How to Whisk Away the Winter Blues

It is the dead of winter for all of those of us in the western hemisphere. Now that the Christmas season is officially over, the cold weather can sometimes now feel like a drag. If winter has gotten you down, here are some tips to help get you through the rest of the season and hopefully enjoy it as well.

Keep Fresh Flowers in Your House

One thing to greatly help get you through the barren of winter is to have nature around you. There really isn't anything more beautiful in nature than flowers. The sight and smell of these lovely plants are sure to delight your senses and help you escape the lack of live vegetation outside. Keep flowers in at least one room of your house and replace them weekly or biweekly to get full effect. Be sure to rotate your flower choices as well. You don't want Poinsettias after the holidays, even if they can live that long.

Decorate in Light Colors

Christmas decor is the epitome of rich colors. Dark hues of green and red give gorgeous contrast to the white snow on the ground. Once the holiday season is over though, having dark colors around can remind you of the glorious season which has just ended and/or make you feel stuck. Dark hues can also have the power of seasonal depression on some people. Avoid any downtroddeness by minimizing or eliminating dank colors for winter. Stick to brighter and/or paler colors such as yellow, orange, lighter blues and lighter greens. If you are feeling that a grand change is in order, paint one or a few rooms in your homes. If you're looking for a temporary change to trick your mind, change the adornments on your tables and walls and possibly your comforters. This change will make you home uplifting and serve as a refuge from the season.

Eat Summery Foods

Now, I'm not talking about lemonade or popsicles. Obviously, you should steer clear of cold foods. They will only make you the cold even more. To put yourself in more a summer mindset, eat foods like hot dogs, hamburgers and if you're lucky enough to be able to right now, barbecue. Your taste buds will put you in a summery state of mind, at least momentarily. For most people, eating as a splendid pleasure, so use it to help you this winter.

Play Sports Indoors

One thing that people miss most in winter is the ability to go outdoors without the snow inhibiting each thing you do. The snow and cold make is difficult or impossible to play most sports outside. If you're feeling cramped inside your house, go the gym or rec center and join in a league or some pick-up games. There are sure to be other people missing outdoor sports just as you are (if your friends don't want to play). Even in the tiny town where I grew up, there were constantly games of basketball, indoor soccer and baseball during the winter. Get your blood flowing in the games you love and you'll soon forget what season it is.

Go Have Fun Outside

To make the season more bearable, see the good sides of it. Other than the beauty of snow, there are other things that only come once a year. Only in the cold weather of winter can you go skiing/snowboarding, sledding, ice skating, snowmobiling and numerous activities. You will see the brighter side of the season in at least one way if you can enjoy one of these things. You may even come to look forward to it next year.

Now that there is at least one month of winter to go, I hope you can use some of these ideas to cope with the blues and possibly even enjoy the rest of the season. It only comes once a year, whether good or bad.

Christmas Decor: Using Ornaments

Whenever this time of year comes a callin' I begin to get excited. I bust out my boxes of decorations, lights and garland. This year I began sifting through what I've truly been using and what it just simply clutter. Once I organized it all, I made a box for the Goodwill and then looked at what was left over for my home. It wasn't much. I've realized that though I have 3 strings of garland, tree ornaments, a nativity scene, decorative candles, wreaths and lights galore I didn't really have any semblance of order or style to my adornment. So, I went to a few stores searching for any kind of idea. And then it hit me: use ornaments all over to tie it all together! It was like that light bulb just went "ding!" inside my head. So, if you want to use this concept for your home christmas decorations, here are a few great ways to string your ornaments together.

• Of course you'll use them on your tree, so if you're planning on doing an ornament theme all around the home make sure the round ornaments on the tree are in the same color scheme or design as the one's you will be using all over.

• Create a beautiful centerpiece on a table - or anywhere really - with a few pillar candles gathered together on a plate while round varied ornaments, jewelry, and frosty snow surround them.

• I have a tall, thin vase and love to fill it with items for every season. In the the fall or winter I usually place discarded christmas tree branches, fall leaves and pine cones inside. But this year I've decided to use ornaments too! You don't want this to come across too orderly so the it's best to use at least three items (branches, berries, roses etc.) and different sized ornaments to complete the ensemble.

• My parents have a grand staircase and my mother always wraps garland around the railing at Christmas time. The past few years she has hung gorgeous ornaments from the garland with pretty, soft ribbon in varied lengths for depth. She just tied the ribbon to the garland or rail, but you can also attach the ribbon to an ornament hook and hang the hook on the garland. It's always classically beautiful.

• And don't forget about the bannister! This is the place where you want to start off your staircase decor with flair. If you hang a few large pine branches, hooked to the bannister in floral wire and gather several ornaments in varied sizes and colors in front that cascade down towards the floor, you will wow anyone who begins a journey up the fabulous staircase.

• And speaking of ornaments attached to ribbon, there are many other options for this duo that you're home will just love! Just wrap an embellishing ribbon around hanging towels and tie a knot. Then attach an ornament with a piece of wire or ornament hook wrapped around the knot. This looks especially fantastic on the backs of dining room chairs! Better Homes and Gardens suggests draping a pretty towel, large napkin, lovely scarf or any other fabric over the chair and then proceed with the above instructions.

• If you plan on using the dining room chair suggestion, top of the table look with ornament place cards and napkin rings. For the place cards, just adhere a small embellished piece of paper with your guests name on it to the ornament. For the napkin ring, attach an ornament or two to ribbon and tie it around a rolled up napkin.

• Ornaments also look great atop candle sticks. They don't even have to be matching candle sticks as long as they have the same look and style. This idea works great with varied heights. Simply gorgeous!

Pretty Thought of the Day

A pretty ruffled or floral pillow can add interest and depth to an otherwise bland couch.

