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!

#PACOI-- All the Cool Kids Are Doin' It.

A couple weeks ago JEGs and I went out to dinner with my girl Shannon from Shannigans.  We did exactly what I swore I wasn't going to do:  take Hunter to a restaurant an hour before his bedtime.  What a hot mess.  There was screaming, food throwing, and dirty looks. 

Between flying macaroni, Shannon told me about this link party she was doing, #PACOI-- which stands for Put A Cloche On It. Cloches are HUGE in the design world right now;  everything is made cuter to the umpteenth degree by simply putting a cloche over your usual vignette.  

I was super excited about participating, so I started searching around on Pintrest for some ideas.

via

So pretty, especially this time of year

via

via

 Seriously?  With the vintage shoes?  I am dying.

via

This is so lovely, and would transition nicely from Christmas to winter decor.

As lovely as these items looks, I have a toddler in the house.  And since that toddler is  roughly the same height as Manute Bol, he can reach every surface in this house.   I think one of the most cruel (and dangerous) things in the world is to have beautiful items that a toddler can't touch within reach.  

So I outsmarted him.  I put HIM in a cloche.  

This works double duty because he's been sick all week, so I don't have to worry about getting his sicky germs all over me.

Now I know you are probably concerned about room to move and breath, but don't worry.  First off, he  spent 9 months in my belly so a couple hours in a cloche can't be so bad, and secondly, I lift it up every couple of minutes to give him some fresh air.  

Here he is without the cloche:  just your normal, sick little boy

..and again with the cloche:  super trendy and adorbs, right??

How about you?  Can you #PACOI?

Always & Forever,
  ME

I hope it goes without saying that 95% of this post was written tongue in cheek;  I don't actually put my sick child under glass.  No need to call the CPS on me.  Swears.  

Hunter 13 Months

sitting still on the chair was not happening

We celebrated your first birthday, monster style.

Bubs, you took your first steps in September, and now you are are walking like a champ.  And not just walking, you damn near run.  You love to be "chased" around the kitchen and the living room.  Daddy will start to come after you, and you run away, giggling and looking behind you. The cutest thing ever is when you reach for my hand.  I love walking hand in hand with you.

/

I mentioned last month that Hunter started a new daycare.  On his birthday he was moved from the infant room to the young toddler room.  They asked that since he was starting to walk that we put actual shoes on him for outdoor play.

This is like a whole section of retail I had never thought of before:  mini shoes.  How did I miss this???  Baby shoes are the cutest things everrrrrrrrr.  I had the hardest time not purchasing him little wing tipped shoes or tiny Chuck Taylors.  If I had my way, this kid would have had a shoe collection that rivaled Imelda Marcos.  I restrained, and bought him a pair of sensible, sturdy hiking shoe  from Target.

                       
...but I'm telling you right now, there are no holds barred when it comes to nice shoes for Christmas and Thanksgiving.

 Bubs, your daddy's birthday is two weeks after yours, and we spent the most beautiful Saturday afternoon going on a hayride and venturing out for your first pumpkin picking.



We posed for a quick family picture, which you obviously couldn't be bothered with...



You are starting to copy things that others do.  You ask for your brush so you can "brush" your hair (which translates into basically hitting yourself in the head).

And speaking of hair... you got your first hair cut this month.  I held out until after your birthday, and I died a little as those beautiful coppery locks fell to the floor.

                         

You got no less then 129,387,492,349 toys for your birthday, but your absolute favorite is a hand-me-down sled from your great aunt and uncle.   We pull you around the living room, kitchen and through the leaves outside.



You also love bubbles, riding your Mater toy and playing peek-a-boo



Mommy and Daddy had a date night and we all spent the night at Mem and Pop's house.  Normally when we have someone baby-sit Hunter, we have them come after he goes to bed.  However, JEGs and I had tickets for a ghost tour that started right around the monster's bedtime so we decided to throw caution to the wind and let my parents deal with putting him to bed.  In a strange place.  Without us around.  In a pack and play.  Any parent can tell you this is a recipe for disaster.

But the Bubs handled it like a champ.  He played with his cousin Bridget for most of the night and then around 9:00 quietly let my mom know he wanted to go to bed by putting his head down on her lap.

taking over Pop's favorite chair

Finally, we have Halloween.  Technically, because Hurricane/Superstorm Sandy hit our area a few days before Halloween, our neighborhood rescheduled trick-or-treating until Saturday November 3.  But October=Halloween in my book.  I tried my hand at making a Raggedy Ann and Andy costume for Hunter and Jenna, but that went horribly wrong.  So as back ups, we dressed the young lovebirds as monkeys.

At first he was all

and then they were like..



There is always next year, right?

Love you so much Bubtastic!

Always & Forever,
  Mommy

Dare to DIY: Dare to Entertain!

Even though my kitchen is pretty big, the actual dining area can only squeeze about 4 people-- 5 if you are really skinny (which I am not).  So if you are dining at Falconhead Cottage, odds are we are going buffet style.  

For this weeks Dare to DIY, I decorated our buffet instead of doing our table.  Grab a plate and let's check this bad boy out.  (..and I'm serving garland and pinecones.  Mmm, ruffage.)

I had this dream of going super rustic and natural this year, but I love my metallics too much to give them up. So, I call this look 'rustic glamour'.  I snagged my silver serving tray and added some greens and my vintage Christmas balls.  And by 'vintage' I totally mean 'Walmart circa 2007'.  

Bird's eye view, whut whut!

 Speaking of birds, here is a bird house.  Oh yeah, it's getting rustic up in this bish.

Lit candles with a toddler in the house= living on the edge.

The whole idea of Dare to DIY is to actually DIY something.  My DIYing time is limited these days, so I finally made the West Elm twine Christmas trees that were super hot in 2009.  I have been coveting these for three years now, and I wish I had known how easy they were to make.

 I picked up a couple Styrofoam trees from Michael's and some jute twine at Lowe's.  (Note: DO NOT get twine from a craft store.  That stuff is unnecessarily expensive.  I got a gajillion meters from Lowe's for under $3, and I didn't use the whole roll for this project).  I wrapped the twine around the tree, starting from the bottom, and glued the top.   Rusticness achieved.  

 If you have a hot second, pop over  and check out the other entries for this week's Dare to DIY.  I haven't finished looking at all of them, but so far I am loving Claire's glitter plates.  You know me and glitter.  It's like a moth to a flame.

Always & Forever,
  ME