Everything's coming up roses... Again!

Heya Nesters! Happy New Year! I wanted to leave you off this new year on a sweet, soft note.  My dad stayed the night on Tuesday as our pseudo Christmas. As you may have seen on my Tweets but he gave me a Droid X to foster my blogging habit. {It has also insighted an Angry Birds habit.  Damn those pigs!} But while out at the fabulous local gourmet grocer Russo's, he also picked me up some gorgeous roses. 

 

Fish Eddy: Wine-o

Heya Nesters!  Today, I wanted to share with you the really cool Italian wine glasses that Joe and Molly gave me for Christmas.  Living in NYC, they have real-life access to stores that most of us can only peruse online.  One of those stores {Besides ABC} is Fish Eddy.  They have SUCH cool and unique stuff.

via Poppytalk

I think I have a problem....

I'm totally and utterly addicted to lamps.  It's got to be a disease right? Lampitis? Viral Lampolisys? I used to see a shirt, then dream about it for days until I finally hauled back to the store and got it.  Well nowadays, I've been following the same pattern, but with lamps.  You remember the No. 5 Target lamp I was stalking a while back, right? 

Christmas is the time to say I love you!

Good Morning Nesters!  As we all know, the holidays are the time to share with our loved ones and show them how much we care.  And hot-diggity-dawg I am hooked on my boyfriend, Matt, of which you've all heard.  Schmultzy isn't it?  I know. It's terribly cheesy but it's true. He's got me hook, line and sinker. And I like to think, he feels the same. But around the holidays I felt the need to express it more than the every-day.

We look freezing here because, well, we are.  We went to Zoolights at the Stone Zoo in Stoneham, MA to embrace our inner children and ended up dodging the millions of other peoples outer children that were apparently on the attack.  All the while freezing our little hienies off.  But it was worth it for the lights.

DIY Project: Advent Calendar & Cans for Comments Update!

Welcome back from the holidays, Nesters! I hope Santa was good to you and that no of the family members were strangled after a wee too much egg nog. With Christmas over and done with, as promised, I am going to embark upon showing you a plethora of DIYs.  Here is number uno.  

Felt Advent Calendar

Merry Christmas from Temporary Nest!

I just wanted to take a moment on this Christmas Eve to thank each and every one of you for your readership and kind words.  Your constant source of of inspiration and motivation keep me doing projects and writing this blog every day. So without further adieu: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!

But that's not all!! I have eye candy for you all.  But this time, it's pretty and its actually candy...

The Peanuts Gang!

Ok well maybe not peanuts exactly... maybe more just nuts in general.  Does anyone else have trouble getting presents for their grandparents around the holidays?  I am lucky enough to have 2 of my grandparents alive and kickin' at 85! WOO! But they are impossible to shop for.  They have every single thing they would ever need.  EVER.  So just as a little token, every year I've gotten them each a bag of Lindt Chocolate.

But this year, that's a big no-no.

Fa la la la la -Remix!

Heya Nesters!  I started gathering my goodies for Christmas before Thanksgiving and first showed you this vignette.

But I got a nice little {on clearance} addition at Target over the weekend! YAY!

The Pre-House Guest Dance!

Heya Nesters!  We are quickly encroaching D-Day Christmas day and 'tis the season of house guests.   Which translates to: AWWW FREAK OUT!  

Joe and Molly are coming to stay for Christmas and I've started my prepping.  In the meantime, I've made a list of how to get yourself prepped for your visitors.  Let's boogie....

Baking Bonanza: Attack of the Gingerbread!

Heya Nesters!  Welcome back to Monday! I believe we are officially so close to Christmas now we can taste the egg nog.  Speaking of tasting things, I decided to have another baking bonanza last week.  {Get ready to ingest some calories via osmosis.}  After slugging down my fair share of Dunkin Donuts gingerbread coffee I started thinking about making the real-deal.  Cookies, that is. 

The CSN Giveaway Winner is....

Courtney :)

Who would get the Teamson Kids Safari Animal Stool with Giraffe Coat Rack.

How cutie is that!? Great choice!

Congratulations Courtney!  I'll be shooting you an email shortly to give you your gift! I hope you and the kiddo's enjoy your new stool and coat rack! 

HAPPY HOLIDAYS NESTERS!

Babys' First Giveaway!

Heya Nesters! Happy Friday!! It is getting closer and closer to Christmas and boy oh boy has the gift idea barrel been scraped  clean this year.  My wonderful boyfriend is the hardest person to shop for ever.  He loves electronics {electronics I cannot afford to gift to him} and his parents got him a Netbook last Christmas.  I thought, "Since I can't afford an arcade cabinet, what better present for this Christmas than a really nice leather laptop messenger bag?!" He has an old canvas bag from college and it doesn't have much padding to protect the computer.  So I was checking out the bags over at Luggage.com and they have SO MANY to choose from it's insane.  After weeding through the hundreds of bags {leather and other}, I fell in love with this Kenneth Cole one. 

