Saturday 30 December 2017

My top 10 posts of 2017

Holy cow! Can you believe that 2017 is quickly scooting it’s way out, and that 2018 is standing right in front of us? It’s time to reflect on this crazy year for some top 10 posts!!! I actually have no idea where the last four months went, and realize that for the next few months I’m going to be doing this:

How I'll be writing the date for the next 2 months of 2018

Ha ha ha!

Here are some of my favorite posts:

Stop waiting and start where you are with what youhave

Going all of the way back to January, I loved this post about starting where you are with what you have. We can never compare someone else’s middle to your beginning.

10 common mistakes when painting furntiure

I love this post about 10 common mistakes when painting furniture. I’ve been painting for so long now, some of the most common mistakes are also some of the most easily avoided.

Vintage cabinet makeover with boho vibe

Painting this vintage cabinet was one of my favorite makeovers of the year. It really adds to our space, and really is super-useful with a ton of storage!

Yes, we really live here, Why do people always ask if I really live in my house or if it's all just for show?

 

Yes, we really live here is one of my favorite essays. After you read it, you can let me know what you think.

Succulent inspired party tray idea for appetizers and dips

A party tray, made to look like cute, little succulents? That ranks as a favorite too.

We did a lot in the kitchen area this year.

Painting white around open shelving

I still absolutely love how  the open shelving in the kitchen turned out! It was such a great addition to our space! It really goes along with the vintage window transom.

The difference between white subway tiles from tile stores and home improvement stores

Speaking of our kitchen, adding the subway tile as a back splash was another thing we did that I am thrilled with!

Removing paint for a sanded wood table

Our old coffee table had an amazing transformation this year!

Pavlova with berries and whipped cream. And amazingly delicous and beautiful dessert.

And this year,I made my first berry Pavlova… It was pure magic.

Primed floors before sanding

And I can’t forget finally having our floors refinished after 20-ish years of gross carpet!!!

The Collective lhe store front

And then, for the biggest,mostest favorit-ist thing of them all, was the opening of our retail store and Makery!!!There is nothing like the stomach churning, together with the excitement of taking a leap of faith with something so big!

I hope you loved taking a look at my favorite top 10 posts of 2017. Thank you so much for following on my journey this year, especially since this marks my 10th year of blogging too! It’s always amazing to me what can fit in the space of a year!

I hope you have a Happy New Year, and I’ll see you in 2018!

The post My top 10 posts of 2017 appeared first on Jennifer Rizzo.



from
https://jenniferrizzo.com/2017/12/top-10-posts-2017.html

Thursday 28 December 2017

Outdoor winter party

The one thing I love about raising kids in the Midwest, is  a winter party is not out of the question…they are a hardy lot. The other day I was yelling at Middle to put on a hat and gloves, and zip her coat, because it was only 14 degrees out. She pretty much ran out the door to the car, and I fumed that she didn’t really listen. I did notice however, on our way to school, that every other teenager was dressed the same way, in fact, some of the boys had shorts on. I give up.

(This post contains affiliate links)

Have an outdoor winter party when the temerpature drops

The nice thing is, with a few extra blankets and a warm fire, even as the temperature dips towards lower double digits, we still enjoy the outdoors. I do have to draw the line at under 25 degrees however. That’s just too cold for me, even with a cozy blanket and a fire. The other day it was negative 6. On those days, I don’t even crack the door if I don’t have to.

Gather extra wood to have ready for a campfire

My kids love it when we have a fire in the pit outside. We always keep some dry wood on hand for last minute fires.

 

Electrolight firestarter

We used the HomeRight ElectroLight Fire Starter to start our fire pit. You can see how we did it here. It was nice to use because we didn’t need to mess with newspaper or matches.

Fire pit for an outdoor party

Once we had the fire going, it was time to bring out the hot cocoa and hang out. My next house is going to have a fireplace. I would love to be able to enjoy a fire inside as well, when it’s too cold to go out.

Hot cocoa for an outdoor winter party

Enjoying hot cocoa in a blanket for an outdoor winter party

 

Do you like to hang outside once the temperature dips a bit, or are you in the minute it gets a little frosty? I have to admit, the older I get, the less I like the cold weather!

This post is sponsored by HomeRight. Opinions are entirely my own.

The post Outdoor winter party appeared first on Jennifer Rizzo.



from
https://jenniferrizzo.com/2017/12/outdoor-winter-party.html

Tuesday 26 December 2017

Must-read books for winter

Now that Christmas is over, and we are heading into the new year, I’ve decided the one thing I really want to do is start reading more, I’ve been looking for some must read books for winter. I feel like with the work of getting the shop open, and how busy the holiday season is, that it was something that I pushed aside for a bit. Now that we are finally getting a handle on things, I really want to make more time to relax and enjoy getting lost in books, it really nurtures my soul.

