Our Holiday Home

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!!!  Happy Winter Solstice, everyone!

Typically, Shep and I don't get our holiday act together to Christmas-tize our home until much later in the month.  In fact, I'm pretty certain we've at least once (or twice, or three times, or maybe twice) bought our tree on Dec. 20-something.  Last year, we didn't decorate at all because we moved in mid-December.  Boooo...  Well, not this year!!!  This year -- thanks to a holiday party we had earlier in the month {more on that later!} -- ours halls were decked in the first week of December!!!  {Shocking, we know!}

Without further ado, I present:

Our Home for the Holidays

Mantle & Christmas Card Display

Master Bedroom Christmas Tree

I love my berry vase!

I'll have a bluuuuuuuue Christmas...

Oh, Christmas Tree!

You know the old adage "a picture is worth a thousand words"?  Well, I'm going to let the photos do the talking in this post.  Now presenting... our Christmas tree!

Here are some of our sentimental ornaments...

Stay tuned for more photos of our holiday decor -- we have lots of little Christmas vignettes scattered throughout the apartment and we love sharing our ideas and photos!  For now, I'm going to sit and gaze at our tree...

Free Shutterfly Wall Calendar!

Hi readers, I have a pre-Turkey Day treat for you!  Use code CALENDAR2013 at shutterfly.com to get a free* 12-month wall calendar!!!

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I am not receiving any perks for passing along this discount code; I merely saw the code in my inbox and wanted to share the savings!  I haven't personally used Shutterfly for calendars before, but I have created and gifted several photo calendars from another site for my grandma for Christmas the past couple years and she's loved them!

Enjoy!!!

Yard Sale!

Last weekend, we had a yard sale at my mom's house.  We originally hoped to have the sale at the beginning or end of summer, but you know what they say about the best paid plans and all.  Having been through it though, it's probably better that we didn't have it sooner because even though it was the first week in October and temperatures were cool the sun was strong and we were hot!!!  I think I would have melted into a puddle sitting out there all day in July or August!

Shep and I have been designating things as "yard sale" for what feels like a year now.  Each time we came across something in our apartment or storage unit that we couldn't find a place for or no longer wanted, we'd yell "YARD SALE!" (similar to how a granny would yell "BINGO!" in a game hall).  It kind of turned into a joke, and we'd giggle every time we designated something to be sold.  We did such a great job of "de-cluttering" our living space that we created a huge pile of items in the extra bedroom of our apartment.  Talk about counterproductive.  ;)  Eventually, we de-cluttered the yard sale staging area by driving multiple car loads of crap yard sale goodies to my mom's house, including a cargo van full of furniture and other crap treasures (huge thanks to my brother who helped out with that task like a rock star!).

Curious what we had for sale?  Here's a sample....

It was scary to see how much STUFF Shep and I had accumulated to sell, especially since we've only been married for 3.5 years, and we live in a condo!  A lot of our overage was due to having too many lamps, for example, after merging homes years ago and never down-sizing properly at the time.  Other items (like all the blue boxes above) were a result of recent upgrades in our new apartment to lighting and bath fixtures.

All in all, it was a productive first yard sale, and we made $231.35!  Not bad for a couple of amateurs!  Because knowledge is power, we created a tip list for any brave souls out there in cyberspace who will one day master your own first yard sale!

Lessons learned:

• Advertise, advertise, advertise!!!  We actually took it a little light on the advertising since this was our first sale and we didn't want to be overwhelmed.  We also didn't have a need to sell everything at once though.  The Monday before the sale I put an ad on craisglist that included a description of the items I was selling, the time and date of the sale, the location of the sale (we included directions but not a street address for privacy reasons), and some photos of key items.  I also included a note instructing "cash only" and "no early birds".  Saturday morning, I refreshed my ad so it would appear toward the top of the listings and visible to those searching that day.

• Have change on hand: People will pay for a $5 item with a $50 bill, and will also pay in quarters so it's a necessity to have change and small bills on hand.  Before the yard sale, we stopped at the bank and got approximately thirty $1 bills, several dollars worth of quarters, and about eight to ten $5 bills.  We had some $10 and $20 bills on hand as well, which came in handy to break larger bills without needing to give all our small bills away.  After the sale I had $50 in one dollar bills, which solicited a very intriguing look from the bank teller when I deposited the money.  I just smiled politely and handed the wad of ones over.

