1. Gather all of your supplies. You will need foam wreath rings (I used 8 inch rings), gold spray paint, a glue gun and plenty of glue, pinecones of various shapes and sizes, ribbon to hang the wreaths, and cotton sprigs if you wish to add them.
2. Spray paint your wreath rings and let them dry thoroughly.
3. Once the rings are dry, lay out your pattern so you know how many pinecones you’ll need. It’s not an exact science since they are all different shapes and sizes.
4. Apply glue to a section of the wreath ring and start laying the pinecones on top of the glue. Press them down for a few seconds so they stick on the ring.
5. If you have bigger chunks of the foam ring showing through the larger pinecones, you can apply glue to the larger pinecones and add in small pinecones to cover the spots. I found the miniature pinecones on Amazon and they were a lifesaver for those little spots that needed to be filled in.
6. Add in cotton sprigs if you’d like. I found the larger floral piece at the craft store, cut off the cotton, and then glued it on top of the pinecones.
7. Once the wreath looks the way you want it to, thread ribbon through the wreath, tie a ribbon or knot and hang it where you’d like. I have my wreaths hanging on a mirror above the mantel and on the doors in our sunroom.
The holiday season is coming to a close and most of you are starting to think about “de-decking the halls,” if you will. This is always my least favorite part of Christmas because the house feels naked without all of the pretty decorations. I have had a lot of people ask me how I seasonally decorate after the holiday season. A lot of stores just skip straight to Spring decor. So what do you do when Winter has just started? I’m going to talk about how you can prolong some of your decor without things looking too Christmasy.
1. Leave out some decorations that make you think of Winter rather than Christmas. I chose to leave out items that look wintery, like pine trees, pinecones, deer, snowflakes, etc. If you eliminate the red, gold, and silver accents, things tend to look more like Winter decorations instead of Christmas decorations.
Winter Mantel
Christmas Mantel
I left the garland on my fireplace mantel and just removed the gold garland and red candles. I also swapped the nutcrackers and Christmas trees for pinecone topiaries and white jute deer. I also added in the pinecone wreath to the mirror.
2. Clear the clutter. I took away the majority of the decorations that I had out so it doesn’t feel like too much. I think of Winter as a minimalistic season since the trees are bare and most things aren’t blooming.
I left the pine trees and small trees in the sunroom for a little pop of nature. I also left the snowflake pillows in this room.
3. Not sure what to decorate with? Look to nature for inspiration. Most stores put Winter decorations on clearance with Christmas decorations right after Christmas. If you don’t have decorations that aren’t strictly Christmas decorations (or just need more Christmas decorations), now is the time to grab some for at least 50% off.
Happy decorating! Wishing all of you a wonderful 2020. Thank you for following 21 Lane Blog.
I’ll admit, cooking is not my favorite thing to do. Luckily, my husband is really into it so most days I don’t have to worry about cooking. However, when we host, I chip in and take care of the appetizers and sides while he works the grill. I like to keep things easy so I selected appetizers that are festive, but can be prepped before guests arrive.
Skewer Caprese Wreath – Assembly time 20 minutes
Instructions, this is really as easy as it looks.
Alternate adding tomatoes and mozzarella balls to skewers. I assembled the skewers prior to guests arriving and stored them in the refrigerator until they arrived.
Arrange basil leaves on a round platter.
Layer skewers on top of the leaves.
Add salt and pepper to taste on the arranged skewers.
Add a bowl of balsamic vinegar in the middle of the arranged skewers.
Ingredients
One large package of cherry tomatoes
2 packages of mozzarella cheese pearls
20 Basil leaves, or enough to cover your platter
Salt
Pepper
Balsamic vinegar
Skewers
Festive Puppy Chow – Assembly time 20 minutes, allow 1 hour to refrigerate
Puppy chow is always a crowd pleaser, you can’t go wrong with peanut butter, chocolate, and powdered sugar. It’s really easy to make, just a little messy due to the powdered sugar. I gave this a festive twist with green sprinkles.
