Alex and I recently hosted a scotch tasting and dinner party at our house during Alexandria's Scottish Christmas Walk Weekend. The weekend celebrates Alexandria's Scottish heritage, as the city was named for Scotsman John Alexander, an original founder of the city and owner of much of its land. The weekend features a festive parade, a holiday tour of homes (here's a look back to when our home was on the tour lineup), a heather and greens sale, and many more yule tide and Scottish inspired festivities. Hands down, it's our favorite weekend of the year in Alexandria, and in our household, officially marks the start of the Christmas season.

Getting ready for the party seemed a bit overwhelming, because it not only meant preparing for a dinner event, but it also meant making sure our home was properly decked out for the holidays. We had a tree to buy and decorate...

...exterior window wreaths to hang...

...and miscellaneous touches to ensure our home was properly festive.

So when it came to designing our table for the event, I didn't have a lot of time or energy to spare. That's where less than $10.00 in grocery store flowers came to the rescue. 

Focusing on the tablescape as a whole and keeping in mind the theme of the weekend, I knew I wanted to use tartan to decorate our table, while keeping in mind the somewhat rustic Highlands of Scotland. To balance off the pattern of the tartan and add a rustic texture, I set the table with a base "tablecloth" of burlap and topped it with two tartan runners, all of which we had on hand thanks to when we participated in the home tour. 

While the intent is to keep the feeling somewhat Highlands rustic, we also want it to feel like a sophisticated event. As a result, It's one of the few, if only nights of the year, we break out our wedding china and stemware (largely due to the fact it isn't dishwasher safe). Our china is a simple white pattern with a platinum edge, which I paired with white dinner napkins and silver chargers.

I didn't want the centerpiece to compete with the tartan runners, and also didn't want a floral centerpiece to be so tall it physically interfered with conversation. So I opted to use two matching low glass vases I had on hand, along with a simple yet elegant color palette of green and white. I purchased two bunches of flowers at our local grocery store -- a dozen white roses and a small cluster of green berries. 

In order to bulk up the arrangement, I added in some fresh cut greenery from our yard as well as a few trimmed lower branches from our Christmas tree. (Tip: I've found that if you don't have enough of your own trimmed branches on hand, many times businesses selling Christmas trees are happy to give you any of their extra cuttings at no charge. I then use these branches for mantel decor, arrangements around the house, exterior decorations, etc.)

I set out to create two identical centerpieces, so I began by trimming and then arranging six roses in each vase.

I make sure I trim off some of the leaves to keep them all above the water, but I leave those on above the water line for fullness and color. 

After I had the roses arranged the way I wanted them, I repeated the process with the berries and fresh greenery so that the two centerpieces were the mirror images of each other, and put them on the table with a few tea lights around them.

All in all, I am really happy with how the centerpieces came together both on their own and as part of the table setting. At less than $5.00 each and five minutes of effort to put them together, I'd call it a win.

The evening was a ton of fun, and the entire night served as a lovely kickoff for the holiday season. 

It was a great excuse to don kilts (yes, three of the four men present were wearing them!), enjoy the company of friends and neighbors, sample delicious food and whiskey, and celebrate the season.

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I've read that kids feel this urge to visit and joy when they enter due to a tremendous need to be immersed in the things they love that makes them feel creative. I'm sure the massive Disney advertising budget doesn't hurt either.

But truth be told, I've never been, and I've never really had that overwhelming desire to visit Disney World, it was just never my thing. But as an adult this desire to embrace my creativity in immersive ways finds outlet in my life in other ways, not the least of which is at a home decor outlet or design center.

Over the holidays I found what I believe to be a truly magical place, not much unlike that of Disney for kids, but my discovery is far less expensive in every way. And I found this in one of the most unlikely places, West Chester, Ohio.

While visiting family in the Cincinnati area I couldn't help but be excited for a little side trip we had planned with my cousin. You see, West Chester, Ohio is a major distribution location for a little home decor and accessories store I like called Ballard Designs. Maybe you've heard of it?

Just look at the sheer size of this giant nondescript building when compared to the trucks parked out back. I included a nearby football field in the map so you can see just how many football fields could fit in this massive place.

