Tool Tutorial Friday – Vacuum Cleaner and Holiday House Tour
Welcome back to another Tool Tutorial Friday! Before we begin I want to congratulate Wendy, who won the Tomboy Tools Magnetic Hammer! Wendy said, “Thank you for continuing your education for women on power tools! I learn so much from your posts. I’m also glad to know that my son wasn’t the only one with multiple arm casts! Pink hammer – cool.”  You are very welcome!!!
Now, on to the tutorial. Today I have a very important power tool that is a very neglected tool in my home. In fact, it is so infrequently used that I need some help from a more experienced handy girl. Anyone want to volunteer to write a guest tutorial on using a power vacuum cleaner? I could really use your expertise.
Or this equally valuable tool:
I have forgotten how to use it. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Anyone?
Well, I hope you don’t mind that instead of the usual tool tutorial friday, I’m going to give you a Holiday Home Tour instead. Get ready for this amazing tour of my utterly beautiful home! All decked out and ready for the holidays!
Welcome to my mudroom. I spent a lot of time decorating this room. You can see the holiday decor is so abundant it is essentially overflowing!
My dining room is decked out for the season with ribbons, glitter and glue. Even the advent presents are beautifully laid out (in the tote bag.) And I spared no expense when it came to decorating the walls. I used a unique combination of paper bags, boxes and ribbon to adorn them.
Follow me, right this way. Aren’t the garlands of fabric simply beautiful on our stairway? I just love the simplicity of the swags. Pink and silver running shoes add the perfect punch of color.
The kitchen has a child decor theme. Complete with reindeer food and some presents displayed on the counter. Rudolf would be thrilled to eat here.
The living room is decorated from floor to ceiling. I decided to go with a casual and convenient theme this year. When the holidays are over, all I have to do is open the blue bins (which double as a festive ottoman) and drop the decorations inside. Simply genius, don’t you think?!
I saved the best for last! This year I’ve decided to adorn the office with a new color theme. The browns and teals really bring out the holiday spirit! As do the loosely placed papers and items. Careful thought was taken into the placement and juxtaposition of each object on the desk. I think I really nailed this design.
If you haven’t guessed by now, today’s post is a “Keeping It Real” style post.
I’ve been so insanely busy with craft tutorials, Habitat ReStore lectures, broken arms, holiday preparation, gift purchases, and… oh, did I mention that Pretty Handsome Guy is away on business this week? So, you can imagine my life (and home for that matter) are in a state of disarray. So, I hope you’ll excuse me for the next few days as I take a little time to pull my home and life back in order and enjoy the holidays with the people that matter most to me (not that you don’t matter to me!)
In all seriousness, I have accomplished one decorating feat: the tree! I think it looks pretty good if I do say so myself…except…what is that thing lying on the floor to the left of the tree?
Oh, why it is my wreath that has been hung with care!
I’ll be back on Monday with a very important guest. And then check in every day next week for my creative gift wrapping series. You won’t want to miss it!
In the meantime, Happy Holidays! And feel free to see how I decorated last year, aka Rustic Christmas Decor!
Sharing my eclectic decorating style with: Positively Splendid’s Saturday Seven and Funky Junk Interiors SNS
In other news, I have a big announcement to make: The first set of speakers have been announced for the SNAP 2012 conference! I am really excited to be working with such a fabulous group of women bloggers!
If you haven’t heard of it, SNAP is a big creative blog conference from April 19th – 21st near Salt Lake City, UT. I am truly honored to be asked to speak at SNAP and I can’t wait to share some motivational empowerment words with the attendees.
If you would like to enter to win a ticket to SNAP, there is a big ticket giveaway happening right now! From now until Christmas, SNAP will be giving away one ticket a day. So, head over to enter to win your ticket.
Feel free to read a little more about the SNAP conference. It is going to be phenomenal!
Thanks for the chuckle and I hope you enjoy a great time with your family this weekend and don’t spend too much time cleaning. 🙂 Merry Christmas!
Awesome, Brittany! Now this is a REAL home tour! Sometimes the pretty pics of bloggers’ homes can almost bring one down – like ‘keeping up with the joneses’, ya know!
Hope you get some rest and a break and ENJOY some decorating. You deserve it. You need it too – Blissdom, SNAP! (congrats!)
I think you’re shifting into overdrive in 2012. ♥
Great post! 🙂
My desk was decorated just like yours for the holidays!
Love it Brittany!!
Hilarious! You always cheer me up. Lisa~
Totally keepin’ it real – love it Brittany!
Thank you for this post! I love your website. And seeing that you are a real person despite your awesome tool skills gives me hope. And don’t worry, we still have random piles around the house of decorations that need to be put up.
Honestly, “keeping it real” posts are some of my favorites, because they make me feel like maybe I’m not such a freak after all. I’m sitting here in my kitchen with the countertops overflowing with the detritus of a week of a finals for my boys, along with unopened mail, a stack of bills, a bottle of Zicam to ward off an unwelcome cold, and heel inserts for my shoes to treat what may be the beginning of plantar fasciitis. I must say these items do give my kitchen countertops a look of real class.
Sigh.
But if I know that my counters have first cousin right in Raleigh, I don’t feel so alone! 🙂
Hope you have a WONDERFUL few days re-connecting with your husband and really keeping Christmas.
Haha, my house looks like that most of the time too!
Thanks for your great blog, and have a lovely time spending time away from it to be with your family!
Merry Christmas!
Hi!
I love what you’ve done with the place!!
It’s nice to see that you are just like us ordinary folks!!
Merry Christmas and Congratulations on you being a speaker @ SNAP!!
Thanks for keeping it real. I sometimes get very depressed seeing all the loveliness and hearing shopping is done and all gifts wrapped and under the tree.
Great blog today! You made me laugh since that is about how our house looks. I will pull it together by Christmas Eve – or not! Christmas will still be wonderful regardless of the state of the house. Thank goodness Martha isn’t coming!
Hi Brittany-
Cute post. My house looked the same last weekend.I have been on a massive clean up. We can’t do everything – something’s gotta give. I wish I could just twitch my nose and it would all magically get organized. 🙂
Congrats on being a speaker at SNAP.
Enjoy your weekend.
My best- Diane
We must be using the same decorator!
Ha, ha! Yeah, she’s the bomb! ;-D