New Year, New Bedding

Well, after 6 years of the same quilt bought at Ross (or Marshalls or TJ Maxx) I broke down and bought new bedding. I'm almost more excited about the deal I got than I am the actual bedding. ALMOST. I'd been eyeing this set for a while off and on. I occasionally check the website for deals and was shocked to see the set marked down from $250 to under $75. I decided to take the plunge and make the purchase. I am proud and still shocked that I got the comforter, two shams, dust ruffle, two Euro pillows and one throw pillow for $100 (thanks to a promo code saving me additional % off). When one Euro pillow has a sales price of $60 I feel like I robbed the store.

I'd like to think the bedroom looks more grown up and a 'little' luxurious. Let's face it for $100 it's not going to be luxurious...but it feels better to me and that's what matters right? :)

Let's take a stroll down memory lane...
It began like this:

Quick changed to this:

And today looks like this:

New Year, New Arrangement

Ahh... January. The time when you take the Christmas decor down and pull everything else back out and put it in the same place you had it before, right? Well NOT THIS YEAR! I decided I was tired of things as they were so I did a little rearranging. I didn't know this would happen so I don't really have before pictures without Christmas decor. And... is it just me or does anyone else "think" their stuff looks good until you see it in photos. Whew... I have got to get better at this decorating thing! HAHA.

Piano area BEFORE

I hated how this looked with the big frame. It was just not right and I didn't know what to do with it. Without Christmas decorations I had the wreath on one side and a few smaller picture frames below it...nothing with height and nothing eye catching.

Piano area AFTER

it almost looks like a piece of furniture instead of a piano. My husband had this mirror in his office at work and it wasn't working well there. I'd planned to Craigslist it but when I mentioned the other night that I needed to try a mirror over the piano my sweet husband gave me the look... you know the one where he's telling you "no need go buy a new one when we have a perfectly good one here". Tell me I'm not the only one who gets that look? :) I figured I'd give it a try... and you know what? I like it. With a few accessories I bought from the good old Hob Lob I am pretty satisfied. The lamp... 66% off!! I was so happy I decided to buy it and find a place for it. For now this is its new home. The frame... yes it's sideways and no it is NOT my family - when I finally get around to putting a picture in it my kids will be in high school (they are 3 & 4 now!).

The built-in shelves BEFORE

It pretty much looked like this with out the Christmas frames and decor... just with regular frames.

The built-in shelves AFTER

I added a more substantial plate rack for the plate & grouped some finials together instead of the red pot which I moved to the mantle. I still need to get rid of the willow tree angels, but they were a collection a while ago and it's hard to part with them.

The mantel BEFORE

The mantel AFTER

I like the red pot on the mantel much better... It still doesn't help the massive white fireplace ... but that's another project for another day. What do I paint it anyway??? If any of you have painted fireplaces I'd love to have you weigh in on that decision.

So... is my husband the only one who asked "Can't things just go right back where they were before Christmas?"

Prayer Pail

Are you taking down Christmas decorations and wondering what do with all of those Christmas cards?

Create a Prayer Pail!!

We let our girls pick out 1 card each night & we pray specifically for that family. We love looking at the pictures ALL YEAR & are hopefully teaching our kids how to pray for others.

The best of 2010!

We've had such a good time this year!!

Thank you so much for keeping up with us, leaving us comments and featuring us on your own blogs! We truly appreciate you!! Because what fun would it be to do all of this and have no one read it??

So here's a recap of your favorite projects of 2010!

Colorful Bird Canvas

This was the the Pottery Barn look-alike that Tiffany decoupaged for her girls' room.

Lindsay's "New" House

Remember Lindsay's house transformation??

Absolutely beautiful!

Living Room Rearrange

With your help, we re-arranged Tiffany's living room!

Board & Batten

Lindsay taught us how to do board & batten. So impressive!

Fabulous shutters

And she turned these junk-yard shutters into a beautiful kitchen centerpiece!

You're favorite recipe was the Chocolate Chip Dip. Yum!

And your favorite Quick Change were the white pumpkins.

Then we wrapped up the year with some present topiaries!

Whew!! We've had fun!

Join us in 2011 for a whole new slew of projects and decorating ideas!! We can't wait!

Lindsay & Tiffany

(Recipe) Chocolate Cupcakes

Do you need a dessert for that New Year's Eve party that you're going to? Try these bite-size chocolate cupcakes! I've taken them to many events and they're always a crowd favorite!

Ingredients:

Devil's Food Chocolate cake mix + whatever it calls for (water, oil, eggs, etc)

8 oz creme cheese

2 cups chocolate morsels

1/3 cup of sugar

1 extra egg

Directions:

Mix cake mix by "back of the box" directions

-Separately- Mix creme cheese, sugar & egg and blend until smooth

Fold in morsels

Grease mini-muffin pan

Alternate cake mix and creme cheese mix until 3/4 full

Bake 15 minutes (or use toothpick test) at 350

Enjoy!!

My favorite Christmas gift!

What was your favorite Christmas gift this year??

Mine is this personalized flower pot! Don't you love it??

It was a gift from my mom & it was love at first sight.

She bought it from Christmas in Cowtown (a holiday market in Ft Worth). I'll definitely be making a trip to that show next year!

This picture just doesn't do it justice.

It's 12 inches tall and could probably hold anything from magaizines to firewood. I just haven't figured out what I want to put in it yet. Any suggestions??

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from That Village House!

We pray that you're able to spend today with family, friends and loved ones. May God's blessings be yours this Christmas season.

Today, in the town of David, a Savior has been born to you:

He is Christ the Lord.

~Luke 2:11