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At The Picket Fence with Vanessa Hunt

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November 24, 2017

Cozy Home Decor Gift Ideas

Hello everyone, and Happy Thanksgiving from redheadcandecorate.com. It’s hard to believe that we are entering the holiday season, but here I am in my fuzzy slippers (as small snow flakes fall from the sky) and straight across the table from me in our family room is our Christmas tree 1/2 decorated 😆 . You see, we decided to put the tree up a bit early this year, and it really has added that “cozy warm” feeling that we all crave when it turns cold outside. I truly believe that is one of the reasons Christmas trees are so enjoyable to have in our home. They add a warm cozy comforting atmosphere that is difficult to achieve otherwise. Now, although I can’t send you my cozy Christmas tree…I can recommend a few simple ideas, tips and products to help bring the cozies into your home. You might also notice that the household items I have chosen below would also make amazing gifts this holiday season.

I know most of you probably enjoy a nice cup of coffee, right? In fact I bet you could go for a cup right now 😆 . Well, I couldn’t help but start out things today with this colorful coffee cup tower that received a lot of attention in our “Colorful Family Room Makeover“. My daughter uses them for soup, too. Can you spot them in the back right corner?

*** Some of the links in this post may contain affiliate links for your convenience. Read full disclosure policy here.

Ceramic Coffee Cup Tower

I admit folks that I have way too many pillows, and I still gravitate towards them when I enter a home decor store. I’m thinking the reason for that is because pillows are usually affordable, but still make a huge statement in the room we use them in, and are so easy to switch out. I fell in love with these large checkered pillow covers and the price is reasonable.

Classic Checker Black & Cream Plaid Pillow 18×18 inch Pillow Covers

(several choices available)

Now, if you are going to have pillows, you just got to have a “throw” near by so you can get cozy right on the spot next to those pillows. This creamy blanket is very pretty, but I also want to let you know that I have found some gorgeous thrifty afghans at the thrift store. FYI, just remember to wash the used afghans twice in very hot water when you bring them home. The dryer should be set on hot, too. Don’t worry…I have done this several times and they always turn out perfect.

Cream Herringbone Throw 50×60 inch Blanket

(several choices available)

Here’s a photo of one of the thrifty afghans I found at the thrift store. Isn’t it just beautiful?

Candles are another way I love to add not only a warm glow, but the scent can be very soothing as well. I found these seasonal aromatherapy pine soy candles that I bet would help a faux Christmas tree smell like the real deal. Bonus…the jar turns into a cute juice glass for later. Remember to always be very careful when burning candles.

Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day Soy Candle Iowa Pine Scent

(many scents to choose from)

Moving on to the bedroom which is probably the coziest, warmest room in the house, right? If not, flannel sheets are the ticket to the comfiest sleep you will ever have. I have a few sets of flannel sheets and I actually use them year round. The more I wash them, the softer they become. Here’s the full tour of our Christmas Bedroom if interested…

Here is cute collection of flannel sheets for pretty much everyone in the family. These sheet sets would make an amazing gift for Christmas. They are worth every single penny because they last a long time.

Flannel Sheets

(several patterns available)

A few years ago I mentioned on my redheadcandecorate.com Facebook page that I couldn’t live without my heated mattress pad. I guess I just assumed everyone knew what they were. Well, it turns out that many folks were very interested and couldn’t believe they existed (these are very different from “electric blankets”). My husband and I have one that has separate controls, so if I want it on, and he doesn’t, then we are still okay. I like to turn my heated mattress pad on about an hour before bed and then I turn it off after my feet warm up. I will tell you I miss it so much when we go to hotels that I actually bring a heating pad with me to warm up the bed in the hotel. I’ve become quite the heated bed queen.

Heated Mattress Pad

Speaking of heating pads…I purchased this exact one for my husband for Father’s Day and he still thanks me over and over for it. He has shoulder pain from bow shooting so this really helps him because it wraps around the shoulders. Ahhhh…what a very useful kind gift they make.

Wrap Around Heating Pad

Now that we are all warm and cozy in bed, the last thing we want to do is hit the cold floor with our toes. This cute faux sheepskin rug is perfect for right next to your bed or vanity sink. I would absolutely love this as a gift. I wonder if my husband is listening?