As luck would have it, attached to this massive shipping warehouse is a fairly substantial outlet where they sell damaged, excess, and out of circulation furniture and accessories. Oh, and let's not forget that not only is this home to the Ballard Designs outlet...

...but it's also home to the Frontgate...

...and Grandin Road outlets (all owned by the same company).

I've heard about this outlet several times over the years from friends and family, but until this most recent visit, it was always a leprechaun in my home decor world, with legends often discussed but never seen in person.

They've each recounted stories of wall to wall deals, mirrors spilling from the display cases, furniture stacks upon stacks, bolts of fabric piled to the ceiling, and lighting as far as the eye could see, all at drastically reduced prices, further cut by door buster and deal of the day sales. As the lore grew I surely began to believe this mythical place simply didn't exist.

Feeling much like the explorers of the fifteenth century discovering new lands (but without all the scurvy), I couldn't even come close to containing my excitement when I realized the massive scale of deals I had just rolled up on.

I kid you not, there were so many things that all of the things had things, and they were all on sale with multiple stacked discounts! From solid wood to upholstered to metal...

...and wall sconces to massive chandeliers and hanging lights...

...everywhere I turned there was something else that I saw, some item that needed a place in our home, I just had to figure out a place in our home that needed it, and my brain couldn't work fast enough.

Before I knew it I was overwhelmed by all of the choices. I loved so many greatly discounted things that I quickly found myself completely unable to selectively work though all of the stuff to figure out what we needed versus what I simply wanted to need, so I was picking up nothing at all. Oh the tragedy.

Seeing my panic (I'm serious, I think I actually looked panicked) Alex suggested we focus on just something we needed for our new house.

Light! We need lighting to hang above our dining room table! Focus on lighting!

I turned my focus to this "simple" goal. In selecting a chandelier for our new house, I don't want something traditional and formal as we have in our row house. Instead I'm going for a more casual vibe and feeling throughout. It's a water house so a nautical or more utilitarian look would be appropriate, and I want anyone to stays there to feel more at ease and relaxed.

The first light I came across definitely had the nautical theme going for it with lots of black metal and rustic ropes. However it looked a lot like a more traditional chandelier.

Next I started to look at large glass globe lights and other glass sided lights. I do like the look of these, but I worry the scale and shape might be somewhat to very off above a dining room table. I also worry that the glass will get dirty and cloudy, as it does with most glass lantern style lights, and I'd prefer to spend less time cleaning this house if possible.

Finally, we started to look at lantern style hanging lights when I noticed a somewhat rustic lantern style hanging light that had no glass to get dirty. I showed Alex and he was a fan as well. My laser focus on lighting had paid off. I'm not going to say it was an automatic decision, because I did walk around the store for another 30 minutes obsessing about the decision, but we ultimately bought the open lantern for our house.

I do have to say that looking at lighting in a giant open space is very difficult when thinking about scale. 20' ceilings with no furniture nearby makes it so you really have to use your imagination. Fingers crossed we made the right choice, but I'm feeling good about my selection.

Other than lighting I picked up a few other accessories around the store, like a cool concave sectioned mirror for $19, and a piece of faux coral also for $19.

Alex wandered through the parts and pieces aisles and tried to come up with great custom uses for some of the other lighting elements, like all of the old school house metal enamel shades (just $15), and the glass globe shades ($22).

We also walked through the other two outlet stores where Alex started snapping photos of this ridiculous convertible bar with humidor, wine fridge, poker chips, and glassware. Regular price, $25,000, discounted to $20,000, one day only, 50% off, so take that to $10,000...what a bargain (or not at all). I think Alex just wants to build one of his own.

If you pay a visit to this outlet, the most important thing to pay attention to is the sale board at the entrance. This board will tell you where the deals of the day can be found. You can score extra discounts of 30% or more on specific items or collections, you just need to know where to look for that day.

In the end, our hanging lantern light fixture ended up on the daily door buster additional discount list. The normally priced $200 light fixture was purchased on the day of our visit for a cool $69. If you time it right, the prices really can't be beat.

