Our Trip to Atlanta's Mart - Part 3 (Holiday)

It never ceases to amaze me how many showroom specialize in only Holiday items. The market for Christmas items is huge! Some of the holiday accessories were beautiful and very creative.



Bettye and I loved the addition of the beads. You can add these beads to almost anything to add a little glitz for the holidays.




We loved the idea of these simply decorated Christmas trees. Each silver ball was individually glued to the tree.



This pumpkin arrangement was amazing. If you have been reading my blog you know I love decorating for Thanksgiving.

Our Trip to Atlanta's Mart - Part 2 (Accessories)

Of course, the citrus or acid green color is still very popular. I think every showroom had something in this color.


These silk mums looked so real, Bettye and I had to feel them. We are very picky about artificial arrangements.


These one stem mini pots are great to place in a guest room bedside table or to place at each place setting for a bridesmaid luncheon or a dinner party.

Our Trip to Atlanta's Mart - Part 1 (Furniture)

Bettye Zettergren, our new designer, and I just returned from Atlanta's Merchandise Mart. Bettye and I spent two 10-hour days walking the floors of "Building 1" and a few floors of "Building 2." To give you a feel for the size of this Market, "Building 1" has 20 floors and each floor has 30 - 50 showrooms. The showrooms in Building 1 have accessories, linens, holiday and furniture. The other buildings had showrooms that included housewares, gourmet, gift and apparel.

We found so many great showrooms! We love visiting market to see what's new. I took photographs of a few interesting things we found in the showrooms. (Note: The showroom floodlights made it really difficult to capture a good shot.)

Oatmeal colored furniture was prominent in a lot of showrooms, as well as upholstered furniture with oatmeal linen fabrics. Using such a neutral colored piece of furniture allows you to paint your walls almost any color and leaves you with lots of options for window treatments. I love the natural texture that linen adds to a space. Linen can also evoke both the feeling of formal and, at the same time, a touch of casual.


The king headboard above was gorgeous with its oatmeal colored linen fabric. I think it was the tallest sleigh headboard I have ever seen. Bettye and I estimated the height at 7'.


The photograph isn't great but it shows more of the oatmeal colored furniture.


Would you like to make a drastic change in your dining room without the cost of purchasing all new furniture? Consider changing your two end chairs to one of these chairs covered in a custom fabric. Adding two totally different end chairs to a dining room table can change the whole feel of the room.



We found these outdoor rugs that are made to withstand the outdoor elements. They even had a display with a sprinkler pouring water over a rug continuously. The best part, in my opinion, was their reasonable prices. They were available in multiple solid colors as well as a braided style. They even poured red wine on the rug and it didn't stain the rug!

'Tis the Season!

I love the Christmas season! Everyone seems extra friendly during the holiday season. This year (and I still can't believe it), I am not going all out with my usual Christmas decorating. Because I was out of town at the beginning of December, and also because Jerry and I are going to Casey & Owen's (my son & daughter-in-law and my two granddaughters) home to celebrate Christmas with them, I decided not to put up a tree this year. YIKES, this is a first for me and it feels strange! Next year, though, I am planning on decorating as usual and hosting a Christmas Open House.



This year Casey has been busy decorating her house with a little inspiration from Anthropologie. If you have visited the Green Hills store, you may have seen lots of stacked wood and their famous handmade snowballs. These snowballs are the cutest and are so easy to make. We asked our sales person if she knew how they were made and she spilled the beans. Jackpot!!!



Here is how to make indoor snowballs that "won't melt in your house!"

1. Crumple up white kraft paper to the desired size. (Be sure to vary the sizes)
   
2. Wrap the crumpled ball with plastic wrap at least 4 or 5 times.
3. Wrap outer layer in Glad "Press & Seal" with the sticky side out.
   
4. Roll sticky ball in artificial snow. (Artificial snow can be purchases at Target or any craft store.)
5. Voila' ... you have the cutest snowballs ever!
   

Who knew they would be so easy and inexpensive to make?



Look how cute these jars are with the white lights, silver ornaments, and snow.

I love decorating with live greenery. Not only does it look great, it smells even better! Take time to enjoy the sights, smells, and good eats of this holiday season!