Christmas Home

(this song is beautiful, albeit somewhat depressing)

Happy Monday morning!  The countdown to Christmas is on, and I thought I’d kick off this week with some pictures of our decorations!  I never exactly finished this year… there are certain things (like the mantle) that I was never quite happy with and intended to change, but I’ve decided to accept things as they are and remember that there’s always next year. :)

Hope you enjoy!

 

          

And at night…

      

Thanks for stopping by our home!  Hope you’re all able to finish up Christmas preparations early this week and have the opportunity to slow down.  I’m off to finish up a bit of shopping and then wrap presents—which just so happens to be my FAVORITE THING TO DO.  Bring it on! :)

Have a wonderful Monday!

How To: Cinnamon Ornaments

Hey lovelies, I’d like to share one of my favorite Christmas family traditions today.  Every year my mom used to make cinnamon ornaments both for our tree and to give as gifts, and this year I made my own! 

They are SO easy, inexpensive, and fragrant like you wouldn’t believe.  These little guys are pure happiness to me, and the smell of the ornaments combined with the fragrance of real, fresh balsam? H.E.A.V.E.N.

Make them.  There are two ingredients.  (Recipe below)

     

Cinnamon Ornaments

You’ll need:
     + cookie cutters (I used a tree and a gingerbread man)
     + a rolling pin
     + a cookie sheet
     + a straw (a toothpick would work too, but not as well)
     + a mixing bowl
     + wax paper (or just use your clean counter)
     + thin ribbon or yarn
     + 1 cup of applesauce
     + 1 cup of cinnamon

Instructions:
     Combine applesauce and cinnamon, stirring with a spoon at first and then mixing with your hands until a dough is formed.  Roll the dough out on wax paper or your clean countertop until it’s the thickness you’d like your ornaments to be.  You don’t want them paper thin or they will break easily!  Now use cookie cutters to create your ornaments—use up all the dough you can!  Lay the ornaments on a cookie sheet, and don’t forget to use your straw to make a hole for ribbon at the top of each ornament!  Allow them to dry a couple days, turning occasionally.  And remember, they are NOT edible!  Yuck! :P

Yields approximately 16 ornaments. Hope you try them!

PS – Another cinnamon tip: add a bit to your ground coffee before you brew it, and then just add milk and sugar (or don’t).  It’s a delicious, festive treat! 

Sunday Afternoon Treasure Hunt

I just spent the last four hours hyperventilating at the Austin Citywide Garage Sale.

No, seriously.  I got 3 huge boxes of amazing, antique books for six dollars.  SIX DOLLARS!!  At most antique stores, I’d be lucky to find a good looking old book for that price.  Today?  Sixty-one books.  Six dollars. Yes, I counted them.  And if you were wondering, that’s 9.8 cents per book.

SCOOOOOOORE!

(If you know me well, you know I like to decorate with old books. I think the guy selling them today was a little startled by my level of happiness bliss psychotic excitement when he said I could have all three boxes for six bucks)

The rest of my loot included an old suitcase for a buck, a crystal sugar and creamer set, some twine, and three fabulously peeling, worn, and rickety old frames (BIG ones!). 

I pretty much couldn’t be happier with this day.

    

 

Hope you all had a fabulous weekend!!

Step Away from the Easter Bunny… {a spring decorating idea}

I’m not a huge fan of Easter decorations.  To each her own, and I don’t judge those who put them out, but I personally feel that Easter decorations tend towards being a little obnoxious, especially in large doses. 

Just my opinion; please don’t hatemail me over this. 

However, I AM a fan of tasteful birds and eggs and the occasional bunny, or any other item that lends itself well to Spring.

I married a hunter, and so my decor choices are somewhat limited.  I once dreamed of a classy, traditional-modern home with whites and neutrals and splashes of aqua blue and chandeliers dripping with crystals and… well, you get the picture.  But it’s kind of hard to go with that theme when you have to work around a giant frickin’ caribou head and multiple other horned creatures judging you from all main living spaces.

*Sigh*

But I think I’ve done well, considering what I’ve had to work with.  My home is no where near complete when it comes to decorating, but I’ve worked hard to maintain that air of class while keeping within a sort of organic, nature-y theme.  For lack of better terms. 

All this to say that spring decor fits nicely within the style of our home.  I call it Classy-Rustic-Pottery-Barnesque. 

Just kidding, I don’t really call it that. I actually JUST made that up.

But I wanted to share a fun spring decorating tip with you, along with some pictures from around my home. 

The tip? BIRDSEED.

Why is it awesome? Because it’s cheap, and you probably already have stuff around your house that you can display the birdseed on/in.

Here are a few ways I used birdseed to spruce things up.  The candy picture is unrelated, but it is kind of a big deal in my life right now.  

 Remember these birds from Christmas?

   

 

So, take that for what it’s worth.  Get creative with it. You’re welcome. :)

Happy Tuesday, my friends!

Holiday Home, Part Deux

No cheating!!!  If you missed part one, go here now!  Otherwise - read on!  :) :)

I pretty much said all there was to say in my last post, so I'll keep this one pretty word-free.  I've had a ton of fun decorating my home for Christmas, and like I said yesterday, I've saved my favorite photos for last.....  here goes!!!

Miscellaneous...

Staircase...

Mantle...

Christmas Tree...

That's all folks!!!  Thanks so much for stopping by my home....  ;)