HoliDIYs

Greeting cards, place cards, holiday sweaters! The holiday season is in full swing and we all need those little festive touches that make our home feel extra warm and welcoming during this special time of year. To prepare for holiday parties and dinners you may be throwing or attending here are some DIY Woodland Forest Scene place cards to set out for your guests, or to bring along as a hostess gift. 

Need a little mood lighting to set the tone for the evening? Make some very simple yet lovely moss votives for your table or to give as a gift. 

Attending an Ugly Christmas Sweater party this year? Here is a fun and easy way to make your own. 

More holiDIYs coming up today and throughout the rest of the year! I hope you are enjoying this special time of year with the ones you love. 

Happy Valentine's Day

Have a wonderful Valentine's Day long weekend with the ones you love. Be it your rescue pup, best girlfriend, or boo, enjoy and be safe.

Much love from me to you!

My Heart is at Home

I hope you are having a week filled with love. Be it from your Galentine's or your boo, take a moment to breathe in the love and cherish the ones you hold dear. I just received a box in the mail from my sweet mom filled with a few Valentine's Day gifts. The sight of this made me well up a little due to the thoughtfulness involved. I haven't even opened up a gift, but I already got the present of knowing I will always be my mom's Valentine. That, alone, has me bringing with gratitude and love.

I've mentioned before that I am lucky enough to have 2 moms and 2 dads. All 4 of my parents are on my mind and in my heart right now, even more than they usually are. They are all going through a lot and as their kid it kills me not to live so close I am come over and be there for them. IN PERSON. It's hard to have home on the mind and in your heart, yet miles, work, and mountains of snow make the trek impossible. Hopefully my love is reaching them, and they know I am there in spirit. I always am.

To close, one thing I have no love at all for: cancer. F@$& cancer. That is all.

Episode 6 // DIY Kissing Lips + Conversation Hearts

With Valentine's Day mere days away, today's episode of HGTV Handmade is filled with 2 really quick and super-easy gifts to make for your valentine. Not a sewer? I've got you covered in there with a no-sew option as well. Let me know what you think in a comment on the video page. Thanks for the killer support, it means the world!

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Episode 1 / Episode 2 / Episode 3 / Episode 4 / Episode 5

This/That: Christmas Edition

Christmas with my mom and stepdad was just wonderful this year. It was a chill, relaxed few days of crackling fires, delicious food, snuggly dogs, and the comforting company of my parents and husband. 

Last week we...

+ Ate this yule log, along with my mom's lobster rolls, her DIY egg-white McMackins, steamed dungeness crab, standing rib rack, and my frittata. We ate like kings and returned with enough food to feed a gluten-free army.

+ Drank these pomegranate seed, cranberry, citrus mocktail. We added lemon salt to the rim and it was to-die-for. 

+ Cozied up next to this roaring fire with the cutest and sweetest pups in the world. 

+ Yeah, okay, maybe Gracie and I took a few selfies togeths. Do we look alike? I hope so.

 + Wrapped one of my gifts for my parents with the help of DIY pom pom Frosty. 

We are home safe and sound and are ready for the New Year! Are you?

Christmas Time is Here

It's the most wonderful time of the year and also the BUSIEST. The last couple of weeks I have been juggling the first three episodes of HGTV Handmade while trying to keep up with Christmas prep for my wonderful families. I usually have a bit more time and space to revel in the holiday spirit, but this year has proven to be more challenging. I'm getting there and trying to shift out of work-mode and into a more relaxed, Christmas vibe. Are you guys accomplishing this yet? Tonight the DIY wrapping begins and that will help with the shift. As will our trip to my parents next week. The holiday spirit is all around our home, but this is nothing compared to how warm and festive my mom and dad's house will be when we arrive there on Monday. I can just smell the mulling spices now and can't wait to countdown to Christmas with the woman makes every holiday so special. My mom embodies the Christmas spirit all year 'round, so come December 25th, there is no one in the world better to share the day with. See you soon, mom!

Christmas Time is Here

This week I shot the first 2 episodes of HGTV Handmade and last weekend we celebrated our best friend in the Catskills. Work and life has been insanely busy right now, meaning my dear friend Christmas hasn't gotten it's moment to shine like a string of twinkling lights just yet. Usually we would have had the perfect Christmas tree with wrapped presents underneath by now, but it's been so hectic that we are incredibly late to the festive game. I am so excited that finally THIS weekend Christmas is coming to the Cole household! Tonight we are getting our tree and will add the magical lights. Tomorrow we will decorate it with same-said best friend while watching Christmas movies, baking treats, wrapping presents, and revelling is the aromatic scent of the balsam fir that will be shining in our living room. I can hear the soundtrack of Love Actually now.

Photo of the coolest ring ever found on Pinterest.

The First Snow

Yesterday was the first big snow of the season. It was a clean and crisp white winter wonderland outside and a warm and cozy haven inside. The furry little ones were NOT feeling the cold and wet outdoors, instead chose to nestle under blankets for most of the day, making it so hard not to join them. One of the challenges of working from home is resisting the urge to end every work day early to nap alongside my favorite four-legged nuggets in a Netflix haze of snuggles. Instead I worked until 10pm prepping for today's big shoot, but man oh man, it took all the restraint I have. Here's to a short shoot so I can join these fools under the blankets earlier this evening.

This/That: Winter Catskills Edition

This weekend I...