DIY Project: Girlie Bookshelf

Heya Nesters!  Well I have to admit, I kind of forgot to post about this DIY.   It's not entirely done but I thought it was dramatically different enough to show you the "during" portion. A while back {so far back that they were taken in the old apartment!!} I introduced you to this bookcase that my dad and I made when I was a kiddo. It hold sentimental value and I am a total sap so there was no way I could get rid of it. But at the time I made it I LOVED pink, flowers and Hanson. {I know... I not only dated myself but I made myself "that girl"}

Stalking... Um Stocking...

Heya Nesters!  I don't know that I've ever impressed upon you guys how desperately I want a mantel. I'm talking I have dreams about having a mantel to adorn. It's sick.  I peruse Craigslist constantly looking for a free one that I could somehow jerry rig into my apartment. {Where would I put it? I have no idea but I would sleep on the floor if that's what it took.} And that fanatical obsession desire has only grown stronger with the holiday season and the introduction of stockings to my life again.

I wish this was my house.... but nope... its not...

Lonny Love

Exciting news Nesters!  The newest issue of Lonny has been up for a couple days now. I've been perusing it slowly but surely and can I tell you how inspiring it is?  Oh please let me show you...

Christmas Spectacular!

Heya Nesters!  One day down and only 11 to go until D-Day Christmas.   I have a smidge less time before I need to be complete considering one of the bigger surprises is for my brother and sister-in-law and they're going to be crashing here. I can't exactly relegate them to the bedroom while I wrap up my present making. So for me, its only 10 days. {Holy Crap-ola.}  What's more appalling than the lack of time, is the bomb of sewing-guts that went off in my living room. I can't wait to show you pictures once Christmas is over.  Horrendous is the only word that comes to mind.....

Via HGTV

Yeah... imagine the exact opposite of that.  Mmmkay?

Wrap 'n' Roll

Heya Nesters! We're back here on Monday morning. The weekends are passing by much too fast. Did you realize we are a mind blowing 12 days until Christmas. Can you believe it?? I know. My head is spinning.  I am almost fully wrapped {Of course, with the exception of a couple of items that are currently being shipped thanks to the wonders of the interwebs.} but it got me thinking about my choices of gift wrap.  I always try to pick ones that are multi-functional but they also end up being super girlie..... Oops! 

 

Can- Do Attitude

Heya Nesters!  I have been MIA lately. I fully admit it and I am so sorry.  Christmas time is demanding as usual, and with my efforts to make presents I have been a smidge overwhelmed.  But what would the holidays be without being overwhelmed, right? So I'm a little late on the uptake but I'm going to participate in Cans for Comments!! For the remainder of the month of December, for each and every comment I receive and for all the comments I've already received this month, I will donate one canned good to the Salvation Army's local food shelter.   That means so far we've got five cans!  I promise next year I will start on Decemeber 1st!  We all need a little pick-me-up sometimes, especially around the holidays and in these economic times.

So please, leave some comments and lets fill a grocery bag!!  {A reusable one of course!}  

A special thanks to Holyoke Home and Moon Walk for the nudge in the right direction of helping out a great cause during the holidays.

Shopping overload

I really have overdone it this year when it comes to gifts. I mean, don't I look like I'm drowning gifts here in my lounge? ... HA! No but really, I have gotten some really amazing deals this year which has caused the disease of "Well, if this was so cheap I guess I can pick up that too!" Don't you hate that? 

Ribbon Redo

Heya Nesters!  The other day I showed you my canvas present hanging on my wall. 

And while I was happy at first with my free Christmas decor... it quickly faded. 

O Christmas Tree O Christmas Tree...

Heya Nesters!  And we're back here on a Monday morning and we're T-Minus 19 days until Christmas.  Holy moly.... saying that out loud typing that makes me cringe a little just knowing how much I am supposed to get done in the next 3ish weeks.  But yesterday, Matt and I ticked one box off the checklist. 

Decorate Tree...

CHECK!!

If I Had a Million Dollars: Teenie Weenie Bubbles

Heya Nesters! Back to our weekly retreat to LaLaLand where we imagine all the things that could be if we has checkbooks that balanced out to look like Bill Gates.  Or I guess I would even take Jay Z.  If I already gave myself an awesome master bath I can't forget our visitors and give them a mini guest bath or two. 

The Gallery Grows

Heya Nesters! One of my favorite gifts I get for my birthday and Christmas are prints of my fathers vast portfolio of photographs from the late 60's and early 70's.  He has such amazing works and when I had my quick stint with art photography in college, his were my biggest inspiration.

{Image of the Triboro Bridge courtesy of my Daddio}

Christmas Magic

Before the ice is in the pools,
Before the skaters go,
Or any cheek at nightfall
Is tarnished by the snow,
Before the fields have finished,
Before the Christmas tree,
Wonder upon wonder
Will arrive to me!

- Emily Dickinson