Holiday DIY Roundup

Sorry for being MIA yesterday, I am a little under the weather and the only thing I did all day was watch The Millionaire Matchmaker. Allll day. I realize that is ridiculous. But it is definitely time to get our Holiday decor out so here are my favorite DIY's this season, some of which I am going to be partaking in myself!

Alternative Christmas Tree via The Haystack Needle

Paint Ornaments via Fancy House Road



Letter Place Cards via HGTV



Holiday Topiary via House and Home



Wreath via Frolic



Globe Snowmen via Emily Henderson



Do you have any Holiday DIY projects in the works? I'd love to know!

**Don't forget to sign up for the Design*Sponge at Home giveaway. Entries close Monday 12/5 at midnight!

Giveaway: Design*Sponge at Home

Happy Holidays, friends! I hope you all had a wonderful Thankgiving! I wanted to start off the Christmas season with a giveaway and what better than one of my favorite books? Remember when I met Grace and had my book signed in Austin? Well since then I have been devouring this inspirational book and would love to share it with one of you! Already have one? This would also make an amazing Christmas gift!

Over the weekend, I also noticed that Amazon has dropped the price of Design*Sponge at Hometo $17.50 so if you don't win the giveaway, you can still pick one up at a great price!

How to win Design*Sponge at Home:
You must be a follower of SSE. If you already are, perfect! If not, just click join this site in the right hand column.

For additional entries you can:
1. Follow SSE on Twitter
2. Tweet about this giveaway, mentioning @SecondStEast and linking back to this post
3. Tell your Facebook friends about the giveaway and link back to this post
4. Blog about the giveaway and link back to this post

Be sure to leave a comment for each of the above! This giveaway ends Monday 12/5 at midnight and the winner will be announced Tuesday morning!

Happy Thanksgiving!

*image via Lonny

Happy Thanksgiving, friends. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday filled with joy, fellowship and of course delicious food. My husband and I will be in Oklahoma until Sunday and I can't wait to see my wonderful family!

Come back Monday for a fun giveaway!

DIY: Glitter Circles Garland

What is it about Christmas that makes me crave glitter? Is it just me? I decided on this glitter circles garland after I found the paper at Hobby Lobby. It drew me in and I knew I had to make something out of it. This is a simple and quick way to make a garland for your tree, mantle or anywhere!

You will need thick craft paper, a circle punch, fishing line and some sort of glue (I used rubber cement).



All you do is cut out circles with the punch and them glue two together on the fishing line so that both sides are glitter! Pretty simple!

I tried it out on my mantle first...





But decided I would like it better on the tree!







Have you made anything for the holidays yet?

Weekend Roundup: Recipes + Trees

It was a tough weekend for OSU fans. We woke up Friday morning with the news that our women's head and assistant basketball coaches were killed in a plane crash while recruiting and then our national championship football game dreams were crushed that night with a loss to ISU. Though losing the game seemed marginal at that point, it was still a little salt in the wound. I must admit, as horrible as the tragedy is, it has been amazing to see the OSU family come together and I am proud to say I am part of that family.

On a lighter note, the weather cooled off considerable Sunday so it was time for stew, hot chocolate and christmas trees!

We started off with this deeelish chicken stew with butternut squash and quinoa. You must try it!



We then moved on to homemade Italian style hot chocolate. I must say that I am not really even a fan of hot chocolate but this is the real deal. With a little whipped cream and caramel on top.. oh my! I will never have a glass of Swiss Miss again! (It's easy, too!)



While we were sipping our hot chocolate, we put on some christmas tunes and put our trees up! I am not quite decorating them yet, so that reveal will come a little later on. I am having trouble finding a tree skirt I like. Any suggestions?





Does anyone else have their trees up yet? I am finally getting into the mood for the holidays!

The It List!

Happy Friday everyone! Here is a little light reading for the weekend...See you Monday!



The IT list returns!  Are you excited!?!? I am!Plus, it's Friday... yay for the weekend...

• suze wears clothes is crushing on this gorgeous faux fur vest (so am I) see how she styles it up three ways... my favorite is with this cute skirt for the holidays! (find suze wears clothes on twitter!)


• gs lillian is decking her halls in silver and gold for the holidays... see her gorgeous holiday picks from Target! I'll take a few of each, they are so pretty! (find gs lillian on twitter!)


• the posh blog has tips and tricks for a simple and fabulous holiday... I love her advice to 'plan ahead, stick with what you know and keep it simple'.  See how she does it! (find the posh blog on twitter!)


• capital barbie answers a readers question about shoe-wear for winter.  How to keep warm and 'cool'? Check out her picks! (find capital barbie on twitter!)


• the stylish housewife serves up the honest-to-goodness best holiday manicure ever. I'm all over this... a gorgeous deep red with gold sparkles. Done and done! (find the stylish housewife on twitter!)


• one hundred inspirations features two of my favorite pieces for winter... sequins and ankle boots.  As worn by the fabulous Selena Gomez.  Check out how to get the look for less!


• second street east shows us a super easy way to dress up a simple lamp shade. Seriously, this is so easy and looks great! (find second street east on twitter!)


• sweetie pie style features three stylish ways to set your Thanksgiving table.  My favorite? This Cali-chic look that includes a bold and gorgeous table cloth.  Be sure to check out all her looks! (find sweetie pie style on twitter!)


• rebecca with an r shows off one of my favorite looks for winter.  Colorful pants!  Don't put those beauties away for the winter... check out how she styles them! (find rebecca with an r on twitter!)


