As of now, I'm done decorating for Christmas. Of course the "as of now" will be left open for debate, because every day I keep adding little somethings along the way. Basically I could just die happy going to people's houses and decorating for the holidays.
Here's a tour of our house, as of this very moment.
And of course I couldn't let you go through it without some Christmas music. A few of these aren't Christmas songs, but they're still my favorites.
Almost all my decorations I bought the year we got married. I was a wife of two months and feeling seriously domestic, so after Christmas I hit up the sales at Target, Michael's, WalMart (yes, walmart) and my favorite, Hobby Lobby. That's where I ended up doing most of my damage. Everything was 50-90% off, and I remember I spent over $200, but in reality I just told myself that I got like $700 worth of stuff, so it made it okay. Three years later, I've added a couple things, but for the most part all this stuff has been around. I'll tell you where I got everything, and if I can remember how much I bought them for.
My decorations day starts bright and early. For the most part it takes me all day to set everything up, because #1 I'm a perfectionist on everything being just right, and #2, I have a lot of stuff.
First, I con my dear husband into getting everything down from the attic. A dozen bags, storage bins, and boxes later, I compose my pile in front of the tv, after turning on the Christmas music. (That's Nat King Cole in the background)
Then I clear off my mantle, and see it naked. Which never happens.
My mirror always stays. My father in law got me a Hobby Lobby gift card for Christmas (he knows me too well) and I bought it with that. I think it was around $175 or so, being on sale. I hate that mirrors are so expensive, but I love them around the house. We don't have a lot of South windows, but the fact that I have a huge mirror in every room helps reflect and add a lot of light.
My peace sign also stays. Always. It's my happy little reminder that I love to see at all times.
PEACE. it does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. it means to be in the midst of these things and still feel calm in your heart.
Then I gather my staples. Wooden bowls, copper plates, woven chargers. I use these under everything when I decorate, and they came in really handy for my fall decorations under pumpkins. Please don't spend money on this kind of stuff, they're such a piece of cake to find for a steal. The round bowls and strawish placemats I got at the thrift store for $2. I got 6 bowls, and 4 placemats for that price. The square wooden bowls are a Wal Mart special, $2 each. The copper plates Michael found for me at a garage sale (I taught him well) and the woven chargers I got on clearance at target for $2.99 each. The rolled up wooden placemats are from Pier1, from years ago.
I love these because you can layer them for so many different looks, or flip bowls upside down to add height to whatever you set on them.
And then the decorating begins. I always start with my mantle, because I see it the most. Every year it's different, even though I use the same things. I just move them around various parts of the house for different color schemes. This year I did white, gold, and lime green.
The lime is all throughout our "green house" as I call it. The perfect shade of green has been my favorite color for as long as I can remember even loving color. It's no wonder that my dining room, kitchen, bedroom, and office are all painted shades of olive and lime green. Or that my wallet, plates, pillows, umbrella, and ornaments all lean towards the limey side.
I love bringing the outdoors in during the wintertime, and I was so excited when my parents came over one night and through my peephole I saw my Dad carrying a huge bouquet of rosemary from my Mom's garden. I scattered it all over the house, and the mantle was the first to get a little sprucing up. I stuck the rosemary inside empty vases and Ball jars, which I always keep around. Did you know that rosemary actually improves your memory? So sniff away. I have a bundle of it in my garden, and it comes back year after year with no work from me. I don't use it a ton in cooking, because I think the flavor can be overwhelming, and too "herby" like lavender, but I love the way it smells.
Back to the mantle...
Day and night, I get two completely different looks. I can't decide which one I like better.
Here's a breakdown of everything you see:
The little evergreen was a Hobby Lobby clearance find for only a few dollars. The glass topiary next to it I got at TJ Maxx for $15. I filled it with fake snow, which I do all over the house. I always stick in a sprig of pinecones, berries, or greens, and it looks so pretty. The rusty S I got at a craft show a few years ago, and the golden stocking holders are also HobbLobb finds. I believe they were less than $10 for the pair. My big stockings I got on clearance at Steinmart for $7 each. They were $40 to begin with! They're really lovely, a soft white faux fur with pretty gold trim and buttons. The little ones I honestly don't even remember buying. I just found them in one of my bins. Is that bad?
The Pottery Barn knock off lanterns I use year round on the mantle. In the summer they're filled with white candles, in the fall it's acorns, and in winter it's candles and tiny pinecones. They were $12.99 each from TJ Maxx. The white vases are also a TJ Maxx buy at $6 each. My bark trees I got at Hobby Lobby. I don't remember how much they were, but I bet I paid less than $10 for them. The little golden owls I found at a thrift store almost ten years ago. I still love them.
My beloved pitchfork was the most expensive thing up there, $40 from an antique store on the way home from Arkansas.
My cake stand I won from Layla. I loved it for fall decorating with a big pumpkin on top, and I love it now.
All the little branches everywhere I got from...you guessed it, Hobby Lobby. They're always half off, and never more than $1.
