Vintage Inspiration

12.11.15- 

Ok, friends!  You know I love to share great things that inspire & delight with all of you. Well, get ready because this is my Christmas gift to all of you.  Introducing you to some of my favorite vintage holiday decor EVER!!  I wish I was all of these girls' neighbors so I could just walk over & enjoy the sights all the time.  Really, such pretty & amazing collections on display.   I hope to be like each one of them someday.  

I mean.... well just enjoy the stroll & be sure to check out each of their Instagram feeds for more fabulous inspiration & ideas.  {As a result seeing of their homes I've discovered a few new things I want to start collecting, thanks a lot ladies} 

To start it all of is one of my sweet friends, Jen from @3dotters.  If you're local, make your calendar & plan to attend her fabulous market in January.  Check her feed for all the details.  

-Like I've always said & firmly believe- Everything looks great on a cake stand!  Jen proves that with this simply charming of trees, houses & ornament display.-

Another local favorite friend, Courtney. When she posted this the other day I nearly fell off my seat!  I mean, MY. GOODNESS!!   The more the merrier, right!!  So much happy all stuffed into one place & don't get me started about this industrial bookcase either, just adore it all! You can find more from her @courtneysnowden

-I could just stare at this all day long & still see something new.  Just too gosh darn good!-

 This picture gave from @shesgotmoxie who took a pic & posted it to the hashtag- #newmonthnewmantel  If you need inspiration & ideas head over & check it all out. Just love her display- festive & fun all around!  So glad she shared for us all to enjoy.  I spy so many things I love & want to start collecting. 

 I think I could honestly call @magpieethel the QUEEN of VINTAGE Christmas decor!  I mean this pic is just the tip of the North Pole people & I'm not kidding!  Don't believe head over to her Instagram & see for yourself.  She uses vintage stockings to hang as awnings over her windows, a cupboard full of Santa mugs to serve hot cocoa to an army, Santa heads galore {oh, there's more than this}  Just so much eye candy!  I can drool & dream over her feed for hours. 

-Just so happy!  I need to find me a good man to have around the Holidays, a St. Nick head that is! - 

 And thanks to Ethel & Erica @vintagesister76 I know have a need {obsession} to get some Santa head mugs & these adorable Christmas list card tins.  Seriously!?!  I can't stop thinking about them since I saw them on each of their feeds.  I've been collecting old tin & wood boxes since this summer, for some reason I've become smitten with them, not quite sure why I love them so & then I see these!  I've never seen anything like them before, darling! 

Happy to report that thanks to some searching & shopping several are headed my way just in time for holiday decorating.  So excited!! 

What is it about vintage holiday decor that just makes me giddy?  I think it reminds me of my childhood & walking into department stores, school & my grandma's house & seeing all these things. Makes me feel like a kid again.  Hope this stroll down some pretty vintage lanes made you happy & reminded you of something you loved or used to see all the time.  Thanks to all these fabulous ladies for having a passion & putting it all together in such a pretty way to inspire & delight, I for one am grateful. 

Have a wonderful day. 

{M}

A sweet follow-up

12.9.15- 

Hello.  Sorry, I haven't posted for so long.  So much has been going on around here, all good, but very busy.  I thought when your kids got older things got easier, I guess not.  More places to go & things to do.  Grateful to have 3 girls who are active & involved in many great things, keeps us on our toes.  

I wanted to say THaNK YoU to those who attended the 1st Early Bee Event at The Holiday Hive in November. 

 I'm happy to announce that a donation was made to the Heifer International to purchase 4 colonies of honeybee's to be given to women & families around the world.  Such a sweet gift to give that will hopefully continue to grow for years to come!  I was so grateful for those who came & participated in that so that we could spread a little bit of joy around the world this holiday season.  

Hope you all are enjoying the holidays.  Such a wonderful time of year.  I wish you all the best! 

{M}

The Holiday BuZZ......event announcement!

