29th Birthday

Yesterday began the last year of my twenties!  I have always hated my birthday.  Other ‘Christmas’ babies may be able to relate.  Just around the middle of December is when all the Christmas activities start up.  Family gatherings, work parties, shopping, etc.  Or for some it is the last minute to savor some down time before things blow up.  For that reason, my birthday parties growing up always had to be planned precariously and with the precaution that I shouldn’t be disappointed if my friends couldn’t come due to family commitments.  Also, the type of party a winter baby can have is so limited by the weather – my childhood dreams of pool parties or going to Six Flags were just that – dreams.  The line between my birthday and Christmas always seems to get blurred.  Whether it is the santa birthday cake or the infamous “Oh, this is your birthday AND Christmas gift” (which really means they forgot your birthday until today, but had a Christmas present for you – luckily for them).   I do realize these are first-world problems, so I try to take time to remember how truly blessed I am.  But I also let myself grieve for my birthday, and all the expectations that never become experiences because of it’s timing.

That being said, this year was a good one.  Bradley got me the Silhouette Cameo, and I had lots of sweet facebook wishes, a few special cards in the mail, and a few phone calls that brightened my day.  We celebrated at Pappasitos with 1/2 price fajitas with a couple of friends.  And I did wear the hat while they sang:)  It was a great night and I felt very grateful!

Holiday House Tour 2011 (part 2)

I spent some time getting the rest of our decorations photographed this weekend.  Now that I have created Pages for our Christmas decor over the years, I am only going to blog about new ornaments and locations each year from here on out.  I showed the changes to the dining room and foyer a few days ago.

Our new ornaments this year came from our trips to Yosemite and Savannah:

The full tree – I used the pheasant feathers from my fall decorations and some of the curly gold picks for the tree topper this year instead of my traditional bow.  Also, I used a fluffy red blanket as my tree skirt this year after an unfortunate incident with the crippled cat and the ties on the tree skirt last year.

In the kitchen, I dressed the window with an old red beaded wreath that I got from Bed, Bath and Beyond in college and the Dr. Suessish tree that Bradley gave me the first year we were married.

Last year, I broke down and bought a mosaic mirror tree from Target for the powder room.  It fits the corner on the counter perfectly.

In the living room, I put out a mini poinsettia and Christmas cactus to brighten the ottoman and side table:

I put the African nativity on the buffet under the television.  Because the nativity and table are both dark brown, I put out the gold snowflake runner to make the nativity show up more.

Linked up at The Nester:

A Very Pinteresting Christmas

Over the past year, I have been collecting a few Christmas decorating ideas on Pinterest.  As I looked over my board, I noticed how many natural and rustic items I was drawn to.  Here are a few of my favorites:

Birch wood and galvanized buckets – two of my favorites this year!

 

Burlap and flocked greenery

 

  

I pinned an obscene number of pictures with the tree base in a basket or galvanized bucket.  I love this alternative to a tree skirt.

 

Flocked tabletop tree.  I almost did this in conjunction with the galvanized bucket base this year, but got frustrated and gave up.  Also note, more birch wood.

 

Using a piece of tree trunk to ground the tree is an awesome idea!

 

One of my newest loves: blue Ball jars.  They look great with the green and red.

 

Different sized ornaments under a cloche using your color scheme is an easy and inexpensive centerpiece.

 

I have no idea why I have never thought of jingle bells as a vase filler or table scatters before.

 

These shiny silver urns  with small evergreens are beautifully simple.

 

More of that shiny silver.  Ornaments hanging from a chandelier add height above the table without taking up space on the table.  I tried this concept, but was not successful at the teardrop shape.  I like how mine turned out just the same.

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Holiday House Tour 2011

A Silver and Gold Tablescape – The silver glass chargers came from Goodwill as well as the brass deer.  The little gold glass tree came from Michaels.  The silver and gold mercury glass votive holders came from Target as well as the snowflake salad plates.

I hung shiny silver ornaments from the chandelier to add height to the center of the table.  I kept the rustic tray from my fall decorating for the Christmas centerpiece.  It makes it easy to move the decorations to make room for plates of food.

I added some faux greenery and red berries to the blue Bell jars on the bookshelf.  On the opposite bookcase, I place more of the shiny silver ornaments as well as some small gold ornaments under a cloche.

In the foyer, I kept the birch slab from fall decorating and placed my favorite nativity under the large cloche.  The lamp is new this year and I am enjoying the added light.

The Lettered Cottage is have a link-up party to show off Tablescapes for Christmas.  I am participating by including a link to my new section of pages that chronicle how I have decorated different areas of our home over the years.  In the spirit of true procrastination, I have only updated the Dining Table and Foyer page with photos from 2011.

The Lettered Cottage