On the lower half, we have a half off big glass vase I got a few months ago at Hobby Lobby. Are you sick of hearing about it, yet? I'm sick of typing it. In fact, in my checkbook, I only write HobbLobb. From now on it's HL. It was $25 down from $50, and I use it year round around the house. Normally it's a dining room centerpiece full of ferns. The branches inside are curly willows from our centerpieces at our wedding. I got them at HL, as well. The pinecones inside I got on a camping trip to the Rocky Mountains in 2008. I wish I had gathered a few more this summer when we were there, because I hate to buy something I can find in nature for free. The bell I was really excited about. It was $6 in a gift shop we stopped into, and it looks just like the ones in Pottery Barn that they sell for an arm and leg.
The big one is $89! Are they crazy!? FOR A COWBELL!? Not to mention I bought mine months before they printed these on their pages. Reassuring my theory that I need to be the accessory designer and shopper for PB. I offer my services for a fair barter of my dream couch.
My cow bell is sitting on top of an upside down WalMart bowl.
The basket on the right side is from TJ Maxx, $15. And it's filled with a wooden vase for $7, and pieces of tree. Really. This summer in Colorado, we were heartbroken to see the evergreen trees going down at such an alarming rate due to the beetles that are basically wiping out thousands of trees in Rocky Mountain National Park. I wanted to bring some of them home with me, so I could remember them like I did when I was a little girl, because already the park is starting to look bare in some places. So we gathered some for firewood, and I picked out the prettiest ones to bring home. I'm convinced that if our house caught fire, my pitchfork, and basket full of tree would be the first to go.
My pillows aren't Christmasy, but I just keep an old crate full of them sitting around and pull them out for color. The green beaded one I bought at Hancock Fabrics when I worked there ten years ago. (told you I loved green) the other one I got from HL back when we first got married, and the orange one I made.
My tall bookshelves on either side of the tv I didn't get any pictures of. On top they have gold cone trees, a square vase full of snow, and some evergreens. Honestly I hate tvs so much that I usually avoid pictures of this side of the living room. I hate that my lovely mantle has to sit next to the 42 inch monster that inhabits my living space. I really can't think of very many things I dislike more than tv. I hate the gravitational pull it seems to have on people, myself included. If I sit in front of it, I become this useless drone. My kitchen goes uncleaned, sewing projects undone, and litter boxes left stinky. I can honestly say I probably watch a little over an hour of tv a week. That hour is enough for me, thank you.
This is my ornament garland, and my little birds.
The cork I got from Michael's grandma's house. After we brought it home, we became obsessed with cork. Did you know it's actually just the bark of a tree? We looked some stuff up on it, and then spent ten minutes staring at a chunk of it in amazement. I use it like my bowls and chargers to add height to things, in a pretty natural, I'm-cork-and-I'm-badass kind of way.
Ugh, okay fine, here's my hideous tv wall. The bread bowl in the middle of the tv stand I got at a craft show with my Mom for $12. It's filled with more pinecones from Colorado. I wove lights all around the shelves and through the holes in the back of my (fake) Target wooden bookshelves. Fake wood conveniently comes with holes in the back for electronics, speakers, and Christmas lights.
Oh and by now you might be wondering what the ugly, hairy, lime green fleece is wadded up on the floor in every single picture. Hunter has a tendency to be under my feet at all times, so we are working with him to know that he has one spot he needs to be at all times when we're home. His bed is in our room, and this was his blankie, so during the day I pull it out and set it in that corner, and I can tell him "go to bed" and he knows what's up. At night when I put him to bed in our room, I tuck him back in with his blankie. It's disgusting, I know. It's no wonder the dog is always under my feet, I tuck his big goofy ass into bed every night.
But really, this works. All I have to say is "go to bed" and he either lays down on it, or stands there thinking I might let him leave his corner. Those times I then say "down" and point a stern finger and he does licky face and lays down to go to sleep. The finger isn't necessary, I just do it to add dramatic flair to the entire training process. He's an amazingly smart and well trained dog, which is a benefit of having a full blood lab with papers. As smart as I think he is though, sometimes he farts and looks at his own butt wondering where the noise came from, and I remember that he's just a big stinky dog. With the key to my cold, black heart :)
Up close, the lights on the shelves are cute, as long as you can look past the tv beast.
They're wrapped around baskets full of books. I used to have all my books color coordinated like a freak, but then I thought they'd look better stored away in baskets.
Normally I pull all my shells out of the candle basket on the coffee table for Christmas, but I thought I'd mix in some beach this year. And a few ornaments on the side.
I keep everything in baskets. Including the three remotes I still don't know how to use for our tv. I've had to call Michael a few times to ask him how to turn the tv on because there's like 50 buttons.
On the little side table next to our couches, I have a few things scattered around.
The twine tree I made myself, and you should make a few, too.