10.15.15- 

I have some VERY exciting news to share with you all regarding the upcoming Holiday Hive in November. After every Hive I sit, reflect & jot notes down about how things went,what worked well, what can be improved & done better next time. After The Fall Hive & talking with family & friends I decided to shake things up a bit on opening night & try something new.  There is always so much excitement, energy & anticipation on that night that I wanted to bundle all that up in some way & do some good with it.  

I started The Hive, 5 years ago, as a way of bringing together other fabulous vendors who put hard work into what they create to bring about sweet rewards.  Just like hard working honeybees do each & every day. It has definitely brought sweet rewards into my life in many more ways than one.  One of those rewards for me has been meeting so many of you who have become dear friends over the years.  I'm grateful for your support, patience & friendship over the years as my business & The Hive have grown.  

 So in an effort to keep those sweet rewards flowing I'm pleased to announce the Early Bee Shopping Event on opening night of The Holiday Hive.  I'm offering a LIMITED AMOUNT of tickets to get in before the swarm of Hive shoppers & donate to a good cause this Holiday season.  A $6 early bee ticket allows you to get in the doors of The Holiday Hive anytime between 5-6 pm on opening night Nov. 12th.  No one will be allowed in during that time without a ticket & doors will open to the public at 6:00. 

 
*All proceeds from the Early Bee event will go directly to Heifer International to purchase honey bees to give to families in need.  This organization works in areas all around the world to help educate, alleviate hunger & poverty through the gift of livestock.  Your ticket purchase will go towards providing a family with honeybees, a hive & training in beekeeping. What a sweet gift!  Bees will provide honey that they can sell for income, help pollinate local fruit & coffee trees to help the communities flourish in which they live.  Isn't that amazing! 

I'd hope you'd want to "bee" a part of something so great & life changing for someone who just needs a door opened to them towards a brighter future. 

TICKETS CAN BE PURCHASED HERE! 

*PLEASE NOTE- the only way to purchase a ticket is through Eventbrite, no emails, comments or requests will be valid. 

I'm so thrilled about this, hope you are too.  The opportunity to give to others around the world the freedom & help they need to provide for themselves & their families.  Being a business owner is a wonderful thing & being able to do things on your own is a beautiful empowering gift. I hope that through these tickets we can give that to a few families.  

 

Have a beautiful day! 

{M} 

That's a wrap.... The Fall Hive

9.21.15- 

Whew,  what a weekend!  Thanks to everyone who came to The Hive, those who write or comment & tell me they wish they lived closer.  It makes me happy to hear that so many of you love & look forward to it just as much as I do.  I thought I would share a few of my favorite pictures from the show this time around. 

 My island set up is always the centerpiece of the show.  I look forward to setting it up every time. I think my favorite thing was adding the flannel blanket, that I purchased from a favorite vintage IG shop @shopthemerrymagpievintage & sticking some of the amazing @aimeeferre  Halloween flags into one of my garlands.  Just put it all over the top! 

-Of coarse lots of sweet treats at The Hive everytime!  This googly eye friend kept a look out for me.  Sure do love those little guys.-

 You know I LOVE school supplies & home decor!  This display greeted all the customers when they walked in the door.  Loved all the color & happiness hope everyone else did too!

                                       -That quote & those apples.  What says Fall more than the visual of oak trees & crisp apples.  Swoon!-

-So much color!  SImply in love with my new line of frames, the Alma Mater series.  Great way to show off your teams colors, display your favorite athlete or just have up in the house year round.-

 Of coarse there  was lots of orange, black & white in the house too.  Those awesome white blocks with the black stenciled letters came out of an old church in Vermont while I was antiquing this summer.  Such a fun treasure to share with my clients! 

