{Advent} Decking the Halls

I love to decorate – anything. I’m pretty sure I get it from my mom. You should see HER house this time of year. I ain’t got nothing on the momster. Maybe I do it because it brings back such good memories for me. The time spent “getting the house ready” with my mom was precious time. And really, that’s what we all want, isn’t it? Precious time with the people we love.

Last weekend, Anna-Laura was my biggest helper and we most certainly decked the halls. I busted out the Christmas music and got in the spirit. The only thing missing was a little dusting of snow (little, not alot). Instead, it was 70 degrees and the kids were outside playing in shorts and t-shirts. Eh, that’s what you get when you live in Central Texas.

Here’s a few fun things we did this year. Note to self: if you love what you did, take pictures. You will thank yourself next Christmas when you have total brain freeze and can’t remember where you put a thing. Of course, I change it up every year anyway, but it’s always a good baseline.

The entryway. We (i.e., Scott) recently painted our art niches, not really knowing they would really make the decorations stand out. Fun coincidence. I love it when that happens. The Santas I’ve had for a while. The wreath was a plain Jane one from Michael’s and I added the cranberry insert and a ribbon, hung it on the existing wrought-iron piece that’s there year-round…and voila!

The music/Christmas tree room is another favorite in the house. That 100-year-old-plus piano was my great-grandmothers. I love it and it is a beautiful centerpiece for some of our most cherished Nativity scenes. You know, the reason we actually celebrate this beautiful advent season 🙂

The dining room. Funny, because up until taking all these photos, I never realized how “Christmas-ready” all the colors are in my house! Really, we just added a few Santas, a fun beaded table runner I got 75% off at an after-Christmas sale at my vice, Pottery Barn, and some topiaries from my other vice, Pottery Barn Outlet. On Christmas Eve and Day this is where the family gathers. It is a roomful of total joy.

The mantel. I won’t show you what’s below those stockings 🙂 I just dig looking at all seven, yes SEVEN, of those stockings hanging. Lotta love in this house. Lotta love. The wisemen I got when I was a Southern Living at Home rep, the Santas we got in Iowa (boy, those bring back some good memories) and the garland was on sale at Michael’s. The pinecone and beaded garland were bought at…PB, for like $10 total. We decided to forgo the stocking holders this year and just buy the 3M removable hooks. Brilliant.