At Home with Dani

A home decor & lifestyle blog

How I Decorate My Tree

It’s finally here! Christmas time also know as my favorite holiday and the most joyful season of them all. This one, in particular, is extra sweet and special. Last Christmas we were still unpacking boxes in our new build, so the fact that we get to decorate and really enjoy the entire process makes it extra special. Also, this Christmas will be our first Christmas as a married couple!

There’s definitely a lot to be thankful for amidst the craziness and uncertainties that COVID-19 has brought to our household and our world. So, if decorating for the holidays, makes us feel better – why not get to it?!

I’ll be sharing my Christmas tree and will share other spots in my home the next few weeks where we are decorating – slowly but surely. First of all, I wanted to share how I start the process of decorating the tree because I feel like this can be overwhelming for some people.

Since this is our first Christmas in our home, we had to purchase a tree! We decided on this 9 ft tree from The Home Depot. It is absolutely lovely and has a realistic vibe to it! The tree has multiple different lighting settings and comes with a remote control. You can have the lights flickering throughout the night or leave them still. If you’re into multi-colored lights, you can also set them to that setting.

We also got this wreath and garland that match to add to it. Those are both really neat because they come pre-lit and the battery box is on the back. They also have a timer setting and stay on for 6 and off for 18 hours! You won’t have to remember to turn it off every night.

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Christmas Themes

With it being our first Christmas in our new home, we are so excited to finally decorate for Christmas! We’re starting from scratch since we don’t have a tree or any decorations really! It will be a slow and steady process for us, but creating mood-boards to get some inspiration has always helped me in my personal and professional life. I’ve created some different color Christmas themes to get you inspired to shop Christmas decor for your home.

Icy Blue Christmas

I’m a huge fan of the color blue! This is an accent color throughout our home. I feel like this non-traditional Christmas color can really make your Christmas tree pop! You can either opt for blue and white or blue and silver and/or gold. I feel like any of those combinations would look lovely in any home.

Red and Gold Christmas

Another great color is traditional red! This is the signature Christmas color. I’m a fan of tradition when it comes to holidays, and I believe this color is timeless and very versatile. You can also easily find red decor for Christmas, while other colors may be harder to find. My style tip is to add a little a bit of gold to make it sparkle and pop.

Gold and White Christmas

The gold and white for Christmas is also beautiful and timeless. It creates a more neutral look for those who don’t prefer red but still want the holiday sparkle in their homes. You can also mix it up with white, gold and silver, or other neutral colors.

With either of these you can opt for a flocked tree or a traditional natural tree. They’re both beautiful in my opinion. With the flocked tree, you do have to worry about some shedding, but I bet it’s a risk I’d be willing to take. 🙂

As always, please reach out if you use any of the above color schemes or you get inspired to shop some of the items in the mood-boards. I’m excited to share my color selection with you all very soon!

LTK Fall Sale – Madewell

Hi guys! I wanted to share my favorite items from the Madewell Fall Sale. You can use discount code LTKFALLSALE within the promo code at checkout for extra savings! I absolutely love the plants they have as well as their prints.

Pro tip: Get them printed and get a cheaper frame at Hobby Lobby for your place!

Let me know if you end up getting anything from the fall sale.

LTK Fall Sale – Outdoor & Games

Hey guys! If you missed my Stories on social a few days ago, today through Tuesday is the LikeToKnowIt Fall Sale! Participating retailers have items discounted for shoppers who use the LTK app. I’ve rounded up my favorite picks for outdoor living and games. As it starts to get cooler out, more of us in Texas will spend more time outdoors. These items can make a great addition to your backyard and encourage some fun!

The bistro lights make any backyard feel like an extension of your living area, and I love a good hammock for relaxing and drinking my coffee in the mornings. Let me know what you think and if you end up getting any of these for your home.

Fall Favorites 2020

Hey guys! I thought I’d share my favorite fall products and continue to update this page as I find more.

I hope you enjoy this season and spend it gathered with your family. I feel like this Thanksgiving will be even more special amidst all of the craziness that 2020 has brought. My wish for you is to find inspiration and hope in your home with decor and design. Remaining hopeful that better times are ahead.

My favorite picks from World Market

World Market has always been a favorite of mine for affordable and durable furniture and decor pieces. I’ve added my favorite pieces that have been on sale lately!

Front Lawn Refresh

Hey there! It’s summer in Texas and this heat is no joke! I’ve grown up here most of my life, but I still can’t get used to this heat every summer. My fiancé, Casey, and I worked outside on our front yard this past weekend, and I’ve gotta share the progress we’ve made.

We haven’t done much to it since we built our home and moved in six months ago. So, we decided it was time for a little refresh. Since we’re spending more time outside, we’ve noticed beautiful blooms and flowers we wanted to incorporate into our landscaping. Casey’s parents gifted us with a hibiscus plant, and we feel like it adds a nice pop of color.

This is the before!

Before the landscape refresh

The mulch, however, was getting rough looking. So, we decided it was time to get some more. We also weren’t fans of the bush to the left of the pathway. We took that out and opted to add crushed limestone from our local landscaping supply store and a planter with Bougainvilleas from Calloway’s Nursery. One of the red bushes was also dead, so it was time to just take that baby out.

We also wanted to light up the entryway at night. Some family members and guests have almost missed a step quite a few times! We got these solar path lights from Home Depot and placed them along the pathway. In addition to these, we got these spotlights from Walmart to light up our trees.

Here’s the after!

After the refresh! I absolutely love the pink flowers!

We went with black mulch all around the front and a nice and sturdy gray pot for the left side with crushed limestone underneath. Overall, this was fairly inexpensive to do, and we did it all ourselves. Are you sprucing up your front yard? What other flowers should we plant? We’re starting to learn more about landscaping as first-time home buyers and surprisingly enjoy doing yard work… we just wish it was a little cooler in Texas!

