personalized stockings

I can't wait to deck my halls this year.  It's my first year in an apartment with a mantle and a fireplace, so it has to be special.

I ordered these velvet stockings with ivory cuffs from Pottery Barn and had them personalized in red thread, so Santa knows which one belongs to who.  I can't wait to hang them by our non-existent chimney with care.

Velvet stockings, Pottery Barn, $19 (+7 for monogram)

apothecary jars

photo courtesy of Pottery Barn

I love apothecary jars.  Whenever I see a gorgeously-styled living room, mantle, or kitchen, there's always an apothecary jar in the background filled with lovely things.   

Apothecary jars come in handy, especially when you want to decorate your home with seasonal touches.  You can fill them with fall-colored silk leaves, mini pumpkins, candies, jingle bells...anything! I'm seriously getting so excited just thinking about putting things into apothecary jars.  I'm weird.

The jars can be kind of pricey.  At Pottery Barn they range from $39-$69, but I recently saw some for $9.99 at a discount store.  If that's still too pricey for you, you can make one for a few bucks using items for the Dollar Store. 

may flowers

I was in 3rd grade the first time I heard April showers bring May flowers.  After that, I decided May was my favorite month because flowers are pretty and no other month had a fun rhyme.  I liked it so much I  would tell people I was born in May (my birthday is in September).  I was weird kid.

Here are some of my favorite May flowers, blooming soon near you:

1.  Peonies - These are gorgeous in bud or in full bloom.  The pink ones are especially beautiful.
2.  Lilacs - The smell of these reminds me of my home in Minnesota.  There's a lilac tree right outside our house and the fragrance wakes you up in the morning and lulls you to sleep at night.  I like to keep a small vase of these on my bedside table.
3.  Hydrangeas - You get a lot of bang for with this flower.  They're perfect for single-flower arrangements in tall vases.
4.  Daffodils - This flower is the Miss Congeniality of May flowers.  They're just so friendly.  You can get them for about $2 a bunch.

Happy May!

cake pedestals

All desserts served on a cake pedestal are fancy.  This is science.  

1.  Glass domed cake plate/punch bowl (!!!), $35, Williams-Sonoma
2.  Antique rose cake stand, $55, Sweet and Saucy Supply
3.  Sweets medium pedestal, $25, Crate and Barrel (I have this one and I love it.)
4.  Rosanna Pettit cupcake stand, $18, Amazon

mint julep cups

I am obsessed with these little silver vases...and they're actually mint julep cups!  How cute is that?  So cute.  

They're perfect for little arrangements with the same kind of flower like hydrangeas, lilacs, or peonies.  I just want to put them all over my apartment!  On the mantle, on our bedside tables, in the bathrooms...

You can buy them just about anywhere.  On Amazon they range anywhere from $10-$40, but who cares about the price when they're so cute?! (Okay, I care.  But still...)

place setting placemats

Placemats make meals a little bit more fancy, but if you're not in the mood to put out the nice linen (or, if you're like me and you don't have any linen), you can fake the fancy with these adorable paper placemats from Paper Source.  They would be darling at a girls' lunch, dinner party, or even at the weeknight dinner table for a family with small children since you can draw on them and then throw them away.  You get 50 placemats for $21.95.  Crayons not included.