I found some beautiful books, and wanted to share them with you. You can click right through  the book pictures to find the books on Amazon (this post contains affiliate links.).

Must read books for winter

One  book we are going to be reading in the shop is Brene Brown’s new book, Braving the Wilderness. You can join our on-line book club and read along with us, and join us on Facebook for a live chat! Details will be coming very soon, but we are going to be starting late January, so if you want to join in, now is a good time to grab your book!


This morning, I put on sweatpants, ate leftover Christmas cookies, and drank coffee while I poured over books I just might have bought myself as a Christmas present…. It was actually a pretty awesome morning.

The Love & Lemons Cookbook


a well-crafted home

For The Love of Old

Donna Hay- Basics to Brilliance

How to be a Parisian

I have to admit, I don’t know why this book intrigued me so. I’ve started it and am slightly torn about it.  It’s a fun  book, but I wouldn’t follow every idea in it, I think some if it is more skewed to the young and single.

I picked up Luck,Love & Lemon Pie because it sounded like a fun read. I’ll have to let you know.

Radium Girls….such a good read. It’s hard to fathom that it’s a real story.

 A Monster Calls… Seriously, I cried.

Do you have anything you’re reading in the new year, or books suggestions for winter? Or any books you’ve recently finished that you just love? We would love to hear it!

Love reading, here are some more book ideas:

 

The post Must-read books for winter appeared first on Jennifer Rizzo.



from
https://jenniferrizzo.com/2017/12/must-read-books-for-winter.html

Sunday 24 December 2017

Holiday hours at The Collective lhe + Makery

Happy holidays! Thank you so much for all of your support this year at our new adventure! We are closing the shop The Collective lhe + Makery the week between Christmas and New Year’s to clean and inventory,work on some of the new things for the new year, and spend some time with our family after a busy season.

The Collective lhe + Makery Holiday hours

We wish you and your family  happy holiday and a very merry everything!

 

 

The post Holiday hours at The Collective lhe + Makery appeared first on Jennifer Rizzo.



from
https://jenniferrizzo.com/2017/12/holiday-hours-collective-lhe-makery.html

Thursday 21 December 2017

Checking in and holiday craziness

Hi guys! I have to admit, I thought I would be able to post a lot more this holiday season, but we’ve been really busy at the store with holiday craziness. I know it’s a good problem to have, but I have to admit, I struggle a bit with that. I’m so used to being here all of the time, I’m having a hard time letting somethings go for a bit, I know after the new year, I can get back to being around here a bit more. I really miss hanging with you guys!

Jennifer Rizzo at The Collective lhe + Makery

I struggle with guilt over not being around for my kids as much as I used to, though I have to say, they are doing fine on their own. I am certainly realizing what my limits are. I really thought I was going to be cranking out Christmas crafts along with working in a busy retail store, and posting here all of the time… ha ha ha ha. This is from the files of ” You’re fooling yourself dum-dum.” and “Reality check”. But that’s ok. Sometimes we have to reassess our own limits as life changes.

The Collective lhe + Makery and holiday craziness

I’ve also learned I love  as much as I like to dress up for work, if I have no where to go with the kids afterwards, the first thing I do is go right up to my room and change into some pretty worn-out,gray sweat pants. It’s so unsexy, but it feels really freeing to pull those frumpy , fleece-lined pants on, and tie that string on my waistband. I saw a quote that said “Home is where the bra isn’t.” I have to admit, that’s a pretty accurate statement. Like everyday.

asymmetrical wreath

I am excited to announce that as things slow a bit after the holidays, we have some amazing and exciting things planned we can’t quite share yet, but I feel like I am busting at the gut wanting to tell you. I know I have to wait though. What I can say, as we have gained more experience together, that we’ve been able to hone our direction even more. Many of you have asked about on-line shopping…..stay tuned!

Thank you all for all of your support. I’ve loved that the store has given me real opportunities to meet you and connect with you in-person! Every time you walk through the doors of our little space, it makes me so excited! It’s been such a huge adventure, sometimes I can’t believe that we are really doing this!

 

The post Checking in and holiday craziness appeared first on Jennifer Rizzo.



from
https://jenniferrizzo.com/2017/12/checking-in.html

Wednesday 20 December 2017

A tour of our (new!) Christmas home

Hello and welcome to a tour of our holiday home! Be sure to check out a full list to the other ladies on the tour at the end of the post! This year it's a special one because it's our first in our new house. I'm honestly a little surprised that I got as much decorating done as I did considering I just emptied the last box (the ones not still in the storage room) a few weeks ago. 

