This year, I really wanted to build on what we had to make things look a little more robust, especially with focus on the mantle. When we built the house, we purposefully upgraded the mantle and I was bummed last year that I didn't get stockings and do more with it, but I had already spent a good bit of money on other decorations to justify it. Pinterest is obviously a wealth of ideas for holiday decorating, and I credit it for the inspiration to decorate the chandelier (which I did last year as well) and for the final mantle look. I really loved the crystal focus from last year with phasing out even the plain white and going with all glass ornaments, and so I incorporated that into the chandelier with some new crystal bead garland under the greenery. While I hate that we still have the builder's chandelier up in this room, it actually is perfect for holding the decorations in. Hunt usually does the lights for the ficus, but I wasn't patient enough and decided to do it myself- such a pain, but he looks cute with the added hanging ornaments.
Harper's tree.. How funny that she is almost taller than it this year. I decided to bring it downstairs and use it for Santa presents. She will have no idea what this whole Santa thing is about this year still, but I am excited for what he is bringing her!
Not so much related to the holidays per se, but in house news, we finally have a rug under the kitchen table! I've wanted one for a really long time, but it's been hard to justify the expense. I knew that it would make a big difference, and I got a great price from Joss and Main on this one. The color has just a touch more lilac in the "silver" undertone that I was expecting so depending upon the light it looks a little purple which was not my intention, but it is still really pretty. Slowly, but surely we are making some progress on the main floor.
 |
| Look at that adorable puppy face |
It was literally 15 degrees when we went to get the tree on Saturday and Harper has super runny nose/cough so it wasn't a very extensive search, but we ended up with a beautiful tree. We waited until Sunday to do the decorations, and I made some hot chocolate and cookies with HG and we had Christmas music playing so it was a fun morning. I am very excited with the end result too! The new addition to our tree this year is the ivory fur skirt. The one I really wanted from Pottery Barn sold out super fast and was twice as expensive as this one that I got from West Elm.. only downside is that this one is a little smaller than I would have liked, but is the right idea at least. I'm curious to see how long it takes to look disgusting, though, with all the tree water and needles near it.
 |
| Harper's 2013 Radko |
 |
| Christmas puppy |
And finally, the mantle- which I am SO delighted with. These garlands were actually put into the chandelier last year, but I decided to move them over and they are a nice fit here. The letters came from ETSY, of course, and I had her tweak the colors to shades of gray to match our decor better. It was looking pretty cute, and then the Starry Lights arrived and WAHLA- my vision realized! These lights are so cool- again a find from Pinterest and ordered from Amazon. I debated back and forth on what color to get since these have a copper wire and warm light, versus the silver wire but the more aggressive lighting. This was definitely the right pick for the lighting and once weaved into the decor, so festive and great. I'm still waiting on the ivory fur stockings for Winnie and HG, but should have them up this week and then I think I will be situated for this year. I am excited to be getting things that can be incorporated and built upon each year.. Next year I want to put a little more effort into the front of the house, and our banister. Once I get more holiday cards, I will take some pics of the banister for this year-- I am hanging the cards from ribbons and it's going to look cute when it's more filled in. I've got to find a way to get away from all the glitter stuff, though. It's so cute in theory, but such a mess to deal with!
 |
| I love finding the little things to do with the apothecaries! |
