WARNING: MOST PICS IN A  POST EVER
🙂
Thanks so much to those of you who left comments on my post this morning, sending Matt your prayers.  Luckily, the doctors were able to give him a couple of liters of fluid and we are officially home and doing much better.  At this point, we think we are in the clear and will avoid any hospital stays this Christmas.  I’m SO thankful for that and for your encouragement today!
Since my SAINT of a mother took the kids home with her, I decided it was time to snap some pictures of our Christmas home this year.  Apparently keeping it very simple did not stop me from taking way too many pictures.
🙂
Come on in!
I love the tree being the first thing you see when you walk in, and therefore in our living/dining/entry area. 😉

 

Speaking of the entry, it’s still there in its sparkling glory.

 

Only now there are finally gifts (beginning to be) wrapped under the tree.

 

The dining room is right there, so I decided to stick to the blues, whites, silvers, and throw a little green in there.  Again, since the shoot limited time, tablescapes were kept simple.

 

These were the only ornaments I bought this year…a few blue and green from good ol’ wally world (that’s Walmart, for sophisticated people).
🙂

 

Anybody spy an Elf on the Shelf?
Back in early December, I decorated our Winter White mantle….wanna see how it actually turned out for the holiday’s?

 

I love the white, but I HAD to pull out our fun red berries and stocking holders for the kids.

 

Every vignette was kept super simple and easy…pedestal: check. Candles, candy cane candles, no less: check.  rosemary clippings from the yard: check.  the most fun cotton embellished wire ribbon ever: check.

 

 

This chair is one of the great loves of my life…home decor life, that is.

 

We grabbed our stockings from Pottery Barn when they were on clearance a few years ago.  We even bought 3 extras hoping to have 3 little ones.  Two down…

 

Oh, I love you, adorable Santa stocking holder.

 

There are the mercury glass candlesticks from my sweet mom-in-law, and I love the contrast of them next to the raw wood of the chair.

 

You know me, I can’t decorate without books.

 

We leave the lights off most of the time since we get some great natural light in here, and I love seeing the tree from my favorite writing spot…the couch.  I’m writing to you right now from this exact spot as we speak.  Type.  Read.  You know what I mean.
🙂

 

And just keeping it real…this big open spot is where these and many other toys reside amongst the Christmas galore.

 

I found a set of 25 classic novels last week for $20…they are in pristine condition and most were published from 1920-40…LOVE them for my little ones!
There are a few small touches around and about…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On our way to the kitchen…
you’ll find another simple winter table.

 

 

 

The Christmas kitchen is very simple this year.  I watched Genevieve’s Holiday Home on HGTV this year…oh my goodness, did you see it???  It was incredible, and one thing that struck me was the simple decor in the kitchen.
She pointed out that there’s always so much going on in the kitchen: baking, cooking, hanging out, that there’s only room for a couple of trinkets and everything else should be edible.  I kind of loved the idea of just a few of my favorites sprinkled with candy canes and treats.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What’s that?  No Christmas in this photo?  Nope, but you will find a paint swatch that has me on my way to the perfect door for that spot.

 

 

No holiday home tour (at least my home) would be complete without a messy gift wrapping station.
🙂
Well, that’s it for me.

 

Hope you enjoyed our holiday home.  Thanks for stopping by!
You know, it was just a year ago that I wrote my very first post on this blog…on Christmas Day.  We’ll revisit that tomorrow, though.
So, for now:
Merry Christmas to all and to all a Good Night!
🙂