adorable sisal trees

I can't get enough of sisal bottle brush trees this year. I have them sprinkled throughout house, and I'm thinking I might need a few more. 

These are a few I got at Home Goods recently. The sweet little glittery house is from Pottery Barn and also features a couple of sisal trees.

These are some that I got from Oriental Trading. They were the perfect creamy white color, so I ended up ordering a few more sets. There are so many different options out there for these little trees, new and vintage!

On my mantel, I have a few more decorated trees from Home Goods. I LOVE how they look with these copper lanterns from Oriental Trading. They’re really a nice silhouette against all the white in the background. 

Isn’t this an adorable collection from Anthropologie a few years back? I still love the quirkiness of this holiday vignette!

Fa La La!

Here’s another collection of cheery bright sisal trees.

These trees are the perfect Christmas shade of green and so pretty with the all white candles and mantel.

A pretty group of decorated trees…

And for some reason, vintage toy trucks and sisal trees go together hand in hand to create a very charming scene. 

You can find a large variety of sisal trees at Oriental Trading. Be creative with these little beauties! 

Here’s an idea from Terrain. Fill a large lantern with a sweet winter scene. Start with a few small houses, add a few trees of different sizes and colors, add some fluffy snow, lighting, and you’re all set! 

On my wish list? Yes! These ombre sisal trees from World Market. So cute!

Vintage ones are fun to collect. Keep your eyes open for these little beauties all year long!

See what I mean about how cute they look in an antique toy truck? 

I also love these snowy trees from Pottery Barn. 

They even look cute on a wreath. This one was created and featured on the Oriental Trading blog.

This cute little bottle brush wreath is available on the Ciao blog shop. I like to display these on my Christmas tree and to embellish an antique mirror in my home. 
   

Here’s a pretty mossy creation. I love how the white trees really pop! 

And below, Martha Stewart has created the most amazing wreath that holds dozens of trees and little adorable cottages. She’s been obsessed with these trees forever!

I’d love to hear about you holiday décor… leave me a comment and let me know your favorite things to adorn your home with!

ciao! fabiana

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While I’m here today, I wanted to share some of my "Tablescaping Essentials" with you. I have a whole page on the Amazon website with my favorite picks for setting a beautiful table.

Quite often time is of the essence, and I have last minute projects or events to work on, so I turn to Amazon for one or two day delivery. You’d be surprised at how many amazing items they have to offer! And I'm constantly updating this page with my new favorites. 

You can check it out here, at “Tablescaping Essentials”.

Photo Credit: 1.-3. Ciao Newport Beach 4.  Anthropologie 5.  Hooray Everyday 6. In My Own Style 7.  Melrose 8. Rue Magazine 9.  Oriental Trading 10.  Terrain 11.  World Market 12.  BH&G 13. Melrose 14. Pottery Barn 15. Oriental Trading 16. Ciao Newport Beach 17.  Tumblr 18. Martha Stewart

falling for fall

I know I’ve mentioned this before, but Fall really is my favorite time of year! I don’t know what it is. Maybe it has to do with the start of all the holidays coming up, like Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. It really gets me in a festive mood just thinking about it!

We had some pretty warm weather this past weekend, but that’s expected of October here in Southern California. Maybe the heat only helps the intensity of the colors of the fall leaves… I hope so! 

Pottery Barn tablescape

Last week I stopped in at Pottery Barn, and there were no signs of the Monique Lhuillier tableware yet, but they do have several pretty Thanksgiving tables set. It’s always fun to see what their inspiration is from year to year. 

Williams-Sonoma tablescape

Williams-Sonoma drew me in with the smell of their mulled apple cider that I could smell from across the way at Pottery Barn. They were serving that and some fresh pumpkin bread, mmmmm how can you not be in the mood for Fall with those aromas?    

table by Carolyn Zakryk Elegant Details

Look what I found on pinterest... a tablescape inspired by the “Be Thankful” Thanksgiving table I did last year for Oriental Trading. 

table by Carolyn Zakryk Elegant Details

Notice the same crossed pheasant feathers and the “Be Thankful” silver charm? It’s so nice when we can inspire each other. 

table by Carolyn Zakryk Elegant Details

I love these festive turkey plates!

table by Carolyn Zakryk Elegant Details

And the use of color in the centerpiece is beautiful.

table by La Dolfina

I think I was originally inspired for my “Be Thankful” tablescape by this one by La Dolfina. I love how she uses deep, rich shades of brown and then surprises us with the lovely pop of blue in the glassware.  

My husband’s cousin Lee created this lovely centerpiece in her Nashville home. It reminds me of my white pumpkin and Dusty Miller arrangement in a wooden flower box. Lee has such all-around great taste. She also has a line of yummy pickles and my favorite red pepper jelly created from special family recipes, called Oakley’s Southern Delights!