Instructions
Measure out your rice chex into two large mixing bowls and set aside while you prepare the other ingredients.
Melt butter, chocolate chips and peanut butter in a medium-sized sauce pan over medium heat. Remember to stir it to prevent the butter from burning.
Stir in vanilla once the ingredients are melted together.
Pour chocolate over cereal in one bowl in stages. As you add more of the chocolate mixture, add in more cereal from your second bowl. Separating the cereal and adding the chocolate in stages ensures all of your pieces will be coated.
Place powdered sugar in a large airtight plastic bag and gradually add in cereal. Shake the powdered sugar over the chocolate coated cereal to coat it. Don’t have massive ziplock bags handy? Separate the powdered sugar into two freezer gallon bags instead.
Spread the coated cereal onto a few cookie sheets in single layers, cover with foil and refrigerate for an hour.
Remove from refrigerator, add the mixture into a bowl. Sprinkle festive sprinkles on top.
Ingredients
9 cups Rice Chex (about 1 box- I used two because I didn’t want all of the broken pieces at the end of the cereal box added in)
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar
1 package of sprinkles
There you have it, two super easy recipes for holiday appetizers. We are celebrating Christmas with my side of the family today and decided on a Mexican food theme to switch things up this year. I’m making my favorite guacamole recipe and tried a new recipe for dessert, churro cheesecake bars. Check back for those recipes for your next Taco Tuesday.
There are only 10 days until Christmas and it’s time to start getting your house ready for dinner guests. I always find that its best to start with setting the table and planning your meal so you aren’t rushing last minute. If you have a formal dining room that goes unused most days (like ours) then setting the table is something you can accomplish that is out of the way until Christmas comes.
1. Select a tablecloth. I chose this tablecloth for a few reasons, it was insanely cheap and it comes in multiple sizes. We have a long dining room table so I piece two tablecloths together to avoid spending hundreds of dollars on one. Yes, you can see the seam down the middle, but once your table is set you won’t notice it. If it really bothers you, you can place a runner over it.
2. Add a base for decorations down the middle of your table. I found the glitter garland above on sale, but it was super messy.
My decorating assistant stuck her nose in the bag and got glitter all over her face haha. I knew I had to do something before I laid it on the table. I took it out in the yard and hair sprayed it to prevent glitter from falling everywhere in the dining room.
3. Place chargers (or your dinner plates) for spacing purposes, candlesticks, and a focal point on the table. We received these antler candlesticks and chargers as wedding gifts. Both items are so versatile and can be used on almost any table. The reindeer came from an estate sale for $2. I can’t resist a good deal.
4. Steam your tablecloth. You have probably been wondering why I would lay out a tablecloth that is so wrinkly. I don’t think anyone hates ironing and steaming as much as I do, so I lay out my “base items” in their spots and then steam the tablecloth.
It saves a ton of time wrangling with big tablecloths that usually end up wrinkling again by the time you actually get them on the table. We do have a heat protector underneath the tablecloth, so DON’T do this unless you have one. If you have a nice wood table, definitely invest in a protectant pad to prevent heat and water damage. They aren’t very expensive and protect your investment in your dining room set.
5. Layer plates and add napkins with silverware. I love layering plates as a way to instantly elevate the table. I used our wedding china dinner plates and Christmas salad plates to bring some cheer to everyone’s place. I chose very simple wedding china, white with a silver rim, so I could easily mix and match with other china sets. Note that the Santa plates have a gold rim, don’t be afraid to mix metals.
6. Add in your drinking glasses, place cards, and finishing touches to your table. I found these adorable nutcracker place card holders for $1 each, such a steal. I arranged a few resin Christmas trees and ornaments down the middle of the table. Ornaments are an easy way to add more decor without breaking the bank.
