Lately.

Hello, my friends. How was your week? Mine wasn’t very relaxing. We are coming up fast on the busiest time of the year, aren’t we? It’s good and exhausting. Here are a few things I’ve been wanting to share with you lately:

I planted paperwhites a few weeks ago, hoping they’d be in bloom for the Historic Homes for the Holidays tour. But these bulbs were overachievers and started blossoming three weeks after they were planted. I’m sure they’ll be spent by tour time, but I am enjoying them nonetheless—although they smell just like lilies, and I’m not a fan of the scent.

I’m thinking about coordinating outfits because we need family photos for our Christmas card (check out my tips for cute envelopes here). I only need one more thing—a turtleneck for my daughter—and we’ll be good to go. I bought a plaid skirt for myself at an estate sale last summer, and it’s perfect for Christmas. I think it cost two bucks or something crazy like that.

Plaid skirt and my own personal photo bomber

I think I’ve finally decided to avoid red for Christmas in the blue living room/dining room in addition to my kitchen. So I’m on a mission to find the richest, loveliest hues of blue and green to bring the festive this year. I’m excited for the challenge! The whole idea was sparked by this image (which does have a touch of red, but you know what I mean):

via

I am on the prowl for gray felt stockings, which apparently exist only in my mind. I will only buy generously sized stockings, and I want ones without any adornment. I’m afraid I’ll be sewing my own this weekend.

Lastly, my sweet grandma turns 90 next month, so I’m putting together a Shutterfly book full of letters from her kids and grandkids. These books are so much fun to lay out, and they make great personalized gifts. You can also build calendars on their site, and they have lots of sales between now and Christmas.

I hope you have a great weekend—the last one before Thanksgiving. How did we get here so quickly?! And then the tour is right after that. Hope to see a lot of you there.