It has been a blast dressing up this house, I've thoroughly enjoyed it. I hope you enjoy checking out the photos! I took a ton, as always. If you have questions about an item let me know but I will link to each space/some items at the bottom of the post. I also list some sources to the family room since this is the first you'll see it! 

Oh and I took some of these in the evening and some during the day, so they go back and forth. You'll notice our Elf has moved in some of them. ;) I shared our front porch dressed up for Christmas here, but those pictures didn't have a cute dog in them: 
Dark door with sidelights and windows

I have to laugh when us bloggers say we're keeping decor simple -- because sometimes it doesn't look simple at all to me. 😂 But this year I really did tone it down, just for the sake of my sanity. I'm still getting used to the house too, so I took it easy this year. So, it's simpler than what I've done in the past, but may not be simple in your terms. :)

light gray open vanity bathroom

fresh soap sign in black

Tissue boxes count as decor in this house. ;) 

white kitchen with white wavy subway tile

two tiered wood and metal tray

black white and brass hanging pendants

IKEA black hanging rod over stovetop

I had big plans for the mud room/laundry, but we're still in this settling phase where we are constantly dumping stuff in there. I'm hoping to get it better organized now that wrapping is almost done and I'm done with holiday decor. I still love our big chalkboard and use it a lot!:
DIY chalkboard on wall

white table wood chairs

World market Everett table decor

I splurged on those Luminara votive candles (hanging from the chandelier) at an online summer Christmas sale. They are the ones that look like real candlelight and are usually so expensive! They are SO cool. Love them. 
Christmas dining area with candles

12 foot Christmas tree

open staircase with white spindles 

wood and white stairs with white balusters

Our great room is our absolute favorite place to be right now. It's the lights, candles, the fire and the cozy sofas...all of it makes it such a welcoming spot. We are obsessed with it!

white fireplace with light gray tile

Little houses were from the Target dollar spot! Actually a lot of our holiday decor is from there. ;) 
little white Christmas houses

Red and white Christmas mantel
I dreamt of this light for years -- we had no place for it in the old house. It was the first one I knew I wanted. It's the reason most of our rooms have no lights yet or $20 ones. ;) Totally worth it!!
12 light round metal chandelier

Back when we were building I shared my ideas for the set up for this room. Symmetry won out -- duh. ;) Did you ever have any doubt? (I really did consider other options, but...it's ME.) I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE it:
tall fireplace with symmetrical sofa layout

LOVE!!

tall fireplace with two sofas facing each other

These are the rooms that were decorated in the house -- we have a tree in the basement and our son has a few things up in his room, but that's it. And it's plenty. Greenery, lights, candles and a few soft items like pillows and blankets go a very long way to making your home feel festive and cozy!

Here's a list of items/posts in case you're wondering! Some affiliate links included for your convenience:
Front porch tour and sources
Powder room tour and sources
Kitchen:
     Round Christmas board, Target dollar spot
     Island stools, Target
     Our granite
     How to stain and treat butcher block
     Hanging rack over stovetop, IKEA
     Island pendant lights, Wayfair (we did not get them here but these are the same!)
     Two tier wood and metal stand, World Market
DIY chalkboard in mud room 
Dining area tour and sources
Staircase tour and sources 
     How to make an easy DIY bow
Family room:
     Dark blue chairs and small round end table, World Market
     Sofas, local store called Urban Underpriced
     Ceramic houses and Merry Christmas banner, Target dollar spot
     Red and white stockings, Target
     Round mirrors and plaid blanket, HomeGoods
     Plaid DIY pillows
     Round glass coffee table, Amazon
     Black "x" consoles

I think that covers it, please let me know if I forgot about anything! :) I hope you enjoyed a look at our Christmas home and the tour of the new family room!

Be sure to check out the rest of the ladies on the tour today -- I love ALL of their beautiful homes!

Thrifty Decor Chick 2017 Christmas tour


Centsational Style

I am lucky to call all of these women friends of mine and they are incredibly talented! You can see all of the lovely ladies on this week's tour below: 

I'll be back later this week -- our school break is starting soon and we go into total hibernation mode for two weeks straight. So things will be spotty over the next couple of weeks but I'll be checking in. I'm already starting to get the itch to dig into some DIY projects in the new year so I promise things will amp up again soon! Can you believe Christmas is only in FIVE days away?? Time has absolutely flown by this year.

SaveSave



from
http://www.thriftydecorchick.com/2017/12/a-tour-of-our-new-christmas-home.html