• Price items reasonably:  This was probably the hardest part of the day for us.  Some of the items we were selling were either of great sentimental or monetary worth.  However, those shopping at yard sales are looking for bargains, not memories, so price accordingly if you truly want to sell your stuff!  I think we did fairly well in this category, but there is definitely room for improvement next time.  For example, I had about a dozen glass vases I was trying to sell for $5 each, which I think I'll mark down to $3 next time around.  One pair of grumpy old garage sale ladies actually uttered the phrase "YEESH!" while looking at some of our items.  I think at the time they were looking either at purses that I was trying to sell for $5 or a perfectly working and almost new cordless vacuum cleaner for $15, I can't remember.  But, both are pretty good prices if you ask me, so I'm not sure what they were "yeeshing" about!  I think they were professional pickers and generally grumpy, so I tried not to take it personally.  A gentleman proclaimed to Shep that we would "never sell anything at that price!" (that price being $3 for a hardcover book in excellent condition), so Shep invited the man to make an offer.  The man offered $2 and a sale was made.  Flexibility is key!

• Staging is important:  Think of your yard sale as a department store -- group similar items together, arrange items in an attractive way, and ensure all items can be easily seen.  One thing we're going to do next time is rent or borrow a rack, to more easily display the many pieces of clothing we want to sell.  I managed to sell a couple shirts and a few hats this time around, which were folded nicely and placed in bins, but I think a clothing rack is going to make a huge difference next time.

• Be ready for early birds:  We woke up super early and made it to my mom's house in record time; however, the items took a bit longer to pull out, set up and price that we predicted (rookie mistake) and one or two shoppers arrived before the official start time of the yard sale.  Even though I specified "no early birds!" in my craigslist ad, some folks arrived early so be prepared!

• Have a plan for after the sale:  In this case, ours was to shove everything back into my mom's garage at the end of the day, where it will sit until our next yard sale in the spring!  It's hard to predict what will sell, so be sure you're not stuck with a bunch of stuff you have no room for when the day is done.  If you absolutely must get rid of all items by the end of the sale, start marking prices down in the afternoon and have transportation or help (or both!) on standby to help haul the items away to a local charity or drop-off location.  Many charities will accept used clothing, furniture, housewares, but some have strict rules so make sure you research ahead of time!

• Buddy up:  It's good to pair up with at least one other adult.  At times, there were nearly a dozen people simultaneously perusing the items, asking questions, asking to pay, etc.  At other times, there were no guests, so we took turns going inside to cool off or grab a bite to eat.  I wouldn't advise holding a sale on your own -- it's a lot easier, and more fun, to share the responsibilities!

So there you have it, folks... Yard Sale 101 as told by Nicole & Shep.  :)  Any readers out there have any great advice to share?  We'd love to hear it!

Lovely Labels

I looooove address labels.  Shep might say that my love of labels boarders on addiction... I don't know if I'd agree with that characterization, but I definitely admit to having a quite large collection, especially for someone who doesn't even send snail mail all that often!  I can't help it, I have zero restraint when I see a cute design I like... something inside me gets giddy and I have to have them!

I can thank (and blame) my obsession with personalized address labels mostly on Vistaprint.  I'm not quite sure how they stay in business with such a pricing model, but Vistaprint often has "free" sales, which means many of the items on their website are free of charge; the customer must only pay for shipping.  In my opinion, the $2 postage charge for 140 address labels is well worth it considering the plethora of designs one can choose from, and the ease with which they can be customized.  After the very first time I ordered, I was smitten.

Here are some of my faves that I've created over the years:

The very first design I ordered!
Apparently after one gets engaged, one must buy labels.

I ordered these for our wedding save-the-date magnets!
Cue the music to "Memories" from Cats...

We used these the first time we sent joint
Christmas cards out.  Not very holiday-ish;
not sure what I was thinking (except blue).

Look familiar?  I needed them in blue
for our wedding invitations, of course!

If you guessed holiday cards you'd be right!
These are from December 2010,
when we were still in our first apt!  (sniff)

Our first labels with our new apt address on them.

These are the latest addition to my collection!
Aren't they so sweet?!  I'm in LOVE.

Speaking of love, that last label design happens to coordinate PERFECTLY with these postage stamps I have, which makes me doubly excited to send mail out!

2011 USPS Love Forever Stamp

Good thing I hoarded purchased a ton of these when they came out, because I just checked the website and it doesn't appear these are being sold any longer!

Well, there you have it -- my love for personalized address labels (and pretty postage stamps) is out in the open.  They say that admittance is the first step to recovery, but I don't want to recover!!!  My name is Nicole, I'm an address label collector, and I'm proud!!

