Merry Christmas

Wishing you & yours

a very magical & merry

Christmas!

Much love,

Christmas in the Kitchen

The final part of my holiday home tour is the kitchen.

Thank goodness I took these photos before I began baking.

I think there's a cloud of flour hanging around in there now.  :)

Every year, my kitchen island gets a little Christmas tree.
I fill it with kitchen related ornaments.

I've been collecting ornaments for the past couple of years.

I'm beginning to think I'll need a bigger tree next year!

The kitchen window sill holds my miniature collection.

Some of the little characters you see here were mine as a child.

The others my husband bought me when we were newly married.

I know they may seem silly, but I don't care because I think they're cute!

My glass front cabinets:

I opened the doors so I could get a photo without the glare.

I hope you enjoyed my Christmas kitchen today.
Short & sweet.

Merry Christmas!

The Christmas Entryway

Good Morning!
We are really in the down swing now.
Less than 1 week until the big day!

I was thinking that I probably should have
started my Christmas tour with the entryway,
but oh well, what's done is done.

In my front entryway, 

just between my living and dining room,

stands a little bookcase.

It is here that I have nestled my one and only Nutcracker.

He is a very special Nutcracker because he was a Christmas gift from my son.

When my son was very young, my husband took him out shopping, 

and he selected this Nutcracker all by himself,

especially for me.

I have always displayed this Nutcracker here, 

but this year, I nestled him inside a vintage suitcase.

I think it shows him off quite well.

With all the Christmas decor I have, it's the pieces like

this one that mean so much to me,

and I imagine they always will.

I'm just about ready to wrap up the Christmas tour.

The kitchen is up next!

As always, thanks for joining me here @ Random Thoughts.  

 

The Christmas Tour Continues

The tour continues today and I am moving into our center hallway. 

One of my favorite pieces of furniture is my yellow painted desk. 

I usually decorate this desk with my Dee Foust snow people, like here.

This year, I wanted to switch things up though.

 I sent out a distress text to my husband while he was shopping at Walmart... 

"Are there any fake Christmas trees there, maybe 3 feet high or so?" 

 Believe me, this was a dangerous text.

 I have waaaaay too much Christmas stuff already 

and he makes me know it every chance he gets. 

This was a real risky move on my part.

Believe it or not, he responded with little fuss

and he came home with a little tree, 

which was exactly what I was looking for. 

Up into the attic I went,

digging through my old boxes of unused Christmas goodies.

I found the box holding all my pretty glass bulbs.

Then I had a grand time decorating this little tree:

It's so colorful, I love it!

♥♥♥

 Now if you would please follow me up the stairs behind this tree...

Do you see them yet?

There they are!

A couple of silly elves!

Yep, they're up to no good, I can tell.

This tree is upstairs in the hallway.

Both of my kids bedrooms are up here,

so it was only fitting to give them a tree of their own.

It's filled with all the ornaments they've collected over the years,

from their first Christmas ornaments to those from recent years.

(I'm just noticing I need to fix those lights on the bottom.

I hate that the cord is so obtrusive.)

Where else can you find Chewbaca, Phineas & Ferb, 

and the Hunger Games Mockingjay, 

living happily together like this?
Heehee!

Once again, I thank you for visiting me today.
I have a few more things to show you,
then the tour will be complete.

Have a Holly Jolly kind of day!

 

Christmas Bedroom

Can I just make a quick observation today?
Have you been following all the Christmas home tours
throughout blog land this year?

Wow, there is so much inspiration out there!
This year, more than ever,
I think everyone has really outdone themselves.
I've enjoyed so many of these beautiful home tours.
Very impressive, indeed.
♥♥♥

I never used to decorate in the bedroom,
but each year I seem to add a little more.

I guess that's what blogging does to you!  :)

Here is the master bedroom:

It all started with the white Simply Shabby Chic bedding

from Target.  Since this room is pretty much the only room

left in the house that still has dark wood furniture, I opted for white

bedding as a compromise to my wish for white bedroom furniture.

