It's hard to believe that Christmas has already come and gone. I love the way our house looks around the holidays. It always seems so warm and inviting, so I'm a bit sad to take down our Christmas decorations. Before I do that, however, I wanted to share how we decorated our home for the holidays.
As I've said before, over the years, my holiday decorating style has changed from "Christmas exploded in our house" to touches of Christmas. I like to take our everyday decorations and add a little Christmas to them whether it's changing out white candles for red or adding simple ornaments to a vase.
To start, I normally lay out everything we have and pick and choose what I want. I sometimes get a little overwhelmed at the thought of using it all (after all, why do I have it if I'm not going to use it?), so this year, I started off by making two piles. One pile was for those things I love and just had to display and the other one for those things that I just wasn't feeling. I knew that I wasn't going to use everything in both piles and that was ok. I would either donate it or save it for next year since my style is always evolving.
Once I had my piles, I started with the mantle, per usual. I've been loving the old shutter and thrifted mirror combo from the fall, so I wanted to leave that up. I then pulled a few favorites from the "love" pile and tried out a bunch of different combinations until I found something I was happy with.
I kept the hearth simple since we've been using the fireplace a lot more
with the colder weather and I didn't want to have to rearrange stuff every time. I just put some duraflame logs in a Salvation Army bucket so we'd have easy access. We then moved one of our Ikea wicker chairs into the corner, tossed a throw over it, and pulled in one of the red pillows my mother-in-law made. I loved how that chair filled the space better than the old Captain's chair that was there before did. Of course, now I'm faced with the dilema of what to do once we take the tree down. Do I leave the chair there or move it back to it's original location? Decisions, decisions.
Anyway, now that that area was done, I moved on to the rest of the living room. I love the red wreath we got at the Christmas Tree Shop a few years ago and normally displayed it on the back door, you know, where no one ever saw it. Our front door is red so it didn't work there and last year, we had it on the mantle for awhile. Running out of options, I decided to hang it on the French door between the mudroom and living room. It totally transformed the space. Such a simple change, but I kind of want to keep it there all year round now.
The small table behind the French door was pretty simple as well. I took the snowman we used on last year's mantle, added some Christmas Tree candles, and that was that.
My next focus was on the mudroom. There isn't a lot of stuff in that room, so it's simple to decorate. The hubby actually suggested what to put on the little table and I liked it so we went with it. And yes, if you're wondering, Dan does help me decorate for Christmas. It's a lot of work, so he's what I like to call the runner. He runs up and down the stairs to the basement retrieving the bins and those random items I need when an idea pops into my head. He's the best!
My favorite Christmas song is "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" and last year for Christmas, the hubby got me an Etsy sign with those words. I was so excited to find a special place for it this season. It didn't look right on the mantle and I didn't really want to hang it on the wall, so I was stumped. Then when I was decorating the mudroom, I thought about the top of the chimney. We're pretty sure the mudroom and laundry area were an addition, so the chimney literally runs up through the middle of the house. I love the exposed brick, but have never really thought to decorate the area. The sign fit perfectly, and I added a plush Santa (something unbreakable in case it fell).
I needed something different to display our Christmas cards this year. The one we had from last year filled up too quickly and you couldn't see all the cards. So this year, I took the burlap we used on last year's tree (I didn't buy enough so it didn't turn out how I envisioned it) and hung it on the French door in between the mudroom and laundry room. I used some Christmas brads I had on hand for scrapbooking to hang up the cards. It was really cute, but I'll confess something, I didn't finish it. Now it's sort of pointless since the decorations will all be coming down shortly. I did put up the four cards we had by the time our party rolled around, but the pile just kept growing. Oops.
I skipped the laundry room since I like to keep the counter in there clear so we can use it, so the last area to decorate was the kitchen. I typically focus on just a few rooms at Christmas and leave our office and guest bedroom neutral. The downstairs bath is the next room on the to do list, so I've kind of been ignoring it since we moved it. I like to keep the kitchen counters clear of decorations as well so we have room to cook/bake, so I primarily turn my attention to the dish rack we have in between the kitchen windows and back door. I usually put out our festive martini glasses so I just took some leftover pieces from the love pile and filled in the missing spaces.
We did our tree last. I've always had a fake tree and loved that part of the tradition was hauling out the same tree year after year. Sadly, the yardsale tree we had in our apartment was too big for our house. Our living room isn't all that big and the only place to really put it was in the bay window. We picked this one up on sale at Target last year, and while it's on the tall/skinny side, it does fit the space pretty well. I didn't want something that would touch the radiators on either side of the tree, so this worked out. It's not as full or as large as I'd like, but it works. We put the other Ikea chair next to it and it fit really well.
So that's how our house looked for Christmas. Hopefully making the change from Christmas to winter won't be too much work.
Be well,
Last weekend we hosted a holiday cocktail party. Even though it's a lot of work that requires days of prep for a few hours of enjoyment, I do love to entertain and share our home with others. I especially love having people over during the holidays. Our cottagey home always feels extra cozy during this time. Plus, we spend so much time and energy working on our house, it's nice to actually be able to enjoy it.
