Thursday, December 27, 2012

Still in the Christmas Spirit

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas holiday filled with family and friends and good food!


Don't know about you guys, but I am not ready to take down the Christmas tree, so it will stay up for a couple more weeks : )


I just love the twinkly lights, especially during the day!

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Our First Nativity

Last year after Christmas, my mother-in-law gave us a nativity set.  It's white ceramic so I love how it looks with our holiday decor.  I put it on a bombay chest that greets you when you walk in. 


Of course Baby Jesus is hiding in another room until Christmas Day. I added garland above the painting and one fake tree on each side. The nativity set is sitting on a burlap runner.



And since today is vignette day over at A Thoughtful Place, I will add one more Christmas vignette from our living room/kitchen area.  This is our small bar cart, liquor on the bottom, pretty on the top!


The sparkly bird and squirrel are from West Elm last year.  I found the cute reindeer at HomeGoods. The "Dear Santa, Define Good" sign is an add I ripped out ot Better Homes.  So there are a couple holiday vignettes.  Hope everyone is enjoying the last week before Christmas!





Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Project Stair

Yesterday, I started what I thought would be a medium size project.  I wanted to rip the rug off our stairs going from our finished basement to our upstairs living area.  I knew there was hardwood under the rug, just wasn't sure what condition it would be in.  This is me at the beginning, very excited.



I was happy to see that the hardwood underneath looked just as good as the hardwood on the side of the steps. My hubby on the other hand wasn't happy about the spontaneous project. And after 20 minutes or so, I realized that this is going to be a very time consuming and labor intensive project.  Pulling up the rug isn't too bad, just requires a little muscle.  The time consuming and frustrating part is pulling up the 50 plus staples per step with pliers. No fun.


In two days, I've only tackled 3 steps and I don't think my hands can handle another one.  Hopefully, the Mr. will step in and save the day, because I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.


These babies are going to look good once they are nakey!

I'll end this post with something Christmassy and pretty, the shelves at the end of the stairs decorated for the first time for Christmas!

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Our Christmas Tree 2012

Like last year, I stayed with the rustic sparkle decorations sprinkled with some woodsy animals.  I wrapped burlap garland around the tree and added lots of glittery ornaments.  I also stuck some branches that I spray painted gold in there.


We cut down our tree for the first time this year.  It looked much better in the wild than it did when we got her home.  She was filled with holes, but I think I did an okay job filling them in.



Of course I had to sneak an owl shot in here.  There's about 20 owls hanging in the tree!


And finally here's some twilight shots.



Linking this up over at Honey We're Home's Link Party.


Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Mercury Mantle

This year I am keeping our Christmas decor neutral and sparkly, as usual!  I saved the colorful stuff for our basement family room.  I used several mercury glass pieces on the mantle.  All of them came from HomeGoods, and some were actually Halloween decor that I got on clearance.


I made the banner and my husby drew and colored in the letters.  They might be a little too colorful for me and might be making the trek downstairs : )  Here are some more shots.




Notice how I got some beloved chrevron in there on the "Y"?  My husband didn't even know what chevron was! 

Hope all your mantles are looking very merry!

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Chair Nightstand

While rearranging my furniture to get ready for Mr. Christmas Tree, I found a new spot for this old wood chair that has been living next to our front door.  I bought it a couple years ago at a barn sale for $10.


It works perfectly as a nightstand in our guest room.  And it adds a different texture in there.



Now, I'm not sure if I did this before or after I read YoungHouseLove's new book with this idea, but either way, it's a great one!

Monday, December 3, 2012

In the Christmas Craft Spirit

I have been fully into Christmas mode for weeks now and the calendar just turned to December!  I love that Thanksgiving fell a little earlier this year.  Our tree is up(two trees actually), lights are up outside the house and the decorations are almost done, still a few random boxes sitting around.  But, today I wanted to share an easy holiday project that's perfect for a house warming gift.


I stole this idea from a local florist and recreated it for muuuucccchhhhh cheaper.  I bought a few different white birch planters from Save-on-crafts (just recently discovered this site and love it).  Then I bought some mini trees from the grocery store and I had moss on hand. And I put it all together.



They were perfect to bring for Thanksgiving and will work throughout December as a housewarming gift.  I obviously made a couple for myself too, one with the mini tree and one with a white poinsettia. So cute!


O and that's my new pillow from Pottery Barn, love that guy too!