Christmas Tour

I wouldn't blame you if you were tired of seeing Christmas splashed all over blogs. We've been enjoying the decorations for weeks now.  I have to say though, this isn't your normal tour. I'm not a decorating blog, I don't claim any amazing design skills or fancy pants ideas to make you run right out and copy, not that there is time for that now.  Most of you have been visiting for years. We are old friends. Do you know I've been writing this blog coming up on 10 years?

Yes, I think you know what to expect by now. This is just real life.  Well, cleaned up real life with all the junk stashed in the room you won't see, just like it would be if you came for coffee. ;)

So grab a cup and take the tour. we'll visit like the old friends we are. And if we are new friends, welcome!  I don't put on any airs, grab a mug and lets take a look at Christmas here in the cottage.

 We can start in the kitchen. I made some gingerbread boys this afternoon. I wish you could smell the gingerbread baking. truth be told, I baked them for the smell as much as the taste. It smells like Christmas :)

 I found the cutest little cheap tree at Walmart this year. $18 and it fits in the corner of the kitchen just perfectly.  I also found the most awesome rice lights to go on it. There is no plug over there so I needed some battery operated lights. I found these on amazon and they come with a remote so I don't have to fiddle around digging for the on and off switch.  I used them on the birch star Earl made me last year too. I love that thing.  You'll see a lot of stars in the house as we go through. See the cookies cooling on the stove?

 Over by the fridge I just added some bright red accents to the shelves full of Jadeite.  I lit the shelves with some more rice lights to brighten the dark corner and add a little sparkle.

 If you turn around and look from the kitchen you'll see the dining room.  I love my flocked tree in the corner. Earl has it covered in the bird ornaments he has collected for years.  Since we spend so much time in the kitchen and dining room I like to have a tree out here where we can see it.

 My eldest daughter gave me the table runner as an early Christmas gift. I had these lighted galvanized stars from last year and thought they would look cute woven into the greenery.

 The living room is next. I had a stash of plaid flannel so I whipped up some pillow covers for winter. They are so soft and bright and cozy.

 Across the room is the table top tree we cut last Saturday.  We had the best time! It was a crisp winter morning but not so cold that we were uncomfortable. We rode the wagon into the field and found our tree.  Then we stopped at a beautiful inn built in 1850 for lunch.  It was a perfect day, and we decided it would be our new Christmas tradition.  That large bookshelf on the left will be leaving soon. We are joining the 21st century and replacing our old tv with a flat screen.  We are going to need that wall!

 Come into the bedroom.  I dug an old quilt, that my great grandmother made, out of storage and used it on the bed.  It's pretty fragile, some might consider it a cutter, but I plan to mend it where I can and use it gently.  The tartan pillow came from a craft store, but my favorite part of the Christmas décor in here are these...

I hung these paper stars over the bed, illuminated with 3 watt nightlight bulbs they glow so beautifully at night!

Ahhhh, I will be leaving these up for a couple months just because I love the light. And that's the tour! Stars and lights and trees, and cozy plaid flannel. Here in Michigan it's a VERY white Christmas so far and until January 2 I'm loving it. After that I want to spend the rest of the winter somewhere tropical.  I hope you enjoyed the visit and I hope you are tucked snug in your homes surrounded by Christmas lights and things that make you smile.  If I don't see you before Sunday,

The Tree

Well not THE tree, The live tree is still loitering on the back porch waiting to be trimmed and popped in a stand.  I like to have a tree in the dining room though and I needed a new one.  The last tree I used in here was a curbside rescue about 20 years ago and finally discarded last year.  It was no prize when I snagged it but you know with lights and ornaments it's harder to see the imperfections.

Enter this 6 foot flocked tree. $30 from Walmart, I think I got the last one in the store.  It looks pretty darn good for a $30 fake, certainly better than the dusty, crusty I discarded last year.  I raced home and couldn't wait to put it up. I'm in full on decorating mode now. I can't be stopped. So I pulled it out and started fluffing and forgot I was wearing a black sweater.  I looked down and I was flocked.  The tree and I? We match.  I expected a little shedding when I set it up, aside from the pile I'm wearing and the pile on the floor, the tree still has plenty so I'm happy. I got the lights on and now I'm forcing myself to change my sweater and get busy on dinner before I do any more.   I'm also loving my table runner and that silver mercury glass lighted tree. I got the last one of those too, at Homegoods. If you live in my neck of the woods you're out of luck. Sorry. Both were purchased with a gift card from my eldest daughter. She knows what mama likes :)  I'm off to get dinner started, then more decorating!  And I know, two posts within two days? Whaaaaat?  I'm on a roll.

A little Christmas Decorating

Finally, a moment to visit! I have been crazy busy, (emphasis on crazy) since mid-November.  We spent most of the week of Thanksgiving with our kids in Pennsylvania. What a wonderful time having all of us together for the holiday!  That doesn't happen much any more so I treasure it when it does.

The following week our youngest daughter came home on Saturday for a daddy & daughter baking day. I love that they share those special times with their father. I get to hang out and chat and then we get to sample the results! What could be better?  On this day they tried a recipe from a new magazine.  It's a vegan chocolate tart with salted oat crust.  Rich, decadent and so yummy!  We aren't vegan, but we don't turn up our nose at recipes like that! I would make it again, but tiny pieces are all it takes to satisfy any one's sweet tooth. You can find the recipe here.

 As soon as we came home from Thanksgiving I hit the ground running for our church's annual women's ministries Christmas dinner.  Over 100 ladies attended and I cooked the main course because, A. I am cheap and I KNEW I could make it for less than catering prices, and B. That little voice that is supposed to be inside your head asking, "do you think that is really a good idea?" was napping.  It all came out fine but it seriously took up my whole week and when all was said and done the house looked like it had been hit by a tornado. 

All that to say, I am just now getting things in order, catching up on the mountain of laundry and starting to decorate for Christmas.  Yesterday I saw on someones blog that there are two more Monday's before Christmas and I almost fainted.  Why does this season go so lightning fast?! 

 So I started bringing up decorations one armload at a time from the basement. I'm not bringing everything up at once, the mess overwhelms me.  I would rather make numerous trips for some reason than look at it all at once.  I have tucked a few Christmas touches in among the Jadeite on the kitchen shelves.  I also discovered rice lights this year and I can't get enough.  Battery operated, I even found some that are remote controlled so I don't have to fumble for the little control boxes tucked out of sight. LOVE!  They add a little sparkle to so many places, and no cords to deal with. Winning!

 I also hung some big lighted stars in the bedroom, they are lit by very low watt night light bulbs so they just have a soft, romantic glow.  They look so pretty even on an overcast day. Excuse the bad photo, it was taken with my phone, which does not have the best camera.

 To the left of the bed is a floor to ceiling shelf. At one time I had all my sewing fabrics and accoutrements in these shelves. Since the girls got married and moved out, and I have a craft room, I finally got the sewing stuff out of here and it is just our bedroom. Yay!  I still needed to store some trims and various things, and I solved that problem with covered baskets in various shapes and sizes from Salvation Army.  I love the look, and everything is contained.

 I tucked a few little domed Christmas houses on the shelves along with some flocked branches. I love how they look with the texture of the baskets.

This cute little dome came from Home Goods, and I couldn't resist it because of the oval shape and rustic wood base.   I'll be sharing more  about these shelves soon.

Have you finished your decorating or are you just getting started?  Remember, only two more Monday's before Christmas! (Gahhh!!!)

P.S. I know its a little late, but if you are looking for some cute advent printables or boxes for tiny gifts, check out my Santa Box pattern found here .  They are loads of fun and easy to make :)