Holiday Decorating 2011...fresh greenery and homemade garland..

simple idea....place branches from the yard in a pot and add some ornaments, lights or whatever else you have on hand for a free arrangement...I found the perfect spot for my bird...

close up of the garland I made for the mantle with free tree trimmings and various trimmings from garden bushes in the yard (or, in my case, neighbors yard ;-)...again, just add ornaments to the greenery and you are done!

a view of my bowling ally living room ;-) 

one of my favorite ironstone pieces with greenery and, you guessed it, ornaments for the coffee table... 

another angle of the living room....

entry table with my favorite angel to greet you as you enter and leave the house...an ironstone bowl that holds the Christmas cards we receive...

isn't she sweet? 

 

Meagan picked these branches out for me on her way home from the bus stop..."Mom, I thought you would love these branches for decorating so I brought them home for you"  Love that she sees the beauty too ;-)

  

dining room view...

 

a view into the house from the outside front porch...glad to see Michael doing his homework ;-) 

only a few outdoor lights...simple is the word around here...on the other side of the house we have lights on one of our trees.  Hard to get a night picture that looks good to share.   

I love how the sparkle of the Christmas lights can even make the kitchen mess look good ;-) Kitchen upgrade for 2012!!!

paper garland made out of coffee filters for the kitchen chalkboard wall...last year I hung fresh garland and I was picking up needles the whole time...not this year ;-)



I can't decide if I should add something to the garland or not...hmmm?  maybe next year...



Close up of the greenery on the mantle...

paper garland made by Meagan helps finish off the mantle..

 Can you believe I agreed to colored lights for the Christmas tree?  I decided it was up to the kids and my husband to deocrate the tree this year without my help...we have BIG FAT COLORED lights...I know!  I'll share the tree next post!

Cheers,

T

"Free" Natural Holiday Decorating...

This season, my holiday decor will reflect simple and natural elements. I have started a few projects around the house with fresh cut greenery from the yard and free tree trimmings from HomeDepot.

I started with the front planters...here is a look at the first planter I completed. I just simple placed the fresh clippings into the planter, added some sparkled snowflakes which I already owned, and done! Easy and "free"...that's my style ;-)

A few Fall decorating images around the house.....

Fall Decorating...

.....Who's ready for Christmas? ;-) Cheers, T

Summer rearrangement....

Summer rearranging....

Still in search of two perfect chairs to replace the current black chairs in my living room...but I'm happy with the new arrangement (for now ;-)

Cheers, T

Roof work finished...more work after summer.

The roof is finished and has made a difference to the appearance of the house. We have more work to be completed on the front porch, a new deck (concrete flooring?) for outback...but for now, we are just going to enjoy the summer. Hope your summer is coming along nicely!

Cheers, T

Change in Plans...

Unfortunately there has been a change in plans. As we sat down to discuss the priority of the projects around the house, it was decided the roof had to win over the kitchen. If only everything could be updated at once, oh well.

I can't wait until all the banging stops around here! But, I am looking forward to the end result with the improvements to the outside of the house. Maybe next spring I'll have my new kitchen! Good things come to those who wait, right?

Cheers,

T

Kitchen pictures as promised....

Here are the before pictures of our current kitchen as promised. The after pictures may take a few weeks due to our Spring Break next week....I was going for the "Waverly" look 9 years ago...I know you remember that period of design, but don't want to admit it ;-) I am confident on my design choices these days and can't wait to make a few changes to update our kitchen on a tiny tiny budget. Cheers, T