Cozy Winter White.......Decorating, Fashion and Yummy Treats

sometimes i think i need to get a job decorating a store for Christmas.

maybe then, i wouldn't drive my family crazy with

the need to have a 

cozy/traditional/non-traditional/white/winter-white/pink/dreamy Christmas.

seriously.

but since i don't have that job yet,

they have to put up with me.

and the white tree still reigns here.

and it is soooooo GORGEOUS, if i say so myself:)

we have an abundance of winter whites.....

but i threw a new wrinkle in it.

however, that's for another day,

because today it's all about, you guessed it......

WINTER WHITE!

starting with winter white fashion or style.

i have always LOVED winter white, which is actually not pure white,

but a creamy, off-white.

according to various fashionistas, there are three items that you should have in

WINTER WHITE, if possible.

they are;

 ~~~a winter white sweater to wear with jeans and a pair of boots.

~~~a winter white coat, which may be the ultimate winter white must have.  i would have the one in the photo in a heartbeat if i lived in a cold climate.

~~~a winter white handbag.

~~~and besides the obvious way to wear it, with jeans or black,

my personal favorite is to pair it with pure white all year long.

doesn't the Queen look pretty in her winter white?

 winter white decorating.......

what else can i say besides BEAUTIFUL!

 i especially love the felt tree skirt and sweater covered furniture.

 i love, love, love angel wings as decoration.

 moving on to a winter white party......

cupcakes, donuts, snowflake cookies and white hot chocolate. (recipe below)

WInter White Hot Cocoa by Paula Deen

1 cup white chocolate chips 

1 cup heavy cream 

4 cup half-and-half 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

Vanilla whipped topping, for garnish

Mint leaf, for garnish

Directions

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine white chocolate chips and heavy cream. Stir continuously until white chocolate chips have completely melted. Stir in the half-and-half, and vanilla extract. Stir occasionally until heated through. Pour into mugs and top with a dollop of whipped cream.

that's it for my winter whites!

you have to admit, it's cozy, right?

happy winter white wishes,

Suzanne

"girls in WHITE dresses with"...

..."blue satin sashes;

snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes;

silver white winters that melt into spring...

these are a few of my favorite things."

i love that song!

and spring...who doesn't love spring, right?

i'm going to whip through the rest of the so called spring fashion trends,

which, now that i think about it,

is really QUITE laughable that I am blogging about fashion trends.

oh welllll:)

let's do this.

starting with those pretty girls in their white dresses.

WHITE is always big in spring and summer.

think about it.

white is crisp, clean, fresh, youthful, innocent...

so it's a really GOOD thing white dresses are a hot pick for spring.

because we all want to be fresh, youthful or innocent...and hopefully clean:)

and if you add a pop of lace, even better!

and not just white dresses...

but all-white outfits are "IN"...

if you take my word for it!

and trust me, it's okay if you don't:)

here are a few other ways to add some white...

so there you go...white for spring.

PRETTY!

to wrap this up, they also say 

POLKA DOTS.

maybe like this...

this next one is my favorite way to wear polka dots...

and floral patterns...

which i personally think one has to be VERY careful here

 to keep it current:)

maybe just a pretty floral bag...

also, PEPLUMS are getting popular this year, so THEY say:)

i think they're great for hiding a tummy pooch...

if they are not too weird.

then they add to a tummy.

just saying...

i like the subtle simplicity of this one...

which brings me to the next trend...black and white.

)since when is this NOT a trend, right?:)

rather than a graphic pattern, i like clothes simple and a louder accessory...

well, there you have it...

everything you i mean WE need to be 

stylish this spring!

oh wait...i forgot to add my suggestions for the London theme,

(cause of the summer olympics)

and the WINNER is...

WHEW!!!!!

remind me to never play FASHIONISTA again!

it's exhausting.

give me my jeans.

and flip flops.

and tank top.

there...i'm all set.

XOXOXOXO

Suzanne

confession time...

i haven't taken down my Christmas tree.

worse yet, i don't WANT to take it down.

it just goes so perfectly in my house that i hate to take it down.

the rest of the decorations are down, 

packed in boxes,

downstairs in the family room...

waiting for that last step of moving them into my storage room.

somehow that seems to take awhile:)

but my tree?

no way...not yet.
even the chenille tree skirt is gone.
but not that tree!

i LOVE my white christmas tree.  

it warms up the room, day or night.

what's not to love, right?

and my ornaments feel so MAGICAL to me...

here are a few of my favorites.

and i hope Target brings back their colored, narrow TINSEL trees next year.

i could kick myself for not buying two of the

champagne colored trees to go with the big white one.
something like this...

my own little  SHABBY CHICKS tree farm:)

then i really would cut down on whole house decorating.

i would just focus on my pretty little corner of the room filled with Christmas trees.

i wonder if anyone else has this problem.

actually, i'm kinda glad the hustle and bustle of the holidays are over...

but please let me keep my tree...i promise to stop blogging about it:)

XOXOXOX

Suzanne

A Dreamy, Creamy Good Life...

today I am joining in on White Wednesday at Faded Charm

and Good Life Wednesday at A Beach Cottage,

which explains the title of this blog post:)

basically, I have a few pics of things that are some of my favorite

things for decorating

 (and they just HAPPEN to be cream and white!)

because they are favorites, they are part of the "good life" for me.

 Subway Art~I LOVE subway art.  but the next piece I get I would like
to be white-washed based, like this one.
Stenciled Pillows~LOVE these too!  especially with french words, numbers, quotes
or CROWNS:)

 

 Painted Vintage Luggage~I have 3 pieces painted and one to go...

and I look for them everywhere.

sigh...the good life:)

Mirrored Armoires and Mother of Pearl-ish handled silverware:)

two things I have always wanted...someday.