Last year, the hubs and I hosted a Wine and Cheese party. This was a super easy theme (I love themed events) and was rather inexpensive to pull off. I bought a few new things at Home Goods like a tablecloth and runner, as well as some candle holders that fit the gray and white color scheme I was going for based off of our china. I then pulled different white and gray dishes and serving platters and set the table.
Of course, no party is complete without labels for each cheese so our guests knew what they were sampling.
We also set up the "bar" using some wedding gifts. I asked each guest to bring a bottle of their favorite wine for everyone else to try. It was fun to test out different wines we otherwise may not have tried. The evening was a great success.
With this event being such a fun night, we decided to host another get-together this year to kick off the Christmas season. Once we chose a date, we began with a simple evite. It's a nice compromise between an informal Facebook invite and a formal hand-written invitation. My next step was to brainstorm on a theme and different ideas. I knew I wanted to do something low-key like last year, so I began by searching Pinterest for some ideas. It didn't disappoint.
I decided I wanted a hot chocolate/tea/cider/coffee bar. The best part about this was that I didn't have to buy anything and used whatever we had. I collected some of my white serving trays and tin buckets I got in the $1 section at Target last summer, added a sugar bowl and stirrers and then, of course, the fun stuff like M&M's, shaved chocolate and marshmallows. This was all set up in our renovated laundry room which connects the mudroom and kitchen. It was the perfect spot to display everything.
For dessert, I made a quick batch of Monkey Munch (or Puppy Chow). I don't use nearly as much powdered sugar though so mine isn't as white. I put that in an over-sized vase and tied a red ribbon around it to make it somehwat festive. I also served some store bought chocolate chip cookies in a matching vase. Anything can make a statement when it's served in a pretty way.
This was the easy part. For the apps, I combed through dozens of recipes, but nothing seemed right. I knew we'd have our standards of cheese, crackers, and veggies, as well as Dan's famous buffalo chicken dip, but I was stumped as to what else to serve. Eventually, we decided to do a cold cut platter and then ordered a tray of sausage, peppers, and onions from a local catering place. I knew we could do the cold cuts ourselves for less money, but figured that by the time we got all the ingredients for the sausage, peppers, and onions, as well as the time it would take to cook, we'd be at about the same price so we ended up just ordering that.
A few days before the party, we began to set up the tables and finalize the decor. This ensures that my obsessive self is happy with the way things are placed once party time rolls around. I often find myself switching things up last minute, so this gives me time to ponder different set-ups and displays.
While we should have started the next part earlier, the night before the party, we went grocery shopping and then pulled out all of our dishes and glasses and ran everything through the dishwasher.
We had also waited to clean the house until rather late. Normally, I'd have the house cleaned from top to bottom at least 2-3 days before the party so at that point our only focus is on the details.
Also, earlier in the week, I had decided I wanted to serve a festive drink called the Poinsettia. Instead of pre-making it (and because it was served with champagne and it's best to add that in just before drinking), I printed and framed the recipe and left it out on the bar. It worked perfectly, and the drink was delicious!
We spent the day of the party cleaning and then finally started on food prep. We finished everything with about 15 minutes to spare. Phew! Here's how the final details came together:
The party was a success. We did end up having a ton of food and drinks left over, so at least we didn't have to go grocery shopping for awhile. Now to start brainstorming ideas for next year's shindig!
Be well,
When my hubby and I first started dating, we bought a new ornament each time we went away together. Since then, we've collected many different ornaments, each one representing our many adventures. Every year, when we put up our Christmas tree, we reminisce over each ornament and talk about where we got it and what we remember about that specific trip. It's something I look forward to every December.
We also buy ornaments to remind us of certain life events such as our wedding and when we bought our new house. It's fun to see where we've been and how things have changed over the years. So without further adieu, here is a look into our ornament collection.
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| Some of our collection |
Milestones:
Vacations:
And of course, our childhood/sentimental ornaments:
All in all, I have to say I love our collection. It's a great mix of old and new and depicts our life as both individuals and as a couple.
Be well,
It's fall! My absolute favorite time of year. I love everything about fall - the weather, the outdoor activities, fall baking, and of course, the decorations. I couldn't wait until the cooler months to get to work. I usually start about mid-September, but as we were away during that time, I was about a week or so late.
My decorating process starts with me taking everything out of the boxes and spreading it all out on the floor. Sometimes you have to make a mess to get organized. So I schlepped down to the basement and grabbed the fall box and a few odds and ends I thought might work. Luckily, our fall decor is housed in one box unlike our Christmas decorations which have now spread to four. Anyway, I took everything out and laid it on the floor. I like to see what I have before deciding on where everything will go. I also like to switch things up and not just put things in the same place each year. Once this was done, I started decorating where I always do...the mantle. It's always my main focus and the one thing I spend the most time on.
