Gifting with Chairish

<div style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Happy Black Friday! Are you out there braving the crowds today? The holidays are here, ready or not. Surprisingly, I'm doing a pretty good job of chipping away at my shopping list on the early side this year. I'm hoping to mostly give handmade or vintage items to friends and family. I figure that those are the types of gifts I most like to receive, and it's helping me put a little more thought and care into gift-giving this year.</span><br /><div><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I've checked Chairish more than once or twice for these special gifts. <a href="http://shop.chairish.com/?utm_source=littlegreennotebook.blogspot.com/&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=LittleGreenNotebook&utm_content=ChairishHome" target="_blank">Chairish</a> is an online marketplace for beautiful and unique furniture and decor items. It's similar to Craigslist, but more curated like 1st Dibs (without the astronomically huge price tags).</span></span><br /><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Here are some of my favorite pieces on <a href="http://shop.chairish.com/?utm_source=littlegreennotebook.blogspot.com/&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=LittleGreenNotebook&utm_content=ChairishHome" target="_blank">the site</a> right now, each of which would make for a really special holiday gift (and in case you want to see my whole saved collection - <a href="http://shop.chairish.com/collections/little-green-notebook-holiday-gift-picks?utm_source=littlegreennotebook.blogspot.com/&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=LittleGreenNotebookHolidayGiftPicks&utm_content=LittleGreenNotebookHolidayGiftPicksCollectionPage" target="_blank">here are all of my favorites</a> in one place):</span></span><br /><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><div style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt=" photo ScreenShot2013-11-25at104820PM.png" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/ALBUM%2014/ScreenShot2013-11-25at104820PM.png" /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://shop.chairish.com/collections/gifts-under-250/products/small-brass-trunk-with-wood-strap-detailing?utm_source=LittleGreenNotebook.blogspot.com/&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=LittleGreenNotebook&utm_content=BrassTrunk" target="_blank">Brass Trunk</a></span></span></div><div style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt=" photo ScreenShot2013-11-25at104924PM.png" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/ALBUM%2014/ScreenShot2013-11-25at104924PM.png" /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://shop.chairish.com/collections/gifts-under-250/products/vintage-silver-ombre-roly-poly-glasses?utm_source=LittleGreenNotebook.blogspot.com/&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=LittleGreenNotebook&utm_content=OmbreGlasses" target="_blank">Ombre Tumblers</a></span></span></div></div><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><div><div style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo ScreenShot2013-11-25at104913PM.png" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/ALBUM%2014/ScreenShot2013-11-25at104913PM.png" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://shop.chairish.com/collections/gifts-under-250/products/petrified-wood-bookends-a-pair?utm_source=LittleGreenNotebook.blogspot.com/&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=LittleGreenNotebook&utm_content=WoodBookends" target="_blank">Petrified Wood Book Ends</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div><div style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo ScreenShot2013-11-25at104855PM.png" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/ALBUM%2014/ScreenShot2013-11-25at104855PM.png" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://shop.chairish.com/collections/gifts-under-250/products/fruit-bowl-by-king-kong-for-alessi?utm_source=LittleGreenNotebook.blogspot.com/&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=LittleGreenNotebook&utm_content=AlessiBowl" target="_blank">Fruit Bowl by King Kong for Alessi</a></div></div><div><div style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo ScreenShot2013-11-25at104904PM.png" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/ALBUM%2014/ScreenShot2013-11-25at104904PM.png" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://shop.chairish.com/collections/gifts-under-250/products/vintage-pair-of-mirrored-side-tables?utm_source=LittleGreenNotebook.blogspot.com/&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=LittleGreenNotebook&utm_content=MirroredSideTables" target="_blank">Vintage Mirrored Side Tables</a></div><div style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo ScreenShot2013-11-25at104734PM.png" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/ALBUM%2014/ScreenShot2013-11-25at104734PM.png" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://shop.chairish.com/collections/all/products/handmade-bowl-of-welded-washers?utm_source=LittleGreenNotebook.blogspot.com/&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=LittleGreenNotebook&utm_content=WeldedWasherBowl" target="_blank">Handmade Bowl from Welded Washers</a></div><div style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div><div style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo ScreenShot2013-11-25at104842PM.png" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/ALBUM%2014/ScreenShot2013-11-25at104842PM.png" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://shop.chairish.com/collections/gifts-under-250/products/hollywood-regency-blue-tufted-twin-headboard?utm_source=LittleGreenNotebook.blogspot.com/&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=LittleGreenNotebook&utm_content=BlueHeadboard" target="_blank">Blue Tufted Headboard</a></div></div><div style="font-weight: bold;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div><div style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo ScreenShot2013-11-25at104830PM.png" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/ALBUM%2014/ScreenShot2013-11-25at104830PM.png" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://shop.chairish.com/collections/gifts-under-250/products/mid-century-silver-toned-bar-cart?utm_source=LittleGreenNotebook.blogspot.com/&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=LittleGreenNotebook&utm_content=SilverBarCart" target="_blank">Silver-Toned Bar Cart</a></div></div><div><div style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;">\<img alt=" photo ScreenShot2013-11-25at104750PM.png" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/ALBUM%2014/ScreenShot2013-11-25at104750PM.png" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://shop.chairish.com/collections/all/products/vintage-portrait-of-man-in-a-red-frame?utm_source=LittleGreenNotebook.blogspot.com/&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=LittleGreenNotebook&utm_content=PortraitOfAMan" target="_blank">Portrait of a Man</a></div></div><div><div style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo ScreenShot2013-11-25at104808PM.png" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/ALBUM%2014/ScreenShot2013-11-25at104808PM.png" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://shop.chairish.com/collections/all/products/vintage-pink-baker-slipper-chair?utm_source=LittleGreenNotebook.blogspot.com/&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=LittleGreenNotebook&utm_content=PinkSlipperChair" target="_blank"><b> </b>Pink Baker Slipper Chair</a></div></div><div style="font-weight: bold;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div><div style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo ScreenShot2013-11-25at104652PM.png" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/ALBUM%2014/ScreenShot2013-11-25at104652PM.png" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://shop.chairish.com/collections/all/products/pair-of-brown-abstract-paintings-unframed?utm_source=LittleGreenNotebook.blogspot.com/&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=LittleGreenNotebook&utm_content=BrownAbstractPaintings" target="_blank">Pair of Abstract Paintings</a></div></div><div style="font-weight: bold;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div><div style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo ScreenShot2013-11-25at104716PM.png" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/ALBUM%2014/ScreenShot2013-11-25at104716PM.png" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://shop.chairish.com/collections/all/products/hickory-white-wood-chair?utm_source=LittleGreenNotebook.blogspot.com/&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=LittleGreenNotebook&utm_content=WhiteWoodChair" target="_blank">White Wood Klismos Chair</a></div></div><div><div style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">So many good things to choose from! And to celebrate the gift-giving season, Chairish is giving away <a href="https://www.chairish.com/sweepstakes-littlegreennotebook-gift-picks?utm_source=littlegreennotebook.blogspot.com/&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=LittleGreenNotebookHolidayGiftPicks&utm_content=Sweepstakes" target="_blank"><i>three</i> huge prizes</a>:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>1) $500 gift card to use on <a href="http://shop.chairish.com/?utm_source=littlegreennotebook.blogspot.com/&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=LittleGreenNotebook&utm_content=ChairishHome" target="_blank">Chairish.com</a></i></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>2) 20% off any single item (I'd get <a href="http://shop.chairish.com/collections/gifts-under-250/products/mid-century-silver-toned-bar-cart?utm_source=LittleGreenNotebook.blogspot.com/&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=LittleGreenNotebook&utm_content=SilverBarCart" target="_blank">this</a>!)</i></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>3) This vintage midcentury gooseneck brass library lamp (worth $200)</i></b></div><div style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo 3bc6c3d8-40f0-11e3-8176-12copy.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/ALBUM%2014/3bc6c3d8-40f0-11e3-8176-12copy.jpg" /></div></div><div style="font-weight: bold;"></div></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b>It's easy to enter, <a href="https://www.chairish.com/sweepstakes-littlegreennotebook-gift-picks?utm_source=littlegreennotebook.blogspot.com/&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=LittleGreenNotebookHolidayGiftPicks&utm_content=Sweepstakes" target="_blank">just click here</a>. Three winners will be picked randomly and awarded one of these three prizes. Sweepstakes will end on <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_511237022" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">December 6 at 11:59 p.m. ET</span></span>.  Good luck!</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"></div></div>

