NestKeeping: Monthly Recap for November (and three giveaway winners)~

Happy last day of November everybody!  I can't believe how quickly this year zoomed by!  Only 25 more shopping days until Christmas (don't remind me)!

November was a fun month here at The Shabby Nest!  It started off with my announcement that The Shabby Nest won Best Decorating Blog in the first annual Country Living Blue Ribbon Blogger awards!  If you missed it, you can read all about that and my trip to New York for the awards ceremony here.

Via CountryLiving.com

Then I was really excited when I saw my face staring back at me from the pages of  Country Living magazine!!  (Now I can cross that off my bucket list - LOL!) You can read more about that here.

Another big event in November was my Living Room reveal!!  You can read all about that here.

I shared with you all how I went about creating my Living Room accent wall (seen behind the sofa in the photo above) here.

And I told you about my fun FLOR area rug here.

Of course, what would a month on The Shabby Nest be without some tutorials??  This month I shared a couple of fun wall art ideas with you. 

First was my Wallpaper Sample Art tutorial.  You can read about that here.

And then I shared my Reindeer Silhouette Wall Art.  You can read about that here.

And don't forget about Frugal Friday!  Tons of great Frugal Inspiration linking up from around blogland each week.  If you missed any of the amazing links during the  month of November you can find them here, here, here and here.

December is shaping up to be another amazing month!!  We are busy painting the remaining two bedrooms in the house, and I'm hoping to give myself the gift of finishing up the Princess' room this month....and getting the master well on its way.  And, of course, what would December be without Christmas decorations??  Can't wait to share those!! Hope you'll all join me for a Holly Jolly December here at The Shabby Nest!! My readers rock!!

Finally, the winners of the Elmer's Glue gift pack giveaway are Janet  and Heidi at Decor & More! 

And the winner of the GiGi's Petals gift card giveaway is Pam Ballard!

Congratulations ladies!! Please contact me so we can set you up with your prizes!

Have a great day~

NestKeeping: August Monthly Recap AND The Hometalk Giveaway Winner~

August was a busy month around here.  We spent it getting a little more settled into our new house, and getting the kiddos ready for and off to their first day of school.  But I did manage to get a few posts up which I think are worth sharing again (just in case you missed them the first time!)

In Painting 101, the Hubby shared some of his tried and true tips to prep your walls for a flawless paint finish. Seriously, when it comes to painting, the man knows his stuff.

I shared some great tips for renters (and homeowners) on how to make a space your own in my DIY Renter's Repairs and Tips post.

You won't want to miss the FABULOUS smores recipe I shared for National Smores Day.

And check out the room I came up with using this pretty outfit as inspiration in this month's installment of If This Room Were an Outfit.

Finally, if you missed any of the great Frugal Friday Link Parties (serious inspiration here folks) you can find them here, here, here and here.

And last but not least, the winner of the Hometalk giveaway for a $100 Pottery Barn giftcard is...
Something Nice and Pretty!!  Congratulations!  Drop me an email and we'll get you set up with your prize!

Have a lovely day~

Nestkeeping: Monthly Recap~

Hello Everyone! 

Welcome to my monthly recap for July!  When I was going back through last month's posts to find my favorites so I could share them with you, it was obvious to me that I moved.  Not as much fun, inspirational-type stuff as there usually is on the old blog.  But I was buried in boxes, so that's to be expected, right? Right?

That said, there were a few posts that I thought were worth sharing with you again...

First, I talked about how each home has its own distinct personality and how the decor that works in one home won't necessarily work in another.  If you pay attention to your home, it will "tell" you all about itself...it's a little thing I like to call "House Speak".  Read the whole post here.

Next, I came up with a fun new feature that I hope to continue sharing with you on a monthly basis.  I call it "If This Outfit Were a Room".  I take fashion inspiration and use it to create a mood board for a room.  Check it out here.

Finally, I shared a quick way to create a lovely floral arrangement.  You can learn about it here.

So August is here.  I have a very long to-do list for our new place.  I am so excited about all the projects we're going to tackle around here...I can't wait to start sharing!  Hope you are looking forward to them too! ;-)

NestKeeping: Monthly Recap for June

Hi Everyone!  I know I mentioned that I might not be online today, but Boy 1 and I made a deal that he could get his birthday present first thing in the morning.  (Happy Birthday to my big 11-year-old - how did you grow up so fast?)   He'd been asking for Lego Star Wars 3 for Wii for about two months, and was absolutely sure he was going to get it.  (Of course he did...I couldn't have lived with his disappointment.)  So first thing this morning, we sang "Happy Birthday" to him and he opened his present...and now all the kiddos are surrounding the TV happily checking out the new game.

So with the moment of peace and quiet, I decided to hurry and post June's Monthly Recap.  And all I can say about my posts for the month of June is that you can certainly tell I was getting ready to move. Ha!!    ;-)

Since I was moving I started out the month with a practical post on Tips to Keep You Sane While Moving. 

source

Then my posts became mostly about inspiration...after all, moving to a new house is a decorating adventure, and we all need inspiration when we start a new space, right?

I shared a great post on a fabulous site for Color Inspiration.

DesignSeeds.com

And I shared some lovely Girl's Bedroom Inspiration.

Restoration Hardware Kids

Because you're likely to want to throw a party when you're done moving into a new place, I also shared some chic not cheesy Luau Inspiration.

TomKat Studios

And because I was sharing inspiration, I thought you all might like this Traditional Living Room Mood Board that I did for a client.

Finally, when you're ready to take a break from it all, you might be interested in reading a good book.  Here's  a review I shared on Killer Stuff and Tons of Money.  (It's about Flea Markets and  Antiques...really interesting!)

Hope you enjoy catching up on any of these posts you may have missed in June!  I'm off to finish last minute preparations for Boy 1's 11-year-old extravaganza!!

Have a great day~

NestKeeping: Monthly Recap~

Hello out there in blogland.  I'm so glad you could join me today, because today I am starting a new feature here at The Shabby Nest.  I'm calling it NestKeeping, and basically it is going to be a recap of  my blog posts from the past month that I think had the best ideas, were the most informative, or offered the best inspiration.

I'm hoping that by featuring these links all together in one post at the end of each month, you, my dear readers, will  have a go-to resource for the best of The Shabby Nest!  (That's what I'm hoping, anyway!)

So without further ado,  here is my Monthly Recap for May...

Idea-filled posts to get you ready for summer-

An Easy Summer Centerpiece:  These candle-filled mason jars are so simple and pretty, you'll see why I love them so much.

Cowboy Caviar: A favorite summer recipe that you'll want to make again and again.

My Beachy Summer Mantel:  Putting those Easy Summer Centerpieces to work as focal points in my summer mantel decor.

Informative posts to help you get organized (and make some great art.) -

Since we are getting ready to move, I've been decluttering.  And this month I shared some of my best decluttering tips .

I also shared the way I keep my blog organized and running smoothly with my Blog Notebook.

Want to make a sentimental piece of art that is also chic and stylish?  Try Personalized Subway Art.  This month I offered a tutorial on how to create your own.

Finally, some fabulous decorating inspiration:

In our new place, our boys are going to be sharing a room...I'd love to have a bunkroom for them.  Here are some fabulous bunkrooms I've been looking at for inspiration.



Via BHG

 And while I'm on the subject of boys' rooms, here are some more inspiring boys' rooms.

Via Restoration Hardware Baby and Kids

Have a great day~