I made the place cards with a few supplies from the craft store, gift tags, festive stickers, and a gold pen.
I put together these tablescape decorations, including tablecloths and napkins, for under $100. If you want to add a little extra to your dining room decor, you can add garland, Christmas trees, and other festive items to other furniture in the dining room, like a buffet or china cabinet. I also added a small tree to the dining room.
Have fun decorating your tables! I’ll be sharing some super easy holiday inspired appetizers to serve before your Christmas dinner later this week.
I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving with friends, family, good food, and shopping. I am definitely guilty of eating too much green bean casserole and pumpkin pie all weekend! Who’s with me? We also did a lot of shopping and I found some amazing deals on Christmas decor. I have my favorite deals listed at the end of this post.
I typically shop for Christmas decor before the season “officially” starts, after it’s over, and also on Black Friday/Cyber Monday. I’ve noticed that most stores rolled the sales into one big sale this year. I decorate more for Christmas than I do for any other holiday or change of season because it is my favorite holiday. I also love the decorations, they automatically put me in a good mood so I want to see the decorations as much as possible. Here are some tips to help you deck your halls.
1. You can never have too many trees. No, really, you can’t have too many Christmas trees. I would recommend using multiple trees to decorate. Let’s be honest, decorating for Christmas is a lot of hard work and it’s time consuming. Trees give you a lot of bang for your buck. They make a big statement without having to set out a lot of other decorations if you don’t want to. This year, I am using three larger trees in our main living spaces, plus two small trees in the entry, and one on the front porch.
All of these trees were purchased during Black Friday/Cyber Monday over the years on Amazon, at Home Depot, and Michaels Crafts.
I move my lamps off of the buffet in our entry hall and use these gold trees as lamps instead.
This year I opted for a lit tree on our porch for additional flare.
2. Don’t be afraid to use artificial trees. Personally, I find artificial trees are much easier to work with than real trees. Real trees are beautiful and smell amazing, but they can be a hassle to pick out and string lights on. Artificial trees can be purchased pre-lit and are much easier to decorate. If you miss the pine smell, you can use a diffuser or candle to emulate the pine smell given off by a real tree.
3. Purchase items that look good in groups. I find that placing items in groups of three or more makes a bigger visual impact. When I’m shopping, I find decor that works best together or I know will work well with items I already have at home. Here are a few examples of items that make a bigger visual impact together in a group versus separately.
4. Break the rules, decorate rooms other than the living room. A lot of people feel like they can only decorate their living room because that’s typically where their tree is. You don’t have to stick to just one area of your home when decorating for Christmas or any holiday. I love to disperse decorations throughout the house. One room that is often forgotten is the dining room. Get creative with your buffet.
I used garland that match the garland on our mantle, plus added in a few Christmas trees…remember, you can never have too many :).
5. Add to your collection as you go. Keep in mind that not everything has to be perfect. We have lived in our house for a year and a half and each year I spend a certain amount on more Christmas decor. I would love to add garland on our stair rail and candles in the windows next year. Both will be costly, so I am hunting for them after the season. If I don’t find what I’m looking for I’ll purchase pre-season instead.
6. Look for decor year round. This is something I sometimes struggle with. It’s hard to put yourself in the mindset of the holiday once it is over, but if you can, you can save a lot of money. This summer at an estate sale I found some great Christmas decor that I knew would go well with my current decor.
I purchased these three nutcrackers and the reindeer for just $12.
I hope you enjoy decorating your home and preparing for the holiday season. Coming soon, a post about entertaining during the holidays. I’ll be sharing my holiday table settings, the remainder of my dining room decor, and some recipes as Christmas draws closer.
Here are my favorite Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals from this weekend.
