Merry Christmas...and welcome to our home! Let me just say I love whoever came up with this idea...I have always thought myself strange for getting a thrill out of staring into houses at night just to see what color they painted their living room...or what kind of lighting they use....maybe this makes me weird...that's the opinion of my husband at least...but obviously someone else felt the need to cure their nosiness with a virtual peek into the lives of others...and I say thank you!
Let me just preface this tour with the fact that there is nothing fancy here...just an accumulation of the past 13 years as a family. I did things REALLY simple this year...I was inspired to see the beautiful in what was already laying around my house...to fight the perfectionist within and NOT clear out Targets Christmas section...what can I say? The Nester has that sort of affect on me. The withdrawals were brutal....but it was SO worth it! Even though the pace of life has picked up...as it always does this time of year...I sense a whole new peace of mind that comes with trusting my own instincts...doing what makes me happy and not what my neurotic brain tell me "has" to be done..or trying to mimic what everyone else seems to be doing. Slowing the pace (and the spending) down. I hope you have been inspired this year as well to invest in the things of this world that matter most and to relax and lay aside those that do not. Grab a cup of coffee and enjoy a stroll through our world.
This is the view from our neighbors house across the street...I'm pretty sure they now think I'm extremely vain...or just extremely strange.
For years I have overlooked the greenery and landscape all around me and opted to make bows for my mailbox....this year I used tree clippings from our tree and these beautiful berries (have no idea what they are) that are on a bush in our yard. Then I tied a gold ornament onto the greenery.
There was a time when we lived in the North that we actually used this sled...and often...now it graces my porch.
Come on in!
We keep our Nativity in the foyer....no need to send out an "Amber Alert" for baby Jesus...the tradition in our house is that baby Jesus does not get put out until Christmas morning...Overlook the dust bunny please.
This is our Advent Calendar...I purchased this on clearance last year at Target and we use it to put a family activity in for each day...maybe reading a book...maybe watching "It's a Wonderful Life"...maybe driving to see Christmas lights. This has been so much fun and the kids LOVE this!
The tree. Oh the tree....I have a love hate relationship with this tree...Maybe it has something to do with the fact that it refused to stay standing and had to be decorated three times...caused Maggie's baby ornament to be broken...and had to be bungeed to my french doors...maybe. Anyhoo, this tree has no theme...or then again maybe it does...depends on how you look at it...it is covered in ornaments either made by my children or purchased somewhere we have visited while traveling. And I love it this way.
And since my husband discovered that we had a faulty tree stand and that we would not in fact need to bungee cord our trees to doors in the future, I have now talked myself out of buying a nice big pre-lit on clearance after Christmas.
I have 3 Angels atop the tree...each made by my kids at different times in their lives...the one on the very top my now 13 year old made in Kindergarten.
This is our Jesse Tree. This was our first year doing this and it has been wonderful and very engaging as a family...but I'm pretty sure that if we were living in Old Testament days we'd be the black sheep of our clan since we are now a few days behind....again! :-/
I'm still a little obsessed with Word.
I have an antique dresser that I keep in this room and I've always hidden the detachable mirror behind it...I was inspired to whip it out as is and place it on my mantle...and I simply adore it there...feels very colonial to me. So I decided to decorate the mantle in the same manner. I clipped the same mystery berries that I placed on my mailbox and tree clippings and other greenery from my yard and a few pine cones...I meant to spray paint those and some nuts gold but never got around to it...maybe next year.
Peace. Joy.
This is the antique dresser I mentioned above...I call this the "Table of Christmas Past"...a picture for every Christmas...I may need a bigger table soon.
I pray you have enjoyed your coffee and spending time here with us...I can't wait to peek in your windows too! It's legal this way. :-)
May you have a very Merry and Blessed Christmas!
"And whatever I do, may it always bring glory to you"