-The calm before the swarm!  The Hive is always packed to the brim with awesome fabulous stuff!-

-This shot sums up my happy places- the tower of sweets, candy apples & the island.  Two of my favorite things about hosting a Hive-

More H&H stuff!  I always panic that I haven't created enough things & then am always pleasantly surprised when I set it out & have a hard time finding enough space to put it all.  I even save stuff to set out the next day because I can't get it all out. So remember that when you come to The Holiday Hive in November, there is new stuff set out each day.

 Fun having amazing, glittery & beautiful jewelry in The Hive this time around.  Lots of happy shoppers & I had some happy teenage girls. 

-One more picture of the candy tower & other amazing stuff that was in The Fall Hive-

These next pictures were all taken on Opening Night, can I just say I was overwhelmed & so appreciative of all those who came.  They stood in the rain for a bit, parked a long ways away & walked to The Hive & patiently waited for the doors to open. 

 Here I am welcoming & greeting everyone to the show!  I try to say hello & greet everyone that comes, it means so much to me.  I love hearing where everyone has come from this time around locals, up & down the Wasatch front & beyond. Some as far away as Arizona, Oregon & my one of my favorite states,  North Carolina. Really, so touched that they would squeeze a visit to The Hive in on their trip. 

They just kept coming & coming..... at one point the line wasn't even moving inside the house because there were so many shoppers. First time ever!!!  When I see this many friendly faces & new friends it makes me a little anxious & nervous but everyone is so kind, thoughtful & grateful for the chance to come to such a fun charming show.  That makes me happy!

 Ok, this was AWESOME!!  The FiiZ drink truck pulled right into my driveway & served drinks to all the shoppers & my neighbors.  So great to have them come, I hope they come again soon. I know I was grateful that I had a LiME in the CocoNuT Diet Coke to keep me going the whole night.  

So great to look back on another successful Hive with a happy grateful heart.  Makes me want to do it all over again!  Ok, lets do it in November for The Holiday Hive.  Should be a lot of fun!  In the meantime if you weren't able to come to The Hive be sure to follow @shophollyhocksandhoneybees on Instagram for after The Hive bundles for sale as well as info. about my new frame series, the Alma Mater.  Perfect for Fall! 

Have a great day. 

{M} 

From the recipe box- Cheddar Biscuit Pie

9.4.15- 

First thing's first, yes, I use a recipe box. I'm old school when it comes to that.  Best way to organize for me.  I was given a recipe box at my wedding shower filled with cards from family & friends & I've used it ever since.  Best gift by the way starting off with lots of yummy recipes.  

I posted this picture on Instagram yesterday morning & got many requests for the recipe.  It's a favorite of our family's & I seem to make it a whole lot during the Autumn & Winter months.  Just so gosh darn yummy.   The perfect combination of every thing autumnal, makes the perfect hearty dinner for when there is a chill in the air. 

I got the recipe years ago out of the Martha Stewart Baby magazine.  Anyone remember those & the Kids magazines?  I enjoyed getting them & still have every issue I might add.  Oh, they were good! So thanks, Martha! 

Cheddar Biscuit Pie 

1 C. + 1 TB flour 

2 tsp. baking powder 

1 tsp. salt 

1/4 c. shortening 

1/2 c. cheddar cheese, grated 

7 TB milk 

1 lb. sausage, crumbled cooked & drained.  

1 onion, diced 

1 carrot, diced 

1 apple, cored & diced {skin left on} 

1/2 tsp. black pepper 

1/2 tsp. dried thyme

3/4 C. chicken stock 

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  In a medium bowl, combine 1 C. flour, baking powder & 1/2 tsp. salt. Using a pastry cutter cut in the shortening until dough resembles coarse meal.  Stir in grated cheese & milk. Stir until combined & set aside.  

In a skillet cook sausage. When cooked remove with a spoon & transfer to a bowl. Add to skillet onion, carrot & celery. Cook for about 3 minutes.  Add apple & cook until veggies & apples soften, about 6 minutes. Add remaining salt, pepper & thyme. Add remaining tablespoon of flour, cook, stirring 1 minute.  Add stock, s scraping bottom to loosen browned sausage bits.  Pour sausage back into the skillet & stir all together. 