You need:
Smear on some glue, starting at the bottom (I did it in sections so the glue wouldn't dry). Then wrap the twine all the way around until you reach the top. The garland I made out of thin wire, beads and seashells. Isn't that easy? I want to make a couple giant ones next year.
It's sitting on top of an upside down thrift store bowl.
The reindeer are from TJ Maxx, and the peace ornament I got at Michael's for $3. The white thing under it is just a branch from the floral section, and one ornament from HL.
This pretty little number is our Christmas tree.
It's a pain in the ass, one branch is broken off and ghetto rigged with a bobby pin, and it's not prelit. The box is so destroyed that we have to duct tape it shut every year. But it was free from my sister, and it still works, so it works for me.
We stuck it in a new place this year, instead of by the mantle. I love it here, it doesn't block the window, and I can easily monitor the cats feeding on it's branches and ornaments at all times. Those little rats.
I love random trees with colorful themes, but we stuck with a traditonal red, green, and gold. I paid the most for my ornaments. I got all of them half to seventy five percent off at Target, Michael's, WalMart, and Hobby Lobby, but I have so many that they added up. We also have red and cream ribbon that runs vertically down the length of the tree.
I have tree skirt remorse towards my red WalMart skirt, so next year I think I am going to sew my own.
The shelves above our couch always get ignored, so I was feeling sorry for them this year. I took down a couple framed prints to make room, and added a few things.
This is one of my favorite pictures of Grandpa, nestled in some HL garland that was half off for $15.
I'm going to pretend that my couch does not have giant holes in the corners, thanks to Olive.
Here's the guilty assailant making her escape. The Merry Christmas garland I got the other day at TJ Maxx for $12.99. The letters are so pretty! I can't believe this thing was only $13. Each one is hand beaded and sewed. I guess when you make things in sweat shops, you make huge profits no matter what.
PS those shelves I bought at PotteryBarn. They were an arm and a leg but they're extra deep and very sturdy.
And that's our living room.
Onto the entry:
I love this entry table. I was so stressed out about it because when I got done decorating the house, I had a few mismatched things left with no theme in mind for the table. Last minute, here's what I came up with.
I kind of love it.
All I had to buy was this wooden tray for $7 at TJ Maxx. I filled it with lights, fake snow, and ornaments. I added a couple Ball jars, Colorado pine cones, a $2 lantern from Big Lots, and the giant compass I found at TJ Maxx this spring for $10. It's so random, but I think it seems to work. It reminds me of camping.
Oh, there I am.
On the other side I put a little mini tree my Mom gave me a few years ago. The ornaments on it are super special to me. When we were little, and had a mini tree, these were the ornaments we had. My favorite was the bird, from the time I was a little girl. My mom kept it and hangs it on her tree at home. My second favorite is the hot air balloon, and the disgusting clown comes in whopping last. It hangs towards the back.
The skirt is a scrap of burlap fabric.
The pottery on the top and bottom of this table are Michael's grandma's. She let us come to her pottery room and pick out the things we liked a few months back. I have them scattered through the house.
The crate I made this spring, and the wine bottle is an antique. I was so excited when I found it for $12, because PB has the same ones:
The big one is $280. Once again, they're crazy.
I filled the crate with lights, so at night the copper plates and big gold ornaments in it light up.
My dining room table is red and green. The table is set with $3 TJ Maxx lime green placemats, with my Target chargers, and thrift store bowls on top. The candy ornaments are from HL.
Olive has made the table her new home for the time being. She loves to leave trails of her long, fluffy hair on anything and everything new.
The little topiaries I got at TJ Maxx, years ago. The big one I got with a half off coupon at HL for $20. I filled them with snow and some pine cones and they were good to go. The copper plates are the garage sale finds.
The curtain rod I decorated with some more ornament garland.
In my kitchen I have a few jars of rosemary, the big tall santa in the picture I posted at the top, and my glowing snowman.
That's my antique scale I got at a flea market a couple months ago for a whopping TEN DOLLARS! I was so excited.
That's the first smiling picture of my little nephew, framed right next to my sink so I can see his precious little face when I do dishes.
Scattered through the rest of the house, I have things like Dollar Tree jingle bell trees:
Cute ornaments, a wreath I made for the front door but was too cold to put outside so I hung it on an inside door.
A few bathroom decorations.
And Christmas smooching. Lots and lots of smooching.
I still have an entire village to put up, so if I have the time in the next couple weeks I'll get that added, too. For the most part my next two weeks will be crazy busy. I still have our card picture to take, the card to make, and mail out to everyone. I have half my presents left to make, a busy week at work right before my break, two Christmas', and a baby nephew (who FINALLY has a name!!) to welcome.
If I get a chance to post again before the new year, I will pop in and see you all then.
If not, have a wonderful Christmas, lovelies!
I hope this year you have everything you wished for, and more. And please remember that our relationships with the people we love are so much more important than all the frilly wrapped things we give each other. Give the gift of love this year, and you will receive so much more in return.
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