Christmas Home Tour

I've been collecting Christmas decorations for 7 years now, just waiting for the opportunity to pull them all out. You see, this is our 1st year since we've been married that we get to celebrate Christmas at our house! We've used the excuse of my January due date (baby #3) to stay in town. So instead of getting on the road, we have family coming to visit us! So you can imagine, I'm more than excited to empty my tubs of decorations!

In general I steer clear of glitz and glitter, but I've been drawn to the bright greens and reds that are so popular right now. So my decorations are a mix between county and bling. I just pulled it all out and found that I love it all. So here is a picture heavy post of this year's decorations. Enjoy!

Want to make these boxes? Click here.

These were the centerpieces that I made for Advent.

I'd love to show you more, but this is about all I've done so far. We'll see what else I find in the rest of these tubs!

Let your tree tell a story

Do you have a beautiful tree all decorated for Christmas? Is it like one of these that's all coordinated and matchy matchy?


Or is yours more like mine... (please ignore the fact that a partial strand burned out AFTER I hung the lights... I haven't had time to go back and fix that!)

While my tree won't be winning any awards or be featured on any blog (other than ours! ha) it is OUR tree and it tells a story.

Like this ornament... when our oldest daughter was 6 months old and we were trying out the stay-at-home job while my hubby was on a very low income we visited Colorado with my parents. We took our little family to the Royal Gorge and after paying an arm and a leg to get in we visited the gift shop as we always do to pick out an ornament. Sadly we couldn't afford a thing! So, being the frugal momma I am, I picked out a keychain for $3.95 and wrote the story on the back... it now hangs proudly on our tree as a memory of where we once were.

Or this... a reminder of our first Christmas as a married couple.




And these two which if hung on separate trees mean nothing... but together it shares with the world we are a house divided!

And this one which was bought the winter before we moved to Colorado so that we'd have a reminder of our Texas roots (which eventually pulled us back home!). :)

Finally, this one tells our story of why we celebrate this wonderful holiday. We celebrate the birth of Jesus and believe His birth is the one gift we are most thankful for.

So, what about you? Does your tree tell a story? Have you put away all your sentimental ornaments for a few years to have a "pretty" tree? Maybe it's time to pull some back out and share your story with the world.

Lindsay

linked here:
Thrifty Decor Chick
Elements Interiors

Advent Calendars

Well. I dropped the ball again this year!

I've had my eye on all of these adorable Advent calendars & had great expectations on making one for myself, but here it is, December 2nd and I've yet to break out any creative effort to get it done. So I gave in yesterday and bought this one from TJMaxx. Not bad for $20! They gave me a discount because it was missing the "counter". I tied a jingle bell to the end of some ribbon and it was as good as new. So I can take credit for that right??

Here are the calendars that I've had my eye on. So cute!

Maybe they'll inspire you!

It's only the 2nd after all!!

This one from Canadian Family is made of envelopes. Each contain a fun family activity for the day.

You can hide little goodies or sweets under these paper cones. Idea from Disney.

And isn't this the cutest idea from Martha Stewart?? Who would have thought of baby socks?

And this one is made from a muffin pan. Check out Shabby Chic crafts for more pictures.

Do you have an advent calendar that you love??

A Merry Welcome!

So here is my first Christmas project for the year!!

I saw something similar at our church's Advent celebration & pretty much straight up copied it. I couldn't help it. It was love at first sight! I plan to make a 2nd stack to go on the other side of my door, so I'm not completely done, but I thought I would share it with you anyway.

I started with 3 different sized boxes...9, 12 & 14 inch cubes.

I used an ice pick to punch holes in each of them so that I could run a rebar through them. (It's easier to do the holes first, before getting them all wrapped & pretty.) For the smaller boxes, I slightly off-centered my holes, so that the boxes would tilt on each other.

Then I wrapped them and made bows for each.

Tip: Keep your wrapping paper pattern running the same direction.

Tip #2: Before you poke holes through the paper, put a little tape on it. It will help the paper from ripping.

I also made sure my seams were right down the middle of the boxes so that the ribbon would cover them up. And I used double-sided tape to hold the ribbon and bows in place. I'd love to take credit for these tidbits, but again, I straight up copied this idea!!

What do you think?? I can't wait to make the other stack!

Spotlight Sunday {Lindsay}

Kristi at The Speckled Dog put together this cute ribbon wreath. It looks super easy to make too! Really great use for all those fun ribbons I've been seeing.

Look at the adorably fantastic wreath Natalie at Johnny In A Dress put together. I can't think of another place that I'll need a wreath this year...but if I did I'd for sure try something like this!

My China Hutch

Do you remember the wall of white plates that you helped me with a few months ago?? Well, I still love it!...

But it left my china hutch looking like this...Yikes!! I'd like to think that it looked better when ALL of the plates were in there, but looking back at this picture, I wonder if it even looked good then! Talk about being white-washed!

So I pulled everything out this weekend and started from scratch. It's funny how the idea of having company motivates me to finish projects like this!

I shopped the house and found some warm-colored pretties that seemed more Fallish. I also stole these wood paintings from the living room. The pastels fit better in here. Especially if you could see the curtains. I'm too lazy to go take another picture, so you can see them here if you'd like.

This basket and garland became my no-fuss table centerpiece.

Whew! Much better. My dining room is now ready for Thanksgiving guests!

Are you doing any last minute re-arranging??

Finally finished!

Remember the girl's room that I've been working on??

Well, I'm finally done!!

I found this picture on Simplified Bee and was completely inspired! I love the combination of blues and pinks. It's girly without being too babyish. Plus, I'd already painted the knock-off version of the Pottery Barn bird painting, so it was really just meant to be.

The Serena & Lily bedding, while beautiful, didn't exactly fit my budget. So I used this light blue comforter & sheets from Target. And I found this GREAT coordinating pillow at TJMAxx. Her black bed (which you'll see when you scroll down) is 1 of the 2 that I bought in Round Top.

For her nightstand, I grabbed this piece from the mud room. Since it was already painted blue & provided 4 more drawers, it was really a no-brainer. I brought back in the painting and flower lamp and added a crate of books on the floor for easy access.

I kept my younger daughter's bedding pretty simple. The coordinating blue pillow is the "container" that my older daughter's comforter came in. I just stuffed it with stuffing and re-buttoned it. I had intended to bring in the other matching black bed, but reconsidered after realizing that the old crib would make nap time and bed time easier for now.

And here's a few more pictures of the finished room...

I love how it came together but love even more, that it's done! :)

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