12.20.2013

Our Halls are DECKED! + DIY Ornament Wreath

TGIF!!!

I am one happy lady today!  It is my last day of school!

I am so thrilled to relax for two weeks!

Today I am excited to share our Christmas decor with you!

I had initially hoped to go a little funky/non-traditional this Christmas, but then I just realized that our house -at this point- just calls for traditional Christmas and I think it turned out to be really beautiful!

This first stop on this tour is our living room...

I finally ordered personalized stockings this year...something that has been on my wishlist for us since our first Christmas together two years ago!

I feel like the mantle still needs a little more, but just never got around to it this year!  Next year I am hoping to get all my nutcrackers from my parents' house and maybe display a bunch of them on the mantle.

The glow of the Christmas lights is so pretty!



Next stop is the sun room (aka: my girlie room and the one room with a bit of funky)!

The sun room is immediately off the living room and here is the view from the door!

Bryce got a much smaller tree this year and at first I was disappointed, but I think it really suits our cozy little sun room!

Here are two of my favorite ornaments:

This little VMI guy was made for Bryce by one of his mom's best friends who has since passed away, so it is very special!

This is the little angel that was a tree topper on the teeny tree I had in my playroom growing up!

This is my attempt at funky in our house...blue ornaments and my favorite pink and blue house!


One thing special about this Christmas has been incorporating some of my grandparents' Christmas decor- I just love this vintage angel that was my grandmother's!

And now for the dining room!

The place mats were also my grandmother's and the full set is 10 place mats, so I know that down the road I will still be able to use them on a larger table!

I found this reindeer at Michael's recently and added the bow...I love him, but he reminds me a bit of the chocolate bunnies you get at Easter, ha!  Doesn't the gold look a bit like foil?

Every year I hang ornaments from our chandelier and this year, I think I found my favorite arrangement!  I have been meaning to add some ribbon to the candles to match the reindeer as well...

I've had this elf advent calendar since college and love him!



Our bar area also got some holiday spirit!


There are just a few holiday touches in the kitchen.

I love this tree I made last year!
(Directions here!)

I love this trivet that my class from student teaching gave me:  "We love you DEERly!"

And finally, I love this reindeer towel I found when we were at the Waterfowl Festival this year!

Ignore the wrinkles..this is real life, people!

And last, but certainly not least, is my DIY ornament wreath and the view from outside!


There's just something about a Christmas tree in the window...

Our happy home!

And many of you who follow me on Instagram, and already saw the wreath, have asked how I made it!  It was super easy!  I followed the directions found here.

All my ornaments came from the Dollar Tree except the pink and the miniature ones.
I used all ornaments pictured except one box of the minis and two of the long tubes.

All you do is hot glue the ornaments to your wreath.  Start with the largest ornaments first, then the medium, and finally the minis to fill in any gaps.  I also paid attention to my color arrangement as I went.

And voila!

Are your halls decked yet?

Do you prefer classic Christmas or a more modern spin on decor?

Have a great weekend!