christmas home tour

I'm getting this posted just a few days before Christmas... if you read my last post you will understand why... 

I am super-duper excited to share with you what our house looks like for Christmas!  As I'm sure you gathered in the fall, my husband and I love Halloween.  I really do love decorating for Halloween, but I also love decorating for Christmas.  The two are so very different, I think that is why I love them both!

Anyway, I've added a few new decorations this year.  Partially because I knew I was going to be sharing photos of our house, and partially because I have been really on top of Christmas this year! (sorry for bragging, this is new for me!)  I was inspired by a friend who said they had almost all of their Christmas shopping done before Thanksgiving...  I decided that this year would be different than the last two years.  I would not spend 5 hours sitting on the floor Christmas Eve wrapping every gift just to unwrap it the next morning.  I would not miss out on the special Christmas events around town because I was too busy shopping (or working).  I would not miss out on watching The Grinch as many times as I could squeeze in.  I would not get wrapped up in the busyness to miss enjoying this magical time of year.

Because I have been doing things little by little, it actually left me with some windows of time as the holidays got closer.  The last two years I wanted to add to our holiday decorating, but it just didn't happen.  To be honest, I'm pretty sure my husband and I put up half of our lights in the snow and freezing cold last year, just a couple of weeks before Christmas.  So this year my lack of procrastination paid off - I was able to add a few new things to our Christmas decor!  The garland and accessories on the bookcases are new this year.

Anyway - here it is!  I hope you enjoy :)

How cool is this wreath?  My co-worker made it for a charity auction and I loved it!  (notice the Grinch??)  it is made almost entirely of pipe cleaners

 

Don't mind our dog begging for the pizza my husband was making...

How to make these light up glass blocks here

 

You can purchase this Grinch sign from my Etsy shop

 

 

These wreaths were a set of three tied together, but I cut them apart and added bows to make them work in our kitchen

Click here to see how to make this easy card holder

Merry Christmas!!

(not my) christmas home tour

How are you?  I've been a little late on writing a new post haven't I?  ... Sorry about that.

I've been wanting to show you photos of my Christmas decorations.  This is the hold up: we have cats.

Now, perhaps many of you have mastered the art of cats-not-messing-up-pretty-things, but I have not.  We rescued two kittens (brother and sister) from an abandoned building near our chicken coop this past June.  We I didn't have intentions of keeping them, but after a few weeks, they were ours.  They are cute and funny and sometimes even adorable.  However, I did not fully understand the impact they would have on my home decor.  They knock things over, steal things and then hide them under the couch, and jump everywhere!  I have lived with dogs my entire life, so they were never on the kitchen table or counters...

So anyway, we put up our Christmas tree the weekend after Thanksgiving (I waited, as promised).  My husband gently informed me (via youtube videos) that cats can ruin Christmas.  I was horrified!  How did I not realize that so many of my friends and neighbors were being terrorized by their Grinch-y cats?!  So many Christmas trees knocked over!  So many dancing Santa's falling off bookshelves to their demise!  So many ornaments crushed to smithereens!

After being slightly traumatized, I compromised and we only put up the purely decorative ornaments and ones that were not easily broken.  Each day, to my disappointment, my husband would call with the Christmas casualty report.  Over the course of the week, the cats bent about 10 branches, broke 2 ornaments, and relocated about 20 more.  The tree skirt stayed in place for maybe 2 hours.  We didn't even try to put the train tracks and cars around the tree *sigh*  I was truly beginning to get depressed.  (Dramatic, right?)  I love all of the decorating that comes with Christmas!  I love watching The Grinch while hanging ornaments on the tree. And those darn cats were ruining it!

This past Sunday, I decided I would not let the cats ruin Christmas for me!  We finished the tree and I set gifts under it (really just to anchor the tree skirt more than anything).  Is it currently late Monday evening, and today only one ornament was knocked off the tree and the presents were a little rearranged.  Perhaps the newness is wearing off?  I don't know, I'm (clearly) not a cat whisperer.

So, long story long, I do not have any photos of my Christmas decor yet :)  But they will be coming soon!

In the mean time, check out some of these beautiful home tours:

 

I love seeing how other people decorate their homes for Christmas.  Even in just the few images I have here, you see a white/blue scheme, a "woodsy glam" scheme, a coastal theme, traditional decor and some with bright pops of color!

I dream of the day that I have extra nooks and spaces to put more Christmas decor.  Because of our space limitations, we have to keep things pretty scaled back when it comes to surplus holiday items.

Check back soon for my Christmas home tour!

thanksliving

I promise you this post will consist of decor for Thanksgiving.

