I shared our blog address in our annual Christmas newsletter, so on the off-chance that our far-flung family and friends find their way to this humble spot in the blogosphere, I figured what better welcome than a virtual tour of our home. So here it goes - our first ever Holiday Home Tour.
What better place to start than our front door? Last year, I found a bunch of picks for literally a few cents a piece at an after-Christmas crafts sale, so I dressed up the wreath before I had to put it away. It was fun to open up our Christmas decorations to find jazzed-up, welcoming wreaths.
And this is our living room, with the typical Craftsman layout. The tree in the left corner actually does light up, as does the garland on the mantle (all white lights). I love how twinkly the room becomes for the holidays. The tile on the hearth is actually just placed there - one of our projects later this winter is to grout it. Custom tile was found at Lowe's for $1 (the whole box).
Our stockings are hung by the chimney with care. These are all hand-made by my mother-in-law. The nutcrackers were all gifts when I was a little girl, so it's fun to be able to use them in my holiday decorating.
The kitties are curled up and waiting for Santa. The red damask throw pillows are new - actually just covers, which made me really excited when we found them! I love having different throw pillows, but pillows themselves are a pain to store. This whole photo is emblematic of our first foray of being grown-ups. This year we purchased real, adult, delivered furniture for the first time.
This is a view looking into the mirror that hangs over the couch. Mistletoe kisses!
The columns are my favorite part of our Christmas decor. One of these years I might upgrade the garland, but it works for now. The garland is actually a leftover from our first Christmas together - we wrapped the banister in that home.
This is a view of the fabled Advent Calendar - Andrew and I exchange gifts every day in Advent. We've tried different variations, but to date, we switch days (I'm evens and he's odds this year) and leave little gifts inside. This and last year we didn't actually give each other Christmas gifts, but rather celebrated Christmas giving all through advent.
The 2011 tree - last year we had a fake tree because we left for vacation. I'm so glad to have a real tree again, even if it's a little more upkeep. Nothing feels more like Christmas to me than a real tree.
A view of my favorite ornaments: we picked up the hand-made church ornament on our honeymoon in Barbados, and the Lennox bride and groom ornament for our first married Christmas in 2007. Our tree is definitely a "family" tree, full of ornaments from our childhoods, so I like the red wooden bead garland to tie it all together.
I had to have this ornament this year - Hallmark did a Craftsman series, and I couldn't believe how uncanny the resemblance was to our actual house. The ornament is about the size of the softball, though, so it's hanging out in the back of the tree.
We rearrange the layout of our dining room to make room for the Christmas tree. This is our advent table, with pine green linens and the traditional advent wreath. I'm about the make the switch to "Christmas" linens - a red cloth, a poinsettia runner that we got last year in Mexico, white chair ties, and all white candles. In the background, the "crew" is ready for the birth of Jesus (who is in the drawer), with the exception of the wise men who are on camels in the "East" (on the side table in the living room).
Our homemade advent wreath. While the Church may "okay" blue candles now, we are staunchly traditional with purple and rose.
My stocking: Yes, it really is the stocking from my childhood. Yes, it's about two feet tall. Yes, I'm definitely an only child. It hangs on my closet door as a gentle reminder that I'm still a little spoiled all year long.
The guest room: this area got a pretty big makeover when we re-vamped the basement and moved some bookshelves, a night stand, and some other furniture that was previously crowding the room. In the red vase, you can barely make out the nerf guns that I gave Andrew as an Advent gift. We're still finding darts in odd places in the house.
My grandma made this angel pillow and I love how cute it is with the guest bedding. The headboard was picked up at a Goodwill store for $5.
This is a view of the updated bathroom. I am so happy how this project turned out. So, so happy! Even though it's been finished since earlier this fall, I still feel like it's the best Christmas present ever.
Mr. Snowman holds down the fort, and we chose art prints (Grant Wood - Iowan, of course - created this one, and in the previous photo, the print is by Georgia O'Keefe) to make the commode classy.
Ah, Beary Christmas, the DecemBear tradition. This hails from Andrew's family, and we follow it diligently. For the curious, today, the Bear looked in the Cookie Jar (but Christmas wasn't there).
Our bedroom is finally getting some character. The bookshelf was the start, and then we started toying with bedding. This is half of the Nautica set that we received as a wedding gift, standard shams from the bedding that we purchased to coordinate with a quilt made by my grandma, and a down comforter that we bought on a Black Friday sale a few years back. The mini tree was in the living room last year (it's mate still resides there), but now adds some classy Christmas ambiance.
This was an Advent Christmas to me from Andrew. I wanted a snow globe, but with "real" snow particles - no glitter. That's a tough thing to find! This one was perfect.
This is the entrance to the basement. Last year, these pillows were on the living room couch, but since the room got a little more "grown up," the whimsical ones are a better fit here.
Basement bathroom - it took me forever to find that retro Christmas night light (Andrew's advent gift a few years ago).
The downstairs has a pretty holiday table, too - the cloth belonged to Andrew's grandmother, and the centerpiece was an idea I found on Pinterest.com.
Close-up of the ornament tree: it's really my cupcake stand! How awesome is that? I found a bunch of clearance ornaments, and the topper is tied on with wire.
When I was 16, I had my first job working in a department store during the holidays. I was obsessed with the beautiful trees in the trim-a-tree section, and built my own to match my bedroom (which at the time was lavender and pale green). Last year, the original tree finally bit the dust (it was such a pain to put together, and all of the color-coded tape was missing), so we bought a pre-lit, folding one for $12 after Christmas.
And thus the tour comes to an end. Merry Christmas from our house to yours! May you have quiet, snowy days - with nowhere to go, and plenty of laughter with friends and loved ones in this holiday season.
With love,
Katie and Andrew (and feline companions)
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