The holidays are just my favorite time of year. The hustle and bustle, the excitement of gift giving, seeing the generosity of humans doing what they do best, showing kindness to each other. I know there can be a lot of ugliness out in the world, but I choose to see the positive and DO more for others to help make up for the negativity. And no other holiday really tells us to slow down and focus on doing charity for others than Christmas. And of course, one of my favorite things is seeing all the pretty lights and holiday decor and decorating our space to make it feel festive. We went with a traditional theme this year because nothing says the holidays like RED! Our decorations mostly consisted of red, gold and a dash of neutral and plaid, “which is sooo on trend right now.” (Can you hear me say that with a haughty tone in my voice? hehe) I pretty much went crazy at Michaels and Joann’s as always. They were having such a great deal! I didn’t end up taking any photos of the outdoor decor. I did more lights this year and outlined our windows and lawn, it looked really good, I wish I had taken photos! Next year for sure! OK, so let’s get to it.
Our living and dining room got most of the decor since they’re the rooms we spend most of our time in. With the sun shining in that day, it felt so airy and bright. I look at the photos and I wish they were as picture perfect as the ones I see on Pinterest or from other designers/bloggers, but then I tell myself, “It looks lived-in because we actually live here.” Haha, very logical and it’s hard to keep up with a tornado of a daughter and, oh did I mention we got a puppy? Yeah, potty training has been tough…and the teething part, yikes! I’m always yelling, “That’s why we can’t have nice things!” LOL, just gotta let it go.
Our fake tree is on its’ final year with us…the middle part of the tree didn’t light up since last year and we’ve had this baby for at least 5 or 6 years. You can bet I was on the hunt after Christmas to find a good deal on a really nice one, and I think I found it! I can’t wait to put it up next year! This tree has been good to us and although it doesn’t look real, we did our best to make it look pretty every year. I added signs on the wall that I purchased from Joann’s and Burlington. If you haven’t shopped there in their home department yet, what are you waiting for? They have the cutest things sometimes and they’re inexpensive!
I wish I had set up our dining room a bit more for the photos but we were having a party and where it was had better flow so people can get around. Spending some time with friends and family is the best, isn’t it?! Oh, and we just got some new dining chairs so I’ll be updating you all with that soon, as well as some other updates on the house! And if you couldn’t tell, I got that centerpiece idea from nowhere else but Pinterest! I had all the stuff and just whipped it together!
Each year, I’m always trying to figure out what to do with the stairs. It’s a skinny hallway at the bottom so I didn’t want to spend too much time decorating nor make it look too grand, but I want it to also look special. At Michaels, I found these Christmas floral picks that were originally $9.99 each but got them on sale for $2.99 each, added them to the garland that I already had and just topped them with red bows to complete the look. I just love how simple and easy it was.
And that’s all I got for you today! Did you like this year or last year’s Holiday decor better? I’m already looking forward to this upcoming Christmas! We were blessed to not have to spend one day in the hospital this time around and I count our blessings every day. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and a Happy New Year full of amazing dreams fulfilled and surrounded by happiness with friends and family!
Stay Lovely,
Jeap
p.s. Here are our cuties from their photo-session at home. They just make my heart explode!
