A Winter Inspired Christmas Mantel

I’m so excited to share with you my Winter Inspired Christmas Mantel today. But first, a little insight into life around my house.

“Hey guys, remember the year that I decided to draw a picture on a napkin with permanent marker while we were decorating the Christmas tree and it soaked right through onto the kitchen table and Mom kind of freaked out?”

“Oh yeah, I think that was the same year when Mom offered to let me help her spray fake snow on the panes of a vintage window and instead of the light dusting look she was going for I ended up making it look like there had been a blizzard?”

Memories are funny things, aren’t they? While I would love for my kids to remember that this was the year we tried out a really amazing new Christmas tree farm or that we all had such a magical moment as we trimmed the tree with their childhood ornaments, I know that it’s much more likely to be the not-so-magical moments that will really end up standing out.

And, I’ve finally reached a point in life where I’ve made peace with that.

Because, let’s face it, those crazy moments bond us together as a family every bit as much as the sappy ones.

And maybe, just maybe, they bond us together even more.

Because as I knelt down next to my daughter’s bed to pray with her before kissing her goodnight, she apologized for the aforementioned permanent marker incident which had occurred earlier that night.

I told her that I had already forgiven her and that I knew it was just an accident. And I reminded her that this is what happens in a family.

You take all of the good stuff with all of the bad stuff…and the crazy stuff…and the accidental stuff.

You mess up and apologize and forgive and move on. You do your best to clean up the marker on the table and don’t stress over the blizzard-ish conditions on the vintage window and finish decorating the tree and watch a Christmas movie together in front of the fire.

And you realize that you wouldn’t really want all of the memories to only be the picture-perfect ones.

Because that’s not reality.

Reality is a home where you are safe to be your perfectly imperfect self.

Where you know that you are always, always loved no matter what.

As you head into this season, my prayer for you is that your own homes are filled with perfectly imperfect moments that create the most special kind of holiday memories to cherish for a lifetime.

I’m so excited to have shown you my little slice of the Pacific Northwest with my winter Christmas mantel here today and I’m thrilled to be teaming up with these fabulous bloggers who are going to show you just how varied decorating styles can be all over North America.

CANADA:

This Mama’s Dance

EAST:

Atta Girl Says  ||  Golden Boys & Me  ||  In My Own Style  ||  StoneGable  ||The Everyday Home  ||  The Rustic Life  ||  Worthing Court

CENTRAL:

Cedar Hill Farmhouse  ||  Edith & Evelyn  ||  House By Hoff  ||  It All Started With Paint  ||  Maison de Pax  ||  Town & Country Living

WEST:

At The Picket Fence  ||  Classic Casual Home  ||  Tidbits  ||  Twelve On Main