Party Planning

Swaps are all the rage these days. Most of us have been to card swaps, or clothing swaps, which are a lot of fun. But what about a Christmas decoration swap?? I'm sure these are already happening across the country, but I came up with the idea totally on my own yesterday. I love reinventing the wheel. :)

Everyone has decorations they don't need or want anymore for a million different reasons - the things are is too small/large/the wrong color scheme for their current home, they want to eliminate clutter, they want a more mature or kid-friendly look, etc. So get together with a bunch of friends (the more the better), bring all your unwanted decor, dishes, and serving pieces, and go crazy sorting through each other's stuff! And have plenty of coffee, hot chocolate, and treats while you're at it. I think it would be great to have this party the weekend after Thanksgiving. It would ease everyone into the Christmas spirit, and it's in that crucial pocket of holiday time before people become excessively busy. Too bad I thought of it too late.

On another party-related note, I've wanted to have a casual New Year's Day brunch ever since I saw The Neelys plan one a year ago. I have an Evite all prepared and know I need to send it SOON - I'm just afraid I won't be able to manage a brunch for a small crowd (I'll have to borrow a lot of Crock-Pots). I also don't know how many people would actually come, or whether my friends would secretly resent me for asking them to get out of bed before noon on New Year's Day. Stress!

Grocery Skating

Sometimes, when I shop at Kroger later in the evening and the store is mostly empty, and I'm bopping my head to "Glory Days" while selecting a pasta sauce, I decide that Kroger would make an excellent after-hours roller skating rink. I mean, think about it. Most of the elements are there. Lots of wide, clean aisles; a smooth tile floor perfect for skating; food everywhere, so no need to add concessions; and most importantly, cheery Gen X classics constantly piped over the intercom. (They'd have to remove that commercial about shingles vaccines, though.) They could add a disco ball in the middle of the store, turn the First Tennessee mini-branch into a skate rental counter, crank up the music, and voila! Instant skating rink after 9 pm. I know I'd have fun. Some people might even be excited by the possibility of crashing into a huge display of canned peaches.

Seriously, this might be a decent development idea for the long-vacant grocery store spaces around here. Too bad I'm not a millionaire.

Decor Talk

There's been a lot of redecorating and revamping at my house lately. As all homeowners know, the to-do list never really ends. Aside from possibly remodeling my master bathroom, and even less possibly replacing my carpet with laminate flooring (neither of which I will attempt to do myself), here are the home things that are top of my mind lately:


Couches. As long as they're in good condition, I don't care whether they're new or used. But I'm having a hard time finding the right set at a reasonable price. Because I have two cats with claws intact, I need twill or another sturdy fabric. My living room is a light yellow, so I'd prefer blue (the color of my existing couches) because beige or brown might look boring or ungrounded. I like a simple look with low, scalloped arms, and I love piping around the cushions, as in this photo from Rooms-to-Go (which we don't have in Memphis).


Desk chair. I currently have a large office chair with arms that don't allow me to scoot up to the desk. It's uncomfortable for someone my size, not to mention pretty blah and cubicle-looking. I'd like an armless parsons chair and this one would match my Tiger-blue-and-chocolate-brown office perfectly. However, I've been shocked by how much parsons chairs cost. This one is over $100.


Something to go over the mantel. I love sunburst mirrors, and this Target offering is the closest I can find to my dream mirror picture that I cut out of InStyle years ago. But it might be too mod for my decidedly non-mod decor. My other idea is a big tin star, like these:



Also, for years I've wanted to paint my dark brick fireplace and mantel white, but it's such a final, non-undoable step that I'm terrified to do it. I have decor commitment issues. My family and many friends are against the idea and I'd rather not hear endless negative words about it if it doesn't turn out.


Oceany stuff. Being from Florida, I have a lot of shells and I'd like to make a shell box like this one (which I think I saw originally on The Lettered Cottage). I also want to create a new setup for my sand collection - I have little Tupperware containers of sand from most of the beaches I've visited. I want to find a bunch of small, uniform message-type bottles (with corks) and arrange them in an old spice rack. I'll make tags with the place and date and tie them around the bottles. This project would have been done long ago if I could find the right kind of bottles in a decent quantity. The craft stores don't have what I'm looking for.

What are all of you looking for for your homes?