Christmas Home Tour ~ Vanessa’s house

December 4, 2013

Do you want to know something? Virtual Christmas tours for girls who LOVE having people over are very hard. If you were to come knocking on my door I would invite you in, hand you a cup of coffee (or tea or cider or eggnog) in my favorite Christmas mugs and we would plunk ourselves down and have a good long chat.

I would ask you about your family and how your shopping was going and where you will be spending Christmas this year. We would laugh together about the cute way our kids spelled out the words on their Christmas lists. And we would savor the pause in this busy time of year to just enjoy the simple pleasure of spending time with friends.

Alas, this virtual tour will have to do instead. But, I really do want to know how your family is doing and how your shopping is going and where you will be spending Christmas this year and I promise I will laugh at the cute way your kids spelled the words on their Christmas list. And, yes, we can still savor together the pause in this busy time of year as I welcome you to my home all dressed up for the season!

I’m so, so thrilled to be part of the Jennifer Rizzo Design Company Holiday Housewalk again this year! And this time Heather and I are each sharing our homes on different days. You will definitely want to come back tomorrow to see how Heather has decorated her new home for Christmas.

If you are stopping by after visiting the beautiful home of Maria from The Rusty Hinge, welcome!

Come on in! Can I pour you a cup of coffee? I have some yummy peppermint creamer to go in it!

So, do you want to know a secret? Starting early in November I went each week to Michael’s crafts with my 50% off coupon and bought a single strand of boxwood garland. I absolutely love how simple they looking going up the banister. In fact, this could be called the ‘Year of the Boxwood’ at my house because you will see quite a bit of it scattered throughout.

Simple creamy bows were all that was needed to accent the boxwood.

See what I mean about the boxwood? There’s some hanging in wreath-form on the mirror in my entry!

Right next to my Monogram Christmas tree.

And Santa with his sleigh resting on a tray filled with ‘snow’.

Even the office gets in on a little Christmas action.

Another mini boxwood wreath is tied to the handle of my grandmother’s antique china cabinet. Simple and lovely.

In the living room, I went with more neutral tones and loved incorporating my dried hydrangeas into my Christmas decor.

You can read my hydrangea story here.

I even tucked a few hydrangea blooms in our Christmas tree this year. And, do you see that angel? My husband and I bought that in honor of our first Christmas together as newlyweds and I can’t imagine our tree without it!

I honestly feel like this year I realized for the first time that Christmas decorating doesn’t have to be complicated or stressful.

Even something as simple as fresh greenery tucked into a silver creamer qualifies as “decorated”.

And that a fresh boxwood wreath from Trader Joe’s for $9.99 makes my heart go pitter-patter. Especially when it’s hanging above a silver champagne bucket filled with paper-whites.

Want to know another secret? As much as I love my living room with the big, fresh tree and the more formal decor, this next part of my home is my most favorite at Christmas…actually, it’s my most favorite any time of the year.

Because this is where we really live. And, at Christmas, it’s where a narrow tree holds all of the paper angels and homemade ornaments. Where my and my husband’s childhood ornaments mix with the treasured ones from our own children.

It’s the room where anything goes. Where each year my son builds a train track around the tree and my daughter puts 10 ornaments on one branch.

And it’s where each Sunday before Christmas we will read from the story of the first Christmas and light a candle in the corresponding mason jar. You can read about our families Adventures in Advent here. They may involve passing gas…just sayin’.

And it’s where I decided to use baskets on my mantel this year.

And box wood too of course! 😉

It’s where colorful ornaments get piled into a wire basket.

And where the carousel my parents gave my kiddos a few years ago gets put in a place of honor atop a stack of treasured Christmas books.

And it’s where my kiddos fight over who gets to be the first one to turn on the carousel that year.

These are the spaces that really come to life during this season.

When we’re snuggling together watching movies or making some hot cocoa at the station I set up in the kitchen.

And at the end of a long day I get to retire to a room with it’s own little touch of Christmas.

Do you need your coffee refilled? Or maybe you would like to try some molasses cookies. It’s my grandmother’s recipes. Guests to our home are welcome to stay as long as they want so don’t feel like you need to hurry off!

But, when you are ready to go, may I suggest you pay a visit to another home? Head on over to Jenna’s from SAS Interiors!

And to take the full tour of all the homes I would encourage you to settle in a comfy chair in your sweats or pj’s and start at the very beginning by clicking here.

I hope you enjoyed coming by and paying me a visit today. I definitely enjoyed having you and I pray you have a truly blessed and joy-filled Christmas season!

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