our second christmas

last year, i didn't decorate the house for christmas. i put up a boxwood wreath inside, but that was it. i had grand plans to order everything i wanted on sale after last christmas. i had a plan...

reality: i waited too long to order the wreaths. i tend to do that. they were sold out. garlands are expensive. i thought we had more white lights than we did (only one short string in the rubbermaid tub). we have been traveling so much that it didn't make sense to put up a tree.

so i ordered cheap artificial outdoor wreaths from amazon. not boxwood, like i originally envisioned, because i couldn't find them at a reasonable price point. we put them up on each window, but not the front door. still haven't been able to figure out how to hang it successfully on the storm door : ) and still haven't changed the door or storm door. eh. maybe next year?

i bought a single strand of icicle lights for across the front porch. it's almost the right size. but it doesn't hang straight. there are recommendations online, but they mostly involve a lot of time and a hair dryer. nope. does anyone have an easier way?

then i wrapped two columns with white lights. we did not wrap any garlands - too expensive. i might order an artificial one for next year (yeah, yeah, i know - because it worked so well last year). but wouldn't the porch railing look pretty with a green garland?

we also hung the wreaths on the interior of the house on the three upstairs windows. however, there are HVAC vents above the windows. the wreaths kept falling. so in the oh-so-lovely dark photo above, the middle upstairs wreath has fallen to the bedroom floor. i'll try climbing out onto the roof and hanging them outside next year.

inside, i did bare minimum decorating. number one on my after-christmas list is stocking holders. i really like the topiary ones from ballard designs, but unfortunately they don't carry them anymore.

maybe i could make them? maybe not. but i really like them. this year i just set the stockings out on top of the fireplace. which looks a little silly. i'll keep searching for hangers. we also did not put up a tree. we went to key west with phil's family the week before christmas, so we didn't think it was worth the hassle. however, my beautiful friend alycyn sent us a gorgeous small tree from a cute old town florist. what a fun treat on christmas eve! 

a (wo)man with a plan

remember how i didn't decorate for christmas for this year? well, i've spent the month planning for next year! my plan is to order everything on clearance this year in the after-christmas sales to be ready for december 2013. we're on a bus route - which is wayyy better than an ambulance route! learned that the hard way - so i see our house from the bus everyday. it makes me sad to not have decorations. it also makes me want to make sure it looks as good in the daylight as in the dark.

there weren't as many houses in our neighborhood decorated and lit as i thought there would be. but this one is my favorite. i don't know these people, but thank you for the holiday cheer!

so i'm on the hunt for white lights. obviously, i'm jealous of their awesome storm door / good-looking front door combination. (and their huge corner lot!) but perhaps we'll have a different door by the end of next year : ) anyway, i just love the evergreens, wreath, and garland. and white lights are always my favorite - sparkly but restrained. 

here's the front of our house: 

the plan for next year is wreaths on the windows and door, with icicle lights along the porch and a garland on the railing. so pretty : ) i'm not sure about the red bows with our red brick, but this is the look i'm going after:

source

i'm really hoping for boxwood wreaths. there's just something about the structure that i prefer. 

these are on sale at lowe's!

i'm not sure about the whole bow issue. not much of a bow person. maybe i'll just use ribbon to tie to a nail above each window. like here. wouldn't that be pretty?? 

as for the interior decorations, i'm not sure which direction to go yet. i'm really drawn to the colorful vintage ornaments, but i'll always love monochromatic schemes. i like a crazy tree, not super-curated, but full of ornaments from special occasions and special people. phil's mom and aunt give us ornaments every year and i'm excited to finally be able to put them up next year. i have ornaments from before we were married : ) i've also gotten ornaments from various travels: italy, amsterdam, belgium, bahrain, various US cities... so that will be eclectic. but what about our mantel? or the banister? or the dining room table? ummmmm... at least i have another year! and, of course, endless inspiration from pinterest. off to shop the online holiday sales!

tis the season

happy holidays!

i love christmas. decorating, shopping, wrapping, cooking, baking, traveling, entertaining... i love all of it. i'm tired by january, but it's worth it. and with this being the first christmas in a house (a real house!), i thought we'd go all out - have a party, go crazy decorating, home-made baked goods for all the neighbors, everything. but... every weekend is already full, so no party. plus, the house is not nearly where i want it to be before we invite half the world over again. and if no party, what's the point in decorating the house? we will spend the majority of the holiday with our families, and i typically ship gifts, so no presents under the tree. which means the tree isn't really worth it ($70 for two weeks?? anyone who has met my husband knows that is not happening). and two registration exams before december 20 means i shouldn't use decorating as another way to procrastinate...

being a practical adult is not very fun. so phil took me to the cute little garden store by our house to buy a wreath for the front door : ) i picked out a big, fresh boxwood beauty and we bought a wreath hanger, since i've never had a wreath before. we were having people over for the last regular season a&m game (whoop! go johnny football!) and thought it would be a nice way to start the holiday season. but, ummm, we had no idea what to do with it when we got home. does it go on the real front door or the storm door???? the wreath hanger didn't fit on the front door - it was too skinny. we tried to change its shape, but the door wouldn't close. not good in the winter. also, then you can't see it from the street. isn't that one of the main reasons you have a christmas wreath? i don't know, i'm new at this wreath thing. so we put it on the storm door. and it looked like this...

weird. and it slammed whenever the storm door closed. like "bump, bump" and just generally not right. sooooo i moved it inside. to the door between the dining room and den. and i like it. will it stay there? who knows! we will put up lights in the front this weekend and then i might move it back to the front door. 

PS - see my milk delivery box? : ) 

PPS - don't you love how much better the instagram photo looks? it makes everything better!