'Practical Glamour' Thanksgiving Entertaining

Check out the November issue of Oklahoma Magazine!-

You'll discover a Thanksgiving tablescape, that set up for their holiday issue.

You can also read my interview where I share some of my easy tips for making your holiday entertaining easier.

http://www.okmag.com/November-2011/Practical-Glamour/

Looking for a way to freshen up your home bar? Wine bottles are pretty, decanters of liquors are stately, but they can begin to look antiquated year after year...

Seltzer Bottles add a new and interesting change!

photo credit

You may remember seltzer bottles from slapstick comedy... such as on "I Love Lucy".

Seltzer bottles or soda syphons were popular in the 1920s and 1930s and used for cocktails in home bars. The soda water was delivered in these bottles by subscription, much like milk from the milk man.

These bottles are usually easy to find at flea markets and yard sales, ranging from $40 and up. The sea blues and pewter colors are calming and masculine - a simple upgrade for your home bar. Cheers!

Tulsa NPR Interview

Recently I was interviewed about the remodeling and renovations of Mid town Tulsa Mansions. Check out this short interview that aired on Tulsa's NPR!

What the Clients are saying:

Cheers!

"How do you turn a 4 room ugly beige blah apartment into a show piece - - call Jeffrey Evans.

I was needing to downsize from a 2200 square foot house to a 1000 a square foot apartment and Jeffrey Evans was referred to me.

He listened to my wants and needs- and designed an apartment that truly reflected my personality and style.

I gave him the keys and a budget on a Sunday afternoon and said "handle it". My place was ready the following Saturday evening and the "reveal" was way better than anything you see on HGTV. It literally left me speechless!!

Words can't describe how fabulous the place looked so check out the pictures. They say a picture is worth a 1000 words and I think the pictures speak for themselves.

a veryyyyyyyy satisfied client,

C. Cole "

Christmas Decoration Storage

Time to put those decorations away!

No one wants tired decorations next year. Keep them fresh and perky with these tips:

1. To Keep the lights or not. No, is my professional advice. Twinkle lights are only good for about 1000 hours- 1000 hours undisturbed. So, I suggest that you ditch the lights rather than storing them for next year.

If you decide to keep them, wrap them around a cardboard tube to keep them from tangling.

If you decide to keep lights on the artificial tree, remember that boxing up the tree may break bulbs. My experience is that two years is a pretty good lifetime for the lights on a tree. Plan on relighting the tree at least every two years.

2. Bows: When you can, untie them and roll them up in a spool. If they are fancy loopy bows, clip them on to a hanger with a clothes pin, and hang them in an un-crowded closet. Easiest? Lay them loosely in a box or storage tub- with nothing else in it. No crushing, or creasing- usually.

3. Ornaments: Glass ornaments are fragile. This from Mr. Obvious. Pack them back in their original boxes if you can. If not, wrap individually, and lay in horizontal layers between newspapers. Kinda like an ornament sandwich with newspaper bread.

4. Wrapping Paper; Assign a drawer or trunk to keep all your wrapping paper together. Bows, tags, tape and scissors all in one place make it easier all year for wrapping. If you put it away in storage, it will most likely be; a. forgotten, b. damaged, c. replaced because you forgot that you already bought it last year.

5. Garland, Wreaths and Greenery. This is the artificial type, of course. I vote for big storage tubs that FIT the items. Big is better. Those giant tubs really are great for long garland and such with out smashing the ‘evergreen’ needles for next year.

6. Holiday music; I love my Christmas CDs. But, I don’t want them hogging up space all year. Pull all the CDs together and put them away in the same drawer with the wrapping paper. Don’t store them with the decorations in the attic. Heat kills.

7. Artificial berries, fruit and such- made from plastics and vinyl, don’t respond well to attic or garage heat. They tend to blister and discolor. Avoid loosing your fruit by using the top shelves in cabinets that are underused. I keep a holiday arrangement in the vanity, under the hall bath sink.

8. Label, label, label. It sure helps next year when you are pulling boxes out of storage. I keep it simple- ‘Christmas/Hanukkah/Ramadan, Kwanzaa/Poker Party 2010’ and either a brief description (i.e.; ’Garland’), or ‘box 1 of 6’.

Happy Packing!