Christmas Decorations 2012

I love the way my Christmas decorations turned out this year. Simple, classy and fun, and still toddler friendly. I focused on the mantel, the tree, and a few other random splashes of decorations.



I had this idea for the mantel last year, but only got as far as buying the gold stars. That awesome antique-y mirror is from my friend jen - I've been trying it all around the house and I love it here for Christmas.



Our stockings are hanging with command hooks stuck to the top of the mantel. In previous years I've stuck them up with Scotch tape, but a certain someone enjoyed yanking them down. :)



I also bought a set of little LED lights and stuffed them amongst the non working fireplace logs. I thought the effect was really pretty. :-)



My goal for the tree was a pretty, sparkly tree that was still Javi friendly. Everything on there, with the exception of two ornaments, is plastic and unbreakable. I found these awesome reflective snowflakes at IKEA, took some pom pom yarn from Michaels, and wired together two Dollar Store stars for the tree topper. Easy peasy. And everything survived a toddler induced tipover, so it is definitely Javi friendly.







Oh, and there's my tree skirt that I finally finished just in time for Christmas last year. Only took me four years! :)



Let me just add that pictures of tiny tots with their faces all aglow from Christmas lights = best pictures ever. Gosh that boy is adorable. :)



Also at IKEA, I purchased this silver tree as  a centerpiece for my dining room table. I love the intricacy and the silver-y-ness.





Kohl's always has a great sale on Christmas stuff the week before Christmas, and that's where I picked up these little snowflake napkin rings.



Our holiday cards filled up the mostly blank wall in the dining room - we got tons of cards this year! And such pretty and creative ones.



Our Christmas dishes always make the kitchen feel festive, as does the little ornament swag I hung over the sink.





And there you have it. Simple and festive, just the way I like it!

Pier 1 Dining Accessories

I find that Pier 1 is a hit or miss store. I actually registered there for my wedding, and still have a set of nesting bowls that I use every day from there. But sometimes their new collections just do not work for me. This fall's dining accessories, however, are wonderful. There are tons of cute little items that would make great hostess gifts, or inexpensive Christmas gifts. So I thought I'd share. Click on each picture for the link to the item.

This first item is totally cute, and also a total DIY project. Go to Goodwill, pick up a collection of drink glasses, then paint a not-too-perfect chalkboard label on the front. If you're not the DIY type, these glasses are only $3 each.

These little mugs are adorable, and because I am a sucker for little spoons, I think they are just the bee's knees. :-) Pair this with a bag of gourmet coffee or some chocolate covered espresso beans, and you have the perfect gift for the coffee lover in your circle. And at $5 they won't break the bank either.

I love white dishes. I love shaped dishes and I love flowers. Are you surprised that I love these little dishes? I see them holding delectable treats on the coffee table, paper clips in the office, and cotton balls in the bathroom. Perfection. $2 and $5.

I cannot tell you how much I like this tray. Again, you could DIY, starting with a square tray of any color, and a vinyl decal, or paint, if you are descended from Michaelangelo. This tray is simple, chic, and relatively inexpensive - it will only set you back $30.

It is entirely possible that I love turquoise even more than white dishes. It's a close race, friends. This would look stunning as the centerpiece of a fabulous dining room table, or, if you are very brave, on your coffee table. $40.

Pier 1's collection of teapots right now is awesome. I thought this one was super fun, and the variety of colored polka dots means that you could easily put together a mismatched set of fun cups and saucers for an impromptu tea party. Again, pair this with some delectable loose leaf tea, and you have a perfect little gift. $18.

How cute are these little measuring cups? These would be so adorable hanging out on your counter, when you're not getting your bake on. :-) Again, dishes, flowers. You understand. :-) $15.

