~ Welcome ~ Our Home For The Holidays

I hope you'll join me on a Holiday Tour of our home. I don't go crazy, like when my kids were little, but I like to decorate for Christmas just because I think it looks so pretty and sparkly.

First, let me apologize for the quality of the pictures. I tried many different things {flash on, flash off, day time, night time} but I am a shaky person to begin. So with that said, I will limit the commentary except to say which rooms you are looking at, as the sucky thing about Blogger is working with picture lay-out.

This is our great room, where we set up our main tree and where we usually gather and exchange our gifts.

This is the fireplace mantel in our den. This is where we watch television and where I mostly sit and play on my laptop.

I added some Christmasy scrapbook paper to the candles.

This is the top of the roll top desk in my living room, holding my Snowmen.

Yes, this lamp needs a shade and, you know, a bulb would be good, too. I found it in the basement and thought the colors worked for the holiday. I had painted this unfinished wood lamp for my son's room several years ago. It went with the colors we had going on in the bedding and cornice at the time. After Christmas I think I'm going to paint it to work in my living room and have it sit on top of the desk.

Chest in entry foyer.

I wired my two pieces of garland wrong on the staircase. I usually have the cord end at the top of the stairs and plug it into the guest room, which is right there. For some reason, I didn't check it before I started and after the time I spent on it, I wasn't about to do it over. So there you go ~ a lovely cord hanging down from the stairs!

One of my Goodwill trees.

Side table in the dining room.

Hutch.

Back to the great room.

About 10 years ago, I found these quilted type stockings at Michaels with the cross-stitch cuff. I cross-stitched all our names on the cuffs {with my own design} and added little Christmas trees to mine and my daughter's.

Living room coffee table with my Dollar Tree candle holders.

Great room mantel.

Foyer staircase close-ups.

Entry foyer chest again.

Hall tree in entry foyer.

Just a few small touches in the master bedroom.

Great room mantel. Again.

Main tree.

I don't do too much in the kitchen ~ just a few little things.

Dining room table.

Window seat in great room.

Whew! That was a lot! I hope you enjoyed seeing a peek inside my house at Christmas. I'm sure that if I change things, and once Christmas Eve and Christmas Day arrive, I'll have additional pictures to add. Hope you won't mind!

Linking up to the following Holiday Home Linky Parties. Be sure to come by and see everyone else's homes!

Southern Hospitality's Home for the Holidays ~ December 10th

Hooked on Houses' Hooked on Holiday House Tours ~ December 11th

Nester's Christmas Tour of Homes ~ December 14th

Thrify Decor Chick's Oh Christmas Tree ~ December 14th

5 Things You Didn't Know About . . . .

We interrupt your Wednesday for another edition of "5 Things You Didn't Know About . . .", as we visit with the talented and inspiration-provoking PK of Room Remix {the blog}!

Favorite music at the moment: I like a wide variety and can't listen to an entire CD of just one artist all the way through. Even if it's someone I really love, I get bored. At the moment - contemporary christian, pop and a little country thrown in here and there.

If you didn't live where you do, where would you live: I would like to live somewhere warm. I haven't thought a lot about where, because I won't be moving any time soon, so that would just frustrate me. :-) Ideally I would come back here for a month around Christmas time - just long enough though to get my snow fix.

Favorite cocktail: I'm not much into cocktails really. My favorite beverage is my big mug of chai tea every morning. I might be addicted. :-)

Best advice you ever received: My dad is a minister and always told me to put God first and everything else would work out. Not maybe the way I thought it would work out, but that it would always be okay in the end. Unfortunately I haven't always followed it, but I think it's good advice to live by.

Person you most admire: There are many people I admire for different reasons. I would say one of the qualities I admire most in people is the ability to be comfortable in their own skin and to truly be themselves no matter where they are or who they're with.

Thank you, PK!

Be sure to check back next Wednesday to see who we find out "5 Things You Didn't Know About . . . .".

As you were, people!

Using Home Grown Greenery

Remember when I transformed this pot for Fall?

Well, I transformed it again for Christmas! Everything you see here I got from my backyard. I cut some tree branches and spray painted them white.

Some branches from a very large pine tree in our yard; an evergreen bush with some interesting leaves; a ground cover bush with some red berries on it and my painted white branches.

Lots of nice shades of green with different shapes and textures. I love it!

And yet, I feel it's missing a little something . . .

There we go! I used some plastic ornaments from the dollar store in red and silver.

Linking up to DIY Day at A Soft Place to Land.

Sharing Some Giveaways

What a nice way to start off the week ~ finding out about, and entering, some Giveaways!


Dawn over at The Feathered Nest is having a lovely Giveaway of some of her items {including some of her lovely egg soaps}. This Giveaway ends December 13th.




The Decorating Diaries is giving away these lovely items. Ends December 12th!




Also, in case you haven't seen it on my sidebar, my sister is having her first Giveaway over at her blog, One Cheap B*tch. It ends Wednesday, December 9th, so make sure you head over there to enter for some pampering items for yourself!

Blog Of The Week ~ Miss Mustard Seed

Have you met the very talented and creative Miss Mustard Seed? You haven't?!? Well, come with me. This week's Blog Of The Week is Mustard Seed Creations.

Here's a quick peek inside her Christmas decorating {and she transformed that candlestick}.

Here is a bread box that Miss Mustard Seed transformed for the winner as part of a giveaway she offered. Fantastic, isn't it?! The size of the piece doesn't seem to matter to our Miss Mustard Seed ~ they all turn out beautiful in her hands!

But I think she is best known for what she can do with some paint and a piece of furniture! Here is a post with a montage of some of her beautifully transformed pieces.

As if she didn't have enough on her plate, she also hosts Furniture Feature Friday, where everyone can link up their furniture transformations.

I hope that you will take your time and enjoy visiting with Miss Mustard Seed at Mustard Seed Creations. You will definitely come away inspired!