Cabin Fever

Some people are not big fans of the cold winter months but I relish in it for as long as I can. I would take a stormy or snowy day over the sun any day of the week. During these frosty months it would be great to have a little chalet retreat to visit with the family and do some winter hobbies or just sit and relax by the fire. I have clipped many winter/fall cabin pictures on my lap top dreaming of what my fantasy cabin (when I have millions on hand) would look like. To celebrate the last few weeks of this majestic season I'm posting some of those most favored pics. Make yourself some cocoa, light a fire and grab your snuggliest blanket!

(MLS Listing Photo)
I would love to pull up to this beauty a few days before Christmas with the whole family in tow to have a wintry white Christmas in the mountains. You could go out and ski during the day and get cozy by night. Homemade hot cocoa on the stove, fire crackling, a big trimmed fir tree in the corner, carols softly playing and the family playing board games. What could be better?

(MLS Listing Photo)
Another rustic cabin to look forward to seeing all year.

(HGTV.com)
One of the best parts about having a cabin or beach house getaway is you get to have all the looks you love but wouldn't want to look at in your regular house everyday. I love lots of woods and rocks textures but I think I would tire of them quickly if they were in my face 24/7.

(MLS Listing Photo)
Classic cabin look with the tall rock fireplace mantle. You can also make out branch looking lamps in the left hand side of the shot. In the average everyday house this look may not fit into your lifestyle but it doesn't mean you shouldn't have it right?! :)

(HGTV.com)
Another great rock mantled fireplace with a scenic view.

(HGTV.com)

(Candice Olson Design)
I would not have much trouble retreating to this bedroom after a hard day on the slopes.

(Style At Home)

I think this look could really work for a cabin or beach house but the unique rustic light fixture says more cabin to me.

Wood burning fireplaces are the cat's pajamas and when you add in a plaid throw and pillow that spells "cabin charm" to me.

So what are your thoughts? If you had the money do you think you would invest in a cabin or would the money be better spent somewhere else?

Check back soon for a posting on my all time fav beach house looks for that special escape in the warmer months!

Two Words: CELINE DION

The Queen of music has a new film coming out February 17, 2010 that I will not miss. It's called, "Celine: Through the Eyes of the World" and it documents her famous Taking Chances world tour that I was lucky enough to go see in Vancouver. I have been crazy about her and her music since I was a little girl. I waited 14 years to see her in concert and let me tell you, it was amazing! I couldn't help but hold back the tears because it was such a long time coming dream of mine. (It would have been on my bucket list if I hadn't went to see it) Even Oprah says before you die you must see a Celine Dion concert! I've pre-ordered my tickets to see the movie the day it comes out and get a behind the scenes look at this wonderful lady's trip around the world with her family, not to mention re-live the glorious concert that meant so much to me. Celine Dion is such a warm and loving person and holy cow does that girl have some pipes! So for a night of your life check out her new movie. It won't disappoint, I promise ;)

Watch the trailer below for a sneak peek at the film:

Full House For Sale *Caution -Don't Get Too Excited, John Stamos Isn't Included In The Price!*

(radaronline.com)

One of the many houses along the row of homes featured on the family sitcom Full House, recently went on the market for a whopping $4.1 million! Pretty good chunk of change, especially when you consider that comparatives in the same neighborhood (that don't happen to share in the fame of being on the show) are going for more like $1.5 million.

The particular home for sale is not the main house you see at the beginning of episodes. It's one of the stately homes located amongst the long row of homes in the famous opening picnic scene. It is the first Victorian home along the row.

The home is very beautiful but if just being background in the opening theme song gets you a cool $4.1 mil what do you think the famous white San Fransisco home used as the actual Tanner residence would fetch?

I would be willing to cough up the dough if they threw in Uncle Jesse has my house boy!

(radaronline.com)
Another shot of the beautiful home. Gotta love those bay windows! I'm curious to see if anyone bites and ponies up the extra dough for what (in reality) is nothing more than a conversation starter. Unless you happen to actually be THAT big of a fan. They pulled it off with the house featured in the famous movie "A Christmas Story." It does happen!

So, what do you think? Should a home be able to jack up their price just because they could be seen in a background shot of a once popular TV show? Share your thoughts.

Oh Baby, I Love Your Way

Every once in a while I will see a cute baby or some adorable miniature outfit and I start to feel that baby fever taking over me. My husband is just graduating from University this April and we live in a tiny one bedroom apartment so I am not ready to have kids just yet but it can be hard to resist the urge to start cooking one up.

All my friends seem to be in baby making mode and have new pictures up everyday on their Facebooks of their tikes sweetly sleeping or smiling. I don't know about other women but whenever I pause at the baby section of a store to take in the scene I hear a concerned *sigh* from behind me and a firm tugging on my arm to "hurry along" from my husband. His message is less than subtle... but I'm not on a different wave link than him, I know now is not the time. Sometimes a woman just needs to feed a craving; no different than that sweet treat craving that occasionally shows up unannounced around bedtime. You pop an Oreo in your mouth and all is well again. No harm done!

To suppress my newborn fever, like a shot of much needed vitamin c to an oncoming cold, I browse the latest in baby names, baby clothes, maternity clothes, etc. Thanks to the happy couple and soon-to-be parents John and Sherry at younghouselove.com, I can live vicariously through the decorating of a nursery while they prepare for their little girl. (Congrats John and Sherry!)

