Christmas Decor

I was really excited to decorate for Christmas this year. It's our first Christmas in our new house, and we didn't decorate the apartment last year. I had forgotten that I had really pared down and purged a lot of our decor when we were planning to move into a two bedroom apartment, so I didn't have much to work with this year.

 

The mantle in the family room. 

 

I didn't have any filler for the apothocary jars, so I improvised with extra ornaments and glittery bulbs. I had seen a project for glittery Christmas bulbs on Pinterest, but I ended up  finding a glittery bulb garland at Christmas Tree Shop for $1.  I cut the bulbs off and stuck them in the jar.

The large canvas was another DIY project. The frame came from Hobby Lobby and will love on the mantle year round. I snagged it for $17 during a half off sale. The art is a plain canvas with vinyl wall words that I picked up on clearance two  years ago. Simple and cheap!

 

I love my tree. I deck it out in red and gold each year.  The more glitter, sparkle, and shine, the better! There are a few sentimental ornaments scattered in, though. Do you see the Mickey bulb from our Disney vacation?

 

This ornament was a wedding gift from a friend.

 

 Adam's first ornament. His nursery was done in a vintage airplane theme, so this one seemed fitting for him. 

 

I was happy to see my box of childhood ornaments wasn't lost in the shuffle during the move. They have a lot of sentimental value to me. That said...

 

What is up with this elf? He isn't as snazzy as his new Elf on the Shelf pals. He kind of looks a little crazy and I'm not entirely certain he won't try to harm me in my sleep tonight. Vintage can be scary.

Kitchen Progress

 You may remember this is what our kitchen looked like when we first purchased the house. I had always wanted white cabinets, and the glass fronts were an extra little bonus.

 

And an eat in area large enough to allow for the table of my dreams? Perfect! But the kitchen lacked a little something. It was dull. The painted over wallpaper border irritated me. The lack of color was depressing. If there was a room in this house where I could use a bold punch of color, the kitchen was it for sure.

 

POW. Hello yellow.

Days and days of peeling off wallpaper and sanding and agonizing over the perfect color were totally worth it.

 

New cabinet hardware was actually the first update. I liked the clean classic lines of the traditional knobs and drawer pulls, and the oil rubbed bronze finish really pops off of the white. I worried about finding a color that would showcase our collection of Fiestaware instead of competing with it, and I think the yellow was a great choice.

The dining area needed a splash of color, so I made the curtain panels to frame out the large window. The fabric was a bold print, and so not safe at all. I LOVE IT! It really makes the space ours.

The kitchen table and chairs were a birthday gift, purchased shortly after we moved in. I had lusted for this set for years, but it never would have fit in our old house. I'm thrilled that it fits so perfectly in this space. It even expands and can seat four more chairs comfortably in this space.

There is still a good bit of work to do, but this is a start. I love walking into the kitchen in the morning when the sun is streaming through the windows. It's such a bright, vibrant space now.