Our 2014 Christmas Tree

I've wanted a flocked tree for awhile now. When I saw they were on sale at a local craft store here in Florida, I jumped on the opportunity and this tree has not disappointed me. We took down all of our Christmas ornaments, old trees & anything else that pertained to this holiday and consolidated. 

I haven't felt better. We have been purging non-stop and nothing is out of the question. This year, I wanted to go through all of our Christmas things and have a more, simplistic yet refined look. I ended up donating 8 strands of garland, a Christmas tree to a friend, sold another at the store & currently have yet another for sale at the store, gave away three storage totes full of ornaments & decor and much more. We kept the ornaments that obviously had meaning to us such as the ones that our family and friends have given us. I paired those ornaments with many things I had in our home as well as other things I got last year after Christmas when they went on sale.

I wanted something rustic. Simple. Classic. And very different. I really love a well adorned tree and I don't really ever feel like this is "too much." For every 100 people that love it, there will be 1 that hates it and says its "too much" or you need "color." And you know what? It hurts my feelings. But at the same time, this is our tree in our house where we pay the bills. I think we'll do what we want.

Prepare yourself for a picture overload.

I used lots of reflective surfaces to get this look. Also, anything with great texture like the bark balls for example I loved! I wanted a natural color scheme so I definitely stuck with that… and lastly, the more the better! In this case, less is not more. More is more!

And I wanted to get a few with the lights on…. it is especially pretty in the evenings… but for now, I allowed the natural light in the sunroom to really show you the true look of our tree this year.

I really loved the woods meets frost style it had this year. Next, year I may bring in more pops of red, dark brown or a dark blue. It actually has red berries on the tree but they are washed out by all the neutrals which is actually fine with me… either way, I love our tree.

My little men have been in the holiday spirit also… but just the other day, I snapped these of the two of them…via Instagram (You can follow me by clicking here.)

Look at these two little men, always on the backs of my sofas… just watching the day go by and of course being on squirrel patrol! We are currently working on our next project which is crown molding in the sunroom so please look out for that next post!

Master Bedroom Reveal & Source List

Welcome to our master bedroom! The time has finally come to reveal this room with y'all and I couldn't be more excited! We have never really decorated the master bedroom in any home that we have owned or lived in because usually it's on the back burner. It's a room I used to think that we just "sleep" in but realistically, it should be a place to come and unwind. A place to relax with your significant other… and a space to enjoy together. I wanted a cozy, cottage feel that had neutral, calming colors, something that I felt like I was at a cottage on the beach or on a lake. We wanted something ultimately where we could relax, enjoy our time together and feel at home. And we really love it.

Here's the before of the room from the MLS when we purchased the home.

 Well, there you go! The long awaited master bedroom tour. We felt like we were at a great stopping point for this room but there still are small minor details that I'd like to tweak down the road...We really are enjoying the space that we created for ourselves…and are so happy with it. I will break down parts of our bedroom in posts to come, including the DIY's. Below, you will find a source list of everything in the room that I can remember :-) I hope you enjoyed the tour and please let us know what you think by leaving a comment here, on Instagram, or the Facebook page.

If you'd like to pin this image on Pinterest, please feel free! Just hover over each image and click the Pinterest logo! That simple! Again, thank you for stopping by!

Wall color: Valspar's Oatlands Subtle Taupe in satin (Lowes)

Headboard: Kirklands (here.)

Antique windows: Rennigers Antique Market

Three large back pillows: Ikea (here.)

Ruffled Comforter: Target, Simply Shabby Chic (here.)

