Happy Veterans Day! I want to start today off with a heartfelt thank you to all of the Veterans and families of those who served!
Here’s a photo of two of my favorite vets: my dad and my maternal grandpa. My paternal grandpa also served, but I don’t have a picture of him! Thank you all for your selfless service!
This post contains affiliate links for your shopping convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.
Home Projects & Updates
Last week I started to officially set up our Christmas decor. I have a long ways to go, but with our schedule these next few weeks (more on that at the end of the post), I figured I’d do a little bit at a time so I’m not rushed!
I couldn’t resist ordering these pom pom stockings after I shared them last week! I bought three (one for each cat) to mix in with the chunky knit stockings Kurtis and I already have. I was shocked by the quality for a $13 stocking! They have a really subtle gold thread woven throughout, as well. And they look so cute with our stockings. The gardland here is an old one I’ve had for years from Pier 1.
I moved the bench back into the entryway after this shoot and just leaned this wreath here at the time. It wasn’t intentional but I think it looks cute like this! I’ll probably still hang it (for the cats’ sake) but it could be a fun idea.
Our flocked Christmas tree we bought and loved a few years ago is back in stock and on sale today! I actually have it set up in our den this year (you may remember the sneak peek from this post).
CHRISTMAS DINING ROOM SOURCES: Flocked Christmas Tree | Woven Christmas Tree Collar (similar here) | Canvas Art | Chandelier (knock-off here) | Dining Table | Dining Chairs | Wood Chargers | Potted Mini Christmas Tree (similar) | Rug | Velvet Pillow Cover
So, our new guest bed finally got delivered on Tuesday! But…they forgot the dresser that had been waiting in the warehouse for a month (waiting on the bed). The bed is really good, and I’ll share more about it soon. But here’s a quick iPhone picture when the bed was only kind of made correctly 😉
SOURCES: Bed | Plaid Duvet Cover & Euro Shams | Plaid Lumbar Pillow | Nightstand | Beaded Chandelier | Lamp | Mirror | Striped Rug
I went with the base fabric on the bed over a performance fabric since it’s a bed. And a secondary one at that. It also saves a lot of money that way. So, if you have any great fabric protector recommendations, I’d love to hear them!
So back to the missing dresser. After a few phone calls with Pottery Barn and their third party delivery service, the dresser arrived Saturday. But it was damaged and had a gouge taken out of the wood. They delivery guys recommended I refuse delivery. You can see the gouge below, and then there is about a there inch section to the right of that where the wood was ripped off. It was right on the face of the dresser so it was really noticeable (as hard as it is to see in pictures).
It’s like they all read my review post on Friday and made everything I said come to fruition and prove my point. Again 😉
The bad news is, it may be another month or two before I can get a replacement. So, I actually cancelled the order and considered going with one of my other options. But, after buying some fabric storage cubes at Target, I have temporary dresser solution set up and decided to wait for this one. It was so good when I saw it (better than expected) and as long as I searched, I don’t think I’d be happy with any other alternatives. So, I re-placed my order yesterday (it’s actually about $75 cheaper now with their sale than when I bought it) and now have it wait it out again. But I know it will be perfect for our space when it arrives!
Top Sellers Of The Week
Following were the top sellers across all of my channels for the past week! Our natural faux Christmas tree made the list for the third week in a row!
BEST SELLERS (each number is clickable): #5 | #4 | #3 | #2 | #1
Around Town & For Fun
Friday, our giant dead maple tree in our parkway was cut down. It was sad to see it go after so many years, but given that it didn’t have one leaf on it for more than a year, it was time.
When I was working in my office Friday, I had a little visitor in the courtyard. He was contemplating hiding his acorns in my pot or herb garden. Probably not the best of decisions. As I’m sure you can imagine, the cats were freaking out just a little bit 😉
Friday night we celebrated my birthday at Kurtis’ sister and brother-in-law’s house. My birthday was September 6th but this was the first weekend we were all free to get together! Janine made her famous homemade pizza, we played cards, drank wine and laughed a lot! I’m always so impressed by her giant Christmas village she puts up each year! I loved her new little tree lot she got this year.
