The charming spring cleaning checklist (free printable!)

I’ve been recently hit by a realization that I am the queen of half-finished projects. It should come as no surprise to me, but it’s still a rather unpleasant thing to wrap my head around. I don’t know whether it’s because I have so many things on my mind, or because I succumb too easily to the lure of shiny new things, but I’m currently surrounded (and pretty overwhelmed) by half-finished things and ideas: first drafts of blog posts that I never actually got around to editing and publishing; towel hooks and light fixture that are still missing from my bathroom; a business website that’s still waiting to be finalized and put online; a gorgeous wall clock that I got for Christmas and that’s still waiting to be hung in my kitchen, a stack of magazines waiting to be read or a bunch of recipes I want to try but never seem to find time for it…and sadly, I could go on and on.

You can call me the world’s worst procrastinator (and you would be right to do so!), but when you have so many things on your mind (like we all seem to have these days), some of them are bound to fall through the cracks. That’s why I mostly live by my to do lists, which I always carry around with me in my bullet journal. If it weren’t for them, I would probably never get anything done.

I don’t know how about you, but to me, spring cleaning seems to be one of those huge projects that never get quite completed. Each year, I approach it with a huge bravado, but that seems to ebb away slowly with each dust bunny swallowed by my vacuum cleaner. It seems like such a ginormous project to complete at once! Especially since this will be my very first spring cleaning in my own apartment (and thus, there’s no mama to chase me with a mop :). That’s why I decided to put a little thinking into the whole process. I realized that by wanting to tackle the whole thing in one afternoon, I was setting myself up for a big failure. Plus, I knew I desperately needed a system that would prevent me from hopping from one room to another without properly finishing any of them.

That’s why I decided to create a simple, one-page checklist, that would contain all the tasks and chores I wanted to accomplish. I will tackle my spring cleaning one room at a time – I’m actually quite curious to see how much time it will take. It fits nicely into my bullet journal, so I can have it on hand all the time, and check the items off as I go.

And because I think  I’m not the only one struggling with this one, I’m sharing this printable checklist with you, in hopes that it would help us get things done faster and more effectively.

Grab your free printable as a picture below, or download the PDF version here. And be sure to let me know how your spring cleaning went on Twitter or Instagram, with a hashtag #charmingspringcleaning Here’s to our clean and tidy homes!

Apartment renovation: Before

This was the moment I felt the proudest: when I was finally holding keys to my first own apartment.

Note: All these pictures were taken with my old iPhone 5S. Excuse the poor quality. Although I don’t think fault is entirely on that poor phone. The apartment before renovation looked so terrible, that not even a fancy DSLR could have made it look better!

As I promised on Monday, I’m here today with the before pictures of my apartment. Remember when I told you in that same post that when buying an old apartment (or house), you should forget the outside aspects, and focus on the bones? Well, I’m about to show you why. If I was judging the book by its cover, I would never have bought this apartment in the first place. It was as far removed from being move-in ready as possible. Creaky wooden floors, stained and worn out carpets, outdated and dusty light fixtures, sickly yellow walls, kitchen cabinets falling to pieces and the scariest bathroom I had ever laid my eyes on: this place had it all. Oh, and let’s not forget the wasp nest in the kitchen pantry. That was a “lovely” added bonus. 

There was SO much to do before this place could become livable. But that didn’t scare me off. I had my contractors lined up before I even received the title deed, and I knew that with their help I could turn this drab den into something fabulous and completely “me”. But I also knew that before it could get better, it had to get a lot worse. And that’s what I’m going to show you in my next post.

But for now, let me take you on a virtual tour of my apartment, from before the hammers and drills got involved. Ready?

Living room. Apart from the original hardwood floors, there was hardly anything to write home about. That fancy chandelier, maybe? Or the fact, that this room alone had three doors leading to and from it? That was completely beyond my understanding.

I knew from the get-go what I wanted to do with this space: brick in doors leading to the kitchen and bedroom, in order to get more wall space for the furniture, remove the old heating system and paint the walls bright white to optically enlarge the whole space.

Kitchen. Ehm. It looked pretty terrible in its original state: worn-down lino, cabinets in various states of decline, and a pantry that was installed somewhere around 1950s. But based on my three non-negotiables, the room itself was one of the things that sold me on this place: With its 14 square meters, it was by far the largest kitchen I’d seen in the apartments I had visited during my search, and I knew that it could house my kitchen unit, as well as the dining table for 6-8 people. And that was really big to me. I knew that once this ugliness was gone, I could get creative designing my dream kitchen. 

