I can’t believe it! Our home is ready for Christmas on Dec. 1st. It’s truly a
Christmas miracle. It feels so good to have our tree up and all the decorations out. Now, we can sit back and enjoy evenings by the fire and fall asleep by the glow of the Christmas tree. Ahh, this really is the BEST time of the year. This year, we did something new, we bought an artificial tree. We will be traveling for Christmas (like we always do) and we just thought this would be so much easier. Now, we won’t have to worry about our tree dying when we are gone. But, boy do I love the smell of a real tree. So, that we don’t miss out on the full Christmas experience, I have Thymes Frasier Fir Candles is every room! Oh my goodness, these candles smell just like a Christmas tree.

The Thymes Frasier Fir scent comes in a few different collections to go with the style of your home – Gilded, Heritage, Statement, Northwoods, and Joyeux. If you have been following me for a while, you know that I love the color green, so I picked candles and soap dispensers that complimented every room in my house.

Pictures are great, but I think sometimes a video really can bring you into a space. So, I made a little video to show you some of the pretty details and how great a candle can make a room look and smell.

Every year I like to add something to our Christmas decorations. I don’t change up themes or color palettes. I really just stick with green and white and all the metalics and shiny things. So this year I added new stockings. I felt like out beautiful 100 year mantel desired new stockings.

Everyone will be getting Thymes Frasier Fir Hand Cream in their stockings. It’s thick and creamy, but not greasy – just right!

My plan of attack to decorating for the holidays is to first of all put away most of my everyday knickknacks. Then, just start making little vignettes on any of the surfaces – like coffee tables and mantels. I try not to over do it. But, it sure is fun to have pretty Christmas things sprinkled throughout the house. And really, candles are as good as it gets when you want to have a little ambience.

Even bathrooms need a little Christmas cheer. I love this hand soap and lotion set. No ugly bottles here, and it comes in the cutest faux bois ceramic tray.

We also rearranged the living room and put the tree in the middle of the window. I actually really love it there. Now, it’s time to sit back and enjoy the season. Not an easy task, when life seems to get busier and busier each year. But, I’m going to light a yummy candle and snuggle up under and blanket and watch a Christmas movie with my family this weekend. I hope you can make sometime to really experience Christmas as well.

Thank you to Thymes for kindly sponsoring this post. All opinions are 100% honest & completely my own.

Well, I think we can officially start shopping for Christmas. Thanksgiving is just about here and there are some GREAT Black Friday sales out there. I know I’ll be hitting my Bakersfield, Cost Plus World Market this weekend. I’ve got all the details for their awesome Black Friday event and 3 really fun gift guides to help you start your gift shopping. I’ve picked out some awesome pieces for the Coffee Connoiseur, the Budding Baker and the Hopeful Hostess in your life. Cost Plus World Market is a treasure trove of fantastic gift ideas, you don’t want to miss out.

Black Friday is going to be great! The 1st 100 in-store customers get a $10 certificate for Cost Plus World Market. And then on Saturday and Sunday, the 1st 100 customers will get a free tote bag. Also the 1st 100 customers in store on Friday, November 24th through Sunday, November 26th can play the Peru-se Our Store Instant Win Game. All you have to do is scratch the Golden Llama game piece to see if you are a winner! You could WIN one of 3 trips for 2 to Peru!

And there are some fantastic deals that you won’t want to miss like:

• Save 50% on all Ceramic Cookie Jars
• Buy One Get One FREE on all Open Stock Ornaments
• Save 50% on all Jewelry

*Must be 18 years old or older to receive the $10 Certificate. Certificate is valid in-store on 11/24/17 only.  Not Valid online. Not valid on alcoholic beverages and gift cards. One time use only. No cash value or rain checks issued.

And now for some gift guides to help you start shopping.

Covered Mug // Brew Book

I think everyone knows a Coffee Connoisseur. You are sure to find some really great brewing equipment, good coffee beans, or just a darn cute mug at Cost Plus World Market.

1. Italian Roast
2. Coffee Scoop and Clip
3. Kettle
4. Blush Mug
5. Chemex
6. Small Marble Trivets
7. Coffee Grinder
8. Brew Book

Whisk // Rolling Pin // Napkin

Not only does Cost Plus World Market have all the tools you need to start your Christmas Baking, they also carry a lot of the ingredients. I actually buy most of my spices, chocolate and nuts at Cost Plus World Market.

1. Marble Rolling Pin
2. Tea Towel
3. Mixing Bowl
4. Cookie Cookbook
5. Apron
6. Measuring Cups
7. Pot Holder

Cast Iron Dutch Oven

Do you know some that wants to host more dinner parties? If so, stock them up with all the essentials and you will be sure to be invited over for a home cooked meal. Cost Plus World Market makes Easy Entertaining a reality with everything from drinks, crackers, cheese, salami and all the yummy gourmet treats you need to get a party started. 

