Our Holiday Home Tour part one

How’s my friends?! Everyone in freak out mode? I sure hope not (as I sit here freaking out). Well not really freaking out per say just having one of those typical designer moments when sorting through my photographs for this post thinking, is any of this really that great??? Maybe I should just go to bed?

Note to self: do not wait until the last minute to post your holiday home tour after bearing witness to the likes of Holly, Kristen, Jennifer and Sarah. So beautiful and they make it look so easy! Seven trees? No problem!

Well let’s kick things off with the inspiration shot for this year’s tree (and laugh when you see what follows).

There is a beautiful shop by my house called RW Design and Interiors, owned by a talented and experienced designer. It is SUCH a treat to step foot inside every year at Christmastime. I fell in love with this tree that has lots of millet and those sparkly spidery looking things all up and down it. I loved it so much and thought that’s it! That’s what I’m going for this year!

And now the j.sho version…

I hear you laughing! ;-))) I see a couple of spidery, sparkly things in there.

I shoved everything in that tree, the millet, the sticks at the top, a Target trio mirror for the star, huge redwood pinecones are in there, starfish, ornaments from all of our travels, some bird nests, the kitchen sink, its all there!

Same goes for the mantle every year: clippings from the tree, magnolia branches, starfish, some pheasant feathers, ornaments piled inside a goodwill urn, some antlers, all the basic food groups represented…

Shall we talk about the stockings? Last year I’d polka-dotted this stocking with a sharpie and this year he looked meh so I sat Soph down with glue and buttons and said “Mommy’s got a project for you!” She ate it up. And banged it out in record time. Good job Soph.

The button stocking belongs to the Rip-meister, our fur child but this one below belongs to Jack. I embellished it this year with these vintage mittens that belonged to my Daddy (xoxo) to give it that rough and tumble boy look. Love.

So I’m happy to report all the stockings now have some sort of crust, texture or character to them. Mission accomplished from one of last year’s “wishing I had more time for this” list.

This little tidbit you might find impressive…I read on Pinterest about sorting every year’s holiday cards with binders. GENIUS! Which led to another idea, baby announcements! They are always so precious.  No one wants to throw those suckers away but yet what do you do with them? I displayed them on this large tray for all to see.

This was actually a “post holiday project” I completed around May of last year. But here they are going forward and I can’t tell you how much my kids, and their buddies, get a kick out of looking at them.

On topic of Christmas cards, I had another pile of our family’s past cards and mementoes I wanted to do something special with. Every year I challenge myself to come up with something creative or fun for our holiday card (its Mom, the Vreeland in me. If its not artistic, don’t bother) However, I’ve created a bit of a monster for myself because now our family and friends are kind of looking for it every year, when really I’d just like to blow it off, lol. I don’t always hit a home run but I give it my dropped-out-of-Brownies-because I wanted to play Barbies – best effort. Long story not short, I hung this memory banner in the keeping room to look back (and cry) on how fast my baby’s have grown…and my waist line…and the hub’s hair line…lol.

The wreath is new this year from Scott’s and its pretty cool. It has both silver and antique gold beads and big flakes on it. Drifted by, spotted it, went inside, still thinking about it and back I went to FETCH it. I get a big fat fail on the bow. I was going for that big burlap bow look and totally missed the mark. Next year.

The trees on the dining room table were a happy accident. When unloading all the decorations onto the table (where they sat for weeks), I thought, hey those look really pretty in here. Done.

I added a few more ornaments from the chandelier too…

I am, however, really pleased with how the front porch came together this year. I spent $30 on a bushel of white pine garland and looped back and forth twice around the door, once around my fake wreath to make it look real and looped the rest around the top of my IKEA aluminum planters. Followed with clippings of cypress and magnolia weaved into the top corners of the door, one magnolia into the wreath and pots. Cheap and easy!

Maybe tomorrow we’ll head up stairs for part two, OR maybe next week. If by chance I do not make it back before Santa comes I want to wish you all the happiest holiday!!!! I hope these next few days bring loads of joy and peace into your hearts and minds. And if they don’t that’s ok too. The holidays aren’t for everyone and I get that. It can be a lonely time of year for some. I know a lot of folks who are hurting right now, as you probably do too. But I do believe its the perfect time to reflect, try to do better and think, you know we should always be this kind and helpful to each other, not just at Christmas.

Peace, love and decorating my friends!

Jennifer Sunshine
xoxo