winterized

Christmas brings about a lot of emotions for me... about my house.  (This sounds so ridiculous!  Keep reading, you may be able to relate)  When I get all of the Christmas decorations up I am happy because everything is so pretty and festive.  The day after Christmas I always convince myself that it makes sense to leave the decorations up until after New Year's Eve because that is basically an extension of the holidays - but really it is because I am not ready to part with them.  On January 1st, I admit that, sadly, they will have to come down soon enough.  Then I mull over that for a few more days, and usually during the second or third week of January, the decorations are getting on my nerves and I am taking them down without much fight.  It is like a weird roller coaster.  I think most of it has to do with the fact that the decorations are a lot of work and time, but by the end of it I just don't care anymore.

My husband is always happy to get everything "back to normal".  We have to semi-rearrange our living room to fit the Christmas tree, so I get it.

Because I always have a "mantle" up, out comes the winter decor right after the Christmas stuff is boxed away.  My theme for winter: winter :)  Blues, silver, white, a few pine cones, reindeer, etc.  Christmas is full of twinkling lights and red and green.  The change to a cool, neutral palette is quite refreshing.  Plus, it can get pretty darn cold here in Missouri, which matches the cool metals of my decor.

Most of the items I have gathered are technically Christmas items, but I don't think it feels Christmas-y at all.  I also love that I can keep this up until spring time and it always makes sense with what is going on outside.  I do not decorate for Valentine's day because, well, I just don't.  I mean, I have found plenty of adorable things on Pinterest that I like.  But it just seems a little silly (personal opinion!)...  Valentine's Day is not a big deal for us and I'm not sure my husband would appreciate hearts and such floating around our house.

I do not put up nearly as much winter decorations as I do for Christmas, but here are a few photos of what I do have up:

Isn't this antler bowl so cool??   I found it in the Christmas clearance and thought it was perfect for winter!

Follow my tutorial to make this easy winter wreath

What does your post-Christmas house look like?  Do you put anything up for winter or Valentine's Day?