First and foremost, thank you all for stopping by. I never thought that I would have this many visitors to my silly little blog. Some times I am rambling and it shocked me to see how many of you have been returning readers 🙊. It makes my heart happy❤️❤️ for sure. Thank you!
I wanted to give a few tips (that work for me) when creating a warm and cozy (my word of the season) feeling in a space. I always say I want to have a home, not a house. The warmness is what makes the difference there. I am sure you guys can think of a place that just feels cold. I am not talking about temperature either. Even some public places have that feeling of just a building, not an inviting space or a sense of who the space belongs to or who they are welcoming. Let’s try to avoid that!
The first tip doesn’t cost a cent (for most of us anyway)…
Tip #1: Add some greenery. Go outside and clip some evergreens. Pop them bad boys in wherever you can. Behind pictures, sticking out here and there. It really adds to a space.
If you want to spend a little money and get some faux greenery that will last years to come, it is an investment piece that won’t go out of style. This shelf above our TV has a mix of real and fake. I will link some that I have in the bottom of the post for those who are interested.
Tip #2: PINECONES!!! In all shapes and sizes. Stick them in, on and around the greens or simply by themselves.
These pinecones have been with me since we moved in 17 Christmas’ ago. What is nice about both pinecones and greens, they carry you through the winter. Once your holiday decor is packed up, I like to rearrange the winter decor (such as snowmen, anything with snowflakes on it, pinecones and greens).
You can buy pinecones, but that is silly, there are some laying on the side of the road! And a trick: If the pinecone is closed tight, just line a cookie sheet with foil, place the pinecones on the foil, put in the oven at 200 degrees and they will open up. Just google it, there is PLENTY of tutorials out there!
Tip #3: Mix up the old, the handmade, the bought (target, the pottery barn, the craft store & everything in between). Pop the kids handmade ornaments on a shelf with some pines under it or sticking out from behind it.
This Thanksgiving, I put my children’s handmade placemats on our shelf (behind pumpkins and gourds), nothing fancy, but they were displayed, made me smile, and they weren’t getting wrecked on the table each night (teenagers are MESSY eaters sometimes!) Especially when we are having something they love, they dive right in, literally head first 😂.
Tip #4: Don’t be afraid to pack up normal everyday decor to make room for the holiday season. You can get it back out after everything calms back down, when we ring in the new year. (It will feel fresh and new again!) I do not like clutter. Our home is small, I HAVE to do this for every season. I can’t keep it all out. It allows me to “shop” from things I already have in the next season/holiday. I pack things away and put in our basement (which isn’t fancy guys, we have a crawl space) and I pull out as I need or want to switch things up some.
Tip #5: As Erin from Cotton Stem says (cottonstem.com), who is one of my favs to follow on Instagram: YOU DO YOU! These are tips that work to warm up my space in my little home, however, maybe you would prefer tinsel…sprinkle it all over your home and it makes you happy, then I say “DO IT!” I am into bringing nature inside so I am doing me over here, and you do you! Either way, I encourage you to do it. Create a space (no matter the size or budget) that you can call home. Heck, it might be a bedroom, a super small apartment, or a massive house on a hill…
Make it a place you LOVE 💕 ❤️ 💕 ❤️ 💕
Thank you so much for stopping by, and don’t forget:
Belt it out baby!!!
XOXOX
Leandra
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Ohh and I forgot to all you Mommy’s out there, I take this time to go through the toys and donate what hasn’t been played with. Recycle anything broken. Pick up a toy, ask yourself, do they LOVE it, can you remember the last time it was used? Does it engage them, or just something there to fill up the toy basket? If it doesn’t, time to pass it on. Even kids can get overwhelmed. Yeah they say they want it all, but when their space is cluttered, they can’t relax and really PLAY. If it is something Aunt Matilda gave them and you think they will love it down the road, (and it will engage them, super epic toy, educational, literally perfect for another time) put it away, save it hidden somewhere. If it is something that Aunt Suzy bought and you feel like you HAVE to keep it, but it doesn’t engage anyone, think about it this way: Aunt Suzy saw them open it, everyone was happy at that time, it served it’s purpose. It is okay to let it go 🙂