So, does this seem like a place that can inspire a little creativity? More importantly, does it seem like a place you'd like to visit? Next time you find yourself in or around West Chester, Ohio, just a little north of Cincinnati, be sure to drop by the Ballard Designs Outlet. I'm pretty sure you'll be happy with something you find.

Do you have any go-to places in your decorating arsenal? We'd love to hear where you head when you want to look for great deals.

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We're big supporters of shopping local small businesses, and that absolutely includes the various local merchants in Old Town and the Alexandria area. The cool thing about this event, put on by the Old Town Boutique District, is that so many of our favorite stores are in one place and have some really great markdowns on their items. In fact, it's so popular that there's always a pretty significant line of people waiting to get inside an hour or more before the sale opens at 9:00 am. 

We arrived early again this year to say hello to several of our friends and vendors, to take photos to share with you, and to do a little deal scouting of my own. As in years past, The Shoe Hive's booth was a popular spot, with frenzied shoppers pulling open boxes like kids on Christmas morning. All supervised, of course, by a giant bronze bust of George Washington.

 

I too couldn't resist getting in on the action and was thrilled to snag not one, but two pairs of new Hunter rain boots, including this cute calf height gray pair. I'm still not sure what, exactly, got into me. I mean, two new pairs of rain boots? But I suppose when you can get them for 55-75% off, it's hard to resist!

The shoe selection didn't stop there. Bishop Boutique had a great selection of flats, boots, and heels, as well as a humorous approach to their advertising. 

We're all looking for that elusive Cinderella moment, and you know it's not possible without the right shoes!

If you're looking for accessories, there are rows of fabulous options to choose from. I'm not sure how I walked away from the bright, beautiful baubles like these from Queen Bee Designs. I'm looking at this photo with great shopping regret for the pieces that got away, but I'm sure many women after me will leave happy.

We paid a visit to one of our favorite home furnishing stores, Red Barn Mercantile, whose booth featured a colorful array of bedding, pillows, home accessories, and more. I loved the pattern of this John Robshaw duvet, and was completely smitten with a gorgeous glass lamp. 

Sadly, with a home a mere 15' wide, I had to do more browsing than buying, but did walk away with two sweet Christmas ornaments, including the petite white house seen below.

Stuart Nordin also had a great selection of items. It's funny how in the moment I didn't take in some of the items, but as I look back at the photos I'm totally in love with the white bench. I must have been distracted by that cute navy ikat pillow.

In the upper level we took on more shopping, and paid a visit to Top it off, where all items were $10, including tax. Seriously!

I purchased this great honeycomb wrap seen on the mannequin below, as well as a cute black sweater cape, and am sorry I didn't pick up the brightly colored necklace as well. How cute is that? 

We also made a stop a Zoe Boutique who, in addition to racks of clothing, had a fun accessories table set up featuring a $10 grab bag of lightly damaged merchandise. They also had an array of silver initial bracelets and necklaces that I loved, but sadly didn't see any "W"s left, or I would have added that to my basket. I did buy a gorgeous coat that was marked down roughly 70%.

You may not have guessed it from the volume of today's finds, but I'm a terribly indecisive shopper. This unfortunate trait of mine makes my husband crazy and sales like today's very difficult to navigate. You need to be ready to make quick decisions and can't agonize over something for too long or it will surely be gone. I have to give Alex credit for his patience on days like today, because I know I sound like my mother when I ask him time and time again, "Do you think I should get this? Do I really need this?" I even start to annoy myself.

All in all, it was a very successful morning and if anything, now looking back through the photos, I realize there were a few things in the pictures that I missed or regret putting down. I suppose it's only fair to leave great finds behind for someone else to enjoy.

If you're around the area today and are looking for something to do, be sure to drop by the George Washington Masonic Temple at the top of King Street in Old Town, just across the street from the King Street metro station. The sale is going on until 4:00 pm, but the earlier you get there the more deals there are to be had. Even if you're not a local reader, we hope some of the things you see might inspire you to pay a visit to Old Town and visit all of these great store's in their permanent retail outlets. 

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After two days of research and gently introducing the idea to Alex, we found ourselves getting into the car for a trip to h.h. gregg. We had debated the issue a bit over the weekend, and finally came to the conclusion that even though it's a luxury, our appliances' days were numbered and it might just be time to look at purchasing new ones. The range and dishwasher are about to celebrate their 30th birthdays, and the fridge, although much newer, was clearly an entry level bare bones model when it was purchased 15 or so years ago. 