Dare I say it? I do. :-) These little spoons are as cute as a bug. Possibly cuter. :-) How much more fun would Sunday morning pancakes be when you are measuring out the baking powder with these? $13

I'm loving these ceramic jars. They remind me of the painted pottery in Spain, and I think it would be so fun to scoop my cereal out of one of these every morning. They would also make great cookie jars. Again, fill one up, and you are set for Christmas. $10-$20

Someday, I WILL get around to making an apron. Until then though, I think I need to add this flirty little apron to my wardrobe. Weekday dinner prep is suddenly something I would look forward to. Although, that might not be such a good idea, because knowing me, I would get caught up twirling to make the ruffles flutter, and burn dinner. $15

This is a great update of the mug tree. Cute colors, large mugs to consume copious amounts of caffeine, and fun little handles. Not to sound like a broken record, but again, great Christmas gift. :-) $19

So that's my little round up of Christmas shopping inspiration at the Pier 1 store. And while I would really love to say that I have all of these items in my home now, as a courtesy from the store for reviewing them, sadly, that is not the case. Hey, I can dream, can't I?

Merry Christmas!

From our castle to yours, we wish you a very

Merry Christmas!

I'll be taking the next week or so off of blogging to enjoy the holidays. I plan to be back in 2010 in force!

Dare to DIY: Christmas Traditions

Sadly, the Dare to DIY party is drawing to a close. I've had so much fun with these posts each week, and even more fun exploring all of the wonderful creations that everyone came up with. Thanks to Kim for hosting each week!

This week's challenge was to share the traditions that we already uphold, or the ones that we are starting this year. I am a big one for traditions, so you can bet that I'll have lots of share.

Celebrating on Christmas Eve Lover's family has always celebrated on Christmas Eve, so most of the time we spend at least part of the day with them. Lover always jokes that he was quite old before he figured out that Christmas wasn't on the 24th. :-) This makes me happy, because we can then spend a quiet Christmas morning together.

Decorating the tree This year we began a new tradition, of waiting to put the ornaments up until Christmas Eve. The tree is currently decorated with lights, balls and ribbon, but all of the sentimental ornaments are patiently waiting for the 24th in a pretty box under the tree. I'm hoping to blare some Christmas tunes, put out some treats, and have a smashing good time.

The dark side of the tree. Several years ago my brothers started this tradition. Someone gave us some seriously weird ornaments, and they jokingly placed them on the back of the tree, dubbing it the "dark side." The tradition has stuck, and now we place all of the questionable ornaments on the back of the tree. So much fun.

Watch Christmas movies. Up until 2009, our tradition was to watch It's a Wonderful Life. This year we ditched the old classic *sniff* in favor of our own favorite Christmas movies; Home Alone, Elf, and While You Were Sleeping. We're trying to do this in lieu of an Advent wreath, so essentially one movie a weekend.

Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch stole Christmas. It's a bit of a joke around here that Lover is a Grinch when it comes to Christmas. (Although in his defense he has been so, SO much better this year) We started watching this heartwarming tale last year on the 24th, and plan to do so again this year.

Grinch ornaments. By chance, the first year we were married, I was out shopping the day after Christmas and I found a clearanced Grinch ornament. I bought it as a joke for Lover (see above) and the tradition has stuck. This one does take some work though, as it is apparently very difficult to find a Grinch ornament each year. It may also be because we have strict guidelines. We have to purchase the ornament around Christmas time, we must be together, and we have to go to a physical store, not shop online. It really is a lot of fun, regardless.

12 days of Christmas. As most couples do, the first year we were married we lamented the fact that we didn't get to have our "own" Christmas together. So instead, we gave each other a few small gifts in the days following Christmas. The second year we turned that into a full fledged tradition, buying five small gifts, one for every day after Christmas. Eventually our plan is to give each other one gift each day from December 26 through January 6th. (The day they celebrate Christmas in Spain, where we both grew up) This year we are up to 7 gifts. We keep a $5 limit for each gift so things don't get too crazy. It's my favorite tradition of all the ones we keep, and I look forward to it each year.

So those are the traditions we keep here at Wendhurst Castle. It's been fun to hang out with all you fun peeps, and I've had so much fun finding all sorts of new blogs to add to my reader. Have a Merry Christmas!