• good life for less released her super-fab seasonal looks:book!  Check it out for winter style must-haves, entertaining tips and more all in one place! (find good life for less on twitter!)

the IT list is produced weekly by jill of good life for less, for info on how you can be involved, click here!

This is about to happen at my house...

Holiday Gift Guide: Beauty

Seeing that Thanksgiving is next week, we should all probably start thinking about our Christmas Shopping. For those crazy people out there who are already finished, I have no words. I thought it would be fun to round up a few of my favorite products to share with you guys in case you are having trouble finding that perfect something!

First up? Beauty products. What girl doesn't love getting new beauty products? Sephora is literally a danger-zone for me. I personally have all of these products and love every last one of them! I am sure that special someone on your list would as well!



1. Clarisonic Mia: $119
This product has saved my face. I am not sure why I never grew out of the whole "bad skin" phase, but here I am. This will leave your skin feeling silky smooth and pores looking smaller. Perfect for the teen on your list! (Or really anyone!)

2. Birch Box Subscription: $10/month
This is such a fun idea and would be really great as a gift. Think about it. Wouldn't you like to receive deluxe beauty samples every month in the mail? Something other than bills?! Yes, please!

3. Bumble and Bumble Tonic Spray: $19
This is perfect for the for the friend with luscious locks or as a stocking stuffer. It is a detangler and balances the pH of your hair after washing. (Some line my hair dresser fed me... but it works!)

4. Glo Whitening System: $275
Now I know this might sound a little pricey, but this is for real. At home whitening with NO SENSITIVITY that works. I was a little skeptical at first, but not once bit of sensitivity. Someone would love you forever if you gave this to them. Seriously.

5. Revlon Just Bitten Lip Stain: $8.99
This is the perfect stocking stuffer for the Twilight fan! Just Bitten? And you will never guess what my favorite color is? Dawn (as in Breaking Dawn.. hello!) On a more serious note, I literally use this every day and would LOVE to get more in my stocking!

6. Poetic Waxing Kit: $45
Have you ever used an at-home waxing kit? I have and it just doesn't ever quite work out. Those days have changed. This stuff is ah-mazing. No strips and it works like a charm every time! Just make sure you give it to someone you know well. You don't want them to get the wrong idea :)

Have you started shopping yet?

Small Update: Greek Key

Who doesn't love a little Greek Key? When I was stranded at Wal-Mart I stumbled upon some Greek Key trim (who knew WM could be so stylish?!) and knew the perfect place for it!



I picked up this lamp at a thrift store a few months ago for $5 and the shade at target for $15. A little fabric glue and greek key trim later, we have this:



Subtle, but a little added sparkle!



Have you updated anything recently? Do tell!

Have you every searched "Navajo" on eBay?

It is really quite fantastic. Lately, I can't get enough of ethnic, worldly pieces and eBay (what is up with the capital B, btw??) delivers in this department.











Seriously guys. There is a lot of amazingness to be had. Check. it. out.

The Return of Red

Sure red has been playing a major role in fashion this fall but when I think of red painted walls the first thing that comes to mind is 1990s french country or that one red statement wall in the dining room that so many people did for WAY too long. Sorry if you are one of those. But lately I have seen some red walls in a fresh, exciting way. Check it out.







Go. Paint a wall red (lacquered,please!).

On The Market: Update

We have officially been on the market for two months now and let's just say that things are not going exactly as I had planned... My husband likes to tell me that I am basically delusional but I like to think of it as seeing the glass half full. I was hoping to sell the house in a month. But hear me out. We are renovated and the only older home on the market in our little town. Everything else is a cookie cutter home in a new development with no character. So... why aren't we selling again? Oh that's right... everyone that has looked at our house still has to sell their house. SO frustrating. Is anyone else on the market or sold your home recently. Is there a light at the end of the tunnel?

In the meantime, I will be dreaming about being able to afford something along these lines...





Imagine the above with a two car garage... my husband is refusing anything less!







Thank you for listening to me whine :)

The Best of... Walmart?

Long story short, I was stranded at Walmart for two hours last night waiting to have my low tire checked. So with no bar close enough to walk to I decided to check out their goods. (Why can't we ever be stranded somewhere chic is beyond me...) There wasn't much, but I did find a few gems.

They surprisingly had a nice selection of ribbons. The only thing Hobby Lobby has over them is some velvet.









Aren't there some great options?! I picked up some of the greek key ribbon to do a little project that I will be sharing soon :)

Moving on to the Christmas section.







I need one of the mini trees... just can't decide between pink or white (I already have a 4 ft. white tree and a normal tree. Things might get out of control around here!) And honestly, who doesn't need a disco ball ornament?

Before and After: Stairs

We finally got around to ripping off the old pinkish carpet from the stairs that lead to the basement. We decided to go the paint and runner route rather than re-carpeting them. It was really pretty easy!

I don't have any action shots but I think the before and after will do it justice! Here is what we started with...



ROUGH! I look back at pictures and wonder to myself what we were thinking??

But after a little elbow grease we have this:





Now as for the runner, it definitely is not something I would normally choose at all. But the price was right and we were in a rush to get it done so we could have pictures taken for the listing. In my next house? Hopefully a little leopard for the stairs!

Oh and just to keep it real, I came home to a hole in the carpet at the bottom of the stairs. Apparently Sassy Bones got a little hungry/bored while I was working and decided to EAT IT. Does this kind of stuff happen to anyone else or is it just me?