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I hope you had a great first week of November!

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Random Things Happening Behind the Scenes at Bricks ‘n Blooms

What a week it was!

It’s been warm and beautiful here. The leaves are more than halfway down now, so we’ve got about another week or so of beautiful fall color.

I’m still wrapping up things in the gardens, moving things around, and planting spring flowering bulbs.

As you can imagine, there are a lot of beds here to work in so it’s going to take me a little while and seems never-ending.

But the weather has been incredible – I think it’s been n the 60’s and 70’s all week long so I’m not complaining.

As an aside, look at the foliage on these japanese maples in the backyard gardens! They put on quite a show over the last week or so.

japanese maple foliage turning color in fall in new jersey gardening zone 6a
backyard garden with bench carved from tree with japanese maple turning color and chrysanthemums
japanese maple in fall turning color in backyard garden in new jersey zone 6a

My daughter Mackenzie had one of her college friends visiting with us this weekend.

So last night we did a wine tour around all of the outdoor living spaces in lieu of going out to dinner.

And what a beautiful night!

We had the most gorgeous sunset too, I mean look at that sky!

When all of the foliage was on the trees you couldn’t see the sunsets as well as you can now so the views were spectacular last night.

What a fun evening we had!

home and garden blogger stacy ling in the formal garden with her daughter and friend at sunset

Decorating a New Space!

We were given a fairly new queen-size sleep number bed from a good friend who was moving so we did a few bed swaps here.

So we swapped a few beds around here and I started making a guest room out of the spare bedroom.

With the holidays coming up, it couldn’t be a better time to get one ready too as I’m sure we’ll have some overnight guests between friends and family.

I haven’t shared many bedrooms before and hope to change that over the next year as we transform our primary bedroom and this guest space.

small sunroom that sits adjacent to the library with accent chairs and houseplants that is decorated with a boho farmhouse style

What I’m Shopping For This Week

Well now that I’m pulling together a guest bedroom pretty quickly, I’m snagging some fresh bed linens, pillows, and other items needed to furnish one.

The guest room is also housing part of my home office so I’ll share the details of what’s there as well because I love my desk and chair!

Not sure if you recall when we remodeled the attic in our former home, but I bought both desks and chairs for that particular space and have them set up in the spare bedroom here.

They fit well in the guest bedroom but will eventually get moved to an outbuilding we call “the cottage” where I’m organizing a larger space for my blog’s behind-the-scenes operations.

remodeling a house to add a home office

I’ve got lots of decor and stuff that I need to keep well organized. And the cottage is a great space to house it all and run the backend of the blog.

So cheers to all that and here’s what I’m shopping for and love this week!

  • I’m grabbing an 8-piece bed in a bag set for now until we paint and really spend time decorating the room. The floor has a floral carpet and the walls are pale green so less is more initially in this space.
  • To replenish our white towels that somehow go missing every month when you live with three kids (LOL), I’m snagging a set of these white bath towels so we have enough for guests when they stay for the holidays.
  • While I have one of these vintage gold bells sets already, I need a second one for my Christmas mantel decor that I’m doing for 2022.
  • Here’s my desk – it’s big and spacious. But I love that it doesn’t weigh a room down too because it’s sleek at the same time. I don’t need much storage so it works for me.
  • And my office chair is very cozy – the back sits at just the right height and I can sit in it for hours pretty comfortably. It comes in an array of colors too.
  • I started decorating my dining room with these vintage candlesticks. And while I bought them for my table, I’m using them on the mantel and they look SO PRETTY! I can’t wait to show you soon.
  • And don’t worry about me burning the house down cause I’m only using battery-operated taper candles in them.
  • If you don’t want to make your own paperbag snowflakes, you can by these and these premade!
Rustic Farmhouse christmas tree with DIY paperbag snowflakes in farmhouse living roomHow to Make Snowflakes with Paper Bags

What’s Happening at Bricks ‘n Blooms

It was a fun week on the blog because it’s been all about Christmas, the holidays, and all the fun things that go along with it!

We are celebrating the 10 days of Christmas where my friends and I are bringing you daily inspiration to get you psyched up and ready for the holidays.

From Christmas decorating ideas to gift-wrapping ideas, these posts have you covered with lots of creative and budget-friendly ideas.

The 10 Days of Christmas lineup includes:

So far, we’ve covered Days 1 through Day 6 and there’s still more festive inspo to come!

hanging planter for Christmas on the front porch

In today’s post, my friends and I shared our favorite Christmas decorating ideas with different Christmas aesthetics.

Are you loving the Christmas inspiration so far?

I know I am, it’s helping me figure out how to decorate our new home! We didn’t have much time to decorate here last Christmas, so I am starting early here, going room by room, and savoring the season.

But it’s not even Thanksgiving yet!

No problem – i love to get a jump on the holiday season by blending fall with Christmas. It’s really very pretty mixing winter greens with fall neutrals.

Can’t wait to show you more as I get it going here!

close up of christmas swag

But that’s not all! I also FINALLY revealed the sunroom!

What did you think?

It looks so much better now and we love spending time in this space.

From lighter and brighter walls to functional furniture that is appropriately sized for the room together with my plants, this small sunroom is a great spot for reading, relaxing, and growing stuff.

small sunroom ideas on a budget with simply white walls by benjamin moore, white swivel chairs, boho throw pillows and poof ottoman with lots of houseplants

In addition to sharing all things Christmas here, I shared beautiful autumn garden ideas in my latest YouTube Video.

This one is no talking from me – just beautiful garden views with some tips and tricks for decorating a garden in the fall set to pretty music.

Let’s take a peacefull stroll through the gardens one last time this season.

You can watch the video here.

pretty fall autumn garden ideas

Amazing Inspiration from Around the Web

I love finding cool inspiration from around the web and wanted to share some of what I’m loving right now.

So I’m a little torn this week between fall and Christmas. And the inspiration I’m sharing today will be a lovely mix of that!

My good friend Jennifer from Cottage on Bunker Hill shared her pretty front porch all decorated for Christmas.

And it looks so retro and magical covered under snow at her New England home.

Are you ready for snow where you are? As much as I love my gardens, I can’t wait to see the white stuff this winter. Bring it on!

retro front porch christmas by cottage on bunker hill

One of my favorite Christmas DIYs from earlier in the week is from my good friends Anne and AnnMarie from Simply 2 Moms.

Aren’t these simple fringed burlap trees the cutest?

They sound pretty easy to make and are pretty budget-friendly too!

burlap fringe christmas tree

My good friend Rachel from The Ponds Farmhouse shared a savory and sweet cranberry and apple-baked brie dish that sounds SO GOOD!

It looks easy to make and sounds so festive for the holidays doesn’t it?

I might make this one at Thanksgiving too.

So yum.

Easy cranberry apple baked brie by the ponds farmhouse

And here is some more inspiration you’ve got to see!

These easy DIY Christmas table decor ideas.

This classic red and white outdoor decor for the holidays.

These white chocolate covered pretzels.

These small space Christmas decorating ideas.

This bottlebrush tree DIY for Christmas.

fall foliage in the potager garden with green fence and raised garden beds

If you enjoy these posts, you can find past Bricks ‘n Blooms Weekly posts here.

And… If you’re catching up on blog posts you may have missed, be sure to sign-up to get my newest posts via email to stay up to date with everything that’s happening here on the blog and more.

scenic fall flower garden

Thank you so much for following along.

Enjoy a beautiful day! xo

stacy ling logo
Home and Garden Blogger Stacy Ling cutting zinnia flowers in her cottage garden with wood picket fence in front of garden shed
The bricks \'n Blooms guide to a beautiful and easy-care flower garden book by stacy ling
The Bricks ‘n Blooms Guide to a Beautiful and Easy Care Flower Garden
  • Have you never met a plant you couldn’t kill?
  • Have you dug around in the dirt with nothing to show for it except a sunburn and a sore back?
  • Do you currently enjoy growing flowers, but are looking for more tips and ideas to level up your gardening game?

Then the Bricks ‘n Blooms Guide is for YOU

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10 Comments

  1. Your wine tour around the gardens looked lovely! Enjoy that time with your girl! Thanks so much for the shoutout for our tree. Happy Sunday!

  2. Thank you for sharing the link to my Christmas Bottle Brush Trees. I have been enjoying your posts on the 10 days of Christmas. There has been so much inspiration.

  3. Stacy, how beautiful is all your fall foliage! And I agree a wine tour around the yard is far better than going out to dinner. Looks like such fun! Been entertaining a lot so I am behind the Christmas push, but enjoy seeing everything you are doing!

  4. You always have so much going on, Stacy! Don’t know how you do it all! And I can’t believe you are coming up on the one-year anniversary of moving into your beautiful home! Think how much you have done in the last year! I almost think your fall gardens are more beautiful than your summer gardens!

    1. They definately are – the colors here are just amazing wiht all the different plants. And thank you! I can’t believe we’ve been here a year!

  5. I can’t believe the difference in your sunroom since you moved in Stacy! Bravo! It looks so pretty and inviting. The white chairs are perfect for that space. Thank you so much for featuring my fall greenhouse, my friend. I really appreciate it.