Nutcracker pillow- $12 at Home Depot Blanket- $27 at Nordstrom Small trees- $4.99 each at Tuesday Morning Large tree- $8 at Tuesday Morning Santa Salad Plates Set of 4- $35 at Pottery Barn
I hope everyone had a safe and happy Halloween! I also hope you’re enjoying that extra hour of sleep we got last night as much as I did. It’ll be nice to wake up to brighter mornings, but it’s rough that it’s going to be dark now when we leave work. Ugh! It just means we’re getting closer to my favorite holiday though, Christmas. Before we jump to Christmas, we still have Thanksgiving.
I had a few minutes today to take down the Halloween decor and add in my Thanksgiving decor.
Unfortunately, we didn’t win the Halloween chili cook-off this year. You can’t win them all! As promised, I wanted to share the turkey chili we made this year and I also have the recipe below for last year’s award-winning chili.
Healthy Turkey Chili
So, you can make this chili one of two ways, you can brown the meat in a skillet and add it, plus all of the ingredients into a dutch oven, or you can add everything to a crockpot and cook it on low for about four hours.
Personally, I like using the dutch oven so the meat doesn’t over cook, but if you don’t have time to babysit the chili and want to throw everything in the crock pot and go, it’s still fantastic.
I also found the cutest skull mini cake pan at Williams Sonoma this year and used it to make skull cornbread.
Here are the ingredients you need to make this turkey chili:
1 pound extra lean ground turkey 3 garlic cloves (I just use the minced garlic from the refrigerated section in the grocery store) 2 (15 oz) cans of red kidney beans 1 (15 oz) can corn, drained 1 (28-ounce) can tomatoes 1 yellow onion, finely chopped 1 tsp dried oregano 1 1/4 cups chicken broth 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper 4 tbsp chili powder 2 tsp cumin, ground 2 tsp olive oil
Award-Winning White Chicken Chili
And below are the ingredients you need to make the award-winning white chicken chili. I have always made this recipe in the crockpot versus cooking in a dutch oven. I literally throw everything in the crockpot on low for 4-6 hours, set it and forget it. Most of the time the chicken breaks off into hearty chunks, but sometimes I need to break up the larger pieces.
1-2 pounds of chicken (depends how meaty you want your chili) 2 (15 oz) cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed 1 can corn, drained 2 cloves minced garlic (I just use the minced garlic from the refrigerated section in the grocery store) 1 small yellow onion, finely chopped 29 oz of chicken broth 1 (7 oz) can diced green chilies 1 1/2 tsp cumin 1/2 tsp paprika 1/2 tsp dried oregano 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper 1 package light cream cheese 12 leaves fresh cilantro, chopped (add more if you are a cilantro lover) 1/2 of fresh squeezed lime
Alright, I hope you all enjoy these recipes as much as we do! Since Christmas is my favorite holiday, I already have a lot of decor, but can you ever have too much?
I’m starting my shopping for Christmas decor next weekend at the Gifted Gardener annual holiday sale. If you’re local to St. Louis, I recommend checking it out. Stay tuned to see my loot!
Three Tips to Keep Your Decorations Budget Friendly
I love everything about fall, from getting to wear boots and sweaters, to pumpkin flavored and scented everything, and the amazing decor. Fall has officially been here for a few weeks now according to the calendar, but it’s finally starting to feel like fall. The days are getting a little cooler and the evenings are definitely cooling down. It has been perfect weather for bonfires and s’mores. We have really been enjoying red wine on our back porch for the past few weeks.
A change of seasons always encourages me to change up the decor both inside and outside of our home. Seasonal and holiday decor is something I really enjoy and feel it gives our home more character and personality. It’s important to me to bring the seasons and holidays into our home and to share them with the neighborhood on the front porch.
I am strategic with my decorations and choose items that are seasonal because they give me a little more bang for my buck. This allows me to integrate specific holiday decor items into those seasonal items. I have staple items and areas that I change out for the seasons. Keep reading for some tips to decorate for fall and Halloween on a budget.