If you read my Pottery Barn sectional review last week, this photo of Bailey proves the cats get to do whatever they want to the cushions 😉 Thankfully they’ve held up remarkably well, even on our 2+ year old sofas!
Saturday we had dinner with Jill, Nick and Zoe. Any time Zoe does something she thinks is impressive, she stops and makes all clap and yell ‘yay’ or ‘good job’ to her 😉
Sunday I spent spent a lot of time at the computer trying to get stuff wrapped up for this week (more on that in a minute). So, by late afternoon, I decided the cats needed some love and we spent some time upstairs on the sectional reading (them sleeping). It’s gotten really cold here again so they are all about their faux fur blanket and my body heat! Here the flocked tree is looking a bit pitiful because I haven’t actually fixed the branches since I took it out of it’s storage bag. But it was still fun to turn the lights on regardless. It makes such a cozy effect!
We ended the weekend by starting the new season of Schitt’s Creek. We were in a winter weather advisory so it was totally acceptable to turn on all of the Christmas lights!
So a couple of updates.
The first is one we’ve known about for some time but I didn’t want to share until things were official. Kurtis will be having hip surgery next month for a torn labrum. He’s known about it since summertime, but insurance required he do physical therapy for a few months and then get another MRI before approving it. He had his MRI about a week ago and we got the results back last week. He officially is approved now. So, this means once he has his surgery in mid-December, he can’t be weight-bearing for 6-8 weeks or likely drive during that entire time. He’ll most likely be home from work for a few weeks through the first of the year (thankfully he can still do a lot of work from home). On days he does need to go to the office, I’ll have a 2+ hour a day commute (round-trip) so my days will definitely be looking a little different too. The good news is, the surgery is scheduled over a really slow time of year for both of our jobs, so I think he’s anxious and ready to get it behind him!
Knowing Kurtis has surgery that will make him unable to travel for nearly two months, we’re headed to Chattanooga this week for a quick, last-minute trip. We’ll only be there for a few days and have a lot of meetings lined up through our real estate company. I’ll share more details on this if anything actually happens but it’s still very early stages. We just wanted to get this trip in rather than wait until March, which would be the next time we’d be able to go. It makes things a bit crazy around here with the upcoming holidays and trip with my family, but it made sense for us to squeeze it in! I’m sure I’ll be sharing plenty on my Instagram Stories while we’re there!
Recent Buys & Sales
With Veterans Day today, some of the sales from the weekend have actually gotten even better! Following are the current sales worth knowing about.
SOURCES: Ruffle-Neck Sweater | Striped Pom-Pom Cableknit Sweater | High-Rise Straight Jeans | Layered Necklace | Suede Ballet Flats | Flat Tortoise Hoop Earrings | Chandelier | Scarf | Runner Rug | Capri Blue Capiz Candle | Faux Olive Tree | Woven Basket | Swivel Armchair | Rattan & Iron Tray | Slub Knit Throw Blanket | Washed Velvet Pillow | Macrame Pillow | Plaid Pillow | Wood Desk | Tory Burch Camera Bag
- ANTHROPOLOGIE is offering 20% off all home and furniture as well as all beauty and wellness! You can shop their sale here.
- BAUBLE BAR is offering 15% off full-priced items with code HOLIDAY15. You can shop their sale here.
- BLOOMIST is offering free shipping on all orders and $25 off a purchase of $100 or more with code THANKS25! It’s a great time to get one of their wood link chains if you’ve ever been interested in one! You can shop their sale here.
- GAP is offering up to 50% off everything (prices as marked). Plus get an extra 10% off at checkout with code HAPPY. You can shop their sale here.
- J CREW is offering 30% off your entire purchase with code FRIENDS and an extra 50% off all clearance items with code FLASH. You know I won’t be able to walk away from this sweater – stripes AND poms AND cableknit?!?! I’m also very much loving this ruffle-neck sweater. Also, my favorite sweater from last fall and winter is back this year with a slightly different look! Basically all of their new arrivals are swoonworthy! You can shop their sales here.