Bedskirt: Target, Simply Shabby Chic (Ebay)

Throw Blanket: TjMaxx

XL Rustic Wall Mirror: DIY (Coming soon)

Nightstands & Dressers: DIY (Coming soon)

Quote sign: DIY (Coming soon)

Rustic lamps: HomeGoods

Birdcage Jewelry Holder: HomeGoods

Stripped candle holders: Kohls

Ceiling fan: Lowes Home Improvement

DIY painted antlers under $15 & boxwoods

I've been really inspired lately so slowly but surely, I've been tackling small and some large projects as well. Among those projects were to get myself some more antlers because I'm currently obsessed. So enter Hobby Lobby and me browsing every single aisle because I'm crazy. Or am I? Do y'all do that too? I feel like I might miss something if I don't but then I usually walk out with more than I planned for. But what's new?

Enter these antlers that were in the man cave section where all the boat and hunting accessories are. I usually bypass that section with a quick glance and thought of "there's nothing in there for me." And then enter Ally walking around…and I found them! They were $27.99 but 50% off which made them roughly $14.00! Amazing considering what you might pay elsewhere for these since they are all the rage right now and if you don't have some, you're just not cool. I'm kidding. But I really do like them.

This photo is from Instagram. If you haven't started following me, you can do so by clicking here.

So let's get started! By the way, if you love this project as much as I do, hover over the pictures and you can pin them to your Pinterest so you can always have them for reference if you wanna do this project yourself! Pretty easy! And if you haven't started following me on Pinterest, you can do so by clicking here. I pin lots of pretty things that I'm sure you'll love too :-)

Here's what I started with & the list of my supplies.

Hobby Lobby Antlers: $27.99 >> 50% off = Roughly $14.00

White paint: On hand = FREE

Paint brushes: On hand = FREE

Here is what they looked like before. Great bones, haha get it? But really… very manly, man cave-esc…and so not working for me! But that's ok because that all changed with the power of paint.

I was too excited and forgot to take photos of the "process" of painting these but its pretty fool proof. I did one coat of primer and two coats of bright white paint. I didn't seal them and don't really feel the need to either. I'm not sure if it's my favorite part where I put them but for now, I'll leave it.

Isn't that mirror to die for? I did literally about die when I saw it. I love the shape, finish and just everything about it. If I could have bought 100, I might have. In case you were wondering and curious, we also painted our interior of our home and are still working on some rooms. I wanted a nice gray-beige (greige) so we opted for Valspar's Subtle Taupe. It's a historical preservation color and looks amazing in every room, in every light. It's the perfect neutral.

There's a close up. They are super cute now. And my husband still cannot figure out why I am currently obsessed with antlers. Just tell him for me ok? The table below I found at a cute little shop while I was in North Carolina. I really love it but I keep looking at that wall thinking it needs more. It's rather large and that being such a small table, it's not really working. I'm thinking I'm going to use it in the guest bedroom for a bedside table though. 

Here's a better peak at the mirror. I might buy another. I just cannot help myself. 

OH! And in case you are new to these parts, you might not know that I am also obsessed with boxwoods. I have a ton of wreaths, balls and topiaries. Home by Ally is taken part in a "Vintage Market" sale on January 10th (See flyer below) and I will have a few boxwoods there. A lot of you always ask me where I get them but a girl cannot reveal all of her secrets ;-) If you're in the local area, you should really stop by. Everyone has such fabulous things. I will have a lot of furniture and decor as usual and a lot of it I'm going to mark down to move it since it's been in our garage for some time now.

Aren't they adorable? I found the little pots at Target and knew I had to have them…and I finally found a great use for them. These little boxwoods are probably not even a foot tall. They are so cute and petite and I am already thinking I'll probably keep these… Oops!

I never tire of them, their smells and their great pop of color to any space. 

It's a rainy day here in central Florida so hubby and I may make a trip to Lowes or Home Depot to look around. Happy New Year to y'all and I hope this year brings nothing but great things! I really feel like GREAT things in are store for us or at least I hope so… One sad thing that we just got word of a few weeks ago is that my husband will be deploying this year. I'll let you know more on that later but I am trying to be positive and I promised myself it would be a great time for all of my DIY projects and to get some things done around here! We'll see how that goes.