Pantry Organization

Hi everyone! As some of my close friends and family know, I’m a type-A personality and love organization. I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but I truly enjoy tidying up. I also realize though it can get to be an expensive and long process. I decided to start out by tackling our pantry. I’ll explain what items we purchased to organize and how we decided to group items.

One of the features I loved the most about the house model we chose, was our pantry. It’s HUGE! Before living in our home, we lived in apartments and our pantries were always so crowded. Since it is so big, we needed storage compartments, so we could really see what we had at home before going grocery shopping.

I had been eyeing OXO storage containers for a while but didn’t want to splurge just yet. They’re usually around $90-$100 for a box of 9. I got lucky and found mine at Costco for less than $60. They have the sale in-store through July 28th, so I would run to your nearest Costco if you’re on the hunt as well.

I then used stick-on labels with a removable chalk marker to label the items that were poured into each container. I purchased these from Amazon that included the labels. A good tip is to pour items that you use most often into the containers, so you can keep refilling it and get rid of the packaging or boxes. For the bags you still have to seal, we use these mini chalkboard clips.

Once my containers were organized, I decided to tackle snacks, chips, and other boxed items we don’t consume as often. I purchased these metal baskets from Amazon that you can stack up, if you have the room, or leave as is. I like that you can see-through your pantry items and chose these instead of the typical wicker baskets.

For jars, rubs, and marinades, I bought two acrylic-like lazy susans. The ones I purchased from Amazon seem to be sold out currently, but I’m linking a similar one here. I also wanted to make sure my spices were organized but within reach when cooking, so I got this spice rack step shelf and arranged them at the front of the pantry.

Lastly, for grocery bags, I purchased this over-the-door organizer which hangs underneath our kitchen sink for easy access. For foil, cling wrap, and Ziplock baggies, I purchased these under shelf hanging organizers that I also love.

While these items may add up, I think having a neatly organized pantry that allows you to quickly see what you have at home and take a quick inventory saves you money in the long run by not purchasing extra items. I still think we have progress to make! The back of the pantry still needs some work as we have a few miscellaneous items stored there. We could also use smaller OXO containers for baking soda and other mixes, but I wanted to show you our progress thus far. Who knows, you may be inclined to tidy up this summer!

Dining Room Floral Arrangement

Hi there! I’ve been playing around with decorating our formal dining room. More specifically, the centerpiece for it. I think classic and neutral centerpieces are great as you can always add seasonal decor to the table setting. They’re timeless and won’t need to be changed out constantly. I try to look at some decor pieces as investment pieces.

I hope our home is a place where we can host our loved ones and gather around this dining table (once this pandemic is over, of course.) I wanted a beautiful flower arrangement instead of the glass candle votives, so I made it!

I used faux flowers to re-create a hydrangeas arrangement for our dining table. Don’t get me wrong, I love beautiful fresh flowers. But, I also wanted a centerpiece that would last a long time and didn’t have to change out constantly.

I headed over to Michael’s and got about 15 of them to create the arrangement below. The vase I purchased from Home Goods. It has a nice blue undertone that goes with our dining room, and it’s so pretty. I was originally going to add and simulated water kit to the vase to give the impression that there was water in it. I decided not to because I like to change my mind often 🙂 and may want other florals in that vase in the future. I cut about two inches from the stem and started filling the outside working my way to the center of the vase.

I hope you enjoy the faux floral arrangement and get inspired to create one for your home.

Home Building Selections

Hi there! I thought I’d start by explaining why we selected the colors we did during our home building process. If you’re building a home, this can be the most enjoyable part of the whole process. I do recommend taking your time in making selections, seeing other inventory homes, or houses that are in construction to see the colors in person. I also suggest taking pictures of every selection and being very specific in relaying any changes to the builder.

During the color selection meeting, the builder encourages you to drive around and see what kind of brick and trim colors you like before making a decision. After driving around, we noticed lighter brick showed dust more and most likely needed to be power washed more often. We decided to go with a dark color brick and trim.

We chose PPG’s Knight’s Armor for our exterior paint for the trim and the garage. For our brick, we also went with a darker tone called Flint Ranch mixed with white limestone.

For the interior, we wanted to brighten the space up. We love bright spaces with natural lighting and wanted to make sure the interior of the home gave us that vibe. We decided on PPG’s Elusion which is a soft and warm gray. Eventually, we’d like to paint other walls with accent colors throughout the home, but for now, we love it.

On the kitchen cabinets, the master bath, and half bath, we decided to go with white cabinetry throughout. We just felt it was a timeless color that could brighten the first floor even more. For the upstairs bath, we picked Sherwin Williams’, Gauntlet Gray. Knowing we eventually plan on having kids, we knew we wanted a darker color that could uphold sticky fingers and all.

The countertops we chose for the kitchen were quartz from India. They are a beautiful white with gray undertones, called Dreamy White, they really are dreamy! During the building process, we did some research to figure out if we wanted quartz vs granite in the kitchen. We decided to go with quartz as they’re more durable, and because they aren’t porous like granite, they’re easier to keep clean and bacteria-free. They also don’t require much maintenance, unlike granite countertops that are recommended to be sealed once a year. For the bathroom, we decided to go with granite from Spain called White Shore and opted to splurge in the kitchen rather than the bath.

For the flooring, we chose wood-like tile throughout the first floor and carpet upstairs. We chose a tile called Hatteras Cedar which was actually in the model home that we toured. We loved how easy it looked to clean and the color tone.

I hope to show more off the color through pictures via Instagram and this blog soon! In the meantime, if you’re currently building, maybe you can get inspired by some of our selections.

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