All in due time.

I gave the shelf a few Christmas touches.

My dresser got dressed up for the holidays as well.

I have a lot of Christmas jewelry.  Some I've had since I was in high school.

I may not wear much of it now, but I still pull it out each year.

This year, I thought I'd put it on display for something different.

That's my simple but festive master bedroom. 

Hope you enjoyed it. 

Thanks for visiting me today.

The tour continues...

Christmas in the Dining Room

A few days ago, I shared my dining room hutch with you,
therefore it only seems logical that I continue on

with the rest of the dining room and the
adjoining sitting room.

I have quite a few photos to share and

I know how busy you are,

so I'll keep the chit chat to a minimum.

Here's the dining room/sitting room:

I always stay neutral in here...

white, cream, silver, gold, bronze, and a little bit of blue.

The dining room chalkboard shows how I feel

about the season.

I gave the chandy some burlap & glass drop ornaments.

A simple centerpiece for the table.  

♥♥♥

Now onto the sitting room:

This is one of my favorite spaces in the whole house!

End table vignette with mercury glass trees.

The little mercury glass angel is from sweet

Shannon @ Fox Hollow Cottage.  I love it!

Vignette atop the blue dresser.

I do love my bottle brush trees!

I hope you enjoyed my dining room/sitting room tour today.

Next up:  The master bedroom.

See you soon!

 

Oh Deer! The Dining Room Hutch for Christmas

How's that for a cheesy title?

Anyway,

 I'm bringing the Christmas tour into my dining room today.

 I'm going to start with my white dining hutch....

I found the white deer cuties @ Tuesday Morning and fell in love with them.
I did have to switch out their red plaid scarves (which I did love),

for more neutral ones.  I decorate a little more neutral in the dining room

than I do in the rest of the house, so the red plaid just wouldn't do here.

Here's a close up of one of those cutie pies:

I had the mercury glass candle holders 

and silver tinsel trees from years past.

I added small glass bulbs & some sparkly pine cones.

I topped it all with a feather wreath that I've had for years,

and dangled a mercury glass ornament from the center of the wreath...

...and that's my dining room hutch.

I'll be back to share the rest of the dining room.

Have a wonderful day! 

Christmas in the Living Room

I shared my Christmas mantel with you a couple of days ago. 

Now it's time for the rest of my living room...

I took the red, white & green candy cane theme from the mantel

and spread it around the rest of the room.

  

I sewed the white dotted & the green pillows myself.

All the others I bought.

I made another paper circle garland to match the one on the mantel.

I love that candy cane striped pillar candle!

I decorated the living room shelves in the same colors.

I hope you enjoyed my living room tour.

I enjoyed having you here.

I have so much more I'd like to show you,

so please stop back when you are able.

    

Christmas Mantel 2014

I think it's time to get this Christmas party started! 

Since the sun decided to grace us with its presence today, 

I was finally able to get some pictures of my Christmas decor. 

Hurray!

 Let's start with the mantel for today...

I used this big candy cane on my mantel several years ago,

so I thought it was time to bring it back out.

It was my starting point, followed by the candy cane striped ribbon.

From there, it went into a whole red, white & green candy cane theme!

The red candle hurricanes are new & from the Christmas Tree Shop.

I  figured I couldn't go wrong for $5 each.

I got the white wire cloches on clearance this Summer at Michaels.

I used my Ikea metal containers that I know so many of us have & love,

and added a candy cane to each.

I made the bows & the paper circle garland several weeks ago, 

and hoped I would like them once I got the mantel decor all together.

I was glad all went according to plan, for once!

Of course, a candy cane was needed for the wood bucket, too!

It really was an easy mantel to put together.

I hope you enjoyed my candy cane inspired mantel.

Thanks for stopping by.

I'll be back with lots more!

Linking to:  

Inspire Me Tuesday @ A Stroll Thru Life

What's It Wednesday @ Ivy & Elephants