simple christmas touches

A few simple touches of gold and red around our home have really made it feel like Christmas. From framing wrapping paper to making a mock fireplace, I'm quite happy with what I put together with the little that we have and can commit to. I really thought that we'd go without a tree this year since very few natural ones are imported (and are crazy expensive) so I was happy to find a little felt one from MUJI. It may not be big enough to put presents underneath, or give off the lovely smell of pine, but I love it. And best of all, we can flatten it and take it with us wherever we go without taking up much space. Maybe one day we'll have dedicated garage space for holiday decor but for now, we've gotta stick to a large shoe box ;)

How do you decorate for the holidays? Do you deck the halls or just have a few favorite pieces?

weekend, we

Hi guys, how was your weekend? Overall ours was good but I didn't get to the Christmas crafting I had planned since shopping for supplies was a huge disappointment. I definitely miss places like Michael's, Joanne's, Staples, Target, The Container Store...you name it. Even just looking for tapered candles for our new vintage holders proved to be an impossible mission. You have it real easy, America. Real easy.

On the bright side...

- I used what bits of Christmas we had from London and created a mock-fireplace with the help of this awesome video.

- I found berries at our florist and paired them next to a giant local leaf (mixing traditional and tropical :)

- We ate brunch at a restaurant that serves real bacon. Non-Halal places (at least those serving western food) are very rare in KL so the meal was a really nice treat.

Did any of you start decorating for Christmas this weekend?

like a pro

After nearly two months at sea, the three pieces of furniture that we shipped from London have arrived: our duck egg blue sofa, antique wood table, and bed frame + mattress (not pictured). They are home and we are now living more comfortably (yahooo!)

As soon as the movers left we began arranging, and then re-arranging, all of the pieces to see what worked best for our needs. If it weren't for the items that came with the apartment (dining table, chairs, white storage units, TV, table lamp, and lounge chair) then we'd be seriously furniture-poor in this space. And while the provided pieces wouldn't have been our first picks, they're at least simple and modern enough that they blend in nicely with our personal touches.

All that's left to buy are a few furnishings and accessories to make the living room really come together. I've been watching old episodes of the interior design show Candice Tells All on syndication and I love how she goes around with her drawing tablet, whipping up solutions to everyday design problems. Well, I have a drawing tablet, too, so I put that baby to work! We had written a list of what we'd like to buy but drawing everything onto the space was a really fun way to bring it all to life - I highly recommend it!

On our list:

• large area rug

• round coffee table to soften the straight edges of other items in the room

• tall plant next to the TV so that it's not the first thing we see when we walk through the

door

• canopy floor lamp for the corner reading/lounging nook with a round shade, again, to soften the hard edges already existing in the room

• cotton throw pillow covers. the ones from London are wool and don't work here for obvious reasons

• dining placemats - can't say that i love the sound of metal and ceramic hitting glass

• large canvas art - this might be the hardest part

• floor plant for the desk area

• fun graphic print above the desk

and last but not least, a comfortable desk chair so that I can work and blog all the better :)

Now, if only Craigslist were popular here. That was the thing to do in LA...buried treasures I'll tell ya...

Either way, I can't wait to start shopping around!

Do you have any methods you use for organizing your home-decor plan of action? Or do you just go for it as you come across pieces?