Icy Winter Mantle

Well, hello, blog family! Today I bring you another peek into the Willis Household with our Winter-y Mantle. I've really taken changing out the decor to heart over the past few months! It's just fun to keep it fresh and change the view.

For January, I wanted to keep it looking like winter with an icy, snowy feeling. Using stuff that I found around the house or on sale!!! (You can bet I hit up those after Christmas sales pretty hard!)

Here's a cute little Eskimo couple that my Grandma gave to us. They just add a cute, romantic touch while maintaining the "it's really frikking cold" motif I've got going on here.

A now for a breakdown of some of the fun elements. The silver trees were on super discount at Target after the holidays. I used one of our wedding centerpieces to add some floral and would you eve believe those pumpkins are the ones I used for Halloween? I spray painted them gold a while ago and they have held up really well. I definitely got my money's worth.

So, there you go, our cute winter mantle. It's neutral but still fun!

Some Super Big News!

Big news! I have a new business! I've been working on this project for a long time and it feels so good to have everything go live! Très Sweet Designs is all about having fun with dessert! I specialize in creating Unique Dessert Bars, Custom Candy Stations, and Sweet Favors. So, make sure to head over to my website for some awesome eye candy thanks to my new photographer friend George Dean!

Dessert Design: Cameo Pink & Black

I felt like a design board for a gorgeous dessert table would be a fun way to say sorry for not being a diligent blogger! But hey, before you scold, I should tell you that I've been working hard on task number one for my creativity checklist. So there!

Lately, I have been loving anemones. They are such a gorgeous, simple flower and when I saw that pale pink bouquet with the striking black centers on Martha Stewart, I felt the inspiration flowing. A simple concept and color palette with great details that won't overwhelm the table. Macaroons, the delicate pattern on the cake, and a pink champagne all tie together without being too "matchy-matchy".

I know pink and black has been done so many times before, but the blush pink of this board is too beautiful to forget about. And *hint hint*, I do believe this design board will be coming to life very soon!

Anemone Bouquet from Martha Stewart, Pink Macaroon Recipe, Black and White cake, Cameo Jewelery (again) from Martha, The Katharine Bridal Gown, Pink Champagne image here.

My Top Moments of 2010

So, usually I wrap up a month with my favorites, but that's just not enough for the end of a big year. How about a countdown of the best moments of 2010?

New Apartment: The glorious days of the crappy first apartment ended this year! I'm kind of funny in that I wanted the crappy "first apartment" experience and I got it. Our old place was 400 sq. ft. with two small windows (total) and the sickly off-white wall color that we didn't paint because we didn't expect to stay longer than our lease. In June, we moved to our current abode: a luxurious 814 sq. ft., 2 bedroom, 2 bath palace (comparatively). It. is. wonderful. And to top it off, we saved up to buy our own washer and dryer (no more quarter scrounging!!!) and some new "grown-up" furniture. Our purple couch and new bedroom set still make me smile.

New Car: This was a blessing in disguise (I think). Our wedding-car fiasco ended with us buying our new car and the financially hardest 5 months we have had to deal with as a couple. It was a monthly challenge to make sure we had enough in the bank to cover our living expenses (which as detailed in the "new apartment" section, were quite a bit more expensive). It's been hard, it's still hard, and we're learning how to deal with these things and maintain our great relationship. It will be a while before we are fully financially repaired from buying this car, but it was necessary at the time and the experience of doing something completely on our own, days after getting married, was priceless.

Our Wedding: You knew this would be the top moment, right? It was, by far, one of the greatest days of my life and I couldn't be more thankful for my awesome husband. He is supportive, loving, and handsome-as-hell and getting married, even as young as we did, was the right decision for us.

The year 2010 was a huge year for us, making the transition between a couple of college kids to full-fledged adults ain't easy but it's been awesome. I can only hope that 2011 brings more wonderful things into our new lives together!

My Creativity Checklist - 2011

Oh goodness! It's the new year and that means new goals! This year I decided to do something fun and different. Introducing my Creativity Checklist v. 2011! Here is a list of 12 things that I want to learn or do this year to keep the creativity flowing. Ultimately, the goal is to complete one thing per month (some items will take longer than one month, but I'll aim to complete it in a certain month). Each completed task will have it's own post, pictures, and bragging rights! This list isn't in any specific order except for the first one which is this month's goal. Wish me luck!

Organize my craft closet!!! January
Design a garment (and actually wear it!)
Take a cake decorating class
Master making cute fabric rosettes
Learn to use Photoshop
Become a certified wedding planner
Decorate cookies freehand (like this!)
Make my own flavored liquor
Create and complete a business plan (shhh... :D)
Finish wedding projects
Make a mean Cosmopolitan
Make this rainbow cake February

A wish for you...

Travel Musts

Yeah, so I'm a little late as I'm sure most of you peeps are already at your holiday destinations, but I figured this would be a good post regardless. I'm slowly working my way to having traveling down to a science. I'd love to have the system down, but I'm getting there. One of the hardest components of packing for a trip is whittling down my beauty products to the essentials.

A train case: This is an awesome way to keep all of your toiletries together in one organized place. This might not work so much if your planning to fly but if you're keeping it local or driving these are perfect. I got one as a gift a few Christmas's ago but I thought these train cases would be amazing!

Brush Case: If you invested a bit of money on your make up brushes they should be protected when you travel. There are lots of options for brush cases but I just got a basic one from Ulta and it works wonderfully. Plus, it's only fits about 8 brushes, so that forces me to downsize on trips...

Retractable Kabuki Brush: This is a great brush to have, but if you use Bare Minerals makeup you know it's especially important. The brush that is marketed for Bare Minerals won't be protected from being tossed around in your makeup bag or new train case so a retractable brush is perfect for traveling. Once again, I picked up mine from Ulta. And just as a side note, this is a great all-purpose brush if you're thinking about starting a brush collection. It can be used for your face powder, blush, and/or bronzer.

Compact eyelash curler: I have a pretty small makeup back and when I travel, I bring a little bit more than my normal make up to be prepared for different situations. So, when I found this eyelash curler at Ulta (seeing a pattern?) I had to pick it up. It's so small and flat that it fits amazingly in a small bag. Plus, it works really great AND you can order free replacement pads for the life of the curler!! Did I mention it comes in pink, too?

And lastly, the hands-down best product ever for travel!!!

KMS California Makeover Spray: This stuff is amazing! It's like the less-messy version of dry shampoo. Say you arrive late at your destination, don't especially feel like showering, and go straight to bed. You wake up the next morning with a full day planned and don't have time for a morning shower. This stuff will take greasy hair and make it normal again! No joke! You just spray it throughout your hair (focus on the roots), brush through, and style as normal. As you could guess, I got mine at Ulta as a free sample, but you can get it on Amazon too!

So, happy traveling! I hope these tips and products to make packing and traveling easier!

**Disclaimer** I am not, nor do I ever claim to be a beauty expert. I am not affiliated with any brands or products mentioned. I bought them all and I give my honest opinion. :D