Hey! Look at This!

By 8 p.m. Sunday, the decorating (and cleaning!) were done. This is how I felt--except very tired too:

I don't know if you remember the guy in the above photo--yes, I'm SURE you remember Santa, but do you remember THIS Santa? See, he was missing last year. I'd bought him the year before and I was kind of frantic when we couldn't find him last year. Well, same thing this year--still couldn't find him. Finally Hubby looked in some random storage bin that wasn't even marked as Christmas decorations and there he was!

Okay, so are you ready for a little tour? I'll show you the living room and the kitchen tonight. My camera batteries went dead so that's all I got, but I bet you'll run out of attention span by the end of these photos anyway. Here's the living room tree.

Although the living room tree is awfully pretty and I like it, I'm not getting excited about it anymore. I've been thinking about changing to something different next year but I don't know what. No, none of these decorations are the real "memory" kind--when the kids were little, we had a soccer tree because they were both crazy about soccer. Once they moved out, I transitioned to this tree. Now what? I guess I'll keep thinking. You can see the bleached bottle brush trees and putz houses (faux vintage) on the mantle--maybe I'll get a better photo of those in the next couple days.

Now let's move into the kitchen, shall we? Remember the peppermints and candy canes? Yep, there's the tree.

And there's more on the table and in the hutch. See Spike on the chair and Stitch on the floor? They're playing better together now, although they still have their moments!

Here's a closer shot of the hutch and the dishes and things in it--I just love the cuteness of Christmas!

Now for a few close ups. The Anna Lee dolls HAVE to come out each year, although Hubby doesn't like them very much. They used to be my mom's. Admittedly, I didn't think much of them when I was younger either, but now they're "VINTAGE" and for whatever reason, I just love vintage, so now they're pretty cool!

Another vintage favorite--found at Goodwill last year--is the lighted snowman. Can you believe Hubby thought I should give him away this year as a white elephant gift? We're supposed to bring a "tacky holiday decoration," and this was his pick! HRUMPH!

So sometime last week, I decided it would be really cute if I made half curtains for the kitchen to go with the peppermint/candy cane theme. All I can say is that with the crazy ideas I come up with, it's a good thing I know how to sew!

I thought making a cover for the lampshade to match would be cute too. Sheesh!

So, yeah, those are a couple reasons it takes all day long to decorate the kitchen! I was actually half done with the curtains before the decorating started, but I DID have to finish them and cover the lampshade.

Here's a close up of one of the kitchen counters. When Gran and I went on our last road trip, I found that plate holder, and I'm really happy I did! That flicker candle lamp was missing last year too, but it was found when Santa was found. The only thing I can think of that I haven't been able to find this year is a candy cane striped candle--I bet I know where it is, but it's too hard to get to easily. Maybe later!

Finally, another crafty project. I saw a project at Moda Bakeshop using a honey bun to make a wreath, and I shared the link with my friend Missy. Missy decided to make some wreaths, varying the size of the fabric pieces a little, and then she shared with me what she'd figured out, so I HAD to make one too. I'm not a fan of tearing fabric, but for this project, we both thought torn strips worked much better than cut. I think that ribbon is too white and sparkly for the wreath and I may change it later, but it was the only thing I had on hand.

So that's it for tonight's show. Remember to leave me a comment if you've put Christmas decorating photos on your blog, and I'll add you to my link list in the sidebar.

I'm totally pooped tonight, and I'm already in my jammies and ready for bed. See you tomorrow night!