Gifting with Chairish

Happy Black Friday! Are you out there braving the crowds today? The holidays are here, ready or not. Surprisingly, I'm doing a pretty good job of chipping away at my shopping list on the early side this year. I'm hoping to mostly give handmade or vintage items to friends and family. I figure that th…

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Holiday Decorating with Lowe's

Happy Thanksgiving!! Tomorrow is Christmas decorating day for us. We're putting up our tree and hanging lights outside - the girls are unbelievably excited! <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo Lowes_NYC_094.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/ALBUM%2014/Lowes_NYC_094.jpg" style="text-align: start;" /></div><br />I got to practice my holiday decorating skills a couple weeks ago when <a href="http://www.lowes.com/Home-Decor/Holiday-Decorations/Christmas-Decorations/_/N-1z0wnx4/pl" target="_blank">Lowe's</a> invited me to come to New York for an event with a few other bloggers. We had SO much fun using products from Lowe's and a few other stores to decorate spaces in a mock house built in a giant loft space in Chelsea.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo Lowes_NYC_097.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/ALBUM%2014/Lowes_NYC_097.jpg" style="text-align: start;" /></div><a name='more'></a><br />Each of us was asked to decorate one of the "rooms" in the house (with less than a day to execute most of it!), and I got to decorate the foyer space. There were a few logistical hiccups and some pieces I had selected for the room didn't arrive in time for the event, so it was a little more sparse than I would have liked, but I still really like the way the room turned out. Lowe's has a ton of great pieces in <a href="http://www.lowes.com/Home-Decor/Holiday-Decorations/Christmas-Decorations/_/N-1z0wnx4/pl" target="_blank">their holiday section</a> this year, as well as in their regular decor section, like these adorable <a href="http://www.lowes.com/pd_473332-48940-91952_1z0xhj5+1z10cb7__?productId=4711591&Ns=p_product_qty_sales_dollar%7C1&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNs%3Dp_product_qty_sales_dollar%7C1%26page%3D1&facetInfo=Rectangular" target="_blank">suzani-style pillows</a>:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo IMG_8840.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/ALBUM%2014/IMG_8840.jpg" /></div><br />and these cool <a href="http://www.lowes.com/pd_394638-45353-TL1324_0__?productId=3745443" target="_blank">vessel lamps</a> that I filled with painted <a href="http://www.lowes.com/pd_496345-45813-V206-DXRK034A_0__?productId=50055007&Ntt=nutcracker&Ns=p_product_price|0&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNs%3Dp_product_price%7C0%26Ntt%3Dnutcracker%26page%3D1&facetInfo=" target="_blank">nutcrackers</a>!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo zIMG_8462.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/ALBUM%2014/zIMG_8462.jpg" style="text-align: start;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo Lowes_NYC_101.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/ALBUM%2014/Lowes_NYC_101.jpg" style="text-align: start;" /></div><br />The Lowe's team helped me make frames out of gold ornaments for some oval shaped mirrors just by stringing the ornaments on a wire and gluing them down around the edges. Turned out cute, right?<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo IMG_8842.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/ALBUM%2014/IMG_8842.jpg" style="text-align: start;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">And on the front door, which was painted the prettiest shade of mustard yellow, we made a simple garland out of assorted Lowe's holiday decor. Lowe's has really gorgeous sparkly decorations in gold and silver tones that were bendable and easy to twist around each other for a quick garland.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo Lowes_NYC_100.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/ALBUM%2014/Lowes_NYC_100.jpg" /></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;">The silhouettes were paper cut-outs from textured paper I picked up at Paper Presentation (which is the best paper and party supply place in the city, btw). I thought the gold and silver foil Santa hats were fun. </div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo Lowes_NYC_099.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/ALBUM%2014/Lowes_NYC_099.jpg" /></div><br />I think flowers are always a great way to decorate for an occasion or during the holiday season, and, really, I love any excuse to shop the flower district shops (Dutch Line and Jamali, both on 28th St, are my favorites). I went with flowers and leaves with sort of a wintery feel in color and texture. My favorites are the purple thistles.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo IMG_8791.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/ALBUM%2014/IMG_8791.jpg" /></div><br />I found the oil slick vases at Jamali and I love how they look on the lavender-gray mirrored console that the people at Lowe's made for me.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo IMG_8804.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/ALBUM%2014/IMG_8804.jpg" style="text-align: start;" /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo IMG_8821.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/ALBUM%2014/IMG_8821.jpg" style="text-align: start;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>I found this trophy also at Jamali and used it for a flower arrangement that I put on the little Saarinen table we used in the center of the foyer. I used a little snowflake bowl from Lowe's and a stamped silver platter to hold holiday cards.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo IMG_8849.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/ALBUM%2014/IMG_8849.jpg" /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo IMG_8830.