Faux Sheepskin Ivory Area Rug

(available in many sizes)

Lastly, is one of my all-time-favorite ideas if you have always wanted a fireplace in your home. Electric wood burning fireplaces really give off some wonderful heat, and they are truly so cute when you put them into one of your favorite cozy nooks. I actually just purchased one for our cold family room that has many windows in it. The entire family spends so much more time in there now because they aren’t cold. I will be sharing ours with our Christmas tree this year. I hope you will subscribe here so you don’t miss it.

Electric Fireplace

Join Julie from redheadcandecorate.com and 1319 others in her first ever “DIY Home Decorating & Cooking Group” on Facebook. It’s a very warm, friendly atmosphere where folks enjoy sharing their home decor & cooking ideas. Members also love to help with decisions and color choices. Julie would love to have you join the fun!

CLICK HERE TO JOIN

2 Comments Filed Under: Christmas, Decorating, Good Ideas, Holidays

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Comments

  1. Norma Rolader says

    November 24, 2017 at 5:02 PM

    Thank you for sharing all the adorable items

    Reply
    • Julie says

      November 24, 2017 at 5:37 PM

      Merry Christmas, Norma!

      Reply

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I've been watching our cherry trees bloom for 12 y I've been watching our cherry trees bloom for 12 years now and every year I ohhhh and ahhhh over the blossoms like it's the first time I've ever seen them. I gush and I take photos (that look exactly like the ones I took the year before and the year before that) and I make my family come outside and look at them with me which you know they just LOVE to do. 😉 I think that is one of the main reasons why I love spring so much. On the one hand, it's predictable and yet, on the other hand, it still feels like such a surprise after the long months of barren branches.

And yesterday, as I was staring at the gorgeous blossoms for the umpteenth time, I couldn't help but think that I hope this is how I feel when our lives return to some semblance of normalcy.

I hope that the predictable feels special and that the typical feels anything but. I hope that I ohhh and ahhh over the simple things I've realized I've taken for granted. And, most of all, I hope that feeling doesn't go away for a very, very long time! 💗
Are you living with great expectation friends? Bec Are you living with great expectation friends? Because He is risen!

Happy Easter from my home to yours!
Lemon bars all ready for tomorrow! It’s going to Lemon bars all ready for tomorrow! It’s going to be a different kind of Easter for sure but some things don’t change. Have you been baking and getting ready for tomorrow? What’s one thing on your menu that you have to have every year?
If this is Good Friday, why doesn’t it feel so “good”? It all seems backward doesn’t it?

What could be good about the unspeakable pain he suffered? What could be good about the shame and betrayal?

Easter Sunday is so joyful, bright and cheery. Shouldn’t that be the day we call “good”? It just feels so much better!

But, I don’t know how to rejoice over His resurrection, unless I have felt the pain of His death. I have realized that in life the sweetest victories are the ones which were realized after a pain-filled journey.

And, so it is with Good Friday. I know there will be victory over death, but I can’t skip ahead in the story.

Jesus knew what was coming. He knew what he would experience. And he knew why he would go through it. He did it for me. He did it for you.

Do you know that? Have you felt it down in the very core of your soul? 
Sometimes it makes me squirm a bit. Why would anyone do that for me?

Well, because, I can’t do it for myself!

There is nothing I can do to earn that kind of love and mercy.

That is why it is called GRACE.

His grace is freely given. We don’t have to pay for it. He paid the price for us already.

Do you remember that movie from years ago called “Ransom”? A couple’s young son was kidnapped and the parents went to hell and back trying to find him and pay the “ransom” demanded by the kidnappers.

Well, Jesus is our “ransom”. (1 Timothy 2:6) His life was the payment.

Why is it called “Good Friday”? Because that wasn’t the end of the story….
.
…It was just the beginning!
Raise your hand if there’s a table in your house Raise your hand if there’s a table in your house that’s become the landing zone for ALL THE THINGS! 🙋🏻‍♀️🤪 I’ve never been more thankful for our rarely used dining room table as it’s become command central for school books and laptops and games.

Where are things collecting in your house right now?
“Sighing, tears, frustration, anger.” Every si “Sighing, tears, frustration, anger.” Every single one of these emotions has made their way through our home in recent days and, my guess is, they have in your home too.