1. Wood Salad Servers
2. Host Cookbook
3. Cast Iron Dutch Oven
4. Covered Casserole Dish
5. Wooden Cheese Board
6. Dark Grey Napkins

The post is sponsored by Cost Plus World Market, thank you for supporting the companies that help make this blog possible. 

Here’s so of the deals I will be shopping:

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I’ve been itching to tackle another room in our house, but I just haven’t had time. So, in the meantime, I’m just going to keep planning and dreaming. Really, it’s the best part of a renovation or room makeover. It’s the part of any project that is most hopeful, exciting and definitely the least messy.

I’d love to take on our little powder room next. And since it’s a small space, I think it would be fun to do something dramatic like black shiplap panelling. I’m really not a fan of the white shiplap, it feels a little too country for my taste. And it might just be a tad overdone right now. But, painting it black feels a quite a bit more sophisticated to me. I’m such a huge fan of exterior siding painted black, but since I live in sunny southern California, this will never happen for me. So, I think I need to bring this look indoors.

Here’s a few good examples of black panelling done right. What do you think? Do you have opinions on shiplap? And do you prefer traditional white, or does a darker more your speed?

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I’ve got lots of new projects going on right now that I haven’t said too much about. I’m pretty excited about this latest project. And I think it’s going to be really fun to share the process with you here on Oleander + Palm. I’ve been hired to furnish and style two model homes in a brand new housing division here in Bakersfield. I’m so excited to be apart of Tarina Home’s newest project, Shamrock Hills. I’m going to make these model homes as O+P as possible, with lots of DIYs, thrifted finds and design on a budget. I firmly believe interior styling doesn’t have to cost a fortune, so I want to create spaces where folks can really experience attainable design.

Today I’m sharing a little teaser into the project. Wanna see what I’m going to do with the living rooms in the two houses?

If I’m going to style a room that’s going to get noticed, I’ve got to start with a really great piece of furniture.

You know when something catches your eye, and you just can stop thinking about it? That’s how I feel about Article’s Sven Sofa. (PS this is totally NOT sponsored.) It’s just a beautiful piece of furniture. I love the midcentury leg, the square arm, the tufted seat cushion and all the gorgeous colors it comes it. I mean, what’s not to love?

I’ve played with my four favorite versions of the Sven and designed four living rooms to go with them. I feel like the Sven Sofa is one of those classic pieces of furniture that works well some many different styles.

I love the casual vibe. It actually feels right for Bakersfield. We really do live in the desert. I love this strong black leather contrasted with all the pale, natural textures.

1. Joshua Tree Print
2. Bird Illustration
3. Round Mirror
4. Faux Cactus
5. Terra Cotta Pot
6. Wicker Chairs
7. Black Tribal Pattern Pillow
8. Striped Pillow
9. Cow Hide Pillow
10. Black and Brass Lamp
11. Sven Black Leather Sofa
12. Rattan Cabinet
13. Live Edge Coffee Table
14. Leather Pouf
15. Pink Patterned Rug

This green sofa gives me all the heart eyes. This look feels a tad sophisticated but still hip and fresh.

1. Tropical Leaf Print
2. Typography
3. Round Mirror
4. Vase
5. Plant
6. Midcentury Chairs
7. Double Lamp
8. Midcentury Side Board
9. Round Coffee Table
10. Green Velvet Sofa
11. Tassle Pillow
12. Black and White Pillow
13. Leather Pillow
14. Bird Pillow
15. Cream Pillow
16. Brass Side Table
17. Rug

If you’ve followed here for a while, you know I might be a fan of a pastel Scandinavian look. This look feels like something new for Bakersfield.

1. Calendar
2. Black and White Print
3. Ocean Print
4. Plant
5. Chairs
6. Side Board
7. Wall Sconce
8. Pink Fur Pillow
9. Triangle Pillow
10. Green Geometric Pillow
11. Grey Velvet Sofa
12. Green Side Table
13. Brass Candle Holder
14. Round Coffee Table
15. Grid Patterned Rug

I don’t think my style is very traditional usually, but I do love a few pieces from this style here and there. This look feels the safest, but hopefully not boring.

1. Black and White Art
2. Horse Print
3. Mirror
4. Floor Lamp
5. Faux Fiddle Leaf Fig
6. Wing Back Chairs
7. Buffalo Check Pillow
8. White Pom Pom Pillow
9. Black Lines Pillow
10. Black Dresser
11. Camel Leather Sofa
12. Brass Coffee Table
13. Cream Rug
14. Lamp
15. Turned Leg Side Table

So, which living room do you like best? And why? If I was picking for my house, I think the Global + Green feels most like my current style.  This was a fun creative challenge for me. And I can’t wait to share with you which two styles we are going to bring to life in the models. I’m hoping to take you along every step of the way. So stay tuned.