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/ALBUM%2014/IMG_8830.jpg" /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo IMG_8851.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/ALBUM%2014/IMG_8851.jpg" /></div><br />The artichokes in the arrangements are so pretty and unexpected. I love adding big and unique elements like that, especially in bigger arrangements, to help flowers look less stuffy and formal.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo IMG_8836.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/ALBUM%2014/IMG_8836.jpg" /></div><br />My lovely friend Gabrielle from <a href="http://designmom.com/" target="_blank">Design Mom</a> decorated the front yard area. She was waiting here for the <a href="http://www.hgtv.com/kitchen-cousins/show/index.html" target="_blank">Kitchen Cousins</a> to be ready to film her interview segment and I made her strike a pose for me.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo IMG_8814.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/ALBUM%2014/IMG_8814.jpg" /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">The painted floors were a little dirty by this point in the evening (lots and lots of dirty footsteps from the rain), but I love the colors.  (You can't really tell from these photos, but the lines are actually a series of concentric rectangles.)</div></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo IMG_8857.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/ALBUM%2014/IMG_8857.jpg" /></div><br />These ombre Christmas trees were my favorite project from the day though. Lowe's has really great ornaments this year in <a href="http://www.lowes.com/pd_483310-39449-AG1251_4294622473__?productId=50054573&Ns=p_product_qty_sales_dollar|1&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNs%3Dp_product_qty_sales_dollar%7C1&facetInfo=" target="_blank">all shades</a> of <a href="http://www.lowes.com/pd_476408-39449-AG1246_4294622473__?productId=50054549&Ns=p_product_qty_sales_dollar|1&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNs%3Dp_product_qty_sales_dollar%7C1&facetInfo=" target="_blank">white</a> and <a href="http://www.lowes.com/pd_477142-39449-AG1250_4294622473__?productId=50054557&Ns=p_product_qty_sales_dollar|1&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNs%3Dp_product_qty_sales_dollar%7C1%26page%3D2&facetInfo=" target="_blank">silver</a> that made for the perfect base for painting.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo IMG_8860.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/ALBUM%2014/IMG_8860.jpg" /></div><br />I picked out four or five paint colors in different shades of turquoise and teal, and had quarts made of each. Gloss stays on the best, but flat looks really pretty too.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo IMG_8762.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/ALBUM%2014/IMG_8762.jpg" /></div><br />My sweet sister- and brother-in-law let me crash their apartment to spread out a little and paint the ornaments. I separated the ornaments in equal size piles and made sure there were roughly the same number of each style of ornament in each pile.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo IMG_8768.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/ALBUM%2014/IMG_8768.jpg" /></div><br />I dipped the ornaments in the paint, but intentionally didn't dip the whole ornament on most of them. I stopped at varying levels so that they wouldn't look uniform.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo IMG_8778.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/ALBUM%2014/IMG_8778.jpg" /></div><br />I hung them up on those cheapie tension rods and let them drip dry for a few hours before the event.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo IMG_8785.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/ALBUM%2014/IMG_8785.jpg" /></div><br />Then I hung the ornaments from white to dark peacock blue on the two <a href="http://www.lowes.com/pd_476151-51600-LWP100949C1_4294622434__?productId=50055333&Ns=p_product_qty_sales_dollar|1&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNs%3Dp_product_qty_sales_dollar%7C1&facetInfo=" target="_blank">white trees</a> I placed in front of the windows in the space. I LOVE how this turned out and it was so easy!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo IMG_8843.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/ALBUM%2014/IMG_8843.jpg" /></div><br />I wanted to have the trees in big planters here, but they didn't arrive in time for the event. No problem, though - the look is a bit more modern without the planters or a tree skirt. :)<br /><div><br /></div><div>Ooh - and I almost forgot to mention the seven Moravian <a href="http://www.lowes.com/pd_477458-76407-5001_4294622482__?productId=50055889&Ns=p_product_qty_sales_dollar|1&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNs%3Dp_product_qty_sales_dollar%7C1%26page%3D3&facetInfo=" target="_blank">hanging stars</a> that we grouped over the Saarinen table. Aren't they gorgeous? They're made of thick white plastic instead of paper so should last for years and years of holiday decorating!</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo IMG_8816.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/ALBUM%2014/IMG_8816.jpg" /></div><br />Anyway, it was a fun event! A big thanks to Lowe's for inviting me to participate! I think I'm now sufficiently warmed up to tackle decorating my own house tomorrow. Just as soon as I sleep off all of the Thanksgiving food I ate today... :)<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo Lowes_NYC_094.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/ALBUM%2014/Lowes_NYC_094.jpg" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo IMG_8827.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/ALBUM%2014/IMG_8827.jpg" /><br /><br /><img alt=" photo Lowes_NYC_096.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/ALBUM%2014/Lowes_NYC_096.jpg" /></div>