Any other stamp, sticker or label collectors out there?  We collectors need to "stick" together, so tell me about what collections you have!  ;)



Note: I have not received any payment or other perks from Vistaprint for this post.  I just love their labels so much I had to share!

Free Shutterfly Photo Book

Free alert!!!  Through Wednesday, September 12, Shutterfly is offering YOU (and me!) a free* 8 x 8 photo book!

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Click here for more info and to order!  I've ordered a couple photo books from Shutterfly in the past: the interface is easy to use, the quality is pretty great given the price, and they're delivered quickly!  I definitely plan to utilize this end-of-summer offer.... hmm, maybe on a France vacation memory book!

*You'll be charged for shipping, but it's still a great deal considering these books are typically $29.99!

I'm not receiving any payment or other perk for referring this offer - I just wanted to share this great deal as a PSA to my trusty readers!  Enjoy!!

Anniversary Remembrance

July 20th is a very special day to me.  On this day in 1946 my grandparents were married.

Here's a photo of my Babci and Dziadziu that was taken in July 2008 at our engagement party, a week before their 62nd anniversary.

Growing up, I was in awe of their love.  The way they looked lovingly into one another's eyes, chased one another around the dining room table for kisses, always held hands and generally showed love and respect for the other person, even during a disagreement, was so inspiring.  I always thought while growing up that if I could find a partner even half as wonderful as either of them, I'd be very lucky.  Obviously no relationship or spouse is perfect, but to me their marriage was a shining example of the gifts of family and love.  I have and always will admire their devotion.

Sadly, my grandpa passed away in April 2009, the month before our wedding.  I'd dreamed of sharing a wedding dance with my new hubby and my grandparents for as long as I can remember, but unfortunately life didn't work out that way.

I feel so blessed that we all got to celebrate their 62nd anniversary that summer as a family up in Maine.  Lots of hugs, kisses, singing and laughs were shared that weekend for sure!  Here's a photo of the lovebirds after we serenaded them with Sto Lat and a celebratory cake.

I am so lucky that I have so many wonderful memories of many years spent with both my grandparents, and cherish the opportunity to create even more memories with my grandma!  I always count my blessings when it comes to my family, but on this day in particular I am especially proud to be part of my grandparents' legacy.

France Photo Recap

As many of you know, the hubby and I recently celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary in France.  As promised, here is a photographic recap of some of our trip details.  I took nearly 1,000 photos over the 2 weeks we were away (what can I say, I love me some pictures!!) that I certainly don't expect all of you to comb through, so I'm including the highlights here.  I hope you enjoy!

(Click on photos to enlarge)

One of my favorite parts of the trip was...

Yes, that's a Nutella crepe (the first of many) and it was DELICIOUS!  What a way to say "Bonjour Paris"!  Equally tasty was this gelato...

and the famous hot chocolate at Cafe Angelina:

Y.U.M.M.Y!!!  Besides the heavenly desserts, pastries and breads, we enjoyed an abundant selection of wine (of course!):

and fresh roses everywhere we turned, like these beauties:

Speaking of gorgeous views, check these out:

Paris

Paris

Provence

Provence

Provence

Provence

Eze

Eze

Eze

Eze

Monaco

We started in Paris, then took the high speed train to Aix-en-Provence before finishing the trip in Eze.  Aix and Eze were lovely smaller towns with French countryside charm.  We didn't have any set itineraries for either destination, but rather took each day as it came and explored whatever we came across.

In Paris, there was a lot we wanted to see, so we were up early every day in an attempt to accomplish as much as we could!  We visited a bunch of famous landmarks and museums:

Champs-Élysées

Notre Dame

statue in the park

the famous Mona Lisa

Louvre Museum

Musée d'Orsay

Rodin Museum

Invalides

Arc de Triomphe

The Opera

Versailles

Sacre Cour

And of course...

Eiffel Tower, 5/23/2012

All in all, it wasn't the most relaxing trip we've ever taken (thanks in large part to a couple unwelcome home-related events we had to face both before and during the trip - more info on those later), but it was soooooooo very nice to finally get some time away together.  France has been on "my list" for a while now, and I'm thankful to have gotten the chance to see it with my sweetheart.  Happy 3rd anniversary, hubby, and cheers to many more to come!!!

Well, that's all for now - thanks for coming with us down memory lane!


All photos are the property of This Is Life At Our Home and are not to be reproduced in any form or otherwise used without prior permission.