Christmas Decorations 2013

I realize that I only took a few pictures of Thanksgiving decorations but I promise we did celebrate ye old Turkey Day and we did have decorations :-). I guess in my declaration of simplification, I included not taking pictures. Oh well...but back to the declaration of simplification. I decided that life needed to be simpler so this year the decorations were natural when possible and much more streamlined. Boy was it enjoyable! No stress about making elaborate garlands, no budget busting, just simple natural pieces that were put up (and taken down!) easily.

The sled in the middle of the bookshelf was something that my grandmother always put out, she passed away several years ago and all of her 5 children got a few decorations from their childhood collection. It's nice to look up and think of the fun Christmas times that we had at Grandma's house.

The mantle is one place that really is simplified compared to years past. I found these gold reindeer at a warehouse sale in town. I got them for a steal and they are perfect for the mantle. The wreath is a simple greenery wreath. I had a ribbon on it, but decided I liked it better plain.

The holly tree came from the warehouse sale as well. I was able to get two of these as well. The pot is terra cotta, I may spray it gold in the future.

On the front door I had another simple green wreath, but I did add a bow to this one. The wreaths were so fresh that they lasted from Thanksgiving weekend to Epiphany. We get our wreaths and tree from the same stand every year and they have never failed.

The flash washes this out a bit, but on top of the Have yourself a merry little Christmas sign is a cute little pin. A few years ago JCPenney had a contest where people went to the store and got pins each day, then entered a code from the back to try to win items. My sister and I were more concerned with getting as many pins as possible, because the collection was great. There were funny pins, beautiful pins, and sweet pins. I wish they would bring the contest or at the very least the pins back.

Again no garland on the stairs this year, but of course we hung the stockings with care!

At a different warehouse sale (yes there's a theme going it seems) I found this cute ice scoop perfect for the holidays.

In middle school, my English teacher read us the book A Cup of Christmas Tea. I fell in love with it. My mother bought me the book and two tea cups and an adorable little tea pot. Her goal was to get me a set that I could use with company, but Hallmark only produced them for two years. Maybe I need to add thrift stores and barns to my warehouse sale trips.

Finally, a picture of the tree. This is the best, most perfect, most beautiful tree we've ever had. Of course we say that every year. The star on top is another item from my Grandmother's house.

This is the dining room table ready for Christmas Morning Brunch. The meal was delicious. I made my first cheese soufflé and it was delicious! The Fresh Market had and always has beautiful roses. Red roses aren't my favorite, but these were such a deep rich red and they were loose buds. Gorgeous! For New Year's Eve (Of course no pic!) I used cream roses and holly in the same vase.

Merry Christmas!!

Year in Review: 2012-2013

As I mentioned in the last post, it's been a busy two years. I thought I'd post some pics of the few times I decorated (and remembered to take photographic evidence).

Christmas 2012
I took two pine garlands and one mixed greens garland all from Lowe's (they were on huge sale Black Friday) and combined them for thickness. I also added some magnolia from the woods and some greenery from our tree to make a very fragrant and natural garland for the staircase.

Our annual Christmas Eve luminarias and candles in the window. I believe I've mentioned this before, but the local Ronald McDonald House sells packages of luminarias as a fundraiser each year and we always buy several packs. It's a beautiful look and a great way to raise money.

Independence Day 2013
I don't have a flag pole, but did make use of festive bunting. I also found some beautiful hibiscus trees at Sam's Club. They are still doing well though they decided they like the backyard a little better. I finally got the little leaner to stand up straight too.

As you can see, it was not a year of a lot of photography. Perhaps I can post some before and after pics of the house. There has been a lot of landscaping and painting going on since May 2012...

More Christmas Decorations

I made a lot of fun decorations this year. I didn't want it to look like Christmas exploded in the house, but I do like having little touches (or even big touches) in different areas of the house. I really love surprise touches like the elf on the shelf idea.

I put our sled on top of the entertainment center with a bubble wreath that was given to us and some lighted garland. The sled doesn't get much use in our temperate climate so it has lasted a long time. It was my dad's when he was a little boy.

I hung ornaments in the large dining room window. There is a lighted glass box in the bottom of the window. As you can see the trim needs to be painted luckily that is a new year's present!

 The stockings get too hot on the fireplace (we aren't so temperate that we don't need heat :-)) so we often hang them on the stairs. This year instead of a large garland, I used ribbon and greenery clippings. I found some very lifelike artificial poinsettias at the pottery that I placed in my polka dot basket. I love the color combination.

 We try these gingerbread kits off and on but always have fallen walls. My family won't let me use hot glue so I decided to make the house over a period of several days. I did the walls one morning, then added the roof eaves that evening. The next day I decorated the house and yard additions. The last day I decorated the roof and finished the yard. So far nothing has collapsed!

 The dining room built-in made a nice place for those little decorations that need to be out of the way from little kitties and little kiddies. The santa and sleigh is from the 1960's and was something my mother grew up with. The ornaments on the green tray are made of cinnamon and applesauce. They are easy to make and make the house smell heavenly.

 In our town, the Ronald McDonald House sells luminarias as a fundraiser. Neighborhoods ask residents to buy them and everyone in town lights them at 6 on Christmas Eve (weather permitting).

 Santa will get an egg nog and a Christmas tree cake this year. We found this delicious egg nog made by Homestead Creamery and have bought nearly 10 bottles since Thanksgiving. Some of that went to parties, but a good portion has been just for our enjoyment. Santa will love it too! Santa's reindeer get some lovely carrots. Hopefully, they will remember that they always get a treat at our house and fly to us faster!

Wreaths, Wreaths, and more Wreaths

I made several wreaths for the house, for the office and for the church. It was a great stress reliever and holiday movie watching activity.

Christmas Mantlescape

One of the first Christmas decorating I like to do is the mantel. I decided on a white, silver, and gold theme this year. I bought these silver cone trees a few years ago at Pier One after Christmas. The silver reindeer are actually stocking holders.

Glitter, sparkle, oh my!

The monogram ornament really glows in the firelight.

Christmas Decorating Beginning

Tomorrow is the first Sunday in advent so my mother and I decorated the church on Black Friday. It was much more enjoyable than elbowing through crowds at 2 am. I made this urn wreath to go in front of the pulpit. I got the idea from Better Homes and Gardens.

I took a plain greenery wreath and wedged it in oasis that filled the urn. I also secured the wreath with dowels and tape. I added the sprig of berries and pinecones. I covered the oasis with moss. It turned out beautiful and I was sorely tempted to keep it for myself. 

I also decided to make "peppermint tea" with my "Cup of Christmas Tea" china. If you have never read the story, it is a sweet holiday short story that I first read in middle school. Warning, it will make you tear up. The china in the background was a dollar store find.

My sister, sister-in-law, and I made this wreath for my sister's house. I love the jingle bell holly picks! If she forgets this in her packing, I won't mind using it at all.

Below are a few of the arrangements I've done for church over the past year and a half (at least the ones I remembered to take photos of.)

One of two identical arrangements I created for church last fall.

For Christmas, I created a cascade of poinsettias and
magnolia branches on either side of the steps.

Also for Christmas I placed white amaryllis in

large bulb-shaped with sparkling red berries and 

willow branches.

I was able to get this picture from a friend.  For Easter I created two vases filled with white lilies, purple bearded iris, eucalyptus, bridal wreath spirea and red knockout roses all in the large bulb vases. All but the lilies, came from the yard.