Falling for Home Decor

Though Fall is amongst us and you may have already decorated your home for this cool season, there still may be a few of you out there who did not have that decorating itch until now. I scratched that itch back in early October but only by displaying my Halloween decor. So, now that Halloween is only a week away and I will want to change the look and feel of my home, I began to scour the internet for classic and simple Fall adornment. Plus, I just think these images are pretty!

I really wish I had a fireplace because they keep you warm, but they are also a focal point in a room which allows you to showcase each seasons decorating trends. I am also a fan of creating a mini pumpkin patch with all sizes of pumpkins, gourds, squashes. The fireplace is the perfect location to exhibit this pumpkin collection! And like shown above, you can make it stand out even more with a bit of lighting and sparkling branches.

Since I've just mentioned branches, I will go into a little more detail about them. Fall is the time when nature begins to dry out and die. Sounds dreary, I know. But it can also make for beautiful vase arrangements. Consider plucking a few long, bare branches from a tree nearby and place them in a gorgeous vase. In order to give an appeal in this arrangement you must have a vase with at least, a bit of interest. But this route may not suite you, so my other suggestion is to find branches with a few sparse small flowers or dead/dying berries in fall colors to gather together for a luscious bouquet.

Candles are warm, inviting, usually smell lovely and their soft glowing light makes you - and your guests - feel cozy and relaxed. You can place candles anywhere in your home this fall, but I love to see candles in interesting centerpieces or grouped together for an alluring scene. You can place then on a table or shelf with fall leaves, branches and dried flowers surrounding it, or use levels. Gather together candles in different heights or place a candle on a tall platter with smaller candles around it.

And who doesn't love filling clear cylinders and bowls with you favorite fall fruits and vegetables? I know I really enjoy seeing them! In the above photo, you see different colored pumpkins, gourds ad squashes, but there are other options to filling your cylinders. Try using fall fruits and vegetables like apples, pears and indian corn. But acorns and sweet gum tree balls give an exceptional fall feel as well.

Handmade Wednesday's: Teacup Candles

Martha Stewart is at it again with these simple, soft, pretty candle options. I am a huge candle fan, but sometimes the containers are boring or the labels stand out too much. I love the idea of making your own candles and using teacups to contain them. So lovely. Just use teacups that have lost their saucers or head out to a thrift store or garage sale to find some "new" ones. These also make excellent gifts!

What You'll Need:

• beeswax or paraffin bricks or old candles
• teacups
• wicks with tabs, sized for your molds
• candle-making or candy thermometer
• wax colorants (crayons work great!)
• wooden skewer
• double boiler or two pots
• (optional) natural essential oil or fragrance oil (might be flammable if not natural)

Preparing Your Wax

1. Place beeswax and/or paraffin bricks in a double boiler or in one pot that is inside another filled with water over the stove. When the wax has reached it's melting point according to a candle-making or candy thermometer, lower the heat and add a hardening agent such as stearic acid (if desired), using three tablespoons of stearic acid per pound of wax.
2. To tint the melting wax, stir in bits of colorant using a wooden spoon. Test the color by dabbing wax with a wooden craft stick on waxed paper or parchment paper. Remove from heat; if using fragrance, add it at this point.

Make Your Candle

1. Cut the wicking to the cup's height plus 2 inches. Fit 1 end with a wick tab; tie the other end around a skewer. Dip the wicking and the tab into melted wax to coat them. Remove and stick the tab to the cup's bottom. The skewer should be sitting across the top of the cup.
2. Pour in the wax, stopping about 1/2 inch below the cup's rim. Allow the wax to set, about 1 hour.
3. Note: If a well develops in the wax while it's hardening, use another skewer to prick a circle of holes about 1/16 inch deep around the wick. Pour in the melted wax until the surface is about 1/4 inch below the rim. Then let it harden completely, at least 1-2 hours.
4. Cut the wick to 1/4 inch before burning.

Add a Cup of Joe to Your Life

Are you a serious coffee lover like me? I am obsessed and in a very bad way, a little addicted. I must have my cup every morning (or two or three) and then perhaps another later in the day. The smells, the tastes, - and yes - even the colors energize me and get my creative "java" flowing! I love all shades of brown and cream. They have this way of turning something rather ordinary, into intriguing as well as soothing. Plus if you use them as a undertone, they will tame brighter and bolder hues that you accent with. So wether it's your blouse, your kitchen table runner or the paint on your walls, these latte color inspirations will invigorate you!

With Fall just around the corner, this Eddie Bauer ensemble makes for a classic, comfy piece. Not only will you be sharing the same colors with you favorite cup of joe, but you will also be cozying up right along with it in this cotton and cashmere blend cardigan. To be honest though, my favorite part of this outfit has got to be the satin blouse. The caramel color and ruffles down the front bring me back to another time. But then of course the belt reminds us we are in the 21st century. If you wanted a hint of color in there as well, try adding a scarf in orange, green or grapefruit.

The color of this chair calms your visual senses, especially when a room is filled with bright colors. But the dark brown wood adds more interest to the piece without drawing too much attention. What i love about this little snippet of a room is how even though there are bold yellows, oranges and even greens, it is still soft and inviting.

Then of course there is picking paint colors for the rooms of your pretty home! Better Homes and Gardens has a few suggestions on coffee shades that will help you paint these beauties in their right place:

Macchiato can be used anywhere, but it is an exceptional background for a wall of art.

Dark Brew reminds us of that string french roast, but matches so handsomely with cream trim or wainscoting.

Milky Foam has such soft yellow hues that pairing it with a muted robin's-egg blue is perfect.

Extra Cream would be surprising in tone-on-tone stripes with the color Artisan White. Guests will adore this one!