+ Stayed in this A-frame Catskills house to celebrate one of my best friend's birthdays. It was snowy, cozy mountain perfection. Sitting in this hot tub with the snow coming down all around us, looking up at the star-filled sky was so relaxing and romantic and beautiful we didn't want to leave.

+ Made and ate this delicious breakfast.

+ Reveled in the wonder of this beautiful man's existence. 

+ Explored this teeny, tiny nearby town that made us feel like we traveled back in time.

+ Snuggled with this precious pup by the roaring fire Will kept on perpetual rotation.

 

+ Soaked in the peaceful pace of mountain living before coming back to the city to begin filming HGTV handmade. 

This/That: Thanksgiving Style

This past holiday weekend I...

Juiced these delicious apples, oranges, and lemons / Ground this pink himalayan sea salt + mixed it with ground cloves / Poured these delicious mocktails

Made TWO types of gluten-free stuffing, Gillian's + Glutino, and held a taste test. The preferred result: A COMBO OF THE TWO

MADE THIS. MY FIRST TURKEY! I prepared it on my own (yikes!) and with the help of my husband Will and best buddy Dejon, we basted and roasted this delicious Trader Joe's turkey to herbed perfection. It was, and it's leftovers remain, DELICIOUS. 

Dressed the table with these simple berries. After days of prep and shopping, and a full day of non-stop cooking, we savored every morsel of our Thanksgiving dinner reward. I hope your holiday was warm, wonderful, and filled with loved ones. 

Happy Thanksgiving

Have a warm, safe, healthy, and happy Thanksgiving with those you hold dear. This year I am beyond thankful for the health and happiness of my family, and am sending out lots of love and energy to each of you. Enjoy and be safe!

Birthday Remnants

Acoustic guitar was played, brownies were baked, Misfits records were spun, and presents were opened. The "low-key family birthday" that Will asked for was relaxing and lovely and exactly what he wanted.

Now, the task at hand is completing my grocery shopping for tomorrow's feast that we are having right here in our home. I am pretty sure that will be a little less relaxing, but will be worth it when we have our first holiday in our new home with our two best friends Barret and Dejon. I am cooking my very first turkey, which I already have sitting, defrosted and ready n my fridge. It is the exact same size and weight of Gracie which I find oddly adorable. Good luck and God speed to you as you prep, shop, and/or travel!

Happy Birthday, Will

Your brain astounds, your kindness comforts, your humor makes it all worth it. 

Your friendship is my home, your thoughtfulness makes me a better person, and your growth inspires us all. Your music is beautiful, your face my favorite sight, your voice the sweetest thing I've heard. You and you alone are home to me and as long as you're by my side life will always be fun, safe, and warm.

In the last year you've grown and evolved more than most people do in a lifetime, showing us all that as long as we have air in our lungs we get to choose how we live this life. I'll always thank you for that. I'll always have your back. I will always love you more than anything in the universe.

Photo by Erik Beck.

DIY Lighting Strikes Twice Halloween Costume

We just had the best Halloween we've had in years! Our new neighborhood offered up exactly what I wanted, lots of adorable little humans dressed up in their most creative costumes, trick-or-treaters, decked-out Halloween displays, and a parade to see what everyone wore and show off our own costumes. BoCoCa (Boerum Hill, Cobble Hill, + Carrol Gardens) proves time and time again to be the perfect place for us. After ALL of the Halloween costumes and videos I've done through the years, the truth is I never know what I'm going to be until the last-minute. Here is how we created ours the day of and turned out a look that had ALL of the neighbors talking. 

*SAFETY FIRST: This costume uses fire to create the look, which is dangerous. If you are 18 years or younger, please ask an adult for help. Adults be careful as well. To be safe: Wear a mask and hard sole shoes, have a hose and a large bowl of water nearby and ready. We had no issues or trouble, but safety always comes first!




SUPPLIES:

-Full outfits to wear of clothes you don't mind sacrificing to the Halloween Gods. If you've already purged any excess closet pieces, you can pick up a cheapo outfit from your local thrift store.

-Long matches

-Wood kindling (optional, but helps with adding ash)

-A lighter

-A hose + bowl of water nearby

-A mask to prevent inhaling fumes

-Grey eye shadow

-Fake blood or a little red make-up

-Hair spray

-A brush

-An old umbrella

In an outdoor area with a stone surface, lay your clothing out. Using your long match, start to fringe and burn the edges of your sleeves. Start gently so you can gauge how quickly your fabric will burn. Once you feel confident in your ability to quickly put out the flame, move on to more singeing and burning.

Take a match or lighter and create holes where the lightning would have struck you. As soon as the fabric ignites, stamp it out with your shoe.

Use the ash and soot the burn made to dirty up the clothing. Smush it around together and rub the black ash everywhere. The dirtier the better.

Burn the ends of your pants and be sure to get the back of your outfit as well. Leave no patch of clean, untouched fabric. The below photo is my sweatshirt hood. WAS my sweatshirt hood.

To finish off the look, tease your hair with a brush and spray it with hairspray. Use the gray eye shadow to create ash smudges all over your hands, face, and any exposed skin or clothing that needs it. Add a little fake blood coming out of your ears. Will found an old umbrella and singed it up, which really sealed the deal. I drew and cut out a lightning bolt with chalk on a large piece of felt and attached ribbon to it to tie around the dogs collars and tummies. This made the dogs lightning and us their sad, charred victims. 

 

You might have just heard me high-five my husband for pulling it all off.

Top Instagram photo by Mary Zappulla, Bottom photo by Brenda Chism

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