A little tree and fresh greens

I remember a time when you couldn't walk into your neighborhood Home Depot and pick up bunches of good looking evergreens and boxwood branches.  I would have to hunt them down at a nursery or find them in the woods. 

  

After popping into the Depot here and there for one more bunch of greens I would admire those cute live tabletop trees.  Have you seen them?  Well, the other day they were half off so for ten dollars I grabbed one up not knowing exactly where I would put it.

This is how he looked after spraying on some snow and giving him a good trim.  Mr. 65th asked me why I bought such an ugly little tree. 

When he saw it in the morning he had to admit that he was surprised it turned out so nice.  I used garage sale ornaments that I have been holding on to and hot glued a pine cone for a tree topper. 

The natural theme of the little tree fit nicely with the woodland mantel.  If you have been reading along for a while you might remember our faux mantel looking just like this last year.  I loved it too much to change it and will keep it through the winter....except for the Merry Christmas sign.

Pinecones are one of my favorite accessories, they go with everything don't they?

I finally found a spot for these faux birch branches...they have been moving all over the house until I tried them here in the living room.  I always thought that corner needed a little something.  I bought them last year at a nursery that was going out of business. They will stay out after Christmas too. 

I am off to watch a Christmas movie and wrap the rest of the presents.  Our traditional Christmas Eve lasagna is made and the house is clean.  Let the countdown to Christmas morning begin!

 Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas!

Christmas 2011

The sun finally came out today so I was able to take a few hundred pictures, but don't worry, I won't show you all the bad ones.  There are a few things I want to finish around the house before the big day gets here but for the most part we are ready.

I really wanted to find a wreath for the front door this year and when I couldn't find what I was looking for I decided to make my own. 

Now a wreath hanging on a front door might not be a big deal to some people, but this is our first one so I am really excited!  I never thought to hang one there before because of the storm door.

I used a boxwood wreath tutorial from Rene who blogs at Cottage and Vine but instead of using a wreath form I used a wooden picture frame.  The letter got the same sparkle treatment as my pinecones did last year.  To see how I sparkled click here.

So did a bunch of little snowflakes that I found at Michaels.

It was still warm out when I started thinking about hanging snowflakes and icicles from the trellis that wasn't even built yet.  I had quite the display going on the day after Thanksgiving...snowflakes in various sizes were hung just right until the winds came. 

(That fake garland doesn't cut it anymore since the remodel) 

There were a few nights that I was woken up by them banging on the house and windows.  Everything was a tangled mess and I felt a little silly, I think I forgot how bad the weather can be here. 

So today I went out and took all the little flakes down and moved some of the bigger ones around so they won't hit the house. That is the plan anyway. 

Let's head inside for a bit...

I don't change things around very much year to year.  Like our ornaments for example, I have been collecting them for a long time so they always stay the same. 

The tree on the other hand is always different since we search for the perfect one and cut it down.  This year the tree is huge and is one of the meanest trees we have ever had!  Every ornament was painful to put on, it wouldn't stay straight and it's dropping needles already.  Oh, and I can't forget about the baby spiders that hatched thinking it was spring time.

I changed the top of the antique dresser from last year.  I have to admit that I was putting the Santa and sleigh up there like I have in the past until I needed a spot for my mason jar snow globes.  I fell in love with them just like so many did....they are so cute and fun to put together. 

I was inspired by Michelle who blogs at Vintage Junky to put a little Christmas tree in the back of the little ones toy truck.  This one comes from the Land of Nod but if you want the real deal Michelle sells them in her etsy shoppe.

Let's head into the kitchen to see what Mr. 65th drew up for us on the chalkboard.

I found this image while searching for inspiration.  I knew I wanted something old fashioned and this Victorian Christmas tree fit the bill.  (I never say "fit the bill" in real life but it just kind of came out....do you ever write something that you wouldn't normally say?) 

Since we are off the subject for a minute...are some of these pictures too big?  I don't resize them before I upload and I usually use the large size for most pictures.

Let's continue with the extra large pictures and carry on.  Here is another view of the living room.

Dollar store trees and more toys borrowed from the little one are hanging out under the cloche.  I scraped off a handfull of styrofoam to create staticy snow for under the glass to give it a "snow globe" effect.  I found the styrofoam idea on pinterest here.

That concludes our tour for now, thanks so much for stopping by!  

I am joining The Nester for her 2011 Christmas tour of homes and Rene @ Cottage and Vine. 

a birch vase

I dropped one of my favorite vases the other day and a piece broke right off the top.  It's still usable but didn't look so great anymore so I thought I would give it a little makeover.  We have a large River Birch tree with lots of peeling bark that I have been wanting to do something with.

After using some hot glue and adding fresh evergreens and boxwood I have a whole new look that took less than five minutes.  I love a good quick project like this. 

If you don't have a birch tree of your own you can find bark covered containers for a great price here and here.  I'll be back in a few days to share some of our holiday decorating.