First stop is the Pasadena Flea Market this weekend!

I’ve mentioned this on social media, but I thought I should announce Brandwell here as well. I’m so excited to be apart of this “brand” new adventure.

Here’s what Brandwell is in a nutshell. Brandwell is a game changing brand workshop for you and your business. It’s a two-day immersive workshop that will help you brand and capture your business through strategy, design, content and business planning.

I’ve teamed up with Shannon and Ashlee of Purveyor House to bring this new project to life. I’m so excited about this collaboration. It feels so good to be working with a team. It’s hard to be working along everyday. I’m really enjoying the community and feedback that I don’t get by working alone here with Oleander + Palm. It’s nice to not have the weight of EVERYTHING on my shoulders alone. We all have strengths in different areas, so it’s fun to see this take shape. It’s also great to be doing something locally here in Bakersfield. I am very passionate about helping our city reach it’s potential. Equipping local business for success feels like a great place to be right now.

Now, back to the details of the Brandwell Workshop. We are hosting our first workshop January 26-27 here in Bakersfield, CA. This is going to be a very limited space workshop so that we really can work one-on-one with businesses. It’s called a workshop, and it really is a hands-on workshop. This won’t be just be feel good pep talks or inspirational messages, the workshop is going to give businesses real takeaways in the form of customized strategy and even content and imagery that is ready to be used on social media platforms.

This is just the start, we have BIG hopes and dreams for Brandwell. You can follow along on Instagram for some helpful tips and tools and definitely sign up for the newsletter!

Well, I hope you are as excited about my little mini hallway office as I am. As you know, I was tired of working from the kitchen table. I needed a permanent place for my computer and most importantly, I needed a “real” office chair.

This little space is kind of our hallway/landing. But, I felt like it was an unused space just begging to be useful. On the floor is the grate to our AC intake, so I really struggled to find a piece of furniture that would work here and not cover it up. I decided a wall-mounted desk was the best option with such an uneven floor surface. I hunted down some really great options, you can see them here. I decided on the Svalnas IKEA desk. The price was definitely right at under $150 for the combination I chose and I loved the compact, light, airy feel of this piece. It definitely has a Swedish look about it.

The chair was super important. I blame it on being 40, but my back was just so tired of sitting in a stiff kitchen chair. And even if you aren’t 40, I’m pretty sure a good desk chair is important when you are in front of a screen many hours of the day. While finding a comfortable chair was important, I also wanted something stylish. This is a major corridor in our house and I didn’t want an ear sore there. So, I rounded up some super stylish options. And lady luck was on my side, because West Elm just happened to have a flash sale the day I was ready to order a chair. And, don’t hate me, but I got the Helvetica Leather Chair for a fraction of it’s usual price. It’s usually $599 and I paid $229!!!! Yep, pretty happy about that. I should be 100% honest with you, I think it’s probably a little big for the space and the size of the desk, but I’m going to over look that because it’s just SO DARN COMFORTABLE! Sometimes function wins, and really it’s a handsome chair, just really big handsome chair!

This was a big project (keep scrolling to see before pics). I’m sure it doesn’t look like it, but by the time we stripped all that awful yellow striped wallpaper and primed and painted and painted everything white some more, I wasn’t sure if we’d ever get it done. But, it’s FINALLY done and have a little corner to call an office. It’s not much, but it’s pretty much perfect as far as I’m concerned. I have a little bit of storage, a very comfy chair and surface that is just for my computer (and I don’t have to move it when it’s time to eat).

I really wanted to maximize storage and organization in this tiny area, so I installed Martha Stewart’s Wall Manager System. It’s awesome, I just installed two rails and then all the accessories, like the cork board, hanging shelf, hanging file sorter, and hooks just slide or hook on. You can change things up and move them around to what works best for you. I feel like a have a little command central now for Oleander + Palm.

I also added Martha Stewart’s Stack+Fit Magazine Files and File Boxes to hide some of the clutter and keep things in order. All these great Martha products can be found at Staples.

And most importantly, I now have a place to hang with O+P sign that my brother, Ash, welded for me for my birthday. I feel legit!

See (in the image above and below), you can move around the different components super easily. If I need more table top space, I move the hanging shelf to the top of the cork board, but If I want more space for notes and pinning things on the wall I can move the shelf to a different spot. Oh and the cork board also has a white board on the other side, so I can flip that around too.

So, are you looking to carve out a little work space for yourself or maybe just a place for homework? You don’t need a spare bedroom, a home office or even a room at all, a landing or even a hallway will do.

