Christmas all around the house

Hi Blogger Friends!  Today I am so excited to share my whole house with you now that it's all decked out for Christmas.  Tis the season, and in the spirit of giving and sharing I've decided to join several linky parties.  Oh what fun it is, to sit back for a moment and enjoy all the pretties that others are sharing of how they decorate to celebrate the most wonderful time of year.  I'll be attending the following parties at; All Thru the House Christmas Tour of Homes, 

The Scoop, 

and Inspire Me Tuesday.  

Come on in sweet friends! It may be nearly 80 degrees outside but inside it's a cozy winter wonderland!

The first thing to welcome you in the foyer of my home is the manger.  I couldn't think of a more welcoming scene to put in my entry way.  The message of the baby Jesus birth coming to save us is one of the greatest most inclusive and unconditional acts of love ever.  I want others to feel that love when they enter my home.

This message is why I like to go all out at Christmas.  This is reason enough for me to pull out every bit of effort I can to celebrate.  It's all about sharing joy and celebration with those I love.

  I know most of you attending these parties understand that because I have already been enjoying some of your beautiful homes.  Wow!  You ladies really know how to do it up right!  I love looking at all your pretties because they inspire me so much.  I probably tune in to blogs more this time of year then any other because there is so much to see and appreciate.

Let's walk over to the dining room now.  I keep a silver, gold and ivory theme in here.  This is the only room I haven't done a full post on yet, but it's coming soon, I promise.  One of the things I'm going to enjoy the most is using our new table with family this year.  I got our table this summer at an estate sale being held just down the road.  I still hope to find additional chairs one day that match, I have 6 would prefer 8.

I kept things fairly simple in here with just a few splashes of frosty faux greenery.  I love the sparkly look of snow on greenery don't you?  

 I have been enjoying seeing so much real greenery among many of your homes this year.  It's so positively beautiful!  I would really love fresh greenery but it's a bit too costly for me this year.  I could have sneaked out in the backyard and cut a few cypress branches but I'm thinking with all the rain and warmer temps we've had this year that would not have been too smart.  I've already heard warnings on our local news about those who have real trees need to be on the look out for ticks this year.  Can you imagine?  Yikes! 

Now let's pop into the kitchen, okay?



It's candyland all the way in here.  Yum! Yum!   This year I added a new slimmer then ever tree so I wouldn't have to eliminate any furniture pieces.  I was so surprised about how many ornaments actually still fit on this tree.




We have a new little one coming this year who is a toddler and I absolutely cannot wait to see his face when he see's this room.  I may just have to let him hold one of the elves too!





I have been enjoying the coffee bar so much after I added a countdown calendar on my chalkboard. I was inspired to make my own after seeing a premade chalkboard countdown at Target.   It's amazing and kinda scary how quickly the days have flown by since I started counting down.

Before we walk into the den let's poke our heads in the half bath.  I know it's kinda weird, but I wanted you to see how I finally found the perfect spot for my pink mercury glass Christmas trees.  Since this bathroom has a rose garden type theme I was so thrilled when I realized how cute they would look in here.  Love when that happens!

Okay now you can go on into the den!






































One of the best tips of inspiration I have gotten from blogs was a tutorial that I saw last year.  It was on how to do multi layered ribbons for the Christmas tree. I did it last year and let me tell you this was so easy and so fun! It's also probably the main reason why I just knew I had to do new ribbons this year.

I still kept the den in a very rustic and woodsy feel but with a bit of a different spin.   It's now a more updated look with a modern mix of plaid and cheetah.






































Crazy I know, but y'all I just love it!  For me it's so fresh and colorful!  There were several changes I made in this room because I was inspired by others.    One more idea I used was when I was inspired to add more vintage looking Christmas balls after seeing a beautiful kitchen picture on pinterest that used them all around the room.  So likewise, I decided to spread some around too!

The last stop on the tour today will be on my screened porch.  I hope you like Mermaids!



It's a Nautical wonderland out here!  We love this little porch and are sure to be enjoying it quite a bit this Christmas.  It's so unusually warm this year but what a blessing!



I say it's a blessing because I've been able to get caught up on the cleaning and repainting and maintenance that I would otherwise have not been able to do this time of year.



So as we sit outside this Christmas and enjoy these warmer temps we will also be able to sit and remember summer vacations past while looking at the ornaments on my Nautical tree.  I can hardly wait until everyone gets here and we can start to reminiscence!



Well that' wraps it up friends!  I didn't share any of our outdoor lights but they out there.  LOL!  IF I can I will try to do a seperate post on those as well.

Thank you all so very much for visiting today!  I really hope you enjoyed the tour.  If you enjoyed this tiny bit of inspiration I've shared and want more please be sure and pop by any of the following for more beautiful sights from all over!
All Thru the House Christmas Tour 
The Scoop
Inspire Me Tuesday

Wishing all of you a very Merry Christmas this year!
Hugs,
Mary

Mermaids in the Christmas tree

Good Monday morning!  All my Christmas decorating is finished.  Woohoo!  So, now it's time to share.  I've got so much to show and will try to keep sharing more as much as time permits.  Already we have celebrations coming up to prepare for...so...you know how that goes, and know what I mean right?

