Birch + Bird Vintage Home Interiors

Oh my, it’s the last weekend before Christmas! So much to do but so little time, right? We’ll be spending Saturday evening with Rachel and her family, then we have a photo shoot with Jayme Lang and my extended family on Sunday morning followed by our 4th annual progressive dinner with 2 other couples and our combined families later that night. Busy days ahead! At least it’s all fun and games on the horizon now that our home improvement projects are behind us…for now! I’ll be sure to share a couple glimpses of my space next week but here are a few simply festive interiors to get you through the weekend…

Canadian House & Home

Chateau de Konstanse via NIB

Krista Keltanen Photography

La Maison d’Anna G.

Katie’s Pencil Box

Style At Home

Beeld Steil

Janis Nicolay

How are you feeling in the midst of all of the festivities, gatherings and down-to-the-wire shopping? Organized? Frazzled? Spiking your hot cocoa to get through the day?  I’m feeling pretty on top of things and am so happy that the kids are finished school today so we can spend some quality time at home baking and making Christmas gifts for family and friends. That’s what Christmas is really all about anyway, right? Have a wonderful weekend!

Today I have a funny story for you.  Yesterday, we had a showing scheduled for our house at 8:30am.  It was kind of early but doable.  My husband and I have coffee together after the girls are off to school during this time but loved the excuse to go pick up a Starbucks.  The thing is somewhere between bedtime and 8:30am, my alarm was somehow turned off.  It must have been my jet lagged subconscious begging for more sleep.  Thankfully, our realtor shouted out a hello before showing the prospective buyers through our house.  We were all sound asleep and snoring.  We scrambled to get all four us dressed and out the door in 10 minutes flat.  Slightly embarrassing but very funny.  I guess we made an impression because that same couple came back with an offer in the evening.  After going back and forth for a couple hours, we have accepted their offer and now we just wait for the subjects to be removed.  Our Christmas is bitter sweet this year and I’m so glad that I put up a proper tree for our last Christmas in our first home.  I was tempted to go with an alternative to make things easier  but decided I didn’t want to break any traditions just yet especially for the girls.  There is a time and place for alternative Christmas trees.  If you’ve found your home without a tree for whatever reason, here are several options to bring in that festive cheer even in the last 10 days!

 Emmas Designblog

 Apartment Therapy

 Lotta Agaton

 all the luck in the world

 featherglass

 Apartment Therapy

 Sania Pell via Decor8

 Walther & Co

 Walther & Co

If all the t’s were crossed and the i’s dotted, we’ll be in Florida by February.  I can’t even wrap my head around that today.  I just need to take things one step at a time.

Well, as predicted, I bit off a wee bit more than I could chew when I started painting my dining table yesterday! With the last month being full of home renos and Fieldstone Vintage Market (not to mention family life and daily chores!) I’m feeling like I’ll be very happy not to take on any more big projects until well into the New Year. Not that I’m complaining…I’m loving how our house has come together in a few short weeks…but I am definitely ready to put my feet up and enjoy some holiday good cheer!

I hauled out our faux evergreen garland last week to decorate our mantle with but quickly put it right back into it’s Christmas box. Next to our beautiful fresh cut tree, the fake stuff just wasn’t cutting it. So, I took my scissors out to our cedar hedging and snipped off enough of fresh greenery to fill our mantle and I am absolutely loving the scent that hits me every time I walk in the door! Here are a few other great examples of how to use fresh greens in your holiday decor…

Frolic

Canadian House & Home

Mia Linnman

Sweet Paul

I also snipped some sprigs of lavender and rosemary that were still green-as-could-be in my garden and put them in jars around my house. There’s nothing like the smell of fresh herbs and they’re perfect scents for the kitchen and bathroom. I love the idea of using small sprigs on cards and gifts too, don’t they look sweet? Boxwood is another perfect evergreen to clip year ’round…

Project Wedding via Babble

House to Home

Better Homes & Gardens

Canadian House & Home

Fresh clippings can be used anywhere in your home, inside and out, over Christmas and throughout the entire year. You’ll be surprised by how many plants from your own backyard and garden look great when displayed in vases or jars and many, like Boxwood, will last far longer than cut flowers will. And they’re free!