Entryway. Not much to look at in here, except that I realized that I’d never taken a picture of the second ginormous pantry that was sitting right behind that corner. I’ve never seen that much dust before. When I was peeking into it, I kept waiting for a bat, or a bunch of tipsy mouses to come out to play.

I was planning to use this huge space to strip down the lino, paint the walls white, and have a new, big pantry / closet installed there. 

Bedroom. This was probably the least terrible looking room of them all. But only because it was completely empty: no prehistoric heaters in here, no fancy paint jobs, no wooden monsters of a closet. Still, those sickly yellow walls… *shudder* I originally wanted to keep the wooden floors, but they were too creaky, and they were also hiding one very dark and disgusting secret (I’ll show you next, promise), so they had to go.

What I wanted to do here was brick in the door that lead from the bedroom to the living room, and make a new one, leading from the entryway to the bedroom – so that each piece in my apartment would have its own, separate entrance. I also wanted to have one wall covered with floor-to-ceiling closet. I also wanted a big, comfortable and pretty bed, and a commode for added storage space.

Aaaand…drumroll please, now onto the worst of the worst. Please say hello, to my former bathroom. I’m not even sure I can call it that way.

Yup. I bought this. In my own free will. No one coerced me. It’s hard to believe, I know. Looking at these pictures, I can hardly believe it myself.

But I had some big plans for this relatively tiny space. I wanted to fit the heating system, a washing machine, and a tiny beauty cabinet in there, while also having a bathtub – I didn’t want to switch to shower only, since I love my bubble baths so much. And I can’t wait to show you the results in one of my upcoming posts.

Well, what do you think, guys? Would you buy this thing, given a chance? Do you think you’ve seen the worst? Just you wait 🙂 I’ll be back with more, I promise 🙂 Have a lovely Wednesday!

Lessons learned in my apartment hunting

Guys, the day has finally come. After much thinking and debating (and worrying, obviously), I’ve finally decided to pull the trigger and share my apartment hunting and renovating story with you. It’s not because I feel ready to do it – I probably never will. Anyone who ever renovated and decorated an apartment would tell you this: it’s never really done. It never feels finished and it most certainly never feels “perfect”. It takes a long time – unless you’re a top-earning blogger who gets most of her furniture and appliances for free – which I’m not. It’s been more than a year since I crossed the threshold of what would become chez moi for the first time, and I can still see at least 50 things that need to be taken care of or completed. And that’s fine with me. Like everything truly meaningful in life, it’s work in progress.

That doesn’t mean that I’m not nervous about sharing the whole process with you: after all, putting your work out there for the world to see can be pretty nerve-wracking (#keepingitreal). But as I was reflecting upon the past year, I realized that I’d learned so many valuable lessons in the process, and it would be a shame not to pass them on. If this post could help only one person in her/his search for the right place to live, it would be well worth it.

Before I dive smack into the list of lessons learned, I would love to clarify my situation, since I don’t want to mislead you in any way. First of all, I didn’t get a mortgage – I paid for my apartment cash. I did it with a major help from my parents for which I’ll never be really able to thank them enough. This doesn’t mean that I’m debt-free. It means that I’m repaying my parents instead of a bank. It also means that I don’t have the crazy interest rate that goes with a mortgage to deal with: here in Slovakia, having a mortgage usually means that you repay your home over the course of 25-30 years, and incidentally, you pay twice the real value of your abode. Not having to do this is a huge privilege I’m well aware of, and I’ll be forever grateful to my parents for their help and support.

The second specific thing is that when it came to buying my first apartment, I absolutely wanted to buy it all by myself – no boyfriend / fiancé involved. I wanted my name to be the only one on the buying end of the contract. This pertains closely to the lessons I learned from my failed engagement a few years ago. At the time, blinded by love and trust, I let myself become financially dependent on my fiancé, and when things came to an end, they ended badly mostly for me. I was the one who had to move out of the apartment we shared, and I was the one who had to rebuild her life and career completely from scratch. I wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice. When it comes to my current apartment, there’s only one name – mine – on the title deed, and it will forever remain so. No matter what happens next in my life (good or bad), I’ll always have this security blanket to fall back onto. And that, to me, is truly priceless.

