Wednesday, December 6, 2017

touches of christmas at comfy house

Now that the focus is all about Christmas, it seems like Thanksgiving was months ago, doesn't it? Since I haven't posted since before Thanksgiving - which, hard to believe was just two weeks ago - I had to share at least one Thanksgiving photo with you. I didn't take many photos this year, but this was one of my favorites: My sister and brother-in-law's new rescue pup, Piper eyeballing the ham that my brother-in-law and Brian were carving.


So, here we all are getting ready for Christmas (or any other December holiday you celebrate). Every year I tell myself I'm not going to do as much as I did the year before and yes, I have been pretty good about this. But somehow it still gets a little crazy. This year, one of the things I cut back on was the decorating. I dragged out all my decorations, went through everything, and ended up using half of what I had. Even with our little Christmas tree, I went minimal with the ornaments.

Bits of Christmas cheer in the kitchen...




In the living room, a vintage sleigh and mouse grace the entry table.



We don't put up a large tree anymore. Haven't done so ever since Phil passed away. None of us have the desire for a big tree and now we feel like it's too much work. Instead, we put up this tabletop tree on the buffet and adorn it with a few ornaments from Phil and Tim's childhoods. I kept the area beside the tree sparse, as this is where I'll put the presents after I wrap them.

Dig my new kitty runner! I couldn't resist when I saw this at HomeGoods last week. 




A small tree by the bookcase...


On the bookcase, a silver _______ (what would you call this?) I found it years ago at Goodwill, still in its original box. I don't think it's an angel. I guess I should see if the box tells what it is, but I certainly don't feel like digging through storage boxes again until it's time to box the decorations back up.


This photo collage of the boys when they were little comes out every Christmas.


Looking from the kitchen into the living room...


This is my first Christmas decorating a mantel. It probably needs garland of some sort, but maybe next year.



Not Christmasy on top of the end table, but I wanted to show you two recent purchases. There's a couple of women from my former yoga class that have a small local business where they make hand-poured soy wax candles from recycled wine and beer bottles. This is my latest purchase of one of their creations. I really liked this wine bottle label. (And yes, I have bought wine just because of a cool label.) The scent is really nice, too. It's called Harvest, so it smells like pumpkin, cinnamon and cloves, with a hint of sweetness. The felted wool coasters are from another local business where the owner travels all over the world and brings back artisan treasures. These were handmade in Mexico.


My aunt made this ceramic reindeer and sleigh many years ago and gifted it to me. It's one Christmas decoration that will have a place of honor every year. This little nook is at the end of the hallway.


And thus ends the tour of Christmasy Comfy House. I don't decorate our bedroom or my office/yoga room (formerly Phil's bedroom) except for a couple of tchotckes.

How's your holiday decorating/shopping/wrapping/baking/partying going?


14 comments:

  1. Melanie, I do dig your cat runner! And your fireplace is gorgeous. This is my first year not to have a fireplace and mantel so I love seeing them in my blog friends' houses. One thing I always love in your rooms is your interesting books displayed. I always have to magnify the pics so I can read the titles. The Tale of 12 Kitchens looks interesting because I always love seeing other people's kitchens, don't you? There's nothing more interesting than reading about the meals other people cook too.

    I gave away so much of my Christmas decorations when we moved but even so I'm not using all I had in this small house. And that's okay, may even be less and less with the coming years. This is our first year without a fresh Christmas tree and I have to say that I'm enjoying not having the worry of keeping it watered. For a family who was in the Christmas tree business for decades, that's a pretty big step for us.

    The important thing is to celebrate and observe in a way that is right for us, and that changes from year to year.

    Love to you,
    Dewena

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  2. I love your home and it always looks so cozy no matter the season.
    I also buy wine for the label too. ;)

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  3. Everything looks really nice. I can understand not wanting to do a big tree anymore for any number of reasons. I love the multiple small trees around, that is a really great idea. I love the shelves, I would really like one for my breakfast nook. I think it's called an etagere. We have a fake Christmas tree and have for about 16 years now because I couldn't stand the natural tree we had for our first apartment. It was covered in fungus and infested with spiders! I know they won't all be like that, but I was really turned off and we bought the fake tree the next year and have enjoyed it very much. :)

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  4. Each year I find I do less and less decorating. The Grands do love to see my tree though. It's not large, just about 4ft but holds lots of ornaments. I also put out a few vintage items in the cubbies. A tiny tree in the kitchen and some pillows. Makes me happy! I love all your sweet memories you bring out each year. Hugs!

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  5. I'm done. I went through stuff but didn't put it all up. Will probably get most of it ready for Goodwill. Love that photo from the kitchen into the living room!
    Brenda

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  6. I think you have just the right amount of holiday cheer spread around, Melanie! I love that candle and those super adorable coasters, too!!!

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  7. For anyone that has dogs that first picture is a scene enacted every day in kitchens / love it, lol! :)

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  8. Wow, Melanie, that shot of the candle with the fireplace in the background is amazing. The mantle looks perfect to me!

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  9. I think you decorated beautifully. I am in love with those coasters, I would buy them in a heartbeat. Happy Holidays.

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  10. Our tree has shrunk over the years, too, and that's just fine with me. Less work all around! Your home looks festive filled with all the things that are meaningful to you. I added a real garland to our mantel this year and last, but beware if you do. A huge spider crawled out of my laptop when I opened it. It was on the floor next to the garland when I had it laid out on the living room floor. Eek!

    Love those coasters, too!

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  11. I just got the tree up on Monday. When Jess and the kids lived here, we used her little tree, but I got out the big one this year. Silas saw it yesterday and said, "It looks like two trees combined!". LOL. I forget how huge it is.
    I love the candles on your mantle!

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  12. We've not put up a big tree until this year because we found a grogeous "slender" tree at the thrift store I volunteer at for less than $20. Its slender enough not to have to move furniture. But I am on the lookout for smaller one. I think al your holiday decorations looks so nice. I love the little table in the nook. I love the shot from the kitchen to the living room...

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  13. Your home looks so pretty and festive for Christmas. I think you have done a really nice job of scaling back yet still keeping the meaningful decorations on display.
    I did a big edit of my holiday décor this year. Looking around the house I don't miss a thing. Just kept my favorites and in some cases used them in new ways. It feels good to freshen the look a bit after so many years of doing the same thing.
    I wanted to thank you so much for your input on photo storage. I learned so much from you. My new computer keeps telling me that my One Drive is full. Until I read your comment I didn't even know what One Drive was. Ha! I also was putting the pictures from my phone onto the computer in a very long process. Thanks for clearing that up too.

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  14. I think I won't put up a tree this year either. But I like al your Christmas touches throughout the house.

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