Talk It Over Tea {Decorating Eye Sore}

How hideous is this?

It's the weekend. Time to help out some fellow bloggers with their problems. This is mine! This ugly ugly desk that hubby brought home for my daughter. Bless his heart. It's actually  a desk that pops up and can be used for artists/graphic design, I guess. Anyway, it ended up in my living room and now houses my computer. Even though we have a beautiful office in our house, I prefer to work here, in the living room so I can see what's going on with the kids. How can I make this pretty, or  prettier? Help! It's not wood, so painting is not really an option.

Be sure and link up your posts that may include any problems you are looking for a solution to. This link party will be open all weekend.

The Kitchen

I'm so blessed to have the most amazing kitchen. The builders really thought of everything (almost). It has a huge pull out spice cabinet, built in trash can and recycling bin, and very futuristic microwave that opens like a drawer with the push of a button. The only issue I have with my kitchen is that there is no vent above the island stove. This is a problem because there is a smoke alarm just off the kitchen near the ovens. It's very sensitive and every time we bake anything over 400 degrees or do any heavy frying the alarm goes off. The house is equipped with automatic sprinklers so I'm always cooking and simultaneously fanning! But even with that I LOVE my kitchen! It's the ultimate gathering place. I have lots of stools and people always gravitate around the island. The kitchen is mostly set up in stations. There is a phone/note station, baking station, coffee station, etc.

Baking Station

Below you can see the little berry bowl my SIL got me for my birthday. It's so handy. It always sits there and it is used almost daily.

Below, to the left of the stove under the cutting board is the futuristic microwave. And all the way to the right is the pull out spice cabinet which houses three shelves.

Below is the breakfast nook right off the kitchen. It's our casual dining area and it serves as the kids table when we have company. The kids do crafts and homework here as well. A lazy Susan sits on top along with a tin of dinner games.

Valentine's Conversation Blocks

Brown Paper Packages has some cute, easy and inexpenisve Valentine's decor that you could make in one afternoon. Instead of making conversation hearts, make stackable conversation blocks made from 4x4's!

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See the wooden Valentine's conversation blocks.

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50 Christmas Decorating Ideas!

modern spaces design by other metros media and blogs Pullga

Head over to Houzz to check out 50 decorating ideas for Christmas. There is a large variety of trees, vignettes, mantles, and more. So pretty and some are SO UNIQUE! Wow! .Gotta love these 50 decorating Christmas decorating ideas!..(Found via Between Naps on the Porch.)

My Christmas Candle Lit Fireplace

*Disclaimer: As stated above, please remember I am not a perfectionist. This explains why I didn't take the time to clean the splattered wax off the mirror before snapping these photos for your viewing pleasure.

Below is my fireplace. I change this with every season. You can see my fall fireplace here. Yes I know, you're probably wondering why I don't have an actual fire in my fireplace. Well for starters it doesn't really get all that cold here and also, between you and I...I don't really know how. But I digress, who needs that big mess to clean up, and all that wood to deal with. This is so much simpler, and clean, and it smells good, and I don't have to worry about escaping embers burning my carpet. Now that I have justified my candle lit fireplace please enjoy the following pictures and feel free to spruce up your unused fireplace with this simple solution!

In case you're wondering about the fat black cat statue, well my husband and I purchased them together before we were married over 13 years ago. I say them because there is a smaller one on top of the fireplace. The baby fat cat. I love their festive spirits. They don't have names....do you have any suggestions? I'd love to hear them.

My Fall Fireplace Decor

I wanted to share my fireplace decor with you. I don't ever actually use my fireplace. So last year I decided I should at least decorate it. After some thought, this is what I came up with. I love it because it allows me to add a warm cozy glow to my living room without all the hassle of a real fire. Burning candles in a fireplace is also a good safe alternative to burning them in other areas of your house. Plus, if you use one fireplace, this might be a good alternative to a second fireplace you may not use. I love how I can change it up with the seasons and holidays. This is my Fall Fireplace. I bought the candelabras at Ross and the candles I always buy  are Aroma-Mix from Kohls. They have a strong scent when burning and they never seem to make any wax puddles! They are really quite amazing! For those of you who think putting candles in a fireplace seems silly, laugh all you want!

Homemade Halloween Decor

Chloe created this on the Paint program on my computer the other day. I transferred the picture to a Word Document and we added the text. I printed it on glossy photo paper, and placed it in a $3 frame from Walmart. I'm so excited for her to do this for all the holidays and seasons. I think this would also make a great fundraising or project/gift idea for a classroom.