Oh, and here’s some befores of the space:

As you can see, SOOOO MUCH WALLPAPER!!!!!!! This first shot is taken from the top of the stairs. I took that open door off to give the space a little more room. That door leads to the dining room. The door to the left of the desk leads to the living room. Next on the never ending to-do list is the stairs. I will be painting the banisters soon and figuring out what I want to do with the carpet runner. It is definitely going, I’m just not sure if i want to install another runner or do away with carpet on the stairs all together. Most likely there will be no carpet. I find that it’s just a place to attract dust bunnies and cat hair.

And one more thing, the light fixture has been replace, don’t you fret about that.

If you are not familiar with Kirsten Grove’s blog Simply Grove, you are missing out. I’ve been a long time fan of EVERYTHING she styles. This lady has impeccable taste and has an eye for what is new and fresh. I’m so excited that she has opened a shop. The brick and mortar is in Boise Idaho, which I will visit this Christmas (because that’s where Lon’s family lives), but don’t fret, there’s a fantastic online shop as well.

I thought I’d share a few of my favorite picks from the Simply Grove Shop. Kristen’s shop has everything I want, in all the right colors. Her style is modern and clean, but usually with a little mid century vibe and touch of boho. So many of her pieces look and feel like all the pretty things I saw in Sweden but, couldn’t bring home in my suitcase. Oh, and you are going to be so pleasantly surprised by the prices. And O+P readers get 10% their first order, just enter the code OLEANDERANDPALM! 

I’m sure you will see many of these pieces in the next space a style.

1 // 2 // 3

4 // 5 // 6

7 // 8 // 9

10 // 11 // 12

Anything catching your eye? The quilted round green pillow is probably a must. I’m thinking it will be my first purchase.

I’m still a big fan of the gallery wall. It’s a fun way to display a large collection of art. If you have a few smaller pieces, once they are grouped together they create one larger statement piece.  I’ve partnered with Mixbook for another fun post. I’ve got how-to’s and free downloadable art, what more could you ask for in life?

I’ve come up with 5 easy-to-install gallery wall layouts for you.

As promised, I’ve got lots of fun FREE downloadable art for you. I printed some of these as inexpensive Poster Prints and also a had a couple made into Framed Canvas Art at Mixbook. The plumeria flower floating on the water is a mounted poster print. I actually really love it. It’s so much cheaper then getting something that size framed, but It’s also a little more formal look then just hanging a poster (which is cool too). I’ve ordered a lot of art from Mixbook now, and every time I am totally impresses with the quality.

• Jungle
• Cactus on White
• Pink Wall
• Stockholm Subway Tile
• California Wildflowers
• Doodle Art

And if you want The Plumeria on the Water image, I’m going to give that one as a free downlaod to all my newsletter friends in a couple days. So, if you’ve got your eye on that one, simply fill out the form in the right hand side of my blog and I’ll send you this exclusive download right to your inbox.

Now let’s talk through these layouts and find one that’s right for your art and your home.

WALK THE LINE

This layout takes frames of all shapes and sizes and brings some order to them with a center line. I taped off a line in the middle of my wall and then hung frames exactly 2 inches above and below the line. If you are a fan of symmetry and order, this lay might help you feel better about the mismatched frame colors and sizes.

STUCK LIKE GLUE

This layout takes all your pieces and creates one big assymetrical shape. Start by hanging the center piece first. Often this is the biggest frame. I hung the plumeria as my anchor frame. From there you can start hanging pieces on all the sides of the anchor piece.

THINK INSIDE THE BOX

This is probably my most used layout. I’ve hung a gallery wall using this method. Start again with your tallest piece and anchor it on either the left or right side. Then, like fitting a puzzle together, pair smaller pieces together keeping them all inside an imaginary box or rectangle.

LOPSIDED

If I was to choose a favorite, it would definitely be this lopsided version. This feels the most organic, light and breezy to me. For this layout there are really no rules expect that you should space the frames about equal distance from each other. It doesn’t have to be exact, but a little breathing room around each piece will feel nice. And ya, make it lopsided, hang more pictures on one side than the other and don’t be afraid to let them trail down the side of the wall as well.

THE LAZY LEAN

I know this is a no brainer, but I thought it should be included. If you are afraid to put holes in your walls, then The Lazy Lean is for you. This option also gives you the opportunity to change your art often. It’s a casual, no commitment kind of relationship with your art.

I hope you guys find this helpful. I give you permission to make lots and lots of holes in your walls. But, if you want to get it right the first time, definitely do the butcher paper cutouts first. It takes all the guesswork out of hanging art.

This post is sponsored by Mixbook. Thank you for supporting the awesome companies that help make this blog possible.