Cheers!

I'd like to raise a glass of champagne and wish you all a very Happy New Year! I hope you have a wonderful night no matter where you are or what you are doing. Just be careful and try not to fall in the bathtub at the end of the night! Cheers!

Photo by Pamela Hanson

Tell Me I'm Not Alone

Please tell me that I'm not the only one who plans to mail out Christmas cards and then runs out of time. The sad fact is that this has happened for the last two or three years. Did you know that some people take you off their Christmas card mailing list if they haven't heard from you in a while? I realize that many of you keep in touch with old friends using the internet but, to me, emails just can't replace the thrill of receiving a card in the mail from a loved one. This year I intended to mail my Christmas cards early but, with our son's accident and other life events, once again I ran out of time. Yet I was still determined to let old friends know that they're in our thoughts. I decided to mail New Year's cards. There is just one problem. There are no New Year's cards to be found! Hallmark really should consider making a line of cards for procrastinators like me.
I refused to let this stop me. I sketched out the numbers 2010 and cut only the outer edges for my card template. Then I traced and cut the design onto cardstock that was folded in half. Next I printed a little sentiment and glued it inside. Now our friends will know that we still care, even if our thoughts are a bit belated.

Before it gets too late,
I want to wish you, my blog friends,
a wonderful 2010!
May the New Year Bring You Happiness,
Peace, Laughter,
and the Best of Memories.

Chic Cards

If you still have thank you cards to write for all the Christmas presents you received, then I suggest that you order these stunningly beautiful notecards featuring the artwork of Jeremiah Goodman. I received a lovely email yesterday from gallery owner Dean Rhys Morgan about the notecards after he found my blog post on Carolina Herrera and Jeremiah Goodman. Her sitting room (above) is one of the 16 different images included in the set that he sells on his site. I was also excited to discover that Mr. Rhys Morgan also sells prints by Jeremiah Goodman, Kenneth Paul Block and Jay Hyde Crawford among others. They would all make a chic present to yourself to start the New Year or to apologize to someone if your behavior gets out of hand tonight! Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

Thanks to all of you who joined the craft room inspiration linky party yesterday. The link will be open the rest of the day if you still want to join!



The images in this post from myhomeideas.com New Year's Eve Celebration. If you're looking for some tips, check out their site for more New Year's Eve inspiration and advice.


Wishing you all a very Happy New Year! I'll see you back here Monday (at the latest).

You Never Know Until You Try

Very few things stay the same in my home. Even if I love the way something looks, I find it exciting to challenge myself to make a few changes, if only to see if I'll love it even more.
After all, you never know until you try right?
This little shelf we built, that hangs above the potty, has looked like this for some time. And these pretty bottles sat in the bathroom window far too long. So I combined them and added a few more bottles from around the house.

Now the little bathroom shelf looks like this. A fresh, new change
for the new year.

UPDATE: Randolph Duke

Back in December of 2008, red carpet dress dee-ziner and HSN habiliment hawker Randoph Duke listed his cantilevered and aggressively cuspidated Los Angeles house with a searing asking price of $8,250,000. Later, in June of 2009, Miss Duke slashed the price tag of the 3 bedroom and 3.5 pooper property to $6,500,000.

It was shortly after that that Your Mama schlepped our fat ass through and around the 3 bedroom and 3.5 pooper XTEN Architecture designed house in the Hollywood Hills. Here's what we recall from our visit: The street on which the contemporary crib is located–anorexically narrow Fareholm Drive–offers residents undeniably spectacular views but cosmetically it's not a very attractive or particularly upscale appearing street despite its most famous fat livin' inhabitant, attention craving Kanye West who resides in a multi-floor modern a few curves down the street.

We also recall the angular residence had a driveway far to small to turn a car around–although one just wide enough for someone to back out a gleaming, white Rolls Royce Phantom, that most of the glass walls slid open making for a truly seamless integration of the interior spaces with the exterior terraces, patios, swimming pool and spa and that the master bedroom, despite its lack of an actual door for privacy, is a Sybarite's paradise with huge views, a fireplace for romantical evenings, plenty of storage for an entire wardrobe of his SPIRITED line of ladees duds, a large bathroom and several private terraces including one tucked up behind the house that connects to the outdoor dining room located off one end of the living room.

