Highlights of 2009

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f there is any benefit to getting snowed in over the holidays (yes, it happened!), it is that I've been able to actually have some down time. {long sigh} And, yes, it feels good. I definitely needed it. I've been able to sleep, relax, and waste my brain cells on all the tv watching I can handle.

For a fun snippet of 2009, I gathered some posts to highlight the happenings at WhisperWood Cottage over the past year. I debated how I should select them...Should it be by the most viewed or the most commented? Or maybe showing one post from each month? Maybe random is best. Even as I am writing this, I am undecided, so I am just going to wing it.

MOST VIEWED POSTS

• How to Decorate for the Holidays with Minimal Decorations
• Memorial Day Weekend Project 4: Beach Cottage Cabinet
• Memorial Day Weekend Project 3: Owls

BIGGEST COTTAGE CHANGES

• WhisperWood Cottage Master Bedroom Makeover Tour
• WhisperWood Cottage Kitchen...how it looks today...

FAVORITE PROJECTS

• Do You Have Your Tickets?
• Flashy Ideas for Vintage Flash Cards

RJNJ'S BEST PROJECT

• Ready for 3rd Gear?

MOST INSPIRED & PERSONAL

• A Beautiful Life: Peace
• Texas Antique Weekend Fall 2009 & Prayers for Cher

BEST GIVEAWAY!

You have until midnight on New Year's Eve to enter the Stylish New Year Giveaway 2010. Kick off the new year with thrifty elegance! To enter, click here now!!

THANK YOU, MY FRIENDS!

Thank you for supporting me in my creative endeavors, my friends! I hope you enjoyed perusing WWC's 2009 highlights. I look forward to visiting with you more in 2010!

The Homies, All Things Cottage & Funky Junk Interiors

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ell, doesn't that beat all? Thank you to whomever nominated WhisperWood Cottage for The Homies 2009 at Apartment Therapy!! I have been reading about The Homies all over blogland as other blogs have been nominated. I finally decided to check it out and found myself on the list!! You just made my year!!

Well, I am honored to be nominated and to actually have received votes! I'm having a blast voting for my own favorites! If you haven't heard of the Homies yet, here is how it works. People can nominate and vote for blogs in different categories (home design, home tech, kids at home, green home, and home cooking) until Dec. 29 (5 pm Eastern). The top six in each category move on to the next round of voting (Dec. 30-Jan. 6). One winner in each category receives $50 and a feature on Apartment Therapy.

WHISPERWOOD COTTAGE FEATURED AT ALL THINGS COTTAGE

WhisperWood Cottage was also recently added to the showcase of featured blogs over at All Things Cottage! There are some fun and beautiful blogs listed there if you are into the cottage lifestyle! :) Thanks for including me, All Things Cottage!

WHISPERWOOD COTTAGE PROJECT FEATURED AT FUNKY JUNK INTERIORS

I also want to thank Donna over at Funky Junk Interiors for sporting the first of RJNJ's Gear Lamps on her Today's Hot Find Feature a while back! Donna's blog is filled with all kinds of creative inspiration!

SHARING THE LOVE

Well, I feel like the most-loved blogger in blogland today! Remember that I'm sharing the bloggy love with the Stylish New Year Giveaway. Enter now through midnight on New Year's Eve. Click below to enter...

Wishing You and Your Families...

wishing you and your families


a meaningful christmas


and an inspired new year

Start Your New Year Off in Style with this Giveaway!

   

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tart your new year off in style! Get your very own copy of "The Find" by Stan Williams, recently selected as the #1 design book of 2009 by Apartment Therapy!! Congrats, Stan! I received an autographed copy from Stan while in Texas at the Warrenton/Round Top shows. I enthusiastically read each and every page during the trip back to Minnesota.

Stan, aka the Elegant Thrifter, is a wonderfully genuine guy with a heart of gold. In fact, I featured him here back in August. See his interview here and his blog here. His book is a labor of love that conveys his passion for thrift and design. He has generously offered to donate an autographed copy of his book to one lucky winner for the WhisperWood Cottage Stylish New Year Giveaway 2010. What a great way to start off the new year in style!!

So, how do you get your very own autographed copy of this book? Here are 5 ways to enter...

1. Enter on this post only through New Year's Eve (that's midnight central time). 
2. Leave a comment about how you need this book to kick off 2010 in thrift-minded style.
3. Tweet it, Facebook it, Post it, or Sidebar it? Leave another comment for each that you do.

Here's the image and the html for you...

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Winner announced New Year's Day!

Chandelier Transformation & Silver in the Dining Room

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ike last year, I jazzed up the chandelier with some bayleaf swags from PB. Unlike last year's chandelier transformation, I left off the angel ornaments and instead added a bayleaf kissing ball in the center. I realize this will require leaning over the table to be underneath it, but what the heck...kiss away!! I won't peek!!

Did you notice this one Christmas tree is elevated on a vintage Christmas tree stand? This is same stand that I used as a champagne server in my Elegant Junky Holiday post last December. {Related post: 5 Ways to Repurpose a Christmas Tree Stand over at Junkologie!}

This pair of solid silver candlesticks and the five-piece solid silver coffee & tea set are gracing the tea cart in the corner. Yes, I know, I know...not a coffee drinker, not a tea drinker...why have a tea cart or a coffee/tea set? Heck, I don't really know what to say to that. I guess it's just that the patina is fabulous!! I'm very relaxed in a lot of my decor, but I love some formal details mixed in. Aren't the lines on those candlesticks divine?

One lump or two? Sugar cubes...not coal in your stocking!! Well, I guess that depends if you've been as good as you say you've been this year. I'll call Santa to check the list!!

Bringing Holiday Cheer to the Dining Room

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've started some holiday/winter decor in the dining room. By default, the large antique harvest table is the centerpiece of the room. It seats 10-12 guests and takes up most of the space. Since we are not hosting any holiday events this year, I'm using some large scale pieces to create a tablescape that won't need to be moved anytime soon.

A column base topped with an aqua and peacock feather tree (found at Goodwill!) are centered on the table.

Additional aqua accessories, nestled in a broken garden urn bring more color to the design.

This cloche-topped pedestal base features a dainty glass tree that I found last summer (another Goodwill find!)

Some silvery glass trees add shimmer and sheen to the winter forest.

The next step is to add some cheer to the chandelier!! Hint: It will likely be similar to last year's chandelier transformation!

Live Facebook Event Featuring Sue Whitney of JunkMarket Style

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our very own Sue is being featured in a live Facebook event this Wednesday. Free your schedule and get ready for some handmade holiday ideas from the president of JunkMarket Style.

From the Gorilla Glue LIVE with Sue Whitney event page...

Not only is Sue Whitney a noted author and the face of JUNKMARKET Style but she is also proud to use Gorilla products in most of her work! Join us on Wednesday to chat with Sue LIVE on the Gorilla Glue facebook page. Sue will be sharing a few of her Handmade Holiday projects and sharing her secrets on these projects. She is happy to help answer your questions on antiquing and finding those diamond in the rough pieces. 

Come prepared with pictures and examples if you need help with your individual projects!

Check out the JUNKMARKET Style website at www.junkmarketstyle.com.

This is a not-to-be-missed event! I've already RSVP'd! How about you? RSVP here!!

P.S. You are welcome to copy and distribute the artwork above. I'll share! :) Please post, tweet, and facebook the event!! Please also copy the html code below to add this blog button to your sidebar!

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