Hello my sweet friends. I’m sure most of you are now ready to for the big weekend celebrating ~ arent’ cha? We have a little bit more to do around the house… but Christmas is popping up here and there in very simple subtle ways.
I took many more shots around the house today, from the outdoor decorations, the front door wreath, and a few more dressed-up nooks inside our cosy home… but guess what? I sat down to upload my photos and my card reader just went dead. Hmm…. the hubby is on an emergency run (right? do you believe that? ;) but until then…. when I do get a chance to post more photos of our holiday home (or any photos at all) you still get a little peek into our home ~ and into my new kitchen…. [UPDATED : I got the card reader! ;)] ~ here are the previously missing shots of our Living Room dressed up just enough for Christmas.
{ yes, I still technically have blank walls since the reno.}
I’m still deciding what should go up, but since we were having guests over I wanted to create a ‘finished’ look. I think I achieved just that with a temporary creative wall feature just for the Holidays.
I took an existing wall frame I already had and hung 3 stockings on top with a combination of twine and organza ribbon for a soft and elegant but still rustic look. I also added a few straw snowflake decorations ~ and voila, it gave the living room that finished look after all. I can deal with the two nails in the wall later ;)
The kitchen still isn’t fully finished but it’s fully functional we are really enjoying it. We are still waiting for shelving, accessorizing and stools ~ hm… I don’t think we’ll make it before Christmas – but it’s OK – this was never a ‘rush’ job. I do hope you like the little glimpse – isn’t it very similar to my inspiration post?
My new love, is this pretty little dessert stand I picked up at the local thrift store. So very pretty and it keeps begging for more cookies to be put out ~ not wanting to disappoint the little sweetiepie, I happily oblige – it is Christmas after all, even a dessert stand deserves to be happy, right?
Ok, so there is more things I love, but who wouldn’t in this case love a warm cuddly wooly blanket to get wrapped around you? It’s a must. Is it not?
On our dining table at the moment, I set out a simple wooden tray with nature-inspired things. I have a cute wooden birdhouse I already had, and placed pinecones chestnuts and a few other seeds/ nuts I already had. I placed one large candle and then some tealight candle holders with red votives in between the decorations. And to finish it off a sprig of spruce added a splash of festive colour and completed our nature tray.
A few other things I love at the moment are pomegranates and clementines ~ they are to get eaten up but they work as great decorations as well.
And I do have to say that I’m really enjoying our Christmas tree this year ~ it has even more handmade little pretty things, I only bought the new horses (that Miss G was holding in yesterday’s post), other than that it’s decorations we’ve had for the last 13 years or so and just kept adding to it.
One of our very special decorations ~ pulled out for the first time this year, are these white butterflies ~ would you believe they are the same decorations we had on our wedding day? (our wedding décor post is here if you want a peek) I kept them wrapped safely in a box (yes, for six years) with a few Christmas docorations and brought them up by accident ~ my daughter saw them and just fell in love. She completely insisted that we have to have them on our tree! So there they are enjoyed once again thanks to one little girl who’s already been in my heart the day we married. She’s brought back such lovely memories of our wedding with these gorgeous butterflies – why did I have them boxed up for all these years? Somehow, the butterflies will need to stay around ~ they bring too much happiness around here ;)
So our Christmas tree, is loosing its ‘perfect’ catalogue look ~ we’re adding more handmade things, more special decorations, mementos from the past, and we’re enjoying its beauty not because it’s picture perfect but because it’s special to us.
There is more I want to show you from our little home…. stay tuned, I may update this post if things work out soon with the card reader ;)
In the meantime, Thank You for being here reading these words – I know it’s a busy time for everyone and it’s nice that you take a moment to check in ;)
I would love to hear about how you decorate for the Holidays. If you have a blog and have written about it, please leave a link in the comments below ;)
Blogger, Recipe Developer, Photographer and Author. Loves healthy food, photography, sunshine and dancing in the kitchen with her two daughters. 
Your tree IS perfect! Catalog “perfection” is so.. soulless. To me, it’s almost not worth having a tree until I have some things made by my (future) children or little commemorative things that we pick up somewhere.. I love having a tree that has meaning and you can look at it and say things like “Oh! remember when we got this at xxx” or “Look at how much you’ve changed in 5 years!”, stuff like that. That said, I love all your decor – and the kitchen looks great!
Your tree IS perfect! Catalog “perfection” is so.. soulless. To me, it’s almost not worth having a tree until I have some things made by my (future) children or little commemorative things that we pick up somewhere.. I love having a tree that has meaning and you can look at it and say things like “Oh! remember when we got this at xxx” or “Look at how much you’ve changed in 5 years!”, stuff like that. That said, I love all your decor – and the kitchen looks great!
Thanks Sydney ;)
A sweet tradition we started after we were married – before we had a kid – was to each of us buy something special for the tree that either represented something that happened that year or just felt right at that moment to add to our tree. I have to say these ornaments also added a special touch to our tree before the kid-crafts came along ;)
(so it’s sweet times before the kids come along also ;)
ps. Thanks so much for the compliments about the kitchen!
Sending Big Christmasy Hugs your way and wishing you lots of love and happiness this Season ;)
xo
I adore that wooden tray filled with goodies.
So sweet and stylish.
loving the glimpse into your new kitchen. Can’t wait for a full unveiling!
Thank you Miss Laura ;)
Love that darling little owl with the feathery eyes! Your kitchen also looks amazing, and I have a weakness for dessert stands too…
Thanks Clair ~ you’re cute to notice the owl ;) I didn’t even mention the guy
Happy Holidays!
xo
I love that you still have your wedding decorations, and that you can use them for other things. I also love the sneak peek of your new kitchen and that nature tray. Such a pretty little collection of things.
Love the way your house looks during Christmas, love the color choices too.
Your tree looked adorable. I like trees to look personalized with handmade and special ornaments that were given over the years. Every year when I’m unpacking our ornaments I remember who had given us certain ones, where I had bought ones from traveling, ones my son made, etc. It’s basically a celebration of memories.
Question: Where did you get your sectional? It almost looks like one we’ve been looking at.
Thanks so much JoLynn… yes, it’s those special memories that make it ‘special’ – can’t wait for many many more years of randomness on my tree! ;D
About the sofa – we’ll don’t know if you’ve realized but I’m in Canada, so that may not help you much. It is from a manufacturer in Quebec called Mobilia and the style is called the Metropolitan. Here’s their website for reference although I’m not sure they ship to the states. Don’t know if that helps at all – but we do love it and it still looks brand new even with a fabric. xo
http://www.mobilia.ca/en/furniture/URBAN/1/living-room/1010/sectionals/667979464/metropolitan
I still love your couch. Actually I love your whole living room. And those dark wood floors, I am drooling.