It feels like the holidays came in and are almost over like a whirlwind this year! We've been spending lots of time with family and friends — even getting a chance to see lots of folks from out of town along with eating all of our favorite holiday foods and taking in the sights and sounds of the season. Since we haven't had much time to stop and share all the details of what's been going on around here, we wanted to share a few bits and snaps we took over the past few weeks while getting everything out and decorated.
We pulled out many of the old favorites and also enjoyed adding some new elements into the holiday decor this year. One thing's for sure, we've come a long way from our first Christmas in this house, just 2 years ago. To get in the holiday spirit, we started the season out sending holiday wishes with these letterpress cards from In Haus Press on Etsy:
This year Stephanie helped us wrap the stair banister with colorful lights — we all agreed it was a welcome and festive addition:
We got another live tree from Farm to Family market this year. It was about 10 feet tall, really filling up the space and luckily passing inspection by our four-legged supervisor:
After we tackled stringing the lights and topping the tree with our angel, we enjoyed pulling out all of our old favorite ornaments to decorate with.
I got a kick out of hanging these little diy glass ornaments my best friend, Emily, made for me and all our friends back in middle school, realizing that the 1995 version was close to 20 years old — how's that for a reality check!?
For the hearth, we brought in one of the large galvanized pails from the garage, lined it with more burlap coffee sacks and stacked several of the gifts we had for family and friends in it:
Have I ever told you about Tim's Christmas Opus? It's one of his most cherished holiday possessions and each time he peeks out from the storage box, I see that flood of recognition and smiles flash across Tim's face. Opus always gets a prominent place to sit, outside the reach of pets and children — this year he graced the top of our front parlor mantle and kept a watchful eye on all the festivities:
To make room for the tree, we needed to move the antique sewing machine out of the corner in our living room. Last year we moved it to the other side of the room and used it as a surface to display holiday cards on. This year, we moved it on the diagonal wall outside the parlor and stacked framed family photos across it with a poinsettia to add a seasonal little color:
We're feeling like moving the sewing machine to this new location turned out to be a happy accident and it might just live there for a while, even after all the decorations get put back away.
Just like last year, we decked out each of the windows with light sensitive cordless candles and found a new spot for our tomato cage Christmas trees up on the front porch:
One of my favorite parts this year? Pulling out the mistletoe elf decoration from Tim's childhood and catching him sneaking a big puppy dog smooch with Basil underneath it:
It's been a festive season around here, that's for sure. With each year we live in this house, we're feeling more and more a sense of it really being our home. It was fun to pull out all the decorations again this year, knowing exactly where some things would go and finding new solutions for others. It'll be just as fun a challenge next year to do it all over again.
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So cute. I love the subtle holiday charm. We have an Opus as well, but aren't lucky enough to have a Christmas Opus :). My kids call him "Oopus" for some reason.
ReplyDeleteI was a huge Bloom County fan back in the day! Love me some Opus!
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