Anyhoo, thanks to Emily Emailer and confirmed with property records, Your Mama can tell you that Miss Duke finally sold the house in early December 2009 for–drum roll please–$5,300,000. Now chickens, five and some million bucks is a lot of damn dollars but a few flicks of the well worn beads on our bejeweled abacus reveals that it's also just 64% of the original asking price. We're certain Miss Duke and all his accountants and real estate people are thrilled the house sold, but surely it stings just a little to get so much less than was desired.

A Low Key New Year's Eve

Every year, about a million people crowd Times Square to watch the ball drop at midnight on New Year's Eve. And yes, I said a million. I looked it up. As you can imagine, that creates a bit of chaos in the city even beyond all the street closings. That's why my friends and I usually prefer to celebrate at someone's apartment for either drinks or a dinner party. If you plan on doing the same, here are a few ideas and images to help inspire you! Happy New Year!

When you think of New Year's celebrations, usually silver comes to mind but I think gold is a lovely alternative. It has a warmer feeling and the table designed by Carolyne Roehm above and top has a beautiful mix of colors that adds to that warmness. I found a set of gold rimmed wine and champagne glasses at Housing Works last year that would be perfect for this type of table.

Martha Stewart decorated this mantle with a collection of clocks to remind everyone of the passing of time. If you don't have enough to display this year, you can always plan for next year!

I feel in love with this image last year when I saw it on Style Court. What a beautiful way to greet your guests for the evening.

And don't fret if you don't have a set of matching champagne glasses. As you can see here, a tray full of mismatched glasses can be just a beautiful as a perfectly matched set.

This chic table belongs to one of the designers who works for Sarah Richardson and was seen in Canadian House & Home. The silver setting and pale blue chairs whisper winter and couldn't be more beautiful.

For those who prefer darker colors, this table from Ralph Lauren Home mixes gold, silver and black that would be perfect for a more masculine setting.

This table also doesn't worry about matching china or flatware and as you can see, there are actually two tables. A few smaller tables sometimes with less people make for a better party than one big long table. For fun, you can have people change seats between courses.

There is a simple elegance to this table setting that I absolutely love! It would also be perfect for a New Year's Day breakfast!

I think this table was intended for Christmas but would also work for New Year's Eve. If you are hosting a celebration, you can definitely leave up your Christmas tree but I would change out some of the other decorations around the house to reflect the party theme.

This table is set for a birthday celebration but could also inspire a beautiful New Year's Eve table and especially one in a warmer climate. I also think presents at each place setting is fun and they could be filled with inexpensive gifts or fun fortunes for the New Year!

I hope no matter where you are or what you do for New Year's Eve that you have a wonderful evening and don't forget to take a taxi or appoint a designated driver!

Closet Craft Room - Craft Organization Inspiration and Linky Party

diyideas.com

I just told you about my closet craft room project, so now I'll share some of the inspiration photos with you that I've found. Some of them will inspire my makeover and I'm hoping, whether you have a dedicated craft space or not, this may give you some ideas for storing/organizing your craft supplies too.

diyideas.com

The next two ideas are from BHG.com's 7 Clever Storage Closets

Brooklyn Limestone

Coastal Living Photo Jean Allsopp

houseandhome.com

Look at this clever solution from Martha Stewart's site. A craft "armoire" made out of two bookcases joined together. Find out how to make it HERE.

Another great solution from BHG.com

myhomeideas.com

The three ideas below are just a few that you'll find at BHG.com's Ultimate Craft Organization Solutions

A craft cart...
A craft cupboard...

A craft suitcase...

Do you have a dedicated craft space in your home or some clever ideas for storing your craft supplies? Link them up and inspire us!

What to do:
1. When entering your link into MckLinky, LINK TO YOUR POST, not to your blog or I will have to delete the link and I don't like to do that.
2. Please be nice and LINK BACK TO THIS POST so that others can enjoy the inspiration as well.

Looking forward to seeing your ideas! Have a great day...