Images found through images.google.com

Friday Favs: Christmas Decorations!

I love getting our house all decked out for Christmas, with poinsettias, lights and little sentimental knicknacks.We put a little tree up at the top of the stairs, and it fits perfectly in the little nook of the landing. It was a Black Friday steal that a friend picked up for me, and I had fun getting it all decked out in reds. There's red balls, red apples, cardinals and poinsettias in just about every nook and cranny of that tree.

In the dining room I went with very Christmas-y colors, and lots of glitz and glamour. The table is set with a fruit bowl with a pretty wreath around it, on a red tablerunner. I put little red candles on either side, surrounded by berries, and decked out the table with red and green chargers, silky red napkins and poinsettia napkin rings.

The antique dresser/buffet is loaded with little boxes that look like presents, and the shelves above it got their own decorations in color scheme appropriate colors.

The bookcase is showcasing our new stockings and the angel holders, both Christmas clearance items I picked up last year. I like how they lighten up the dark case.

On the piano in the living room I've got candles galore, and our nativity scene. I need Lover to build me a creche, but we didn't get around to that this December.

The tree is beautiful, and I am so in love with the topper that I found at Goodwill. It is a 12 pointed star with translucent panes, that let the light shine through. So pretty. It's hard to tell, but we hardly have any ornaments on the tree. We're saving them for Christmas Eve.

The mantel is my favorite part of the decorating this year. I put up a garland and spruced it up with some pinecones and picks, and then tucked glass candleholders all throughout it. The two hurricanes on the ends are holding tons of gold ornaments, and the gold mirror reflects all the light and sparkles and bounces them around the room. So pretty.

So that's my little holiday home tour. Hope you enjoyed it, and more importantly, I hope you enjoy the holiday Season. Merry Christmas!

Wendhurst Castle's Christmas Wish List

Oh the stories this old house would tell, if it could talk! I am sure it has lots of tales of Christmases past, both good and bad. I am also sure that it has horrible ghost stories of the "remodeling" that was done to it throughout the years.

That said, I've put together a list of the items this house would like. Because we all know that all houses have personalities and of course care about the things in them. :-)

First up, for the living room, would be a new love seat to replace the current one whose exact twin lives in the waiting room at the local oil change shop. Ew. Ugly oil change couch would be replaced by cozy and stylish loveseat.

Also, for the living room, new end tables. While the current ones match, they are a little rickety. They're also very small, and contain only open storage. We're looking for ones with drawers and shelves, to soothe my organizing heart. I mean, to make this house happy.

For the dining room, a new set of chairs. The castle would like chairs worthy of its elegance, not dated, falling apart, mismatched chairs like the current ones. Something like these would be nice.

For the kitchen, the castle requests a new fridge with a working freezer, so that the occupants of the castle may freeze things upstairs or down, thereby making their life easier. Who's ever heard of roughing it in a castle?

For the bedroom, and because castles have no concept of money, two nightstands like this beautiful carved Moroccan side table. They'll add just the right amount of ambiance and romance to the room.

Also for the bedroom, a large, pretty rug to warm up the toes of the couple that takes residence in the master "suite." This rug is really pretty and isn't too terribly expensive.

For the office, the castle requests a small antique loveseat that has been reupholstered in a fresh white. This will encourage plenty of lounging and relaxing in one of the sunniest rooms in the house.

For the bathroom, a set of fluffy white towels to replace the old ones. Fluffy white towels are always superior to any other color of towel, and fluffy is always better than... non-fluffy.

For the hallway, at the top of the stairs, some sort of cool light fixture. Perhaps something like this one?

And finally, for the front porch, a gliding loveseat that will allow the occupants to do lots of snuggling while people watching during long summer evenings.

So there you have it. This castle's Christmas top ten wish list, something for every room in the house. (Almost) Oh, and if you would like to purchase any of these items for your own castle, just click on each image and it will take you to the site. Merry Christmas!