Deck the halls

With how busy I've been since I've gotten home from school, and Italy steadily approaching I barely paid attention to the fact that Christmas is rightaround the corner (assuming the world doesn't end tomorrow, that is). After scouring some of my favorite blogs for decorating inspo, you could certainly say I'm in the spirit. Potentially in love. But before I share my findings, I wanted to talk about some amazing blogs that I read that you should too:

• First and foremost, we have the Daily Crush. Written by the beautiful Katie Carlin (who I actually went to high school with), Daily Crush has had me hooked for about a year now. this blog is chalk full of fantastic style, decorating and design ideas. Every time I head to Katie's classic, tasteful, well-written blog (every few days...okay maybe hours....), I find it difficult to keep myself from gushing. A must read!!!
• Another fave is the party dress, written by the self proclaimed "well heeled hostess", Kelly Lydon. Literally found myself gasping at some of her images her ideas were so adorable. I'm a total sucker for a good monogram, and the hostess is on point with her preppy inspirations. (p.s she also has an online magazine with a bunch of past issues. Catch time up for me? I think yes.)
• Last but certainly not least is Brit and Co., which is basically cute and quirky mashup of event planning ideas, recipies (peppermint pattie white russians hellllooooooo how are ya), crafts and such. Some of the things Brit and her team come up with are on the brink of genius. Totally a keeper.

Without further ado, some beautiful ways to deck the halls:



images via Pinterest

Incase my blog layout didn't give it away already, I love all things nautical. Christmas decorations included. Obsessed with the white and navy chevron in the top left, with the few pops of red and dual mini trees, this room is to die for. Another great thing about this is that alot of these ideas are totally DIY-able (top middle: candles, ribbon and store bought starfish...Voila!) My other favorite is the rope in the bottom middle. The foliage is understated, and in combination with the huge rope and starfish looks amazing.

images via pinterest

Merry and Bright is right! Now quick disclaimer: I am by no means suggesting you turn your foyer into a Whoville replica. And yes, I also realize that this trend could take a sharp turn into tacky BUT, stick with me. Bright pops of color against neutrals can look totally quirky, eclectic and festive. If you choose a two or three colors from a bright color palatte (take the bottom left picture as a cue) your home will look put together AND bright. I'm a huge fan of coral and aqua, but jewel tones like emerald, eggplant and ruby would be gorgeous as well.

Images via pinterest

If you're not into all that, metallics and red are never wrong for Christmas. Fact.  I love mostly gold with touches of silver, like in the bottom left, second in photo. Pops of red (like in the bottom right photo) make a huge impact, and look awesome next to basic elements like the paper brown boxes used with the place cards.

I hope this has given you some ideas. DIY or otherwise, these looks are fabulous, and more importantly: doable. Also, make sure to check out the blogs from above. You won't be sorry!

xoxo Jackie