Our Lives // Christmas Decorations and Mini-Makeover

Okay, seriously? Where did last week go? Did Thanksgiving just come and go, just like that? Lets just say it was a busy, yet productive, week for us.

I started off the week by hosting a breakfast meeting for my fellow school board members. I'm not a baker, but I've been wanting to make these yummy cinnamon rolls. They came out pretty good, but somehow I forgot to serve the fruit and juices that I had chilled in the refrigerator. Oops. I've been extra spacey these days so I blame it on either my allergies or my allergy medication. I'm not ready to go with the "getting old" excuse quite yet. :)

So, besides pretending to be a baker, I also put up the Christmas decorations and hung some much needed art on our blank walls.

We've been in this house for four years so I really don't have a good excuse for blank walls. I'm just pickier with each passing year, I guess... Probably as a result of my past rash decorating decisions. I've "donated" a bunch of decorative items that we bought on whim for our old house. My hubs is of the "If there's space... Fill it!" school of thought. As a newlywed, I was less particular and too busy with work to focus on particulars, so I just went with it. Also, that was way before blogs, Pinterest and other influencers... I really had no sense of my own style way back then! Flash forward ten years and NOW I care and am picky to the point of paralysis. I'm not sure what's better-- Buy and regret? Or not buy and suffer from decorating paralysis?

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So the Living Room got a mini-makeover. We didn't replace any furniture but rearranged the piano and side chair. The couches aren't exactly my style, but they were expensive and are really comfy... so they're not going anywhere anytime soon.  Maybe in another ten years.  ;)

The African baskets used to hang in our kitchen. With their great textures and neutral colors, I decided that they were a better fit for our living room. I had eight baskets to work with so I laid them out on our floor to figure out the design before putting holes in the walls. Finally, something interesting to look at over our mantel!

The jingle bell burlap garland, wood bead garland and snow capped stars are all Christmas decorations
that I made last year. They blend in so well, I'm tempted to keep them up all year!

These white deer fit in nicely with the baskets. I'll need to find something to take their spot when the Christmas decorations come down.

With the mantel complete, I decided that the entire room needed to be "adjusted". We shifted the piano from one side of the room to the other. Then moved the large stuffed chair next to the mantel. The piano (and art) is one of the first things that you see when you walk into our home.

I chose the abstract painting based upon the existing colors in the room.  Yellow and green are not my favorite colors, so I made sure that blues were also represented. I plan on adding other teal and indigo accents to the room which will add more depth and interest.

Our ceilings are tall, so I went with a 36X36 framed canvas instead of a horizontal print.

Now I just need something on the wall above the overstuffed chair. My mind is stuck on a white feathered juju hat... Unless something better comes up, I think that's what's gonna happen in that corner.  Until I get more decisive, I'll hold off purchasing anything until Part II of my decorating kick.

Moving on to our hallway... I made this Instagram-Heart earlier this year. We have a long hallway that goes through the center of our home. The hallway is broken up into a bunch of narrow walls, so I decided to hang our photo heart on the  wall closest to our family room/kitchen.  

At first I was going to do a gallery wall, but have decided to do that on the wall directly across which has a console table. I haven't gotten all the pieces for the gallery wall, but it'll consist of photos and art,  as well as the letter V (our monogram). Another project saved for Melanie's Decorating Kick, Part II.


Finally, our Christmas Decorations went up this week. Woo hoo! Seriously, I don't really like decorating the tree. It's like torture, so I took an entire week to hang the ornaments. My helpers (aka the boys) hung around ten each, before losing interest. And they hung them all in a clump at the bottom of the tree... so I had to re-do it anyways. One day they'll be able to do it all by themselves! Wishful thinking...

I've slowed down with my holiday crafting this year, but I still managed to make a new faux fur tree skirt and these faux fur ornaments.

these furry ornaments are decorated with rhinestones as well as pearls and jingle bells

I made these a couple of years ago but never did a tutorial. The snowflake design is made with puffy paint. I then spray painted the ornaments silver, then finished it off with a final coat of glitter spray paint. An easy way to revitalize old or ugly ornaments!

and here's the silica gel bead ornament that I made a couple of years ago. As predicted, the once clear beads now have a golden hue. I kinda like it!

 Here's our finished tree...

not too bad for an iphone 4 photo

And lastly, our family room mantel...

My DIY tree collection has grown over the years... Finally there's enough to cover the mantel.

Now I need to finish up my shopping and start wrapping. But first, I need to get through tomorrow.

Since my oldest's baseball tournament was rained-out today, they are going to squeeze in 2-3 games tomorrow. Plus, between both boys, we also have 3 basketball games and 2 basketball photo sessions scheduled for tomorrow as well. All of this on a Sunday! Sunday's are supposed to be peaceful... This is insane.

Clearly we won't be able to do it all. I'm just hoping for a nice, strong, hot cup of coffee along with a few minutes of silence. Aaaah!  :)