Twinkle Lights!!!!! 

everything looks better with a string of twinkle lights.

I have them in both girls bedrooms, the family room, in a large glass

cylinder of flowers, strung around the pool area and on the front porch.  

we LOVE twinkle lights..like these!

 now come on... would you EVER leave this bed?
i wouldn't:)
and how about this little trick... stringing them with a garland of doily hearts...
so PRETTY!

and since it's SOOOOOOO hot down here,

a white Christmas is sounding pretty good.

just looking at this photo cools me off...

now THAT would be a good life for me right now:)

and speaking of the Holidays,

it feels good to KNOW I am going with a white theme again this year...

so I think I'll just have to make this sweet little wreath,

made from a foam base with pearls glued on it.

one more thing...

CROWNS make every day a royal one:)

these are a few of mine...

so remember...

XOXOXOXOXO

Suzanne

White on White on White...

I was SO excited to get my new copy of Ballard Designs catalog.

the theme for this catalog...decorating with all shades white.

cream, ivory, white, vanilla...

BLANC.

(french for "white"...you know:)

I am IN LOVE with the color I painted my walls.

not strictly white but latte white.

COCONUT latte white!

It's so warm with my cherry wood floors and all white furniture.

makes me HAPPY!

so...since I don't want to be happy by myself,

I have a few pics and a book to share with you.

and I know what some say...

white is boring,

bland,

uninteresting.

NOT!!!

 according to this book...

"White is the color for all seasons, and it never goes out of style. Rest your tired soul in a cool summer beach room, revel in the sumptuousness of an orange-white living room steeped in autumn elegance, or welcome winter with a classic gold-and-white table setting. White furnishings and home accessories have many contrasts and hues, but their net effect is always one of elegance"

(by the way...a good "white" book!

see for yourself...but to me, creams and whites together ARE interesting in a subtle way.

very serene (I need serenity)

simple.

comfy and cozy.

creamy.

DREAMY!

white on white...

good for any time of year,

any Holiday,

any reason

any room.

tomorrow I'll show you what accent color I am adding to my creamy whites for spring/summer.

I know what you're thinking...pink.

nope!

I love it...and will have a few touches...

but not pink.

and let me leave you today with one of my favorite white on white accessories...

my sweet boy, MAUI.

XOXOXOXOXO

joining Kathleen at Faded Charm Cottage for White Wednesday

Nutcrackers, Barns and Christmas...Oh My!

I know what you're thinking...

I've finally lost it!

Well maybe...maybe not:)

We have a lot going on at the Shabby Chicks place today...

White Wednesday...

A barn party with the Barn Chicks...

and we're getting ready for Christmas with

All Things Merry & Bright!

So let's get started...

White Wednesday is a cool group who link up with 

Kathleen at Faded Charm

This is where the Nutcrackers come in.

Would you believe I am painting my house tomorrow just to go with the

9 ft. WHITE Christmas tree that is arriving on Friday?
Yes, I am crazy!
My girls say this is my "Martha" side coming out...
everything has to be "perfect".
Whatever...
not perfect, just kind of perfect:)
So I found some beautiful Nutcrackers this week.
The first one is from Joann's and is 20 inches tall,
dressed in cream and white glitter...

 GORGEOUS!!!
The next 2 guys are a silver and champagne color from Michael's.

 (Don't you LOVE the coupons from these stores?)
Anyway, I wasn't sure how to decorate this year until I found these guys and it hit me...
it's my GLAM Christmas with metallics (even pink:) and glitter!!
(I still love Pink for my pink friends...
but it goes better in the rest of the house:)
And speaking of Nutcrackers,
my daughter got a pic of the tutu she will be wearing for the Nutcracker last night.
This is it...

 a real tutu fit for the Snow Queen,
white with silver stitching, cream sequins and crystals.

Okay...moving on to barns!
Karen at Brayton Homestead Interiors is hosting a
Barn Chicks Party!!!

 If you like barns...or anything fall/winter/decorating...check it out!
Okay, so my husband recently met someone who lives on a ranch out east
and even he was impressed by the life this guy has.
He said to me "what do you think, could you be happy living like that"?
Ummmm...yeahh!!!
Especially if I can live in a BARN!!!

 (He thinks I'm joking...NOT)
 I mean, Christmas is coming and can you imagine coming home to your BARN
decorated like THIS???

 Or how about a winter wedding in a barn...

(flickr photos...green weddings)
not too SHABBY:)

Speaking of Christmas,
Robin is hosting the
All Things Merry and Brite blog party
on Wednesdays and we
are allowed to post old OR new posts for the Holidays.
I should have SOMETHING here, wouldn't you think?
 I decided to re-post a recipe for Amish Sugar Cookies.

These are so good, so white and sugary and look pretty wrapped in a
clear cellophane bag and tied with a pretty ribbon.
Oh my gosh, I'm making myself hungry for sugar cookies at 8:30 in the morning!
The full post is here but I've included just the recipe for you below.

AMISH SUGAR COOKIES:

Beat Well:

1 C Sugar

1 C Powder Sugar

1 C Butter

! C Corn Oil (We used Canola Oil)

Add and Beat together then add to above mixture:

2 Eggs

1 tsp Vanilla

1 tsp Cream of Tarter

1 tsp Baking Soda

1 tsp Salt

4 1/2 C Flour

Directions:

Drop a heaping tsp on greased or parchment lined cookie sheet.

Flatten with a glass bottom dipped in sugar.

Bake at 350 for 10-12 min. or till edges are golden.

(Yes, we add a sprinkle of sugar when they come out too...

and do not let them stay on the pan too long or they get too crispy/crumbly)

All I can say is ENJOY!!!!!
And Happy White Wednesday, Barn Chicks Party and
All Things Merry & Brite Day!