With these two specifics explained, let’s dive right into the thick of my apartment hunting. These are the most important lessons I learned along the way:

one: Do your homework and be prepared. Apartment hunting is not something that can be improvised. You can’t really “wing it”. It’s a huge commitment, both when it comes to time and money, and it deserves to be taken seriously. Once I set my mind on buying my own place (back in 2014), I moved it right on top of my list of priorities. I spent hours scouring the listings available, learning to understand the real estate lingo, calling the real estate agents and scheduling visits, looking at more listings, comparing locations and so on and so forth. I wasn’t blogging at the time, so I dedicated my entire afternoons and evenings to researching my local market and to learning what buying and owning a place entailed. This helped me tremendously, because thanks to all the information gathered and stored in my brain, when visiting a potential listing, I was able to look at a place and gauge its price, its potential and whether it could be the right fit for me in mere minutes. I could never stress the importance of preliminary research enough. It may take time and effort, but it will save you so much disappointment and wasted time in the long run! Believe me, you absolutely want to know what you’re getting into.

two: Make a list. Coming from the compulsive list maker that I am, this one is not going to surprise you. But in order to find the right place for you, you have to have your priorities straight before you start looking for it. Of course, you also have to be ready to be flexible, but knowing your non-negotiables should be your number one priority. While apartment hunting, I had three non-negotiables:

   1. The neighborhood: My future apartment had to be close both to my parents’ apartment and the city center with all the shops and amenities. I didn’t have a car at the time, so having everything necessary at walking distance was the most important thing to me. And while I do have a car now, the fact that whatever errand I need to run (post office, butcher’s or the grocery store where I know all the salespeople by name) is within five-minute walking radius is one of the hugest perks of living where I do.
   2. Three separate pieces: bedroom, living room AND kitchen. Having a separate kitchen was also huge on my list. I’ve never been a fan of open plans: merging kitchen and the living space simply doesn’t work for me. I wanted to have a big kitchen for all my cooking and baking experiments and that could also house the dining table.
   3. Balcony. This may seem completely random, but having a balcony really was a non-negotiable for me, for a whole slew of reasons.

These were my top three priorities. Of course, there was a whole list of other things I wanted to have in my “dream” apartment, but that weren’t the deal-breakers. Some of them I knew I could make happen during the renovation; and some of them I knew I could forgo completely (mostly because I wanted, but didn’t really need them). Having my priorities straight prevented me from wasting my time visiting places that didn’t match my three cardinal requirements from the get-go. To be completely honest with you, at the beginning of my search, I did actually visit a couple apartments that were in different neighborhoods than my dream one, or that didn’t have a balcony, or that had an open plan kitchen. But these visits only reinforced my conviction that my non-negotiables were exactly that: things I would not compromise on. And it absolutely paid off in the long run.

My balcony is nowhere near this pretty right now (we’re still in the dead of winter after all), but just wait for summer!

three: Get help and advice from someone you can trust. This can be your parents, a trusted friend or a family member, or a real estate agent you can rely on. Personally, I didn’t work with a realtor – I honestly didn’t see the point. I did all the legwork myself: I scoured the listings, called the proprietors and agencies, asked my own questions and formed my own opinions. I spent a lot of time talking with my family and friends about their experiences with apartment hunting and living. And since in the past 10 years I was living in 9 different places, I also had a slew of my own experiences I could refer to.

I wouldn’t necessarily advise you to do the same thing: if you feel like the realtor could help you and be useful to you, by all means, go for it. I’m well aware that not everyone can dedicate as much time and effort to searching for the right place as I did: people have demanding jobs and families to take care of, and what I did is not realistic for everyone (and not everyone is the crazy compulsive researcher and note-taker that I am 🙂 If you manage to find a dedicated real estate agent willing to listen to you and to take your needs and wants in consideration, than you hit the jackpot. Do what feels right and doable for you, and if you do want to work with a realtor, don’t settle on the first one that crosses your path. Always get a second opinion.

four: Visit as many apartments as you can, but don’t judge the book by its cover. Seeing as many apartments as humanly possible played a tremendous part in finding my own perfect place. With a huge help from my dad, I was able to pinpoint a list of things to pay attention to and the questions to ask. In the end, I was able to forget the facade completely, and focus on the bones – that’s what I like to call the things that truly matter in an apartment. I’m going to talk about this topic more in depth in my next post, so stay tuned.

five: Good things take time… You have to be patient. If you need to deal with your living situation in a hurry, I would advise you to rent a temporary place for a few months, and focus all your attention on looking for the right place to buy. Purchasing a home is an enormous commitment. It’s not something you can change your mind about in 6 months. You have to figure out what you want and need first, before signing the contract or taking that scary huge loan – and that’s where the lessons no. 1 and 2 listed above come in handy.