The dishwasher wasn't doing much washing these days, and the stove cooked unevenly and had a bad habit of randomly shutting off. I was concerned that they might give out at any time -- likely planning their demise for a day when we were entertaining house guests or friends -- or even worse, the relics could even be considered a fire hazard (I may be grasping here, but let's go for it). 

With open minds, detailed notes on prices and product numbers, and a budget of $2500 or less, we started our quest. We knew we were limited to specific dimensions, especially for the refrigerator and dishwasher, to work with our existing cabinetry. We also knew that we needed to stick with an electric range, to avoid the time consuming and costly step of adding a gas line. After all, we have big plans down the line to relocate the kitchen to the room that we currently use as our family room, so we want to minimize the work and costs as much as possible. (That might be hard to believe, as this post focuses on the purchase of new appliances!) 

We did a little browsing on our own before a salesperson offered to help us. We then spent the next hour and a half reviewing all of our options, and decided upon the following:

• GE 22.2 Cubic Foot Stainless Steel French Door Refrigerator: The fridge was the primary reason we had been lured into h.h. gregg that day. In my wildest dreams, I never thought we'd be able to purchase a stainless steel french door refrigerator for around a grand. This affordable model, coupled with a good sale, convinced me to rethink holding out on new appliances for several more years.  

• Samsung 30" Stainless Steel Smoothtop Electric Range: Let's call a spade a spade here. Electric ranges just aren't as gorgeous, sleek, or sexy as their gas counterparts. Alex and I are both decidedly underwhelmed with the look of the range, but it sure beats what we have going on in the kitchen currently. And if it cooks evenly and doesn't go on strike mid-dinner, we'll call this a success. But at least we didn't end up with this hobbit stove...
  
  
  

• Samsung 24" Stainless Steel Dishwasher: Unlike the range, we're really excited about the new dishwasher. I love the sleek stainless look, and we can't wait to try out a modern day dishwasher. Our current model sounds like a freight train full of circus animals and hobos is running through the house, and despite the big show, it still doesn't get our cutlery clean. Here's a photo of both the new dishwasher as well as the stove we ended up purchasing.

We opted not to purchase a new microwave, since this is the one kitchen appliance we replaced ourselves just a few years ago. (The old one may have caught on fire while I was cooking Christmas dinner for my inlaws. Don't ask how I managed that one.) Our existing microwave is black, and since there's so much black in the new range, coupled with the fact we like our microwave, we opted to save our $250.

We were feeling pretty good about our purchases until we encountered a small hiccup upon check out. It seems the refrigerator we had selected was discontinued. The floor model was available for purchase, but it featured a golf ball sized dent right in the middle of one of the doors. No go. With the entire appliance purchase now in limbo, the manager generously offered to discount a nicer LG french door sitting directly to the right of "our" refrigerator that was slightly smaller in size (20 cubic feet instead of 22.2). 

This LG refrigerator, originally priced at $1800, marked down to $1400 but offered to us for $1000, has a slightly better lower storage drawer and a very similar look to it. Knowing it would fit our space and actually give us two inches to play with, we gladly accepted and were on our way. 

Funny side story, as we were checking out Alex checked in on Instagram where several people had said "STAY AWAY FROM LG!" We were caught between a rock and a hard place, but we decided to go for it anyway, all because we still keep telling ourselves this purchase is "temporary." We'll see how it works out long term, and we might need to let several people give us a big "We told you so!"

So how did it all shake out? 

• Fridge: $999.99 (was $1799.99)
• Range: $600.00 (was $799.99)
• Dishwasher: $500.00 (was $699.99)
• Hook Up Kits and Tax: $142.80
• Delivery and Haul Away: free with $79.99 rebate
• Total Spent: $2242.79 (savings of $1199.98)

So now we wait a few days until the new appliances can be delivered, and I'll continue feeling like a kid trying to sleep on Christmas Eve. To ease the pains of installation, I'm putting off grocery shopping to try to put a dent in the items already in our fridge and freezer. I guess it's my own version of the television show "Chopped" -- trying to make delicious meals using strange and random items on hand. We'll see how that turns out. 