I also promise that I will put heartfelt, reflective, and sincere thoughts in this post.

I hope you enjoy, particularly the latter.

Do you have your Christmas decor up yet?  A tree, maybe?  Or perhaps you have capitalized on the last bit of Fall weather and put your Christmas lights on your roof?  I don't blame you, or shame you.  The planner in me has tried to convince myself that it would be okay to start decorating a little early.  "The holidays are already so busy"  "It doesn't hurt to get started now"  "Christmas will be here before you know it".  I have tried very hard to hush this voice.  This is the voice that will talk so loudly it will drown out my grateful heart.

So I told you that I love Halloween.  And this is true, I really do.  But Thanksgiving is also one of my favorite holidays.  Do you know why?  It is not because of the turkey, or any other food I eat too much of.  It is because no matter how old you are, what religion you believe in (or don't believe in), what political party you support, or what color your skin is... we all have something we can be thankful for. 

I'm going to get a bit religious for a minute, if that offends you, skip on ahead :)

One of the most powerful quotes I have ever heard was:

"What if you woke up today with only the things you thanked God for yesterday"

There are a whole lot of days I would wake up with a bunch of nothing.  And you know what, it is because I do not always take the time to STOP and think about what I am truly thankful for.

Some women at my office started a weekly bible study a few years ago.  I make an effort to attend each week, but my schedule does not always permit.  This week I was able to attend and I am so happy because we talked about Thanksgiving - thanksliving.  The idea that we should live our lives, each day, with a grateful and thankful heart.  Thanksgiving comes around once a year, but we enjoy blessings each and every day.  This is why I love this holiday, because it is a nice reminder of the way we should live our lives year round.

So please, even if for just a fleeting moment, stop all the noise and think about the things you are grateful for.  Enjoy your time with family and friends, no matter how stressful it may be.  Take pleasure in sharing a meal together, even if you hate the way so-and-so makes (insert traditional side dish here).  Laugh.  Play games.  Look at old photos.  Put down your cell phone.  Be thankful.


Alright, I promised you photos... 

I don't put out nearly as much decor for Thanksgiving as I do for Christmas and Halloween.  It is a kind of a nice break between the two, lightens everything up a little bit before the house is full of Christmas-time-galore.

The main theme with my Thanksgiving decor is fall-type things (pumpkins, owls, etc.) and texture.  I feel like Christmas is consumed with glitter and twinkling lights and shiny things.  I really wanted to bring in some different textures before the glitter-takeover.

And of course, my fall wreath has to make an appearance!

  

New this year...

And my set of wood block pumpkins (available for purchase on my Etsy shop)

And finally, this cute little guy we found at the dollar store

What kinds of decor do you like to put out for Thanksgiving?  What are you thankful for?  Sound off in the comments below!

halloween home tour

We finally have our house pretty much ready for Halloween!  October is proving to be a very busy month for us, we both are traveling for work and we have a little vacation planned in between.  So, we started a little early this year with our Halloween decorations, but of course we don't mind that at all :)

We decorate throughout the main living areas of our house, and the outside as well.  We have orange lights we put on the roof along with a myriad of other decorations.  It makes me laugh sometimes, the way we decorate for Halloween... it is similar to the costume choices my husband and I make.  I like decorations that are fun and cute and festive.  My husband likes decorations that are gross and bloody and half dead.  So, we have a weird little mix of both.  I left some of "his" decorations out of the photo tour... just know that they are there.  (Our newest addition to decorations this year: a fake dead deer tied up like a dog on our roof... "boys will be boys")

Many of the decorations we have we inherited from my in-laws.  When Brandon lived at home, he was the one who got excited about decorating for Halloween.  When he moved out, his parents figured the decorations would get more use at our house than theirs.  Each year we usually purchase a few new things here and there.  Of course, a few of the items I have crafted myself.  When you put it all together, I think it is a nice mix.

Follow my tutorial to make your own "eek" Halloween frame

I made this monogram pumpkin with puff paint, very easy way to add a little personalization to your decor

You can purchase this set of wood block pumpkins over at my Etsy shop

This would be one of my husband's ideas...  first thing you see when you walk in the door!  The cats love to play with the foot too...

Check out my tutorial for this mesh wreath here

Well, there you have it!  We still have a few things left to do... put up the cornstalks onto the porch columns, carve pumpkins, etc.  I also have a few pieces I put out only for our Halloween party like a "trick-or-treat" banner and a cauldron that fills will fog.

Decorations came from various places, but just to name a few:  Michael's, Hobby Lobby, Gordman's, Pier 1, Spirit Halloween stores, Target

What kind of decorations do you like to put up for Halloween, scary or festive?