People are usually surprised to learn that it took me almost a year to find and buy my apartment. But that’s because I knew exactly what I was looking for, and I was willing to wait for it. Of course, I had experienced many moments of doubt, thinking that I was being too difficult and too picky. There were times when I thought I would never ever find a place that fulfilled all my requirements. And as it goes, I was actually going to chicken out, and put an offer on a different apartment (one that met two of my non-negotiables, but didn’t have a balcony). But right when I was about to call the proprietor to set up that last meeting, I stumbled upon the listing for my current place, and the rest is history. And that’s where my last important lesson in apartment hunting comes in…  

six: …but you have to be able to act fast. Listen to you gut. You know how they say that you’ll know the right place for you the moment you see it? Well, I never really believed that, but in the end, it worked 1000% for me. I knew this was the right place the moment I entered the door. But it wasn’t thanks to some mysterious illumination that came out of nowhere. It was the result of all the things listed above: doing my research, seeing as many options as possible, having my priorities straight and knowing what I wanted from my place and from my neighborhood. Once I had all this figured out, it was just a matter of acting fast.

See, when it comes to real estate, my neighborhood is probably the most competitive one in the entire city. Apartments like mine sell in two or three days. None of them is listed for more than a week. You see it one day and the next – POOF, it is gone. You don’t get to take a few days to think it through. If you do, the apartment will most likely be sold before you make your mind. This is where all that thorough research and all the learning comes in handy. It did for me: by the end of the first visit, I was closing the deal. Three days later we were signing the contract. I was wiring the money to the proprietor the next day, and mere three week after the first visit, I was holding the keys to my first own place. It may have been fast, but it was also one of the best decisions of my life.

Whew, this was one word-heavy post. I could probably go on and on about this topic, but I’m going to let you breathe a little bit before revealing the BEFORE pictures on Wednesday. Beware: it’s going to be really ugly! Can’t wait 🙂

Currently inspired by, #4: I’m moving!

Image via

Guys, I only have one thing on my list this weekend. I’ll be packing my little life into bags & boxes, and moving everything to my new apartment. I could hardly be more excited! It feels like such a surreal thing, that something I’ve been dreaming about and working on for such a long time, is finally about to happen! Althought still not quite finished (progress, not perfection, right?), that little place of mine feels like a dream come true. For the past few months I’ve poured all my time, energy, and yes, all my money, into turning an old and drab flat into something new and elegant that I could call “home”. And seeing my vision progressively come to life is one of the best feelings I’ve ever had! Honestly, just writing about it makes me a little bit emotional.

So the upcoming weekend will be spent first packing than unpacking, cleaning, organizing and tidying up. And hopefully, once everything including me is settled down, I’ll be able to pop a bottle of bubbly and savor the moment to its fullest.

PS: New apartment also means no wifi, which, unfortunately means, no time to post & comment. I’m working hard on having it sorted. Until then, have a fantastic and successful week!

Real talk: A little life update

This is what my life has been all about for the past few weeks. Too much glamour to bear. Seriously.

Hi guys. Anybody still out there? I’m popping in quickly tonight, just to tell you that I’m still alive. I’m not usually one to complain about the busyness of life (quite the contrary – I’m the annoying one striving on the busy schedule), but these past couple weeks have been exceptionally rough. Between my apartment renovation, my day job that couldn’t be forgotten and some sad personal stuff, I got pretty banged up both physically and emotionally. (just trying to keep it real).

The photo above could give you a little hint. Yup. That’s exactly how my apartment was looking five weeks ago. And four weeks ago. And three weeks ago, too. I was beginning to think that this renovation would never end. Fortunately, my wonderful contractors haven’t let me down, and I’m more than happy to report that after 5 weeks of intense labor, I’m finally seeing a tiny light at the end of the tunnel. My apartment is beginning to look like a place I could eventually move into one day. Not quite there yet, but soon! I’m so freaking exhausted excited.