Holiday Decorating with Lowe's

Happy Thanksgiving!! Tomorrow is Christmas decorating day for us. We're putting up our tree and hanging lights outside - the girls are unbelievably excited! I got to practice my holiday decorating skills a couple weeks ago when Lowe's invited me to come to New York for an event with a few other blog…

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Give Away: $500 to eSaleRugs!

Oh what's that you say? You would like a beautiful Persian rug of your own to spruce up your home for the holidays? That's what I thought you said.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="text-align: start;"><img alt=" photo 500FROMESRLGN.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/ALBUM%2014/500FROMESRLGN.jpg" /></i></div><br /><a href="http://esalerugs.com/" target="_blank">ESaleRugs</a> wants to give you $500 to shop for your own new/old rug (and if you're too impatient/nervous to wait for the give away to end, they're also having a 50% off sale right now, with free shipping - and they're throwing in free rug pads!). Here are some of my favorites currently available on the site. There are seriously too many good ones to put here, but here's a handful of them:<br /><a name='more'></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="text-align: start;"><img alt=" photo ESRLGN1.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/ALBUM%2014/ESRLGN1.jpg" /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://esalerugs.com/navy-blue-10-ft-runner-liliyan-persian-rug-110892629" target="_blank">1</a>  //  <a href="http://esalerugs.com/red-4x6-hamedan-persian-rug-110896815" target="_blank">2</a>  //  <a href="http://esalerugs.com/red-3x5-balouch-area-rug-22136792" target="_blank">3</a>  //  <a href="http://esalerugs.com/red-10-ft-runner-koliaei-persian-rug-110888990" target="_blank">4</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="text-align: start;"><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="text-align: start;"><img alt=" photo ESRLGN2.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/ALBUM%2014/ESRLGN2.jpg" /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="text-align: start;"><a href="http://esalerugs.com/red-5x8-bidjar-persian-rug-110898035" target="_blank">1</a>  //  <a href="http://esalerugs.com/red-10-ft-runner-botemir-persian-rug-22135798" target="_blank">2</a>  //  <a href="http://esalerugs.com/orange-4x6-balouch-persian-rug-22139711" target="_blank">3</a></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="text-align: start;"><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="text-align: start;"><img alt=" photo ESRLGN3.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/ALBUM%2014/ESRLGN3.jpg" /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="text-align: start;"><a href="http://esalerugs.com/beige-4x6-ghashghaei-persian-rug-22141527" target="_blank">1</a>  //  <a href="http://esalerugs.com/peach-6x9-kurdish-berber-persian-rug-110895841" target="_blank">2</a>  //  <a href="http://esalerugs.com/navy-blue-10-ft-runner-bidjar-persian-rug-22112073" target="_blank">3</a></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="text-align: start;"><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="text-align: start;"><img alt=" photo ESRLGN4.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/ALBUM%2014/ESRLGN4.jpg" /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://esalerugs.com/red-4x6-balouch-persian-rug-22140235" target="_blank">1</a>  //  <a href="http://esalerugs.com/rust-red-10-ft-runner-balouch-persian-rug-22135649" target="_blank">2</a>  //  <a href="http://esalerugs.com/red-10-ft-runner-hamedan-persian-rug-110888332" target="_blank">3</a>  //  <a href="http://esalerugs.com/rust-red-13-ft-runner-tabriz-persian-rug-22134982" target="_blank">4</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="text-align: start;"><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="text-align: start;"><img alt=" photo ESRLGN5.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/ALBUM%2014/ESRLGN5.jpg" /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="text-align: start;"><a href="http://esalerugs.com/navy-blue-10-ft-runner-hamedan-persian-rug-22135140" target="_blank">1</a>  //  <a href="http://esalerugs.com/peach-4x6-balouch-persian-rug-22140127" target="_blank">2</a>  //  <a href="http://esalerugs.com/red-4x6-balouch-persian-rug-22140097" target="_blank">3</a></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="text-align: start;"><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="text-align: start;"><img alt=" photo ESRLGN6.