Friday Focus: November 11

life-like faux Christmas trees

There are two types of people in the world: those who prefer faux Christmas trees and those who prefer live cut trees. I love a live tree but if it’s up for longer than 3 weeks it can start to drop needles like nobody’s business. Since I have been decorating for Christmas the past few years so early in November I have become a faux tree adopter, and have found some pretty great realistic Christmas trees that will makes guests do a double take. If you’re in the market for a faux Christmas tree I linked a bunch of great trees at a good price point (all between $200-$400) — any one of these would be a great option!

lately

Our open staircase is one of the first things in our home that made me fall in love with it. Even though our house isn’t huge, this formal staircase greeting you as you walk in the door feels a tiny bit grand and is really beautiful. We installed this stair runner two years ago now and I’m pleasantly surprised with how it’s held up! Truly, it looks as new as the day we installed it. You can read the full post on how we installed it + the runner we used below.

read the post

I have a lot of projects started but not quite finished — but one thing I did squeeze in was a little DIY on the light in our living room. This light is a dupe for the Visual Comfort Morris Lantern, and while it was pretty when I originally bought it, the brass finish needed some help and I really wanted the frosted glass look. A little rub n’ buff and window frosting film went a long way. I’ll share the whole process next week!

Morris Lantern Dupe

travel: Cape San Blas, FL

Last week my family took a trip down to our favorite beach: Cape San Blas, Florida. Far East down 30A, this is a place where I grew up visiting each year so it was fun to go back and see how everything had changed. Most of the homes here are right on the water so you have the beautiful Gulf greet you each time you look out the back of the house or sit on the deck. To hear and hear the ocean at all times of the day + that salty air is one of my absolute favorite things on this earth. The beach here feels like more an island: the warm Gulf water brings all kinds of wildlife (the kids were catching sting rays with nets, dolphins are out swimming a few times a day, you can find crabs in the water and the fishing is great if you love fresh seafood), an amazing amount of shells to hunt and because it’s not overly developed, its really quiet and not at all crowded. The water is calm enough to paddle board on and there’s a preserved state park at the end of the peninsula to explore. It really is the most beautiful!

In the past 20 years Cape San Blas has developed a little more (with a great donut shop + a few seafood restaurants) as well as the neighboring towns of Port St. Joe and Apalachicola. I was also surprised to find some really great home goods stores in these small towns! If you’re ever looking for a new Florida beach to explore, head to Cape San Blas and check out a few of these favorite places of mine.