christmas at my house

welcome to my house!

it has been so much fun decorating my house for christmas this year. finally being in our OWN home after renting for 5 years is a tremendous blessing!

i like the door color ("leap of faith" by benjamin moore) even more after seeing it with the fresh greenery!

if you follow me in instagram, then you saw that i bought some rope at home depot!

here it is! i just draped a few feet of it around the door, paired with the fresh cedar garland and some white lights.

the wreath is from costco. every year, they have beautiful fresh wreaths with a few pine cones and a few ugly things that i remove. you can see previous wreath makeovers here and here. this year, i used the nut + crystal clusters that i made two years ago, and paired them with pine cones and a tone on tone green ribbon. 

maybe next year, there will be a fireplace and built-in bookcases on this wall, but for now, my buffet is serving as a backdrop to most of my collection of mercury glass, some fresh garland, loads of ornaments and pine cones, and of course, my new nativity set.

 
the large star was a clearance purchase last year at pier 1. i love the hugeness of it!


another look at the nativity backdrop.

 i made this crystal + nut garland a few years ago, and i LOVE pulling it out every year and figuring where to put it. you can see how i made it here.

fresh garland, gold balls, pine cones and some fun pine cone balls with tassels (that i bought for 90% off two years ago and have never used!) adorn the stairs.

i put some garland and glass balls on the chandelier to free it up a bit.

 my entry table, with my antlers, a fresh wreath and some leftover crystal garland.
this vignette makes me happy. :)

 i "took back" the tree this year!
for the last 10 years, our tree has been a collection of family ornaments, and mismatched decorations.  while i have loved it, i was ready for a more grown up tree this year.
AND, we broke down and bought a fake tree this year. at first, i wasn't sure i was going to like it, but after having it up for a week, and having zero needles on the floor, i am IN LOVE.

our tree has a TON of glass icicles, gold, silver, and all shades of soft metallic glass balls, as well as a few dozen picture frame ornaments.

 
i actually made these little striped ornaments from some 47 cent paper mache ones that i found at michaels.

 (these are some more paper mache ornaments that i painted.) i like the touch of black that they add to the tree!

thanks for touring my house!

merry christmas!

PS--i am still struggling with my internet service. i am actually sitting at mcdonalds right now, writing this post. after 3 days, 2 technicians, and over 8 hours or visits + phone calls, my internet is not working at ALL. i am hoping that things will be fixed my this weekend. if not, i may just go a little crazy in the head.