- J CREW FACTORY is offering 50% off everything (prices as marked)! This also includes an extra 50% off clearance items! These thin puffer vests are always a favorite and the price is great now! My favorite sweater jacket is also included in the sale. You can shop their sale here.
- KIRKLANDS is offering 25% off your entire purchase. You can shop their sale here.
- LOFT is currently offering 40% off your entire purchase and then an extra 11% off at checkout with code OHMYGOURD! It’s a great time to buy my current favorite sweater! You can shop their sale here.
- MADEWELL is offering 25% off women’s sweaters and shoes with code COZYCOMFY. You can shop their sale here.
- MINTED is offering 20% off all foil-pressed products. Plus get 15% off holiday cards $150+, 10% off $100+ with code SHINE19. You can shop their sale here.
- NORDSTROM is hosting their fall sale with items marked up to 40% off! They are also price-matching most of my favorite beauty products at 15% off to match the Sephora sale! You can shop their sale items here.
- OLD NAVY is hosting their Friends & Family event with 50% off your purchase if you’re a cardholder (also works with GAP or BR cards) with code FAMILY. If you’re not a cardholder, you get 30% off everything at checkout. You can shop their sale here.
- PIER 1 is offering 25% off your purchase with code OFF25. I think these plaid mohair pillows are really pretty! And these watercolor stripe pillows look like they’d be amazing year round! You can shop their sale here.
- POTTERY BARN is hosting their Buy More, Save More Sale with 15-30% off your entire purchase with code SAVEMORE. I saw these velvet and linen pillows in person and they are gorgeous! This chandelier is so much better in person – I just wish I had a spot for it! And if you’re thinking of buying any of their furniture, I definitely recommend checking out this post for helpful info if you haven’t already! You can shop their sale here.
- RUGS USA is offering up to 65% off their rugs! That means our new entryway rug is on major sale! You can shop their sale here.
- SEPHORA is offering 10-20% off your entire purchase for Insiders depending on your level. It’s free to sign up and a great way to save on your day-to-day beauty products! You can shop their sale here.
- SERENA & LILY is offering up to 30% off their rugs! We own several of theirs and I’ve been super happy with each and every one of them! You can shop their sale here.
- TALBOTS is offering 25-40% off select styles for fall. Plus get an extra 30% off markdowns! You can shop their sale here.
- TARGET is hosting their Black Friday Preview Sale! This means you can get 100s of Black Friday deals now. They also have 30% off all rugs, 25% off bed and bath, and 20% off one furniture item. You can shop their sale here.
- TORY BURCH has added tons of new items to their sale section. Loving these cute camera bags that are perfect for travel! You can shop all the items here.
- WAYFAIR is hosting a 3-day clearance sale with tons of items marked up to 75% off! You can shop their sale here.
- WILLIAMS SONOMA is hosting their Friends & Family Sale with 20% off your entire purchase and free shipping with code FRIENDS. Plus, cardholders earn 2x rewards! You can shop their sale here.
- WILLIAMS SONOMA HOME is also hosting their Friends & Family Sale with 20% off your entire purchase and free shipping with code FRIENDS. I personally think their tartan pillows are the best you can find anywhere for the holidays! They nail them every year! You can shop their sale here.
- WORLD MARKET is offering 40% off all furniture and free shipping on orders over $75. That includes our office desks that we love so much! I’m still really wanting to try this chair somewhere. So chic, and the savings are pretty unreal! You can shop their sale here.
I hope you all have a great week!
If you would like to follow along on more of my home decor, DIY, lifestyle, travel and other posts, I’d love to have you follow me on any of the following:
Pinterest | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
disclosure: some affiliate links used
Sharon Peterson says
Please tell Kurtis I will be remembering him in my prayers for his upcoming surgery.
Sarah says
Thank you so much Sharon! We appreciate it!
Brooke says
I would be interested in learning more about how your SIL does her village set up – hiding cords, placement, etc. We have begun collecting village pieces for our children and can’t figure the hiding cord situation. Could you share some information or maybe a blog post/instagram story?
Stephanie says
I love love love that you bought stockings for your cats! I bought some for our two dogs and I asked my husband if that was weird and he was like, “no way! They’re family!”