessed with the trees that came out of magazines I looked through as a child.

Its not really that bad as the kids were young & really didn't have more than about 5 min of enthusiasm of helping mum! anyway.

And as they have grown up I've allowed them to contribute more (under strict guidance). As a result of having 2 trees I have had the liberty of 2 colour schemes.

1 being Red & gold and the other being White & Sliver.

I was reading the other day that Mel from Georgica pond blog puts a little faux tree in each of her kids rooms(Great Idea!Love it!)

if the kids start to want colours that make me feel crazy, I'll just give them their own tree! done!

The one traditional thing that i do every year is take them to buy a special ornament, Just one really nice item to add to their tree. (in a co-ordinating colour of course).
This image is so cute,do you have Christmas pjs & do you dress the kids in Christmas pjs?
I have to say I love this idea....If I get the chance,Im going to do this this year as your always in your pjs on Christmas morning! 

Need to get myself an Hermes blanket! Which Colour??

Yeah now thats a dilemma!

LOVE!  LOVE ! LOVE! 

Our little Charlie (dog ) used to look this clean (pre baby) & pre lambs. This is charlie & the lambs.

What a disgrace to the Bichon frise breed. Oh well! 

Decorating the mantle at christmas is always fun! if you have one!

This is my fire place with stuff all over the mantle, none of it actually belongs there!

Christmas Fashion

What are you wearing on christmas day, do you go shopping just for an outfit for yourself or the kids? I have not always bought something new for myself & the kids however I have always dressed myself & my kids for our Christmas photo with santa ,we all wear white! and sometimes perhaps a splash of red.- Often very casual, but none the less co-ordinated-

Christmas food & drink:

starting with beautiful dinnerware

These are Kate spade

This is a cute idea!

What's a celebration without food & alcohol, In fact Im feeling inspired to start experimenting with some cocktails right now! or perhaps even a hot toddy on this lovely Melbourne rainy summers day.

Hope your festive lead up is coming along nicely..

LL