From Us To You

Merry Christmas!
"For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Savior, which is Christ The Lord ." Luke 2:11

A Christmas Tree Blunder

Good Afternoon!

Have you felt like your Christmas was like one of those classic movies that everything was going wrong?

Well, that's what was going on here as we were preparing for the Holidays.  

The good thing was my husband came home from an extended business trip after being away for 

2  1/2 mnths.  We waited to get the Christmas tree until he arrived.

We picked out the best one (we thought)..but this tree tricked us.

But then after I get all the lights on the tree and break out in hives doing that...half the lights went out.  Yes, on brand new lights!

 So, we had to take those lights off and find the bulb to fix that.

Then we decided to all sleep in our family room and watch Christmas movies.  It seemed like a great idea until this happened..

At 2am the Christmas Tree fell on my daughter.. there was glass everywhere.  I am telling you I don't think this tree wanted to leave the tree farm.

I am happy to report that we fixed it and my daughter is doing fine.  There should be no long term trauma from this : )

Have you had anything out of the ordinary happen to you?

I will show you all our decorations and how we are spending our time together thus far : )

Wishing you all joy and happiness.  God bless.

A Place Of Peace

My heart has been heavy with what has transpired in Connecticut. We will never fully understand the "Why" of something so senseless took place. There is a place of peace..despite

Fireplace Upgrade

Good Afternoon!

Have you ever tried to finish some last minute renovations before the Holidays? 

Well, that's what happened to me.  I couldn't live with this fireplace for another 4yrs.

 The fireplace surround and hearth was a green marble.  We tore that out when we first moved in.  It would be perfect now that Pantone named Emerald the color of 2013.  Oh, well!

Some people..I won't name names actually came to the house saying how much they loved the gray around the fireplace and what stone that was. Too funny! (yes, they were serious)

We enlisted our friend to help with this renovation.

The floor underneath was extremely uneven.  I wanted a concrete hearth.  I personally don't like tile pieces for the hearth but I love one solid piece be whatever it is made of.

 First step done..

 Coming back for final coat..

We used left over tile from when we put in our woodstove in our family room.

Then bad news..hearth was really weird!

Way too much troweling which caused it all to become uneven..so, here we go again.

 Tear parts of it out.

and now an even floor.

Here it is stained.

 I am so happy with it.

Now ready for Christmas decor : )

Touches Of Christmas ..So Far

Good Morning!

We have been decorating here and there for Christmas at our house.  I still have so much more to do.

I wanted to share with you what has been done so far and what I want to do still..

In my foyer..

Love this little guy I bought from Ikea.  He makes the space not feel too serious : )

Miniature Christmas Tree I bought for $6 and wrapped in extra burlap I had.  The little stool was a garage sale find and I spray painted it red.

Close up of when it's lit up.  Love the dipped pinecone!

Living Room..

I have two feather wreaths hanging inspired by Sarah Richardson.

Pinecone garland on my credenza.  Sprayed them metallic silver and gold.  The gold came out bronze, which I love!

Pops of red with a cute little owl on birch.

What I still need to do..decorate fireplace..

I will be taking care of that today.

Dining Room..

Natural centerpiece 

and then I added..

Burlap table runner that I just cut from extra fabric I had.

Then to bring in the red from living room I hung red beads from chandelier.

This room done.

My daughter drew this tree for my laundry room and was inspired by CB2.

Done : )

Now for my family room ...so not done

 Put some string lights up on railing..

 This room still needs our Christmas Tree.  Yes, I am behind and for good reason.  I will let you know in a future post.

 Are you at all behind on decorating this year ?

Pantone Color 2013: Emerald

Good Afternoon!

I was so excited to hear about Pantone's color choice for 2013!

It's not only beautiful but it speaks.  For me the color says wealth and something flourishing and being productive.  I don't know about you but I want that in my life : )

You'll see this color in fashion..

And interiors.  Now if you are not comfortable painting a room with this bold color..

(Anthropologie)

You can do it in doses.  

I love the headboards in this girls room.

(via)

How about curtains as an accent to the deep grey walls..

(via)

Love how Miss Tobi Fairley just used two lamps to give it the right amount of pop!

Eclectic Living Room design by New York Photographer Rikki Snyder

A stripe down the stairs in Emerald or even outlining picture frames.

Traditional Staircase design by Atlanta Photographer Erica George Dines Photography

So, many ideas.

Will you be incorporating it in your decor this year? or does it not even matter to you?

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend : )

Unconventional Christmas Trees

Good Afternoon!

Christmas is just around the corner and I can't wait to go to our local tree farm and get our Christmas tree.

(us last year)

Not everyone likes real Christmas trees or fake ones.

There are those "Artsy" people who always think outside the box and inspire us to think beyond the traditional.

Here are some that have caught my eye..

Source: catascraft.com via Laura of Lovely Wren on Pinterest

Would be great for a library.

Whirly Candleholder Christmas Tree

Great idea and when the season is done make them into terrariums : )

(Via)

Love how the logs are cut to size.  Gorgeous!

Here is one that was inspired by CB2

My daughter drew this for my laundry room.

There is our Unconventional (artsy) Tree.

I will have a lot more to share with you in upcoming posts : )

Have you done something in your Holiday decorating that is different than "normal"?  Would love to hear about it.

DIY Christmas Wreath

Good Morning!

Every Christmas the kids and I add a new craft to our decor.

For ex.  we did this one a couple years ago.

Made of Marshmallows..which now hangs in my kitchen.  It looks the same as it did when we made it.  You can find out more about this wreath here

This year I kinda did more than our usual one craft.  I want to share with you one we have completely finished and was inspired by the famous Canadian designer, Sarah Richardson of HGTV.

Here is what you will need..

 Boa feathers..I got mine at Hobby Lobby.  I absolutely LOVE that store.  They were $7.99 and you need two of them for one wreath.  I made two wreaths.

Galvanized Steel Wire..I already had from a previous project.  Ace Hardware $3.19

 I wanted to add battery operated lights and purchased these from WalMart at $7.98 each and I needed two packages for the two wreaths. 

 Of course, a foam wreath.  Hobby Lobby at $4.99 (I bought 2)

 The first thing I did was to secure the battery pack to the back of the wreath

No one will ever see the mess : )

I then wrapped the lights all the way around and tucked the end into the wire.

Did the same for the boa..

 I then hung them on my windows with these..

Suction cups with hooks..you can purchase these at Home Depot for a couple dollars.

And here is the final product..

Now, I don't have a pic with the lights on because my camera just wasn't doing it justice.

What projects are you creating for the Holidays?