Deckin' the Halls....

....Or at least the Family Room.

I know I'm behind. There's nothing new about that. But at least we now have a tree and a little festive-ness in the house. In fact, just TODAY I started working on the wreaths for the front doors. This is the first year with double doors and I was ill-prepared. But I found some fantastic stuff in the yard and I can't wait to put it all together and welcome people into our home with them this Christmas.



I am SO excited about my tree this year. We haven't had a big tree for a few years for several reasons. The first being: three years ago I was on bedrest with the triplets and not allowed to stand, let alone decorate a tree. Last year and the year before that, I had been planning for and decorating trees that were donated to the Festival of Trees and was all tree'd-out when the time came to do our own. Not to mention the fact that I have three very active and inquisitive children that would gladly climb a Christmas tree if I let them. (more on them later... )

I bought my delightful tree on clearance after Christmas two years ago for an even more delightful price, and it has sat, unopened, ever since. I even bought several clearance ornaments in a whole new color scheme and I am beyond ecstatic that I actually got to use them and see what it looks like in 'real life' and not in my head! :)

Remember a few sentences back about the children wanting to climb the tree? Although they didn't climb this one, they did remove the ornaments from entire bottom half two days after I set it up. Ironically, this was the first time in my whole life that I used a few glass ornaments. Silly me. I thought that by just telling my children not to touch the tree, they'd actually listen. Not so much. Luckily, only one ornament broke and no one was injured. They haven't touched the tree since. I don't feel I need to go into details about my 'speech' to them after "the incident" but apparently what I said worked.... :D I put the removed ornaments back on, but it doesn't quite look the same as before. I just don't have the energy to figure out where things went originally and to account for the missing broken ornament...so they just kind of haphazardly ended back up on the tree. I know that's how one SHOULD decorate a tree....but I just can't do it that way. Every ornament has to be perfectly spaced apart from one another and an equal distance away from those of it's same kind. A little OCD? Probably. Honestly, I can't really look at my tree because all I see are the flaws. I'm just trying to love having a tree rather than worry about how well it's decorated. So far, that is working.



[and not, by any stretch of the imagination, do I think any of my trees have been perfect. or even good, for that matter---far, far from that. i just get excited about design in any form and want to share my love for creation with everyone. creativity is a skill i hope to develop further through any means possible. that's sort of the whole idea for this blog. even just experimentation is beautiful!! so you don't need to think it's beautiful. i'm just in love with everything. it's been a joyous journey for me.]


Here are some photos of the [only] decorated room!


We didn't have a chance to put up our mantel before we moved in, so I did a makeshift space-filler with branches I collected from my front yard after a big wind storm. (I'm sure Tony is glad to finally not have a pile of branches sitting on the front porch!) I spray painted them with chrome spraypaint and hung some extra gold, copper, silver and champagne colored ornaments. Further down is a pic of the completed scene with the girls stockings 'hung by the chimney with care'. I didn't get to finish 'embellishing' them, but they'll do for now!


An extra branch and ornaments on the components shelf (not as tidy as I would like it, but eh. who cares.)

Up close pic of the console table. Glass block also depicts a Nativity scene, if you look closely. So far, no one has tried to 'play house' with Mary and baby Jesus. Phew!
Here are the added stockings and wreath to hearth.

I hope to add pictures of the front door tomorrow or Friday. IF I can actually get the wreaths done....

Here's a sneak peek:




Yay! I'm excited...although those leaves are SHARP!!! I got poked one time and you would have thought I was stabbed with a knife! Owey.

Merry Christmas, everyone!
Happy Decking!

Comments

Unknown said…
I do NOT know how you find the time!!!! especially with the 3 little ones. Your stuff always looks fabulous, you have a great sense of style and know how to put it todgether :) Looks great!
Tiffany Kadani said…
Wow! That tree is amazing! Everything looks so beautiful and perfect.
I love decorating and I'm always awed by people who actually are good at it. You probably have more ideas in your pinky than I do in my whole body, but I keep trying! I can't wait to see the wreaths!
Magic Brush said…
Love your stick mantle!!!!!! Thanks for sharing!