Holidays Round Our House

From Dec. 1, I've been in full-steam-ahead holiday mode. I'm thisclose to done shopping (with lots of stepfamilies and in-laws, my list is long) and in the past couple weeks, we've decorated inside and out. I thought I'd share a few snapshots. We grabbed a tree nearly too tall for our ceiling, which is both intimidating and grand. It's the first time I can remember feeling so short next to my Christmas tree. 

Last year's wreath was a complete debacle that I don't think I remembered to share here. I bought a boxwood wreath that I thought was fake and figured I'd use for years and years to come. Well, after a couple weeks, I noticed this strange odor coming from it and realized that dang thing was real and not only that, it was basically baking in the sun. By the end of the season, it was completely dried out and losing leaves if you looked at it. Lesson: Don't put real boxwood wreathes in direct sun outdoors. You won't keep them very long.

SO, all this is to say that I scooped up this moss "JOY" wreath at A. Dodson's, and I love how it is perfectly framed by the glass in our door. I hope passersby see it and smile.

My mantel decorations are basically the same formula as last year, except I added a wreath I made a few years ago and I think it's a nice halo around my lady sculpture (I just pretend she's the Virgin Mary this time of year....the rest of the year, she can be a greek goddess or an English woman of letters).

I've been on an accidentally destructive streak and managed to break a glass ornament, a set of fairie lights, a ceramic pear and who knows what else. This is version 2 after I removed the smashed set of fairie lights. Pray for me.

I also picked up this elegant mistletoe and crystal ornament from A.Dodson's and it hung perfectly from the light fixture in our entryway. I stand under it hoping Sean will notice. Good luck to my guests....you're getting snuggies whether you want them or not.

I was inspired by Katy Elliott's Instagram to whip out my IKEA lanterns and create sparkly winter centerpieces. I picked up some fuzzy felt and bottle brushes at a craft store and voila, winter wonderland in my house.

That's it for us at the Kennedy casa. Lord knows I could get way more crazy with the decor, but I'm trying to keep it to a manageable level since I did not manage to marry a Griswold.