our halls are decked...

(warning: very full post. look at your own risk :)

well now that it's the day after

Thanksgiving

and christmas decor is 

acceptable,

i figured i'd post some of mine.

i am one of those annoying people

that puts up her christmas

decorations in october.

to me, the season flies by

and why not put it up early?

why not enjoy it longer?

it takes so long to put it up and 

take it down,

i feel like i just as soon

get my work's worth out of it.

i decorate a little bit

over about a week's time.

i unpack everything upstairs,

in my scrap studio,

and then just slowly

take it all down and place it wherever.

my mom and i always work on

my main christmas tree together.

i will not decorate it without her.

it's our tradition.

my mom gifted me all of the original

decorations on this tree my first christmas

in my own apartment.

i am still glad i chose

a fun, whimsical theme.

it's very traditional red and green

but i love it. 

you have to just sometimes go with plain

old christmas.

through the years,

i've added some vintage touches

and new elves.

i've also changed the ribbon

and added more of certain colors.

this tree is in our living room.

i also put a tree up in our bedroom.

this tree is filled with lots of random things.

i found this tree at our 

habitat for humanity store

for $15.

almost every ornament on it is

from there too. 

i throw some random

other things on the tree to add

some personality.

the last tree that i put up

is in our "formal" living room.

i want the decor in that room

to feel like it's from a different time

with a twist of personality.

i considered doing something

different to the tree this year,

but, 

in the end,

went with the same idea

as last year.

sometimes, there's just no energy

to reinvent the wheel.

i fill this tree with part of

my vintage camera collection and

old photos that

i've collected through

the years.

i add some vintage ornaments

and some lovely, tacky

tinsel and icicles.

ya'll those old school

icicles are the most fun

thing ever.

the rest of our decor is just

a matter of throwing christmas stuff around.

most of our decor has 

been collected through the years

from flea markets 

and thrift stores.

our stockings and a few other

things are from anthropologie.

i usually pick up some of my

favorite things from there each season.

i was thrilled to find the little sampler

above this past year on one of my hunts.

it was 25 cents. 

it was in an awful frame 

with a mauve matting.

i just swapped that out and it ended

up being perfect for this little nook.

it says...

"but as for me and my house

we will serve the lord."

i usually have loads of plans

to make things

and then i just end up

not making anything.

(i'm sure i wrote this in many other

blog posts)

i did get around to throwing this

little banner together.

i filled it with lots of tidbits of

christmas memories.

there are a few of the areas

of our home where i feel more stressed

to decorate than others.

the banister is one of them.

it's one of those things

that i don't wanna repeat

every year.

last year,

i used lots of ribbon,

real garland, 

and ball ornaments.

this year,

shane was very into

the fake garland idea.

he hated having to water

the real one and the needles

constantly falling bothered him.

i reluctantly agreed.

i must say it was easier

to work with the fake one,

but,

it's just not the same.

i miss the smell.

anyway,

i love how it turned out.

it's one of my favorite things

this year.

i used some of that

amazing silver beaded draping

that i purchased from 

one of our local decor shops.

i also added these great

cloth embroidered ornaments

that i purchased for 50 cents

(for all of them)

from our habitat store.

(ya'll they always have the best things.)

i added the wooden beads

that i got a while back

from anthropologie.

it's simple and

i like the mix of textures

and colors and it was easy

to throw together.

my two favorite things in my kitchen

are that vintage santa

on the mantle piece

and those kissing angels on the table.

my maw maw has had a set

of kissing angels

since i was little.

i have always, always

loved them so much.

now that i'm older,

i ask her for them all the time.

however, she loves them as 

much as i do,

and refuses to hand them over.

last year on a random stop

at a local flea market, 

i stumbled upon these.

i was so excited i could have cried.

(dramatic i know, but, ya'll

i love those things.)

i swear the lord comes junkin with me.

he always puts these special

little treasures in my path.

our dining room table is another one

of those things

that i never want to be the same

as the year before.

i loooooooooooooooooooooved

like loooooooved

looooooved

our table decor last year.

and, honestly,

not so thrilled about this year's

but hey, it's done.

our mantle is another thing

that i rather not repeat from

year to year.

this year my mind was set

on stacking all of these 

vintage ornament boxes

that i've collected through the years.

anthropologie had done

some windows a while back

filled with stacks and stacks of 

ornament boxes and i loved them.

i just love the house at christmas.

it's magical.

what is it about christmas

that it's allowed to be

so magical.

i swear.

the best part of christmas decor

is sitting in the dark next to a lit tree

and drinking coffee with my boo.

i'm looking forward to many

many nights of that this season.

now ya'll needa get to deckin...

ash...