Pour mixture into a casserole dish & drop spoonfuls of the biscuit dough on top of the sausage mixture.  Bake uncovered until crust is golden brown, 20-25 minutes.  

Hope you & your family like it as much as we do. Adjust it to your wants & likes, I always add more celery, carrots & apple than what it calls for.  So whatever tastes suits your family.

Enjoy- Happy Fall! 

{M}

  

The Hive- all the details!

9.2.15- 

One of my favorite signs of Fall is The Fall Hive.  It rolls around just once a year & I always get giddy just thinking about it.  Yes, it's that good!!  Here's all the info. you need to know.  Now go call up your girlfriends, arrange car pools & plan to "Bee" here during the 3 day event.  It's going to be fabulous! 

Oh, have you heard, the FiiZ drink truck will be there on opening night. Yep, the word on the street is true flavored yummy drinks will "bee" flowing.  So exciting!  

 

Have a great day. Hope to see you in The Hive. 

{M} 

Get on the right bus.... motto for the school year.

8.19.15- 

  

I love quotes & boy, if I find a good one you can bet I'll  find a way to display it in our home.  This new found quote of mine I love for a couple of reasons.  It's special because it comes from something that I'm passionate about & the meanings you can attach to it & draw from it to apply in your very own life.  When I heard this said on January 25th of this year I knew I wanted to tie it into our Back to School decor this Fall.  Our upstairs mantel was the perfect place to put it on display! 

This quote comes from Duke Basketball Coach Mike Krzyzewski {You should know, if you don't already that I'm a HUGE Duke Fan}  & what he shared with his team in the locker room after they won against St. John's in Madison Square Garden that gave Coach K his 1,000 win.  

When he spoke to the team after the win he shared with them something his Mother, Emily Krzyzewski, told him when he was 13 years old growing up in Chicago.  She said, 

"Get on the right bus & be with great people. They'll take you to places you can't get there alone."  

So powerful!!  Of coarse with bus in the quote I immediately thought of going back to school but we can apply it to many things in our daily lives & the choices we make.  

-Thank you to my friend Lynn, from TheUrbanPost, for creating this custom sign for me. It's awesome!  The & and sheild are H&H designs & will be available at The Hive in September.-

Get on the right bus...... might have been literal for a kid growing up in Chicago, using mass transit to get around but she meant something else.  The importance of knowing where you are going, having a goal in mind & going towards good places.  So inspiring to me!  I truly believe in having & setting goals & the power attached to that.  I also appreciate the rest of the quote....... & be with great people.  Isn't that the truth!  You have to surround yourself with others who lift & build you up.   So important to choose friends wisely, good leaders to work for & with & good people to admire &amp others with similar values that will help you reach your end goal.

Coach K shared that with his team & his getting to 1,000 victories.  No easy task mind you.  He acknowledged that he couldn't have done it alone.  He made good choices that brought him to great places & to be around  incredible people.  He couldn't have accomplished all he has by being on his own, he needed others to help him. 

I hope having this saying up in our home will remind our family this year the importance of getting on the right bus & being with great people & by doing so where it can lead you in life. 

So maybe ask yourself, whether you're heading back to the class room or not, what bus are you on, where are you headed? Hopefully you're surrounded by great people who will help you get there. Have a great day!!

{M}

How to decorate a mantel - Decor 101

8.6.15-

It's that time of year again..... BaCK to SCHooL!!  Seems to come around quicker each year.  Where does Summer go?  Almost time to send my 3 girls back to the classroom & I'm getting our house ready to hopefully get them excited about starting a brand new school year.  It all started off by decorating our downstairs mantel.  Showing off my obsession with vintage school supplies in a old school vibe kind of way.  

I love to decorate our mantels & wanted to show you step by step how you can create something fabulous in your home too on a mantel, shelf or ledge following a few simple decorating steps.  I'm calling it Decor 101 to get us in the spirit of things.  