I can’t wait to share my renovation journey with you, along with some (hopefully) spectacular before-after pictures, and all the lessons I’ve learned along the way. And I’m also wishing to go back to a more consistent blogging schedule – I miss this little creative space of mine, and I miss you, guys! Honestly, I’m still trying to figure it all out. Please, bear with me, and in the mean time, please please, keep your fingers crossed for me! I’ll be forever grateful.

xo

Inspired by: White & grey bathroom

Image via

Guys, I’ve been keeping a huge seecret from you for the past two weeks. After weeks and weeks spent waiting with my fingers crossed (all the paperwork surrounding buying an apartment can be really daunting), the time has finally come for me to start renovating my very first apartment. (Cue squeals of excitement). This project has been consuming all my waking hours and my nights alike (either I’m dreaming about some part of the process, or I wake up with a jolt because I remembered something I need to deal with in the morning). In terms of pictures, I haven’t got much to show you yet – I already have some 400 pictures on my phone, but it’s mostly demolition process, bricks and a whole lot of rubble. Not exactly glamorous. But I can promise you that there are some epic “before & after” blog posts in this blog’s not-so-distant future!

And while my contractors have been systematically demolishing my humble abode, I’ve been consoling myself with daydreaming of all the decorating that awaits me. I already shared my kitchen design inspiration here, and I’ve since moved onto the bathroom. Picking up the color scheme was the easiest part: I’ve known that I wanted a grey & white combo for ages. Scroll down to see a few pictures that have inspired me so far.

And per usual, I would love to know, how did you go about designing your bathroom? How did you pick your color palette?

Image via How to decorate

I know I know, this is not a bathroom, nevertheless, this picture epitomizes perfectly the color palette and the luxe feel I’m going for.

Image via BHG

Image via Pebble Tile Shop

Image via Studio McGee

Image via Dulux

Images via Houzz // Gibbes

Inspired by: White kitchens

With my upcoming apartment renovation drawing nearer and nearer (yay! so freaking excited!), I thought I’ll use my blog as a platform to edit and narrow down my inspirations. Let’s start with the heart of every home today, shall we?

I knew I wanted a white kitchen even before I started apartment hunting. There’s really no color that comes off as clean, simple and elegant as white, and all the styling opportunities that come with this blank canvas have me positively giddy with excitement. I already have a Pinterest board full of inspiring images, and I thought it was time to go through them again, edit, and narrow down my style and preferences. It became evident pretty quickly that the spaces that truly pull at my heartstrings have several things in common: aside from their snow white color, there are also the ever so glamorous marble countertops that I’m obsessed with, simple and elegant knobs that don’t disturb the visual flow, and tons and tons of shelf space that is crucial to anyone who collects pretty coffee mugs, French latte bowls, dozens of cookbooks and more spices than a person could ever use in her entire life. These are just a few photos I’m currently drawing inspiration from, but by the size of my kitchen Pinterest board, many more will follow!

Image via The Everygirl

I’ve been debating open shelving for ages: i love that with open shelves, there are limitless styling options and possibilities. Think pretty china, a collection of your favorite cookbooks, colorful mugs and bowls lined up, or a bar cart smack in the middle. However, it’s the practical aspect that’s scaring the crap out of me: I’m not really willing to spend all my weekends removing all the items and dusting them off. No one ever really talk about this side of the story, and I would love to know: does any of you guys have open shelving in your kitchen? Are you happy with it? How much time do you spend dusting those shelves? Do tell!

Image via Style me Pretty Living

This is the exact type of cabinets I’m leaning towards. I love that they’re not smooth and that there’s some structure to them. I’m obsessed with those simple and elegant knobs, too. Also, the marble countertop is to die for (although given how delicate it is, and how much I love myself some red wine, I’ll probably be going with something more resistent and durable. What would you recommend?).

Image via Domaine

Here it is again, that mesmerizing open shelving! Can you tell I’m obsessed? Plus I’m really smitten with that chevron backsplash: it’s so original, and such a great alternative to the ubiquitous subway tile!

Image via Traditional Home

Here’s an idea! I guess these see-through glass cabinet doors would be a lovely alternative to those dust-collecting open shelves: I could still see and style all my pretty kitchen collections without the necessity to bust out the swiffer on a daily basis. Tempting!

Image via Style me Pretty Living

There is only one thing that I regret about my future kitchen: there won’t be enough space for a fabulous kitchen island (like the one above). Of course, it’s because I’ll be using that extra space to put a large extensible table in there (for up to 12 people: that makes me so excited for all the entertaining possibilities it entails!). Anyhoo, this is just another exemple of a white kitchen done right: I love the contrast betweent the snow white cabinets and the dark floor. Also, that countertop has left me breathless!