One thing you may not know about me is that I absolutely LOVE mermaids!  I am not sure when this actually started but I just adore them!  There is something so fun about the thought of them for me.  I like them so much I started a playful Mermaid theme on my screen porch that all started with a sign I found call The Mermaid Lounge.  That's where the idea began and it's grown ever since.

Let's start off with the topper!  Because my Christmas tree is on the screened porch (aka The Mermaid Lounge) I went with a nautical theme.  Since we are a nautical family this tree makes us really happy!  I found these blue balls on stems at Michaels a few years ago and knew they would make a perfect topper.  They look like bubbles to me.  I also found the silver and teal leafy stems that reminded me of seaweed and it all came together very easily after that.  

I have had so much fun creating this tree and continue to do so every year.  I started collecting more pieces on my summer vacations to add to this tree.  It's amazing how easy it is to come across nautical tree decor while on vacation.  Not to mention it's starting to be very enjoyable to look back at a few of the ornaments now and remember the vacation as well. 

I especially love that friends also enjoy my tree.   The sailboat in the bottle was given to me from a sweet friend last year.  Isn't it adorable, I just love it!!!

This ornament is new, added from our beach trip to Edisto this summer.  Edisto is one of those beaches we used to frequent quite a bit but haven't been back to in some time.  We had such a fun time there this year and I was tickled to death when I found this ornament with Mermaids no less.



This year I also added a few new items.  I came across these adorable fish from Carolina Pottery and added new jute ribbon that I got from Michaels at the after Christmas sales last year. It's a white jute with flecks of gold in it.  I felt like the ribbon had a ropey kind of look that fit the theme well.

As you can see I have lots of nautical ornaments I could highlight.  They are not always so easy to come by so when I do see them I tend to pick them right up.  For this post though, I decided to zoom in on the Mermaids for your enjoyment.  These are just a few more of my favorites also from previous beach trips to Pawleys Island and Litchfield.  

Last but not least, is my newest Mermaid purchased at the Atlanta Market this year while there with work.  She is a handmade ornament for Peru, complete with a precious pearl.  Isn't she beautiful!

I think she's delightful!

Thank you so much for popping in today!

 I still haven't shared the dining room with you yet.  

I'll try to get that one out real soon, okay?  Ok!

Have a great day friends!

Mary

Faith in the Foyer

Hi Sweet Friends!  I can't think of a better way to welcome and greet family and friends for the holidays then with a little Faith, Hope and Love!   This sign has only been in my foyer above the mirror almost a year now.  It has so few words but says so much, and I absolutely love it!  

I have always displayed our manger scene in the dining room because I like to be able to look upon it while dining during Christmas.    However, this year I decided to display our manger in the foyer.  I felt like it would be so pretty in here with the new color.  The color is very ethereal to me so I felt like the manger scene totally fit this space this year.

The dictionary defines "ethereal" as; extremely delicate and light in a way that seems too perfect for this world.

Now doesn't that seem fitting for a manger scene when you think about the whole of it?  I think so!

I have enjoyed this starry globe for years now.  It was purchased from a Christmas Around the World home party many, many, years ago.  If you ever want me to go to a home party just host a Christmas themed one and I'm there!  I placed the globe on a Tyler Candle stand this year because I liked the color of the stand with the globe and of course those bling blingy crystals.  Gotta have my bling!  

Other then a few bits of bling though, I decided not to load this vignette down with too many objects so the focus would stay on the manger.   I used a teal runner that  I usually keep on the dining room table to give the manger some contrast from the wood.

The only additional items I added were the globe for the starry night effect and these small Christmas trees in various sizes which I kept unadorned.  I've used them before with this set and thought it was so simple and yet so sophisticated looking.  

I was given this set by a very dear friend of mine after I gushed over it one day while we were out shopping together.  It's from Kirklands and was an excellent price for the beauty of it yet I still didn't buy it because I have several old hand me down sets (both from my family and my husbands) and children's play sets.   I've never had a nicer set until she surprised me later with this one.  I just treasure it so much because it was such a thoughtful gift.  I am always so very thankful to have received this set and was especially thrilled when I came upon the stable at a thrift store one day too.  

I perched my angel up near the roof of the stable because she is definitely among those ethereal beings keeping watch over baby Jesus.    I do wish you could see the coloring's of the porcelain in person.  The color variations of the kings clothing are just so wonderful.  

Even the precious shepherd boys cloak and the animals colors are so pretty! 

I love this season so much and what a great time to show our love to the Lord to all and to also share his message that all are welcomed!

Thanks so much for stopping by again today.

Happy Wednesday Everyone!

Have a blessed day!!!

Mary

Christmas decorating in the den

Good Morning Friends!  I hope you all had a great weekend.  I sure did and accomplished so much.  I still need to do my porch Christmas tree but everything else is done.  Today I'd like to share my Christmas decorating in the den because....