Better Late Than Never...The Christmas Tour

I'm really behind in showing you my holiday decor this year, but as the saying goes....

Better Late Than Never!

I really didn't do any big decorating this year and it feels good to keep things simple.  With the kitchen renovations taking up quite a bit of our time, I needed to wait longer than I wanted to, to put my decorations out.

I hope you take the time to look around the house as we continue to getting ready to celebrate

Christmas later this week.

The table got a small Christmas runner that I purchased at the thrift store for a dollar, along with a

metal basket that I had on hand here filled with a garland and topped with ornaments and pine cones.

I also added these cute wooden tags that I purchased on clearance last year at Target.

 I kept the living room very simple with just some pine cones in a basket on the coffee table and some lighted branches in my owl vase in the corner and some ornaments on the shelves of the bookcase.  I let the tree take center stage in the living room.

 Our tree is in the corner of the living room by the front door.

I went with a blue, green and silver theme.  All these ornaments are new and were purchased on
Boxing Day last year at Home Sense.

In the family room I just decorated the hearth and hung the stockings.

I will be taking the rest of the year off from the blog to enjoy time with family and friends.

I'd like to wish you all a safe and Happy Holiday season and a very Merry Christmas!

Cheryl

Christmas Vignettes...

Vignettes...is a word  that seems to be "buzzing" in blogland lately...

So - not to be left out - I'm showing you all the Christmas vignettes around my home.  Christmas decorating here has taken a more subdued tone...in small doses all around the house.

The wreath on our front door has changed from this scarf wreath...

to this...pine cones and sugared fruit on an evergreen and grapevine base.  Simple and elegant but not over-the-top.

The entryway table has only a few baubles..a couple of ornaments and a white metal 6-point star.

Moving upstairs finds a vignette on top of the sideboard...I showed you how I made that here.

A small tree and an old photo of the kids with Santa in the living room on the media cabinet...(shhh...don't look at the mess in the background on the kitchen counter!!!)

Heading downstairs...4 penguins my daughter won at a Christmas raffle when she was in elementary school.  They stand guard every year here in the entryway.

Now vignettes in the family room...JOY, PEACE, LOVE on the mantel.

And my favourite Christmas vignette of all - our new tree inside our antique trunk!  This is a popular trend now, using unconventional containers to hold your tree.

...but now a vignette that I haven't shown you yet...NUTCRACKERS!!

These are on a side table in our family room.

and not to be forgotten...Christmas vignettes in the bathroom - with RUBBER DUCKIES!

In a boat in our nautical themed bathroom, these duckies were a gift and I love to include them in my decorating each year. 

and lastly - a small vignette on the shelf over my kitchen sink.

A christmas cactus blooming in the window!

I hope you enjoyed this Christmas Home Tour and all our small vignettes.  

Are you Christmas decorating in small vignettes or in big doses??

Do you decorate your bathroom for Christmas?

I would love to hear from you!

Cheryl

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Savvy Southern Style

Our Christmas Tree - 2012

OK - so last night I shared a sneak peek of our new Christmas tree...

We purchased a new 6ft artificial tree this year - a Fraser Fir that is just 37 inches around at the base...Our old tree was 7 1/2 ft tall and 5 ft around at the base - it was a lovely tree, but it just took up too much floor space.   I found this new beauty at Target in Michigan this past weekend for just $20!! - SCORE !! It was just what I was looking for and it was in the price bracket I was willing to spend.

We put it up in our basement family room - last year we had the tree in what is now our dining room, because last year we didn't have dining room furniture and used the space as an extension of our living room.

I decided to place the new tree inside an antique trunk that we had in our family room...first I tried it on top of the trunk, but then decided the vignette would be better with the tree placed inside.  Our family room includes lots of "manly" touches like McG's duck decoys and rusty tin items like a deer and a moose that we've collected over the years.  I wanted to include them in our decorating to keep the lodge-y feel that McG and I love.

The ribbon and ornaments are all ones that I had on hand.  We added white lights and red ribbon that has a gold shimmer to it.  Red, green and silver ornaments and red and silver birds are what I decorated it with.  The birds were purchased last year from the Dollarama.  Also I added green and red glittery springs which I bought last year.  I placed some of McG's decoys around the base of the trunk and added glittery stems to the crock.  The deer was on our mantel, but now joins the ducks near the tree.

This is a view of our tree and mantel this year.  I love the lodge-y look of our basement family room with its warm gold and browns and our cedar ceiling.  Here's one last look at the tree with the lights lit at night.

Do you have your tree up? Do you place it in a cool container or a traditional stand?  I'd love to hear from you!

Cheryl
Linking up @:  Kathe with an E
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Sharing a Great Giveaway!

Hey there friends! I just wanted to pop in and let you know about a great giveaway over at 11 Magnolia Lane - $50 gift card to Home Goods/TJ Maxx (good at either store)  Make sure to check it out!

While I'm here I thought I'd share a sneak peek of my tree...

Be back tomorrow with full details...

Cheryl

Styles of Christmas

What is your decorating style at Christmas? Do you go with the traditional red and green, or something more contemporary like black and silver?  Or maybe you like a more neutral decor using items found in nature like pine cones and shells?

 This is my tree from last year...

And there is Sloan, hiding amongst the gifts!  Silly kitty!

It's hard to tell from this picture, but our tree was red and lime green themed...it had lots of glittery feather-like picks, as well as red, green and gold ornaments - our walls then were a pear-green colour so the theme seemed to fit...

This year our living room and dining room area are painted a soft grey-blue called Canadian Sky by CIL paints and the kitchen is a teal colour called Smoked Turquoise.  I am dreaming of a new "slimmer" tree this year and have been on the lookout for the perfect tree - something smaller perhaps - in a pot that would sit atop a table and not take up so much floor space...because this year we have our new dining room furniture in the area that the tree was in last year...and our kids are older now (22 and 18) and they don't get excited to decorate with me anymore (insert sad face) - in fact its a job that I do pretty much alone anymore, except if there's something I can't reach and then McG jumps in to save the day! (He's really good that way!)

I have found a few different inspirations for this year's tree...

                                                                 

Isn't this one so serene - I really love the quiet colour palette.  This neutral tree might be a good option.

                                                                   
This blue one is lovely, however, I'm not sure adding another blue to the mix would work - I might like it better with some lime green mixed in or maybe if the blue were aqua instead.

                                                               
This one has the lime green I crave, but with more neutral ornaments. And I love the starfish!

Or what about something totally different and unexpected!

                                                   
What's your Christmas decorating style...do you match your tree to your decor, or go with something totally different that stands out and makes a statement?  And where do you place your tree - in the living room, or family room? I usually do one large tree and one smaller one in the basement family room.  I'd love to hear how you are decorating this holiday season!

Happy decorating!  (oh, and you can check these trees again at BHG.com)

Cheryl