Which one of these spaces is your favorite? How did you go about designing your own kitchens? What mistakes should I avoid at any costs?

What I’ve been up to

This, my friends, is the reason behind my prolonged blog silence. I was just planning on resuming the usual schedule when I realized that it wasn’t going to happen. I’ve already mentioned that I was planning on giving my bedroom/home office a serious makeover, and I had a ‘genius’ idea to schedule it two days after my return from Paris. The minute I landed, I was already making lists of last minute things to do, packing my room into boxes (how could one girl have so much stuff?) and getting rid of the old furniture from my high school years (making room for new couch, desk and chair, finally!). No need to explain that shooting outfit posts, cooking, baking and preparing beauty tutorials were probably the last things on my mind. I promise to tell you all about my Parisian adventures next week (once I manage to localize my camera in all that giant mess), and I hope to be back to normal on Monday. Until then, have a fabulous weekend, and wish me luck! (have I mentioned there will be a pink accent wall involved? Eek!)

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Home office makeover

Image via

 I published this post a few weeks back, and I couldn’t stop thinking about my home office makeover ever since. I’ve always loved little details like lacquered boxes, stylish notebooks and inspirational prints, but I realized how premature it was to start planning and shopping for accessories before I actually made two most important decisions: color palette and wall paint. So this past weekend was devoted to scouring Pinterest and Google for inspiring images, beautiful color pairings and creating a visual board. I already know that I want my office to be bright, sunny and feminine, which means lots of white, grey and pink, with small touches of dramatic black and glamorous gold. I pinned probably a thousand images (does this happen to you, too?), but I finally have a clear vision of what I want and how to get there. All I need to do now, is pick the perfect paint colors and set into work. Easy, right?

Images via The Everygirl

I already mentioned a few times how enamored I was with Danielle Moss’ beautiful, serene and feminine apartment (proof here). The dominance of white with little touches of pink, gold and black is exactly what I’m aiming for. But I will probably swap white couch for a dark grey one: I love a great white couch, but the idea of its maintenance terrifies me. Do you have an experience to share? I would love to know!

Images via 1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5

 This palette could easily be dubbed as “modern Parisian chic”: classic black and white is an indémodable combo (Mademoiselle Chanel would approve). And when you throw feminine pink to the mix, you get one extremely happy girl (aka yours truly).

Images via 1 // 2 // 3 // 4

Grey seems like just the perfect color to tone down all the drama. I’m thinking of a grey couch, grey chair and maybe even a graphic rug.

Images via 1 // 2 // 3 // 4

This is what I call an ultimate and unapologetic femininity. Little touches of blush pink and vintage gold could give the space a lot more character. The best part? There’s no man around who could protest!

Images via 1 // 2 // 3 // 4

One last dose of gold, pink and glitter. I’m a girly girl through and trough, can you tell?

Something extra

While playing around with images, textures, finishes and colors over the weekend, I stumbled upon one invaluable tool: Sherwin-Williams’ Chip it!. Maybe you already heard about it, but if not, you’re in for a treat. By installing a simple button on your toolbar, you’ll be able to “chip” any image you like, to determine the color palette and match your favorites to Sherwin-Williams‘ paint colors. And if, like me, you can spot similar colors popping up all over again, you’ve find your perfect palette! Demonstration below: I was clearly made to live in an interior full of white, grey, pink and gold, with occasional touches of green, coral and black. Feminine and sophisticated. That’s all I want my space to be!

Happy Monday!

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Disclaimer: I didn’t partner with Sherwin-Williams for this post.  I just wanted to share a really fabulous tool with all of you. All the opinions expressed are my own.

Advent wreath, 2012 edition

Creating my own handmade advent wreath has become one of my favorite Christmas traditions (you can see my last year’s design here). First of all, I come up with a color theme: this year I opted for various shades of purple, a color that’s very sophisticated and always makes a statement. 4 advent candles are indispensable, as well as a little bit of sparkle (after all, I can’t imagine Christmas without a touch of glitz and glamour).

I would love to know, what are your advent traditions? Do you have an advent wreath in your home? Do you buy it or make it yourself? Do you light the candles every advent Sunday? And which colors are your favorite?