I left the white mirror we repainted last year as the focal point of the mantle. It works in that space and I don't feel the need to move it, so I work around it. Last year, a neighbor was throwing out some old shutters so we picked them up. My original thought was to paint and distress them, but when I put one on the mantle to see if the size worked, I liked how the wood popped against the tan wall, so I left it as is. As for the rest of the decorations, the only new thing here was the star. It's defintely more of a Christmas decoration but the black, along with the other orange accessories, works for Halloween. I picked it up for $5 at our local consignment shop. Everything else we already had so it was just a matter of figuring out where to place everything. It took awhile, but I finally got something I was happy with.
A lot of people ask where I get my decorations and the answer is, anywhere and everywhere. Some of these things I bought, but most were given as gifts or were things others didn't want anymore. For example, we found the pears while helping a friend's mom clean out her garage. I saw them and immediately thought fall,and since she didn't want them anymore, she gave the to me. I think they work pretty well here.
Now that the mantle was done, it was onto the area in front of the fireplace. I had seen something on Pinterest a few weeks earlier that I fell in love with and realized I had most of the things in the picture. I collected everything and put it all together. I had never really focused on that area before, but it really made a difference.
I generally use that lantern around Christmas, but when you add in red details with some orange and yellow, it screams fall. Next I focused on our two coffee tables. I used a wooden serving tray to house some coasters and a bucket of Halloween candy and put a potpourri pumpkin and candle on the other table. Have I mentioned how obsessed I am with Bath and Body Works new fall line of mason jar candles? They smell amazing and are so cute!
Now that the living room was done, I used the remaining items in the kitchen and mud room. The mud room only has a small table that I wanted to keep simple, so that was pretty easy.
Then it was onto the kitchen. We have a shelf over our kitchen sink and then a dish rack/shelf in our dining area. Here's how I styled those.
This was just the leftover stuff I didn't use in the other rooms, but I think it all worked out well. The green apple plate is one of my favorite finds that we got at a winery a few years ago. I found the long brown paddle board at a yardsale over the summer for 50 cents.
With the inside done, it was time to focus on the outside. Over the summer, we had found a little table while visiting my in-laws up in New Hampshire at a discount store for only $20. It sat on our front porch for months with nothing on it, so I was excited to finally decorate that little corner. I picked up a few mums at Market Basket along with some inexpensive gourds. Then on a family trip to the pumpkin patch, I got two pumpkins for the stairs. I stole borrowed the hay from my parent's house and used it to give some height to the smaller mum.
Our front porch (if you can even call it a porch) is tiny, but I realized over time that there was room to at least do something cute. I love how this came together and now we can enjoy it all for a little while longer before it's time to decorate for Christmas!
Be well,
Once I had my piles, I started with the mantle, per usual. I've been loving the old shutter and thrifted mirror combo from the fall, so I wanted to leave that up. I then pulled a few favorites from the "love" pile and tried out a bunch of different combinations until I found something I was happy with. 
I kept the hearth simple since we've been using the fireplace a lot more 
Anyway, now that that area was done, I moved on to the rest of the living room. I love the red wreath we got at the Christmas Tree Shop a few years ago and normally displayed it on the back door, you know, where no one ever saw it. Our front door is red so it didn't work there and last year, we had it on the mantle for awhile. Running out of options, I decided to hang it on the French door between the mudroom and living room. It totally transformed the space. Such a simple change, but I kind of want to keep it there all year round now. 
The small table behind the French door was pretty simple as well. I took the snowman we used on last year's mantle, added some Christmas Tree candles, and that was that.
My next focus was on the mudroom. There isn't a lot of stuff in that room, so it's simple to decorate. The hubby actually suggested what to put on the little table and I liked it so we went with it. And yes, if you're wondering, Dan does help me decorate for Christmas. It's a lot of work, so he's what I like to call the runner. He runs up and down the stairs to the basement retrieving the bins and those random items I need when an idea pops into my head. He's the best!
My favorite Christmas song is "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" and last year for Christmas, the hubby got me an Etsy sign with those words. I was so excited to find a special place for it this season. It didn't look right on the mantle and I didn't really want to hang it on the wall, so I was stumped. Then when I was decorating the mudroom, I thought about the top of the chimney. We're pretty sure the mudroom and laundry area were an addition, so the chimney literally runs up through the middle of the house. I love the exposed brick, but have never really thought to decorate the area. The sign fit perfectly, and I added a plush Santa (something unbreakable in case it fell).
I skipped the laundry room since I like to keep the counter in there clear so we can use it, so the last area to decorate was the kitchen. I typically focus on just a few rooms at Christmas and leave our office and guest bedroom neutral. The downstairs bath is the next room on the to do list, so I've kind of been ignoring it since we moved it. I like to keep the kitchen counters clear of decorations as well so we have room to cook/bake, so I primarily turn my attention to the dish rack we have in between the kitchen windows and back door. I usually put out our festive martini glasses so I just took some leftover pieces from the love pile and filled in the missing spaces.
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