 1- Start with a clean slate.  I always love to clear EVERYTHING off the mantel, dust it & get it all ready to load up again. 
{I get asked all the time what color is our mantel, I can't remember, sorry.  After the painter was finished.  I scuffed it up, roughed the edges & stained it with a dark walnut stain.}

2- Find one great object to serve as focal point for the center your mantel. In this case it is a vintage school chalkboard I scored at a local flea market for only $20.  SCoRE!  Serves at a great backdrop for everything else. That vintage yummy green color gets me every time. I knew I wanted something positive to write on the board & wrote this saying.  Good reminder not just going back to school but everyday.

 

3. Get all your "stuff" together. It's always nice to get a group of things together that go with whatever theme you are going for on your mantel, shelf or ledge.  Whether you use it all or not it doesn't matter.  It will save you time in the long run to just see what looks good together.  Always nice to have a variety of things to draw from. 

4.- Create levels!!  This is the best way to add visual interest to any display.  I like to add height to the corners of my mantel.  It kind of serves as a book end to the whole display.  Books are a great way to accomplish this.  I look for books with great titles, art work & color.  Love the stack of these books & what they say.   Look for them at the DI, yard sales, vintage shops on IG are a favorite place for me to find them lately.

 On the opposite end of the mantel I used vintage flashcard boxes to create another level & book end. Vintage records are a great thing to buy if you see one in great condition & has awesome color & artwork.  Some of my favorite things to collect because they are unique & good sized. 

5- Add a personal touch. I always like to add photos to my decor, just makes it feel homey that way. This is a frame I made years ago & a picture of my 3 being silly & cute at a back to school photo shoot.  They are some of my most favorite pictures of them.  INVEST in photos of your kids & family.  They will be treasures for years to come.  Adore this alphabet paper & how it looks upon a stack of books. 

6- Then comes the fun part.... accessorize!  Fill in the blanks, stuff things here & there to create a flow from one side of the mantel to the other.  You want your eye to start at one end of a display & travel all the way across to the other side.  This is where you can really have some fun!  I always say you can never have enough, the more the better.... as long as it is keeping with the theme.

Be sure to always set up & step back. Take a minute to look at it, rearrange or see if you like. It's a process.

I enjoy hunting for old clipboards & then putting a fun saying on them, they are fun to create.  They will be for sale at The Fall Hive coming September 17, 18 & 19th at my home in Mountain Green.  Watch for some info, times & giveaways as it gets closer.

-Got this vintage ruler in Vermont this summer & I've been smitten with brass apples lately too.  Purchased all of them from social media, via Instagram & Facebook-

-This might oak saying just be one of my favorite things ever.  So stinkin' cute! This was the last piece of the puzzle I added to the mantel, the perfect finishing touch-

Once you're done accessorizing it's time to step back & take another look before you move onto the final step. 

7.- Banners & garlands!  The finishing touch. You can never have too many & there is always a reason to put one up, especially when it comes to Back to School.  I always like to start with a great, grab your attention one to hang up first to start with.

Follow the rule of 3.  One garland on it's own looks good, two ever better & three well.....

FABULOUS!  The more the better. This fun ruler one will be for sale at The Fall Hive along with lots of vintage flashcards you can use to create your own garland if you'd like.  I simply got some string, paper clips & the cutest tiny vintage flash cards & put it all together in a snap!

Love how it all turned out!

Hope this has helped you fill like you can tackle your mantel or space & inspired you along the way too. 

Have a great day. 

{M}

Bee inspired mantel

7.17.15- 

Sometimes things happen that you weren't planning on & it just makes you giddy with excitement!  That's exactly what happened around here yesterday. I got a sudden burst of decorating inspiration, ran with it & then next thing I knew I couldn't stop staring at our newly decorated mantel.  

