Karla's Cottage Holiday Home Party

Welcome to my Holiday Home! Special thanks to Karla Nathan for hosting this fabulous party. I have to warn you that I may have gone overboard with the photos but I couldn't bare to edit any out! We'll start with the outside - we put evergreen wreathes on all of the windows. This year I decided to go for a more natural look and leave out the bows. The window boxes are filled with faux snowballs. Project information can be found here.

As we approach the front door, you will find the wreath I blogged about here.

Please do come in, make yourself at home and pull up a chair. Can I interest you in some hot cocoa, tea, coffee?

I dressed up the dining room chandelier with some vintage glass ornaments I found while at an estate sale this past year. I only dropped one in the process of tying these on LOL!

Please come have a seat in the living room. Here is our Christmas tree. It is real - Jeff won't go for a fake one! Yes, our living room walls are a golden yellow though I've noticed they come across a lot more vibrant in photos then they are in person. These walls were an awful shade of peachy brown when we moved in - I really can't even describe the color! We went with a creamy white but I soon decided we needed more color! I've recently told Jeff that I may want to change the color yet again - he wasn't too happy!

Allow me to show you some of my favorite ornaments. This little red clock is my most favorite. This has been part of my Christmas tree since I was a child and I snagged it from my mother when I moved out. I have placed this ornament on the tree every year for as long as I can remember. I don't know why it appeals to me so much - my mother thinks I'm crazy as it is just a cheap little thing that came in a package with many ornaments but it is very kitchy don't you think?

This is one of two Italian themed ornaments my mother gave us last year. This one depicts the Trevi Fountain in Rome. We have a special love for Italy as both Jeff and I are of Italian ancestry and we honeymooned in Italy.

Another favorite - this one also came into our collection last year. I love old movies, esp. old Bing Crosby films. I love, love, love Holiday Inn - one of my all time favorites and of course love White Christmas. This ornament plays the movie version of White Christmas. Our dog Margot can't figure out why the tree is singing - it is quite funny to watch her cock her head from side to side in confusion and wonder!

Speaking of Margot - there are several ornaments with a dog theme - this one features her photo and was given to us by Jeff's grandmother.

This is a lovely addition for this year - it is from my mother-in-law and she just gave it to me last week. Cardinals are my favorite bird and we also live on a street with Cardinal in its name so we have several cardinal items throughout our home.

This is our mantle. I was just telling Karla that I am leaning towards more silvers and creams in holiday decor but you'd never know it! Most of our decorations are in the traditional red and green.

Before Jeff and I got together he used to decorate his Christmas tree in all gold. We have several boxes of gold glass ornaments that we don't really use anymore. They go up and down from the attic year to year. So this year, I decided to create some wreathes for the living room windows.

This is a Cardinal Christmas tree that is stationed by our front door.

An adorable tie on that Kari and Kijsa included with my silhouette I posted about in my last entry.

Here are the results of some of the fabulous Joli Paquets I purchased. The bell kit came from Heather...

...and this Sugar Shack kit came from Holly. She had such a run on these I was lucky to snag one!

This lovely doll is from Angelina.

This little pillow is one of the first Christmas themed items I bought when Jeff and I first moved in together.

Care for a sleigh ride? I have to say I've always wanted to go on one but haven't yet... The cone is another beauty from Holly.

My mother made me this Santa mug when I was a child.

As we make our way into the kitchen we come across a few more Santas. This tin one was given to me by my grandmother. She used to use this in her holiday decor.

This sleepy time Santa was a craft fair purchase many, many years ago. I like his slippers! This is what Santa does after a long Christmas night!

Even my aprons are ready for the holidays!

We do have a chimney but in case Santa has had too much milk and cookies or has a really big gift - say a new flat screen TV - he can use his special key from the famous and local Woodbury Pewter.

Ready or not here comes Santa Claus! I took this photo a few days ago as you can see - I think we are down to something like 13 days!

I hope you have enjoyed your tour of my Holiday Home. I'm off to visit some others now!

Wishing you and yours much peace, love, and happiness throughout the holiday season and beyond.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays,