{ our merry christmas }

Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. 

Matthew 2:10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.

Luke 2:12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger. 

Isaiah 9:6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 

Zechariah 9:9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. 

Acts 5:31 Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.

Philippians 2:8-10 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth. 

Matthew 1:21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. 

Matthew 1:23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). 

Luke 1:30-31 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 

Luke 2:15-16 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. 

Luke 2:10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.

Luke 2:11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

{ merry christmas! }

{ sneak peak: the quinn family }

Happiness depends upon ourselves. 

-Aristotle

{ some of my favorite things }

Like Oprah? Well sort of. Just on a Dana size budget. Lately I've been asked a lot about products I use, especially for my hair, so I thought it would be helpful to share and document this for everyone. Even if you don't have curly hair, a lot of these products are versatile. I like to wear my hair straight too. I don't discriminate.

There are two hair products that I love. The first one, Curl Construct Mousse by Garnier Fructis, is wonderful for curly hair. It's a great product that doesn't leave your hair feeling crunchy but still holds the curl.

The second product is fabulous. It's called 10 or It's a Ten, miracle leave in product. This product is great for any type of hair and style. They say it's great for ten different uses. I use it as a finishing product when I wear my hair curly, or while it's wet when I'm drying it straight and then spray it in while I flat iron it. You can find it at the Wal-mart salon. You heard me. Still doesn't mean it's cheap ;)

                      

Next is not a hair product, but it's literally something I can't live without. I mean it. I ran out of this product recently this year, naively switched to another product (that's a word, right?), and my face just fell apart. I broke out, it was dry, it cried. No, I think that was me. It may be because I've used this product for so long, but whatever the reason, my face just doesn't like life without this product. It's called Sea Silk Moisturizer. And it's wonderful. Oil-free. Smells good. Leaves your skin feeling great. So if you're looking for a good face moisturizer, your look is over. I'm just sayin'.

My other favorite product is actually a whole line of products and it's the Glo Minerals line of makeup. This makeup is fantastic and Glo Minerals makes makeup as well as other beauty products made from all natural products. I only use this line for my makeup. They have everything you need as well as some pretty sparkly things out for the holidays. 

FYI none of these companies know who I am so they definitely didn't pay me to endorse any of these products. Thank you and goodnight. 

{ my holiday home }

I'm not a huge decorator for the holidays. I like to keep it simple and natural and honestly I'd rather spend my money on other things. It does help that the hubby works at a local home improvement store. I like to go and get free garland and chunks of christmas tree trunks :) Say that 10 times fast. Christmas just isn't about the stuff or the gifts for us so we don't like to stress and fuss over it. I have enough decor that doesn't take me more than 2 hours to put up and bam, I'm done. As long as I have the smell of Christmas trees I am just fine. If I wouldn't get strange looks, I would leave that scented plugin in all year long. I love it so. I would love to see pictures of how you decorate for the holidays! Feel free to leave a link to some pictures on this post.

Merry Christmas!

{ inspiration monday: 12.19.11 }

{ inspiration monday 12.12.11 }

{ shopping guide from Deanne's in-home session }

This is my favorite part! Getting to know the inside information of where the best of the best get their special pieces. It took just as long to write down all the information as it did to do the shoot. But you'll be amazed at all the different places you can find cool things. The sad part is so many of them are antiques and one-of-a-kind pieces. But the good part is everything else is completely accessible and affordable!

I found the chandelier in my mom's attic. It was originally brass but I painted it black and bought the burlap shades from Pottery Barn.

These blue coral prints are from Marshall's.

1. I found this chandelier at a yard sale and spray painted it black.

2. The dining room table was given to me by my mother and I recovered the cushions with fabric to coordinate with the living room. 

3. The glass jars along with the fillers were found at Home Goods.

1. The mirror is from Old Time Pottery

2. The jars came from Brent's grandfather's store but you can find these at almost any antique store now!

3. This piece came from Brent's grandfather's store also

The Labriola's Antiques sign was the street sign from Brent's grandfather's antique store that was on Oleander in Wilmington. This is where a lot of our antiques are from.

1. I found the lettuce plates at Ross

2. I painted this old frame white and put chicken wire on the back, then hung old postcards from Brent's grandfather's store with clothes pins. 

3. The basket is from Home Goods

1. The hand soap is from Williams Sonoma and the antique jewelry box is from an antique store
2. I found this fabric at Fabric Solutions on Market St and wrapped canvas to create these hangings
3. The candle is from Target

1. The headboard came from Brent's grandfather's store 

2. The bedding came from Kohl's

1. The blue clock is from Brent's family

2. The mercury lamp is from Marshall's

3. This is a pie safe I found that I spray painted white and distressed

1. My mom and I made some of the pillows with fabric from Discount Fabrics Unlimited in Wilmington. Other pillows came from Stein Mart and Home Goods

2. I found the rug on Craigslist

3. The coffee table was given to me by my mentor

4. The mercury glass pumpkins are from Pottery Barn

1. The lamp is from Pottery Barn

2. The chairs are from Ross. The pillow fabric is from Discount Fabrics Unlimited and matches the dining room chairs

3. I found this blue cabinet at the Ivey Cottage

1. The armoir is from Brent's grandfather's shop. I added the fabric to the inside of the door.

2. The fan was given to us by Brent's dad. The camera was given to me by my mom.

3. Assorted frames from T.J. Maxx and Home Goods

4. The brown suede shoes were my grandmother's.

1. The pasta jar is from Bed, Bath, and Beyond

2. Salt and pepper shakers from Lure, downtown Wilmington

1. The little green bird is from the Shops at Seagate on Oleander in Wilmington

2. The plates are from the Ivey Cottage

3. I made the wreath out of coffee filters

4. The lamp is from Pottery Barn

5. Frames are from T.J. Maxx and Home Goods

1. The lamp is from Lowe's

2. The chair is also from the Ivey Cottage

3. The little necklace holder is from Home Goods

4. This table is an old metal typing table that I found at a thrift store

1. The bird pictures are from Bed, Bath, and Beyond and the mirror is from Target.

2. The bedding is from Walmart.

I found this old frame and Brent inserted the mesh on the back and hung it for a jewelry holder.

My dress is from Old Navy, the belt is from Target, and the necklace is from T.J. Maxx.

Here, the potting table came from the Ivey Cottage. My skirt is from Hallelu, my jackets is from Old Navy, my shirt is from Target and the turquoise jewelry is from Dillards. 

You can find these initial mugs at Old Time Pottery. 

My outfit here is all from Old Navy. The boots are from Nine West and I was also wearing feather earrings from Edge of Urge.

The door mat is from New River Pottery on Market St and the lanterns are from Home Goods.

Happy Friday and happy shopping!

{ deanne's fabulous in-home session. wilmington, nc }

Deanne, a.k.a hair stylist to anyone who's anyone, and stylist extraordinaire, and her hubby just moved into their first house and I couldn't wait to see how she was going to decorate it! I knew it was going to be amazing. And right I was. As soon as I stepped in I knew I wanted to shoot it. Shoot it. Is that weird for that be the first thought that came to my mind? Well it was...... So we picked a sunny Saturday afternoon and played away. Mostly me in her closet, but that's a whole other post. I loved the way she mixed old with the new, eclectic with traditional. I was shocked at where she found some of her "finds" and I can't wait to share them with you! She was gracious enough to divulge all her secrets, so stay tuned for a later post for the ultimate "shopping guide". Clothes included.

 

Stay tuned. Shopping guide to come!