Workin' It Wednesdays - Cozy homes

 Today's link up is all about coziness and the home and I am someone who loves everything cozy! There are five things that I believe every home should have to appear and feel cozy.

 

1. Blankets

 

I love a good blanket - my linen closet full of blankets is proof of this. I have been given many knitted and crocheted blankets over the years and have made my own as well. I also love those soft blankets with the fluffy inside, and electric blankets? I can't even. They're just the best. There is nothing better than laying on the couch with a good blanket.

 

The blanket in this picture took me way longer than I'd like to admit to make. I had to take out and redo many parts and connecting the pieces was a pain in the ass, but the results were awesome! We call this the napping blanket, because if you pull it over you, you're sure to have a delicious nap ahead.

Blankets just make a room seem cozier. I also equate coziness with warmth, so it's a good blend :)

 

2. Fireplaces

 

Since we bought a condo, and most condos do not come with fireplaces, we purchased a standing faux fireplace as part of our tv stand. I love that I can turn it on with or without the heat because sometimes I want the warmth and other times I just like to have the effect of flickering flames on a cold day. One of the things our new home must have is a fireplace, preferably one in the bedroom. I wish wish wish we could have a real fireplace, but they don't build homes with those anymore and the houses that we are looking at are in relatively newer areas (probably no older than 20 years), so they don't have those amazing real fireplaces that need chimneys and firewood.
I don't have a picture of our fireplace turned on, so I'll leave you with this photo of it that I found online

Not bad for a fake fireplace amiright?!

 

3. Candles and Diffusers

 

Not a particularly good picture (at all, really), but I recall this evening as super cozy and the photo evokes those same feelings. Plus the smells are amazing. The middle one is custard!

Oh how I love a good candle. We always have an abundance of candles and I burn them all day - usually in the fall and winter (summer doesn't really feel like candle-time) and always the fall scents with pumpkin and the winter scents of either apple cinnamon, or vanilla (vanilla Noel from bath and body works is forever my favourite). At night I diffuse lavender in the bedroom. There are conflicting views about the safety of essential oils for cats, so since our bedroom is largely off-limits to the felines, that's where I diffuse. If I'm resting in the bedroom, which is pretty rare, I'll diffuse frankincense. I love that scent and it just screams cozy to me, but it is so expensive that I don't want to use it, haha. I also love the sound that the diffuser makes. It's got this soft bubbling that reminds me of using a humidifier when I would have a cough/cold as a child. That sound always comforted me because it felt like healing. Doesn't really make sense but there we are. It's hard to control smells when you live in a condo, but we do our best to make sure our home always smells inviting and candles and diffusers help immensely!

I love how you can actually see it diffusing

 

4. Warm drinks

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There's nothing cozier than curling up on the couch with a good book and a cup of tea. Tea is always my preferred warm drink at home, but every now and then the husband and I will indulge in a hot chocolate (only in the winter) with marshmallows. There's something incredibly cozy about sitting on your coach with a warm drink while snow and wind blow around outside. I also love sitting in starbucks with a good friend and enjoying a chestnut praline latte in the winter. Warm drinks = cozy!

5. Seasonal decorations

 

This is something I've just recently gotten into (aside from Christmas and Hanukkah) and am loving it! Husband is not loving the money spending aspect of it, but that's nothing new. I think there's really something warm and inviting about a home that is decorated for the season - tastefully. This is more specific to fall/winter, because spring and summer aren't really known for coziness. But I love having little accents of fall around the home. It brings a room together and makes it seem more welcoming, but also more comfortable. I think the idea of the colder seasons alone has something inherently cozy about it to most people, so those little extra bits just take it the extra mile. I definitely feel a little more love for our home when it's decorated for the holidays, so now I've extended it to the whole fall/winter season. Cozy cozy cozy!!

 

When it comes to cozy, I can't get enough. It's my favourite feeling and something I strive to achieve. I love sweaters, blankets, hot tea, Christmas movies, fluffy socks, and delicious scents. Check out the other blogs in this link up to see more posts about coziness!

Fall decor and crockpot dinners

 Happy Monday!

Another weekend has passed by so quickly that there was barely any time for enjoyment. My parents came over and while my mom and I got manicures and pedicures, dad and husband worked on the condo. Ha, so fair of me :)
I've been waiting for the day that I could get grey polish -- apparently it's just not appropriate for summer ;) So I was happy to get a beautiful grey on my nails. It just screams "fall" to me!

This is going to be a busy week (as always) with celebrating Rosh Hashanah on Wednesday, and finding some time to paint the bathroom, clean all of the windows, buy a smaller desk chair, put up and steam all of the new curtains, move the last items out that are cluttering things up and make it all cozy and minimalist at the same time ;) Not sure yet how that will pan out. I've finished the dining room (aside from the pile of boxes) and the second bedroom. I am in love. Wish I'd done this while I could enjoy it more, but it will be how our new home looks for sure. Husband has finally seen how delightful fall décor makes the home ... maybe I can buy more while it's still on sale (haha, he'd kill me for that one!)
Here are the dining room back table and the second bedroom photos (terrible lighting -- it was dusk).

 

Gosh that lighting ... but check our my gorgeous curtain work with the sheer in the middle!

 

My favourite part of the room. Fall, antique furniture and pumpkins!

 

Pumpkin spice and everything nice! I also added a little pumpkin beside the sign later that day

 

 

For the bouquet on the dining thing, it will go on the table. It's just waiting there for now. I couldn't find anything at Michaels that I liked (and that my picky husband thought was acceptable), so I decided to make my own bouquet. The guy in the floral department was kind enough to cut the flowers down for me, so it was all ready to go once I made my choices. I feel like these colours can be acceptable for any season, even though they have that rustic fall feel to them.

 

 

Pretty pretty flowers

 

Before I go, super proud of myself today. I set up the crockpot last night, and just whipped it out of the fridge this morning and it's ready to go! I'm not sure how it will turn out, but here's hoping! I had potatoes that were seasoned with the big Italian 3 (basil, parsley and oregano) and mixed them up with some evoo and minced garlic, then on top I put chicken with the big 3 plus onion powder and garlic powder which had been seared for a couple minutes on each side. When I get home I will add some kale for the last 30 minutes or so. I haven't used the crock pot in ages, so I'm a little worried but the convenience is huge so I hope this works and can become a regular thing!

Have a great start to the week! Happy Monday, friends!