Falconhead Christmas 2012

T'was the week before Christmas
and all through the house
Not a creature was stirring
..not even Hunter.
   (translation:  I had the day off from work, and he's at daycare.  That's the only way I had time to finish decorating and take pictures).

IT'S CHRISTMAS YOU GUYSSSSSSS!!!

I friggin love this time of year.  I love the decorating, the cookies, the wine, the shopping, the wrapping, the wine...

Yeah,  I said wine twice.  Holidays= more drinky drinky.  Not that I need a reason though.  And right about now JEGs is rolling his eyes.  LOVE YOU buddy ;)

Normally, I am a work-with-what-ya-got kind of girl.  However, what I got is all circa 2007 when I lived in my first big-girl apartment.  I decided that after five years, those decorations didn't owe me anything, and it was time to freshen up my decor and *gasp* buy new stuff.   I decided on a theme of  'rustic glamour' and started decking our halls.

The set up on the porch is probably my favorite.  Our neighbor, Jenny from the block, had an extra vintage sled hanging around (who doesn't, really?) and gave us one.

Momma G's friend Rose was having a yard sale over the summer, and we bought her two vintage railroad lanterns.  They had been hanging out in our basement for months, and I was dying to find a way to use them.

 Remember my 'Ark of the Covenant Deer' from last year that JEGs loved so much?   They made their home outside this year.

Every year Momma G gives us the most beautiful wreath for our front door.  It comes with these ticky tacky fake flowers and plastic whatnots that I always rip off.  I usually adorn it with pine cones and balls, but this year I added a new bow and a couple glittery leaves that I got at Target last year.

 I was going to add more, but I actually love the simplicity of the glitter and the bow.

Shall we check out the inside?

In my mind rustic= woodsy and woodsy= trees.  So we have trees on the mantle. 

The trees on the end are from Michael's and the shorter tree in the middle is from Target.

My faithful Recycled stocking holders returned (with a little spray paint, they could look just like these) and they are holding new stocking.  I know it sounds dumb, but matching stockings is like a small victory for me. Sayonara Snoopy. The initials hanging from the stockings are ornaments I purchased from Target;  The A I bought myself in 2007, and I purchased the J for JEGs in 2009.  I went back this year to get an H for Hunter, but they don't sell them anymore.  The best I could do was a pin.  It's not as big and it doesn't have jewels.  Whomp whomp.  

I finally retired that wimpy garland from years before, and got a chunkier strand from Michael's.  The berries from last year returned, and I swooped a pine cone and twine garland along with it.  

Normally I regulate my decorating to the living room, however, we couldn't put the tree in there this year.   Since Hunter spends most of his day in the front room, I didn't feel comfortable having a tall structure that he could possibly pull down, with electrical cords and glass objects dangling from it.  It just screamed not a good idea.  

So the tree got moved to the kitchen, and we tried to place it so we could still enjoy it while sitting on the couch.

I was so excited for the tree this year.  My mom snagged us a faux tree on an After-Christmas sale for $40 and I had this beautiful monochromatic theme all ready;  brushed gold and white balls, some vintage ornaments I found at a yard sale and for color I was going to pop this beautiful red beaded garland.  It was gonna be AWESOME. 

I don't know what I was thinking.  Didn't I just say having a shiny thing with glass dangling from it was a bad idea?  Hunter was obsessed with pulling the beads off the tree, and three shattered ornaments later, I waved my white flag, packed away my pretties and decorated with things I knew wouldn't break:  shatter-proof ornaments, cookie cutters, and ribbon.  

Thank God I switched, because this is a daily occurrence in our house now

I really should rename this post to:  How to Child-Proof Your Christmas Tree

I inherited some plastic bells from my  Grandmother!

cookie cutter ornaments ftw

I did add a couple special decorations (high up);  A birdhouse for the first Christmas in our new house together

Momma G gave us a couple Ukrainian ornaments to hang

Our seashells from 2009.

After I showed off my fabulous buffet, I had to revamp it a little.  First off, the second light is needed in the living room, so I pushed the apocathary jar to the back.

I added a couple cookie cutters here and there to tie in with the tree

But I kept most of it the same, including my serving tray of greenery and twine trees

Our kitchen table is used a lot, so I didn't want a fussy centerpiece;  some greenery around a candle in a vase was just fine for me.

Last year Hunter was only two months old, so he couldn't care less about the Christmas tree.  This year, he is obsessed with it.  Now that I have monster-proofed it, I love watching his wonder and amazement at the lights 

Of course I am constantly having to point out to him that just because the ornaments are shatter proof, doesn't mean he has to rip them ALL off.

Dammit, he is so cute.  

From our house to yours, wishing you a very (shatter proof) Christmas!

Always & Forever,

  ME

If you are feeling nostalgic, you can check out my decorations from 2009, 2010 and 2011!