Merry Holidays!

photos by melinda guajardo

to you & yours!

xo,

davee + charles

Winterizing your Home.

collage by me via polyvore

When people talk about “winterizing the home”, the thought that usually comes to mind is covering your windows with saran wrap and blow-drying it. However, like a true diva, I’m saving that fun stuff for my dad. The type of winterizing I’m referring to is turning your space into something cozier and comfier by way of aesthetics and aromas. Here are some (budget-friendly) inspiration ideas to help prepare your home for winter + holidays:

Textiles | To warm up the living room, I added a sweater-blend throw on the sofa for the nights where all I want to do is curl up on the couch and have a Harry Potter marathon. I chose one in a charcoal grey to offset all the bright, summery colors in my living space. If you prefer cozy in the form of faux fur, I also like this one here and if you've got benjamins to throw down on some serious wool goodness, I love this one for the holidays. I also switched up the summery throw pillows on my couch for more seasonal ones (think gold tones and fur adorned pillows). 

Scents | Candles are an inexpensive and surefire (no pun intended) way to add ambience to any room. I purchased a bunch of white unscented candles from Ikea in assorted sizes and arranged them randomly in front of the french doors next to my bed. For scented candles, my new favorite this year is Illume's 'Woodfire'. I also really love their Balsam & Cedar one too, it makes up for the absence of a real balsam fir tree in the household. Another great thing about Illume candles is the cold throw, even if the candle goes out, the aroma lingers.

Ornamentation of the rustic kind | A couple Christmases ago, far away in "I have a lot of time on my hands land", I went on a DIY craze (not to mention, blew a fuse lighting this tree up). I spraypainted pine cones and branches and adorned them with glitter and ribbons and nearly gave myself arthritis making magazine Christmas trees among other projects. Luckily, I was able to salvage most of the pine cones which I sprinkled throughout the house for a rustic touch: on the Christmas tree, arranging them alongside flowers/branches in glass hurricanes for a centerpiece and on trays with candles. 

Lighting | Obsessed with these firefly lights from UO, they're significantly smaller than the typical string lights and strung along a copper wire that blends easily into anything. I'd use them to decorate branches and/or garland, or as shown in the collage above, placed inside a shadow box/lantern for a truly whimsical touch. 

Some holiday DIY's from my Christmas past + present c/o my instagram:

Two Christmases.

Promise this will be my last Christmas-related post (sadly for me) until next year. Spent Christmas Eve w/the Pipers & Christmas day at my house. Hope everyone's holiday was as wonderful as mine - aside from getting some awesome gifts (Harry Potter cookbook & a yoga puppies calendar to name a few) - the best gift of all was spending the holidays w/loved ones playing the dice game for prizes (lots of household cleaning items & in my niece's case - a book about the 1st cold war lol), having both king crablegs & tur-duck-en for dinner followed by ham the next day, tricking my nephews into thinking they didn't get the videogames they wished for, taking Christmas jello shots & watching baby Yves open presents w/mommy but preferring the wrapping paper instead. #purebliss. xx. 

FYI: this post is picture-heavy. yikes.

Pieces: DIY Christmas

[Magazine Christmas Trees] Before:

After:

If you too, don't mind sacrificing a couple of old fashion mags for the sake of Christmas, you can find the tutorial here c/o Martha.

[Spray-painted & Glitter Cinnamon-scented Pinecones]

[DIY Clear Ornaments]

You can buy these shatter-proof ornaments from Michael's for $1 or less & fill them w/anything. I chose to adorn mine w/gold holly, bells, ribbon & fake snow.

[Re-Trimmed the Tree]

Not A Charlie Brown Christmas.

Haven't quite put the finishing touches on my Spruce Mix tree just yet but found this amazing photo on pinterest so I had to try out my camera skills for the (semi) same effect. Not gonna lie, took me awhile & it was a little frustrating but love the results. Basically, this is how I blew my fuse last wk. :) 

This past wknd, instead of perusing my usual shopping haunts, found myself obsessing over DIY Christmas crafts c/o Martha Stewart & BHG. This weekend, it's on like donkey kong. Can't wait to show y'all the results!

xx,

Davee