1. Keep the majority of your decorations seasonal: Choose items that revolve around the season, not just the holiday. Doing this not only saves money, but prevents you from accumulating a lot of holiday decorations that you feel obligated to use every year.
On our front porch, I decided to use mainly fall themed decorations, so after Halloween I only need to remove the skull, the witch, the BOO sign, the silver pumpkin, and the jack-o-lantern, then the porch will be decorated until the day after Thanksgiving when I start decorating for winter and Christmas. I have a few additional fall decorations that I will add in after I remove the Halloween decor, more pumpkins and a harvest sign. I will also change out the wreath for a fall themed wreath. I am personally a fan of wreaths and the witch themed wreath was too cute to pass up. So I decided to get a Halloween wreath, but you can opt for a fall themed wreath to keep costs lower.
I do the same thing inside the house. I like to add in fun themed throw pillows, blankets, and seasonal or holiday items here and there. I found this adorable pillow of dogs trick-or-treating on sale and I had an extra percentage off so I purchased it this year. I also changed out my normal front entry decor and added some cute Halloween items that were gifted to us, the witch shoes and haunted lantern.
2. Hunt for deals and start early: I don’t know about you, but I can’t resist a great deal. I especially love getting deals on items that I don’t use all the time, like seasonal and holiday decorations. Michaels typically has deals on seasonal or holiday decorations. They send out great coupons if you join their discount club that usually apply on top of their in store deals.
I went to Michaels in early August knowing that I wanted to purchase a garland and pumpkins for the mantle. Since I went a few months ago during their pre-fall sale, everything I purchased was over 50% off with my additional coupons.
I also found these great floral pieces while I was shopping. I am a huge fan of flowers, but I have the opposite of a green thumb. I am guilty of killing many of flower arrangements, so I opt for faux flowers. I decided to purchase the floral pieces above for the vase in the kitchen and the entry way console to replace my spring and summer faux hydrangeas.
3. Not everything has to be brand new or has to stay the way it looks on the shelf: Estate sales are great for many items, holiday and seasonal decor included. You can purchase beautiful items for pennies on the dollar. I have also had good luck at garage and rummage sales and Goodwill. Moms, my local Goodwill has new Halloween costume accessories, face paint, etc. for $1-$3 each.
Something else to keep in mind is that you don’t have to leave everything the same color as when you purchase it. For example, if you like the decoration, but don’t like the color, grab a can of spray paint of the color that you have in mind from your local hardware store.
I found this cute candy dish at a rummage sale for $1. I adore it, but don’t feel obligated to use it every single Halloween because it was inexpensive.
I hope you are enjoying the change of season and prepping for Halloween as much as I am. Each year our family does a chili cook off for Halloween, my husband and I won last year, so the pressure is on to come up with a killer chili recipe this year. Stay tuned to see what we come up with!
Welcome to 21 Lane, design on a budget. I am a marketing professional by day and interior design enthusiast by night (and weekend). I have always loved interior design, even as a kid.
I would save my allowance to re-do my room. My room growing up was painted a new color just about every year, (thanks Dad) with a new comforter, wall decor, the whole nine yards. Decorating my room on a budget growing up made me appreciate working on a budget as an adult. It’s almost a game, how much can I do for the least amount possible.
My husband and I purchased our first and forever home in 2018 in St. Louis. Decorating a home was intimidating at first after only decorating smaller spaces. I got caught up in the mentality of feeling like I needed to spend a lot of money on decorating my forever home since we would have it decorated like this well…forever.
My mentality changed and I returned to my budget conscious roots after going to just one estate sale with my sister-in-laws, and the rest is history. I have decorated almost our entire home with estate sale treasures, second hand finds, and inexpensive furniture. It gives me the freedom to do more with our house and also change things out when I want a different look.
This blog includes my journey decorating our home as well as other design projects, seasonal and holiday decorating tips, entertaining tips, recipes, and much more. If you are interested in a consultation, please contact me at 21laneblog@gmail.com.
