Where Ideas for your Home Meet Inspiration for your Heart
I never knew that I could love the tween years as much as I do. According to many articles I’ve read, most girls who are between the ages of 10-12 begin to have wild mood swings, throw toddler-like temper tantrums over not having the right clothes to wear, spend hours on their phones and are trying really hard to move as quickly as possible into the teen years.
This is not the case in our house. In our house, age eleven is pretty special.
“Happy, happy Christmas, that can win us back to the delusions of our childish days; that can recall to the old man the pleasures of his youth; that can transport the sailor and the traveller, thousands of miles away, back to his own fire-side and his quiet home!” ~
Welcome, dear friends, welcome! I’m so thrilled to be opening my home for a Christmas tour to you today as part of the annual Jennifer Rizzo Holiday Housewalk! You will want to start at the very beginning to soak up all of the beautiful inspiration so head over to her place and sit back and take it all in.
If you are arriving here from my friend Traci’s beautiful home, I’m so glad that you decided to continue on with the tour and I hope you feel very welcomed.
I know, I know, it’s kind of late in the game to be sharing with you how I transitioned my mantel from Fall to Christmas, but maybe you still haven’t decorated your mantel for Christmas (I KNOW there are a few of you out there!) or maybe you want to tuck the ideas away for next year, or maybe you’re just going to enjoy the reassurance that you aren’t the only one who is trying to do things as simply and cost effectively as possible in your home.
A few years ago, as I began to decorate for Christmas, I had a glorious ah-hah moment. One might even call it an epiphany. Get it…epiphany…Christmas….I can never resist the opportunity for a good pun!
ANYWAY, as I began to clear off surfaces and psyche myself up to head into the attic for the bins of decorations, I realized that I was feeling this sense of dread. It wasn’t that I didn’t look forward to having the Christmas decor around the house, it was knowing that I would be doing all of that work only to take it down so soon afterwards.
I think the front porch is like a little sneak peek at what awaits you inside a home. And this year, my sneak peek reflects a look that is a tad bit more simple and a little less fussy.
Welcome, welcome dear friends! My halls are decked and ready for you to come inside and make yourself at home. I’m so thrilled to be apart of the Jennifer Rizzo Holiday Housewalk again this year!
You will not want to miss all of the beautiful homes in this tour so be sure to start at the very beginning and catch up on all of the holiday eye candy. Click the image below to get started!
And if you are joining me from taking the tour of my dear friend Shannon’s gorgeous home, you did not have to travel far because we both have the privilege of residing in the beautiful state of Oregon.
You know, every year when I begin to decorate my home for Christmas, I am absolutely flooded with feelings of nostalgia. With each box that is pulled from the attic, I’m transported to another place in time.
There are the four stockings I bought when we were only a family of three but my heart longed and prayed for a sweet girl and by the very next Christmas she had arrived and that extra stocking was put to good use.
I’ve noticed a trend happening over the past few years. When it comes to decorating for Christmas, I always start with the hot cocoa bar.
Maybe it’s because my kids ask me umpteen times when it will make it’s appearance. Maybe it’s because I feel like I can set it up before Thanksgiving without people getting all judge-y and thinking that if I have even a hint of Christmas before turkey day I’m breaking some kind of sacred rule.
Because hot cocoa is really just winter-y right?!
Or, maybe it’s because dragging out the trees and the garlands and the lights always feels so daunting so starting with this one little area gently eases me into the season.
It’s simple and sweet…pun intended.
I ease myself into Christmas.
I love it so, SO much but I can’t just jump right into blasting Jingle Bells and draping garland on every surface. I’ll admit that I do start listening to Christmas music before Thanksgiving but I start out with just soft instrumental versions before heading into the more hard-core stuff. Easing into it.
I also ease into the decorating. By virtue of being a blogger, it all has to be done on the earlier side but I just can’t bring myself to head into the attic the day after Halloween to drag out the bins of holiday decor while repeatedly banging my head on the rafters (happens every.single.time!).
Instead, I like to take my time looking at magazines and Pinterest and glancing around the rooms of my house, imagining how I will tackle this corner or that tabletop. Easing.
Welcome! I’m so excited to finally give you a peek at our new home! It seems these days, I’m a day late and a dollar short but here I am with a glimpse into our house dressed up for Christmas day. It might be sunny and almost 70 degrees on December 22nd, but that’s okay because, “This is how we we roll in the South!”
If you’re looking for a healthy holiday appetizer, I want to introduce you to Roasted Beet Salsa! Beet Salsa is not only vibrant, the perfect color for your Christmas parties, it’s also delicious and healthy! How many holiday recipes can say that?!
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