I SO needed this reminder today from the new book ‘Adore’ by @sarahagertywrites.

Adoration isn’t just sitting at His feet gazing longingly with stars in my eyes. It’s bringing my fears and my sorrows and gray roots in my hair that desperately needs to be colored and my messy house and all of the things that threaten to send me over the edge right now and laying them down before Him, soaking up His word and His presence so that when I stand back up, I am changed for having spent the time adoring the ONE who is... Healer, comforter, peace-giver, deliverer, redeemer.

What do you need to bring to Him today? I’ll share mine in the comments and I’d love to hear from you too!
I’ve always loved evenings, but since this whole I’ve always loved evenings, but since this whole lockdown thing began, I’ve come to appreciate this time of day even more.

It feels the most...normal. Daytime is strange and foreign right now. My husband has taken over our home office, I’m suddenly taking over the responsibility of managing my kids’ distance learning and let me just say that teaching 7th grade algebra to my daughter is hugely ironic since I struggled with math all the way through school. I’m trying to do my own work but it feels utterly futile with the constant interruptions which take precedence right now. In the daytime, I’m constantly reminded of how upside down life feels.

But, in the evening, I cook dinner like I’ve always done and we gather around the table like we’ve always done and we laugh and tell stories and then clean up and play games or go on a walk or watch a show. And that feels SO gloriously normal.

So now I love evenings even more than I ever did before and I’m so grateful for this little chunk of time where the rhythms we established years ago are helping to sustain us now when so much of life feels outside of our control.

What feels ‘normal’ to you right now? Whatever it is, keep doing it. 🌿
When I was in college I would frequently call home When I was in college I would frequently call home and pour my heart out to my mom, sharing with her all that was happening in my life in that completely unfiltered way that you can talk with the person who potty trained you. These phone calls usually took place at night and my mom would patiently listen as I vented frustrations about professors, roommates, boyfriends and the food in the cafeteria. And, inevitably, they would end with my mom saying, “Everything seems worse when you’re tired. Try not to overthink things or make any major decisions tonight, especially when you are feeling emotional.” Dear friends, may I pass along this advice to you today?

If you don’t absolutely HAVE to make a decision right now, I want to encourage you to wait until life gets back to normal. If you are finding yourself over-analyzing relationships and family dynamics, I want to encourage you to remember that everything seems more dramatic when looked at under a microscope. And, let’s face it, being homebound with our loved ones non-stop makes us all feel like lab rats in an experiment.

If you are tempted to quit a job, start a business, start homeschooling permanently, stop homeschooling permanently, move to a new city, buy a farm, quit pursuing your dream, join a commune or make any other major life decision just…wait. Because, if it is in fact the right decision, it will be made even clearer once our lives return to their ‘regularly scheduled programming’. Instead, in this strange season, let’s all just take a deep, collective breath and let it out slowly, releasing the anxiety that threatens to overtake us. Let’s help each other maintain some perspective and not slip into a posture of over-thinking every little thing in our lives. Let’s remember that the enemy of our souls would love nothing more than to use this time when things feel dark to manipulate us into thinking that aspects of our lives are worse than they actually are.

My prayer for you in these days is that you will have the clarity to know what is true and that you will be filled with peace even while we live in this season of so many unknowns.
Raise your hand if you’re doing more baking thes Raise your hand if you’re doing more baking these days! 🙋🏻‍♀️ I’m trying to avoid gaining the #corona15 but my daughter and I LOVE baking together and it does help to pass the time plus it counts as a science lesson right?

If you’re able to find flour in the stores (for the love people please stop overbuying!) and you’re doing more baking at your house too you need to add this apricot bread to your list of new recipes to try!

Normally I’d point you to my blog for the directions but I’m going to do you a solid and leave the full recipe in the comments.

What have you baked so far during this time of social distancing? I’d love some new ideas!
There are a LOT of people out walking in our neigh There are a LOT of people out walking in our neighborhood right now (but still social distancing!) and she decided that she wanted to bring them some joy and put a smile on their face when they pass by our house. Also, the square with ‘say no to coronavirus’ is priceless. 😂 I just love her so much!
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