So there you have it -- yet another way this "temporary kitchen spruce up" has spun out of control. Never in my wildest dreams when I bought that rug on clearance from Home Goods did I ever imagine it would lead to new appliances down the line. But I'm not gonna lie. I'm super psyched at the idea of having a beautiful AND functional place to cook, bake, and entertain.

Want to weigh in on our purchases? Feel free to let us have it if you have strong feelings either way. I know people can get pretty worked up about appliances, and rightfully so, since we all depend so heavily on them. 

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I know, I know. I've developed quite a reputation over the years as going completely overboard when it comes to all things Halloween. But when you find something in life that brings you joy, why not surrender to it to the fullest? So, for this year's costume I decided to embrace my idea wholeheartedly, and not just simply put together an outfit for a night. I went all out and decorated our house to complement my costume too. It's the ultimate costume accesory.

For anyone not familiar with the film, The Birds is a British horror film from the early 1960's depicting a small town in California which is overtaken by a series of of violent, widespread bird attacks. It's more campy than scary if you ask me, but it's a classic. Here's a still from the movie so you get the idea:

So how did my recreation turn out? Drumroll please....

You can only imagine the looks I received from passing cars and pedestrians while we were taking these photos. Due to this, I think you can also imagine my tone in urging Alex to hurry up and take the pictures...but not take pictures that make me look fat. <sigh> I'm hopeless. (Thank goodness I have such a patient husband.)

If you're wondering how I went about recreating the look and feel without spending a lot of time or money, I'll gladly show you how you can do it to. 

For starters, I shopped my local second hand and discount stores for a green 1960's-inspired two piece suit. Unfortunately I came up empty handed on the suit, so I went with a green shift(ish) dress that looked reminiscent of something from that era. It cost me $29.00, and I even wore it to work the week before so I could more easily justify the expense. 

The shoes I already owned, so I'll say those were "free" (oh how I love that word).

I sprang for $5.00 worth of fake blood from Target. I figured the blood streaks, though a bit messy, were necessary to really complete the outfit.

The final piece of the outfit puzzle were the movie's namesake, the birds. I was able to purchase them from Michael's craft store. They birds were on sale and I had a coupon. We also found a large lot of 12 various sized birds on eBay. The total for the birds, both for the costume and for the house, set us back approximately $40.00. Not cheap, but they're something I'll be able to use for year's to come. 

The final purchase for the costume to bring it all together was a bit of flesh toned velcro, also from Michael's. I used the velcro to make a bracelet onto which I wired a bird to create a more realistic "I'm being attacked" vibe. 

Throughout the course of the night, I had one bird permanently affixed to my wrist, another wired into my hair, and two wired onto my dress. (The wire came attached to the birds' feet in case you're wondering, so it was quite convenient.) You can see I also had one wrapped around my leg in the photo above, but Lulu kept trying to bite it, so I gave up before our annual costume party even started and relocated that one to my dress. 

Here's a close up of me in our downstairs hallway. Note the raven cutouts on the risers of our stairs to really bring the point home. (More on the Martha Stewart silhouettes in this post.) 

You can see I tried my best to emulate Tippi's hair style and period makeup to the best of my ability. And I also tried to add the fake blood in the same location as you'll see in the movie in the scene when she's attacked.

Here's another look at the exterior of our home. I affixed additional birds to our front stair railing, light fixture, and inside our vestibule. 

And thanks to a thoughtful friend who was in on my costume idea, I was able to proudly display my new seasonal door mat from Pottery Barn.

The last and final touch, borrowed from Brooklyn Limestone's decor this year, was to write a quote from Poe's famous poem The Raven on the mirror in our dining room using a paint pen. 

Well, there you have it. My nod to Alfred Hitchcock's masterpiece via home decor and a homemade Halloween costume. What do you think? Personally, I'm partial to any costume involving the dark and mysterious, and/or fake blood. 

What are your plans for this Halloween? With under a week remaining until my favorite day of the year, I hope your costume is well underway. Assuming you're getting into the spirit of the holiday. (Pun intended.)

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