Making a trip to the pumpkin patch has been a family tradition for us for a long time, and Tanaka Farms in Irvine is the best one I’ve ever been to. They actually grow tons and tons of pumpkins here, in addition to lots of other fruits and veggies. Look at all these beautiful pumpkins! 

It’s so cute that they feature all the Hello Kitty characters here and there are lots of beautiful spots for photo ops. 

“Oh, hi there, cutie!” 

I can’t help being inspired by this season with all these wonderful things around me. Thanks for letting me share them with all of you!

ciao! fabiana

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While I’m here today, I wanted to share some of my "Tablescaping Essentials" with you. I have a whole page on the Amazon website with my favorite picks for setting a beautiful table.

Quite often time is of the essence, and I have last minute projects or events to work on, so I turn to Amazon for one or two day delivery. You’d be surprised at how many amazing items they have to offer! And I'm constantly updating this page with my new favorites. 

You can check it out here, at “Tablescaping Essentials”.

first photo credit: Traditional Home

Monique Lhuillier for Pottery Barn

I got another Pottery Barn catalog in the mail yesterday, nothing out of the ordinary, until I noticed the gorgeous outdoor table setting on the cover and noticed it was designed by Monique Lhuillier! 

Everything about the setting for this cover and the tablescape itself is everything I love and more!

On the table I see my favorite shade of blush pink, rose gold that borders on copper and vintage champagne glasses, butterflies and more!

Monique is known for her feminine style and in this collection, she features classic prints, rose gold, and embroidery, inspired by her fabulous wedding gowns.

There’s also a line of bedding and furniture! Look at the finish on the Livingston Wide Dresser. Love it! This color palette is perfection. If you see the collection in person, let me know what you think.  

  

I’ll be at Pottery Barn today, checking this all out for myself!

ciao! fabiana

photo credit:  Pottery Barn

our new Christmas tree

We’re absolutely loving our new Christmas tree by King of Christmas. It looks so realistic and beautiful that it's fooled everyone who's visited so far. This isn’t the first artificial tree we’ve had, but it’s by far the best! An added bonus is it came set-up with 900 LED lights, so there’s no need to add any extra lights, like we have with other trees. 

The seven and a half foot tree fits perfectly in our living room which has 9 foot ceilings. The room is small, and the tree's slender proportions are ideal in this space. It looks so pretty "naked", without any ornaments on it and we enjoyed it that way throughout the long Thanksgiving weekend.  

In keeping with our “white Christmas” theme, I chose some of our favorite silver, gold and white ornaments from our family’s collection. I have a soft spot in my heart for all the vintage ornaments we’ve acquired over the years from parents and grandparents. 

It’s so nice to incorporate those with a few new ones (above) I found at Pottery Barn and West Elm. Aren't the little white houses precious? They even come with their own white bottle brush trees in the front. They're cardboard and light-up with the flick of a switch on the bottom. 

Sitting in the dining room now has it's perks. 

The tree topper we had was very ordinary, and I couldn’t find one that spoke to me, until I looked on ebay. There I spotted the same pretty paper ornament that my family had when I was a young girl. Oh, the memories came flooding back! 

The same vintage tree topper with the cherubic angel and the spun glass detail was available on ebay! Gold wings, and pearly white clouds, perfect! Done and bought! And the best news is, it arrived today, and I love it just as much now as I did back then!  

ciao! fabiana

thanksgiving table with hints of amethyst

Here’s the final Thanksgiving tablescape for tomorrow. You know I have been playing around with different elements all month, but I’m really pleased with the results. 

I happened to run to South Coast Plaza yesterday to see if I could score a new raffia table runner for our bigger table and I found this one, that’s down the center of the table. It complements the two burlap runners with the squiggle pattern that I have running perpendicular. 

I also couldn’t resist these three preserved boxwood topiaries that I saw at West Elm. 

The star of the table, for me, is this set of vintage amethyst cut-glass tumblers. They catch the light just right! I also added these vintage purple sundae glasses to add a little more amethyst.    

Then, for a little added sparkle I'm using brass candlesticks with simple white tapers and gold glittery votives. White pumpkins finish off the look. 

And it all came together like this:

Burlap Chargers: Oriental Trading
Dinner Plates: Vintage Wedgwood
Amethyst Glassware: Vintage
Water Goblets: Vintage
Tall Brass Candlestick: Pottery Barn
Other Brass Candlesticks: Vintage
White Taper Candles: Trader Joe's
Boxwood Topiaries: West Elm
Pheasant Feathers: Oriental Trading
"Be Thankful" charms: Oriental Trading
Silver Flatware: Vintage

ciao! fabiana