As I was absorbing the baby world secretly on the web (while, in an effort to avoid another irritated sigh, hubby was in the other room and none the wiser) I wondered if there were any other childless women, or even women with kids who are past the baby years, out there that share in my need to nurture and cuddle a fresh baked bundle of love?

This post is dedicated to the best of what I've found out there in the baby kingdom. I hope it gives you some ideas or serves as a remedy for your baby itch too!

Maternity Clothes:

Adorable dress by A Pea In The Pod. Channeling Sarah Jessica Parker:

A Pea In The Pod

A Pea In The Pod

Spunky Sprout. Love this one!

Shower Invite -Mint Chocolate Theme makes me hungry!

Martha Stewart -Modern Co-ed Baby Shower

Martha Stewart -Delicious looking treats at a themed baby shower.

Martha Stewart -Sweet bird DIY Mobile

Sarah Richardson -Girl

Restoration Hardware -Fresh, clean and unisex. Love the stuffed cow too!

HGTV.com -Twin nursery, double the cute.

HGTV.com -Beach themed nursery

Sarah Richardson -Boy

Sand Box Couture -Is it safe to have a bedazzled soother when the jewels could come off and become lunch? Looks cute either way.

And of course the famous Sophie the Giraffe; the all natural teether. I see this teether everywhere! It is said to be a stimulant for all five senses of a baby and a safe chemical free rubber for chewing away at.

One of my favorite sites I go to for hours and laugh is EtiquetteHell.com. I am a stickler for manners so the things I read on that site crack me right up. I hope they don't mind but I'm sharing a short baby shower story from the site with you to go along with the theme of this post and to give you an idea of the things you will find on this site:

Tacky, Tacky! This actually happened to my sister-in-law Justine. Our husbands come from a large family where showers/weddings are frequent events. I guess they have become SO commonplace that all etiquette is now tossed out the window! Justine received an invitation to a baby shower for one of the distant cousins. We lived far away at the time and received one too. But what Justine got was a little different! What she received was a xeroxed copy of an invitation (that's funny enough!) but handwritten across it she was informed that she had been placed on the shower "committee"! (They forgot about asking her!) and as part of such, she was expected to contribute xx amount of dollars toward hosting the shower! They mentioned the possibility of a group gift in addition to contributing toward the shower but the real kicker was at the bottom of the invitation, scribbled across it said, "p.s. Bring 6 dozen sandwich rolls!" Unbelievable!
Etiquettehell.com

(Baby Picture courtesy of amazon.com)

This Pure Girl Moment Brought To You By Disney Weddings

You always hear bride's on their wedding day say, "I feel like a princess!" Well now you can be one step even closer thanks to the good folks at Disney who have created a wedding apparel line for that special day. I have to admit when I first heard about it I chuckled to myself because I pictured exploding puffy nightmares but when I checked it out I was rather surprised. The line is actually decent in terms of wedding gowns and jewelry and being that there is a line themed for each princess you have a variety of styles to choose from. However, it is certainly not cheap. The rings range from $1,200-$6000 which is no spare change but probably fairly comparative to other sets from regular stores. I couldn't find much in the way of prices for gowns but I really like that they made a corresponding line for each set containing maidens gowns, flower girl dresses and plus size gowns along with some jewelry pieces to pick from. I chose some of my favorites from each princess line and all of the weddings ring sets to show to all of you. If you and your prince charming are planning on making it official I wouldn't count these out!

Cinderella

Beautiful sweetheart neckline, a really simple gown but so elegant.

I think this was the nicest engagement and wedding band set of all the other options.

Bracelet

There were many tiaras. I'm not big on them but this one was simple and pretty.

Belle

She is my favorite Disney princess but I was really disappointed in her dresses. This was the nicest one she had but I wasn't head over heels for it. I expected more grandeur and to really play up the ball gown look.

Belle did have the best maiden gowns of the bunch, these two were breath taking.

Loving the wedding band.

This necklace reminded me of something you would see at Harry Winston or Tiffanys.

Hair pin

Ariel

A fun and playful dress. It would look adorable in a summer wedding outdoors in a garden.

Fabulous blue on this little number.

Earrings

Most dresses I see don't really need an eye catching necklace unless they're really simple because the gown speaks for itself. Simple necklaces like this are always a keeper for a little extra razzle dazzle down the aisle without distracting from the dress or the bride herself.

Jasmine

This gown looks Grecian to me, especially with the hair done like that.

I think purple is a fail safe colour for women because it looks good on everyone. This knock out plum coloured beauty does not disappoint.

Princess Blossom Dress

Aurora

This was my favorite gown. I'm in love with a capped sleeve, it's so feminine and classy. I hope I can find (and fit into!) a dress this gorgeous if I get married.

A really fun and flirty strapless tea length maids dress. This would look fantastic in an Autumn or Spring wedding.

Of course you need a "princess" cut engagement ring!

Stunning classic pearl drop earrings would pair perfectly with the sleeping beauty gown.

Snow White

Most of Snow White's gowns were a touch ho-hum but some brides love a clean simple look so these are catering to those ladies.

Wouldn't this wine coloured maiden's dress look awesome in a winter wedding? It looks like a dress you may actually be able to re-wear too!

Princess Blossom Dress

Hair Pin

Disney also makes veils to go with their line but they are not princess specific. This one was my favorite, the rest are pretty standard as far as veils go.

All of these photos are courtesy of DisneyBridal.com (Kristie Kelly for Disney by Mouawad)