{My girls were getting annoyed with me a bit, with all my squeaks & squeals of delight} 

-It's been a long time since I've been this excited about something. I just has to share & shout from the rooftops about-   

I know it's not a new month but it certainly is a new mantel that deserves a shout out & will probably replace the red, white & blue next year, on the upstairs mantel at least, for the whole month of July because well, it's just that cute!   

I live in Utah & our state's birthday is kind of a big deal around these parts.  July 24th is a big celebration from the top of the state to the bottom every year.  It's the day that the 1st settlers arrived into the Salt Lake Valley.  I've lived in Utah my whole life & I love all the beauty that surrounds us & especially our state's nickname of the Beehive State.  I think that's where I get my appreciation of bee's & all the hard work they do for all of us.  There are symbols of bees & beehives all over our state & the motto of Industry is tied to a lot of things & rightfully so, bees are the perfect example of industry, working hard & the sweet rewards that come as a result. 

The whole idea for my Beehive inspired mantel started with the vintage state map of Utah that I bought from an Instagram shop a few months ago. I like anything old, cool & of coarse something that has meaning attached to it so when I saw it for sale I just had to snag it.  Glad it's in the center of the mantel, set up on a mustard colored bench & stack of books so it gets all the attention, as it should!  

-Beehives of all shapes & sizes were put on display including a  tiny clay beehive my daughter made for me when she was in the 1st grade, so sweet!- 

With that as the centerpiece & the theme of "bees"  in mind, I wanted everything to be yellow, brown, creme & gold in tones & hues.  My favorite way to decorate is to just look around, see what I already have  & use it! With the theme of celebrating the Beehive State it wasn't that difficult because, as you might know, I'm kind of smitten with everything bee related.  Books, bottles, honey jars, glass jars, lights, hexagons & such were pretty easy to find.  Collections are such a good investment!! They pay off over & over again, so I guess I'll keep antiquing, thrifting & shopping. 

 - I love to collect old candle sticks & vintage bobbins.  They are the perfect solution to add height, interest & create levels to any space. Be on the look out for them, they are out there!- 

 These hexagons are so fun!  I asked my friend, Michelle, to make some custom ones for me, using vintage rulers I had been collecting. I wanted to use as decor at The Hive. 
{The boutique I host in my home- next one in September}  
I love how this one shows off some specific towns in Utah that I grew up by & frequent often. Such a perfect little touch!  

- a stack of books with a nod to this state, bees & hives- 

-You know that I love & talk about how important levels are to anything you decorate & this stack is perfect to set the state map of Utah up on.  How awesome is this College yearbook of my Grandma Hall's, from Utah State University, titled the Buzzer.  When I saw it I just had to ask her if I could have it. - 

-A lot of things up here on display have been gifts given to my by family & friends.  That always makes things extra meaningful. This glass beehive is a beautiful jar & I stacked it up on top of a old heavy plastic coaster I picked out of a junk yard, thought it worked well with the color scheme I wanted-  

 Can't get enough of these hexagon shapes, I might need to have my friend make me up a bunch more! More is always better, right?! 

-This vintage pop bottle was an awesome find & the little salt shaker looks so sweet tucked right next too it. Of coarse to keep things balanced & looking proportional on the mantel the pepper shaker is on display on the other side- 

When I stepped back & got to admire the entire mantel I was in LOVE!  So many of things I honor, cherish & adore up on display.  It just made my honeybee heart oh mine want to burst out of my chest.  It's the little things in life, right?  Simple things that really makes us happy. I can't imagine taking it down in a few weeks, so I think it might stay up a little longer than July 31st. Simply too sweet to take down anytime soon. 

 Now, just to keep it real like I said earlier when inspiration hits you have to go with it & if everything gets cleared off the mantel in a hurry. Clean up had to wait a bit yesterday until I stopped staring long enough at the mantel to put it all away, happy to say it all is now.

Hope you have a beautiful day!  Thanks for stopping by the blog & taking a peek inside our home here on Lilac Lane.  

{M}