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/ALBUM%2014/ESRLGN6.jpg" /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="text-align: start;"><a href="http://esalerugs.com/red-4x6-zanjan-persian-rug-110896847" target="_blank">1</a>  //  <a href="http://esalerugs.com/red-3x5-balouch-area-rug-22136899" target="_blank">2</a></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="text-align: start;"><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="text-align: start;"><img alt=" photo ESRLGN7.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/ALBUM%2014/ESRLGN7.jpg" /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="text-align: start;"><a href="http://esalerugs.com/red-10-ft-runner-shiraz-persian-rug-22128735" target="_blank">1</a>  //  <a href="http://esalerugs.com/red-10-ft-runner-hamedan-persian-rug-110887197" target="_blank">2</a>  //  <a href="http://esalerugs.com/navy-blue-10-ft-runner-hamedan-persian-rug-22135639" target="_blank">3</a>  //  <a href="http://esalerugs.com/rust-red-4x6-hamedan-persian-rug-22135121" target="_blank">4</a></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="text-align: start;"><img alt=" photo ESRLGN8.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/ALBUM%2014/ESRLGN8.jpg" /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="text-align: start;"><a href="http://esalerugs.com/red-3x5-balouch-area-rug-22137723" target="_blank">1</a>  //  <a href="http://esalerugs.com/beige-4x6-ghashghaei-persian-rug-22141793" target="_blank">2</a>  //  <a href="http://esalerugs.com/red-3x5-kashkuli-gabbeh-persian-rug-22141938" target="_blank">3</a></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="text-align: start;"><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="text-align: start;"><img alt=" photo ESRLGN9.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/ALBUM%2014/ESRLGN9.jpg" /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="text-align: start;"><a href="http://esalerugs.com/red-4x6-balouch-persian-rug-22139845" target="_blank">1</a>  //  <a href="http://esalerugs.com/navy-blue-10-ft-runner-mehraban-persian-rug-22134570" target="_blank">2</a>  //  <a href="http://esalerugs.com/red-3x5-balouch-area-rug-22137617" target="_blank">3</a></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="text-align: start;"><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="text-align: start;"><img alt=" photo ESRLGN11.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/ALBUM%2014/ESRLGN11.jpg" /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="text-align: start;"><a href="http://esalerugs.com/navy-blue-10-ft-runner-bidjar-persian-rug-22103268" target="_blank">1</a>  //  <a href="http://esalerugs.com/navy-blue-10-ft-runner-hamedan-persian-rug-110899106" target="_blank">2</a>  //  <a href="http://esalerugs.com/navy-blue-13-ft-runner-sirjan-persian-rug-22114091" target="_blank">3</a></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>To enter to win the $500 gift certificate, hop on over to <a href="http://esalerugs.com/" target="_blank">eSaleRugs</a> and check out their amazing selection of beautiful Persian, Oriental, Moroccan rugs and then leave a comment here with a link to your favorite rug. I'm turning off the comment registration for a few days so those of you who don't have to have an account can enter (I know that's been an issue for some of you in the past). If you aren't signed in though, please leave an email address in the comment so we can reach you if you are the winner!<br /><br />Contest ends next Tuesday night at midnight, the winner will be chosen at random and emailed. Good luck!<br /><br /><i style="text-align: center;">(rug pictured in top graphic available <a href="http://esalerugs.com/navy-blue-10-ft-runner-bidjar-persian-rug-22144412" target="_blank">here</a>)</i><br /><br /><i>This post is sponsored by eSaleRugs - and amazing resource for antique, vintage and even new rugs. Thank you for supporting LGN's sponsors.</i><br /><i></i>

Give Away: $500 to eSaleRugs!

Oh what's that you say? You would like a beautiful Persian rug of your own to spruce up your home for the holidays? That's what I thought you said.ESaleRugs wants to give you $500 to shop for your own new/old rug (and if you're too impatient/nervous to wait for the give away to end, they're also hav…

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