We’re back from our “house hunting” trip in Florida, Seminole County to be exact!  With a good balance of relaxation and work, it was a lot less stressful than I had imagined.  We put many miles on our rental car, setting up back accounts, researching cell phone providers, checking out schools and getting to know our “relocation specialist”.  We drove around several neighbourhoods to check out our real estate favourites.  We aren’t in the market to buy right now as our house hasn’t sold yet but it gave us a good idea of where we’d like to end up once we’re settled.  In the meantime, we’ve found a comfortable townhouse that we’ll call home for the next 7 months.  My husband will go first and we’ll join him once the house sells… hopefully sooner than later.  There are a few things that I love already about Florida, the people are super friendly, the weather is lovely and the shopping is out of this world.  All the shops I drool over online are all in one place.  Anthropologie, Urban Outfitters, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, Williams-Sonoma, Z Gallerie, Crate and Barrel, Ikea, and so many more, not to mention all the fabulous clothing retailers.

 capiz pendant

I made my husband make a U-turn when I saw West Elm.  I slowly browsed the store while he haggled with another cell phone provider next door.  I’ve never been to a West Elm and it was even better in person.  I couldn’t help but start compiling a personal wish list.  It’s great to find lovely things for the home that have that handmade feel and are reasonably priced.  I did have a few moments where I thought to myself “Phht…I could make that!”  But with half the chocolates eaten from the advent calendar, I’ll leave crafting to the professionals.

 felt ball wreath

 yarn wrapped ornament

 modern nutcracker

 felt tree skirt

I checked only one gift off my list at West Elm and I wish I had more room in my suitcase but by that time it was already filled to capacity.  There might still be time to order online or even better, wait for the Boxing Day sales and stock up for next Christmas.

 stacked apothecary jars

 1.  measuring cups  2.  measuring spoons

 throw

 owl table lamp

I’m actually doing fairly well with my Christmas shopping this year, I think.  I’ve done a little shopping in person and a little more online.  How about you?

Here we are again, it’s Monday already! How was your weekend? Mine was a good mix of mellow and productive, although it wasn’t the weekend that I expected it to be. My husband had to work all weekend, which threw a little glitch into my original plans of getting together with some of our Canadian Design & Lifestyle Bloggers West friends on Saturday at the home of Darryl and Jodi Bueckert. I was very sad to miss out on the fun but I did go to my son’s soccer game and have a fish ‘n chips date with my Baba (my Croatian Grandma) and the kids instead, which both felt like wonderful ways to spend the day. I had also really hoped to get out to the One of a Kind Show Vancouver but the same childcare dilemma made me think it was a wiser choice to stick close to home rather than trek my brood of three to the city and back. While I would have loved to attend both events, I must admit it felt good to be home for a weekend and to get some projects finished up. Brad got our new light fixtures up the other night and also hung an awesome vintage chalkboard map, found for us by Colleen‘s amazing husband Bob…yay Bob!….that I can’t wait to show you! I’ll post a couple of photos once I add the last finishing touches to our Christmas decorating in the next couple of days. I also have high hopes to finally repaint our dining table, although that might be pushing it with the festivities ahead! It’s the last week of school before the Christmas break and I am really looking forward to sleeping in a little bit and doing some baking and holiday crafts with the kids before all of the busyness with extended families sets in.

Have you made a big dent in your Christmas shopping yet? I have but I still have a few key gifts that I’m on the hunt for. I had a bit of time to browse some of my favourite Etsy shops last night and thought I’d share a few trinkets and treasures that caught my eye…

Pigeon Toe Ceramics

1. Banquet 2. A 1000 Kisses 3. Dreaming Tree Farm 4. The Vintage Supply Co.

Lemon Citrus

1.Prunella Soap 2. Puffed Peonies

Kin Ship Press

1. One Canoe Two 2. Sparrow’s Nest Script 3. Mary Kate McDevitt 4. Bella Creationz

Yellow Heart Art

1. RaceyTay 2. Urban Walls 3. Ginger Creative 4. Maya Jade Creations

Recognize any of the lovely goods below? They belong to a few of our Fieldstone vendors, who also just happen to be on Etsy too and they’re local if you’re living in the Lower Mainland! Shipping from the US always seems to take longer than expected, especially at this time of year, so a great tip is to use the Shop Local tool on to discover local handmade and vintage sellers in your area. To save on shipping, it doesn’t hurt to contact the seller (on the mid-right of the listing page) to see if you can pick up the item yourself as many sellers are more than willing to do that for their customers…

Raggy Girl Vintage

1. Pip & Pin 2. Carmen West Creative 3. The Bee’s Knees 4. Urban Harmonie 5. The Orange Circle 6. Type B

Are you feeling relaxed as we count down until Christmas Day or are you starting to feel the panicked frenzy in the stores as the crowds thicken? I’ve spoken with a number of people who are making a conscious effort to simplify their Christmas experience this year and to reel it in to what’s most important. I have definitely been thinking a lot more carefully about each purchase, thinking about the quality and longevity of each gift as well as trying to stay within budget. I’m also doing my best to resist the urge to buy for the sake of great sale prices and to really think about how each person on my list will use and appreciate what I’m giving them. I love getting gifts that have been thoughtfully chosen especially for me, don’t you?