Falconhead Holiday House Tour 2013

 Disclaimer:  this is the first time I am shooting in manual.  If the pictures suck.. well, deal with it.  I'm still learning..

IT'S CHRISTMAS YOU GUYS!!!!!!!!!!

Ermergherd I love Christmas so much.  This year I am so excited to share the holiday with Hunter.  The Saturday after Thanksgiving, we put the tree up during his nap.  When he came downstairs afterwards, he started saying "Oo! Itsa Christmas tree!!  It has yights (lights) on it!"  Every day he gets excited to "help"  Mommy plug in the lights.  

This year, we were able to trust Hunter to not bring the Christmas tree crashing to the ground and set it up in the living room again (last year it was tucked away in the kitchen).   The living room is a lighted ball of festivity

Can we be real for a second?  I am damn proud of this mantle.  Around Thanksgiving I started getting a vision in mind and this is exactly what I saw.  I love it so much.  

I really wanted a simple, classic look with lots of sparkle.   I broke out my chunky candle sticks from Party Lite (no longer available).  And of course added my 'Ark of the Covenant' deer that JEGs loves so much (heavy sarcasm).

In years past I've always gone very symmetrical, but this year I decided to add these BLOMSTER candle sticks from IKEA.  I.  LOVE.  THEM.  $14.99, y'all.  You can't beat that.   I am pretty sure these will never be put away.

Our stockings are hung with care, each with a jeweled initial.  

I love these stockings so much.  I might hit up the December 26th sale and grab one more.  You know, just in case...

Last year, I couldn't find an H for Hunter's stocking, so I had this dinky pin.  I was so excited when Target brought these back this year, I snagged it-- *gasp*-- at full price.  I know.  I must have really wanted it.

The garland was on the steps last year, but this year I wrapped it with some gold and silver ribbon  from Michael's.

I would like to remind the class that the JOY stocking holders were free on Freecycle.  Winning.  

Even though we moved the tree back into the living room, we still decorated with Hunter-proof ornaments.  We don't trust him that much.  Last year I invaded the Target after-Christmas clearance and bought all the felt and wood ornaments I could get my hands on.  

I still have a couple that have sentimental value.  This is something I inherited from my mom.  It was always a favorite of mine growing up (probably because it's gold and covered in glitter).

I also added DIY ornaments from the past like our glittered sea shells and this guy from 2010

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We are trying to enforce the "one finger" rule with Hunter.  It kind of works...

The banister got it's usual swag of garland and lights.

Since my child is 100 ft tall and can reach all points of the kitchen table, I needed a durable centerpiece.  I  set my jute trees on a gold charger with some pine cones.  Rustic at it's finest.  

The buffet got a make-under this year.  We hosted a holiday party this year, and I used that area for serving beverages.  I didn't want to have to deconstruct some elaborate set up for one night, so I went simple. with a linen table runner, two faux  trees in burlap, my other two candlesticks, and wreath in the windows.

I also put our nativity set up front and center.

I had this pine cone garland from last year leftover, so I quickly sat it on the window sill.

Are you guys ready for some night time shots?  Again, first time in manual mode, so bare with me..

Living room

Kitchen

extreme nativity... whooooaaaa

Just the tree (I am having a devil of a time getting that start to stand up straight)...

Wishing everyone a very happy and healthy holiday!

Want to take a look at previous years?  Here is 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012.  

Always & Forever,
  ME

The Lazy Mom's Guide to Fall Decor.

There is something about fallen leaves collected on patio furniture that I find slightly magical.  

I don't get too excited specifically for Halloween and Thanksgiving decorations.  Truth be told, I could skip Thanksgiving altogether-- it's not my favorite holiday.   Ain't nobody got time for switching stuff up between September 1- December 1, so the name of the game is Longevity.

We have a new addition on our  front porch in the form of a wicker sofa.  I snagged this little baby and a neighborhood yard sale a few weeks ago for $35.  It's still in great shape and came with a matching coffee table that is currently residing in our basement.  It looks so much better than the folding chairs that we bought when we moved in together.  They were great when we first got them, but 4 years later, they were looking used and abused.

I added pillows that I made from a table clothes a couple years ago, along with our monogram pumpkin.  To this date, this is probably one of the DIY projects I am most proud of.

These train lanterns came out of a family friend's basement. I have an unnatural love for them.  

The glass table we've had for years (it came with the folding chairs), and the weather vain was something I picked up at a yard sale for a dollar when we first moved to Norristown.

                              

This wreath is probably one of my favorites.  I snagged it at Home Goods in 2011 and I love the simplicity of the twigs, leaves and wheat, but it still has the beauty of the single rose.

 I have a couple small gourdes scattered here and there, but this is the only thing I put thought into  in the house is the mantle. 

I love this leaf art.  JEGs found it in the back yard last spring.  We both loved how the only thing left are the veins, making it looks like a skeleton.  I matted it with some scrapbook paper and framed it.  I am secretly hoping to find more next spring so I could do an entire collage on a wall somewhere.

Oh IKEA, how I love your ROTERA lanterns.  These were actually part of a table centerpiece of a wedding we went to in 2011.  I may or may not have snagged four that day.

The greenery is actually party of a floral arrangement I got on clearance from Michael's and I just pulled it apart, sticking flowers and leaves in here and there. The large faux pumpkins were bought on clearance as well, and I am kicking myself for not getting two of the same size.  Or at least more.

Our mantle wraps around towards our staircase, and it's a decorating conundrum to me.  It's very skinny and long, and I never know what to put there.  This time I popped a candle in the corner.  Boom.  Done.  

 Simple, to the point... now let's move this season along so I can get one with my Christmas decorations!

Always & Forever,
  ME

Special Moments on Saturday Morning

In September, Hunter moved into a new classroom and the teachers made a simple request:  bring in a family photo.

You guys, it took me damn near a month to find a recent photo of the three of us.  The last one I had was from July 2012.  I had to fix this.

So I called upon my favorite local photographer, Kelly Miller, to get some good family photos for us. She did Hunter's newborn shoot (and by 'newborn, I mean two months old, because that's how long it took me to get around to scheduling it), and I trust her to make us look good.  As always, she did not disappoint.  

Kelly's really great at capturing the special every day moments, and just followed us around as Hunter ran around we explored this great spot she picked out.

This is typical play in our house these days

Also, I hope you'll notice his beautiful hair blowing in the wind as he runs.  I am NEVER CUTTING IT again.  Yeah, I am *that* mom, and I don't even care.

..and 30 minutes later, he was all played out.

Again, so many thanks to Kelly Miller Photography.  She is so great to work with-- I cannot say enough good things about her.  If you are local to the Philadelphia area, I highly recommend checking her out.  I wish wish wish I had hired her for my wedding.

Always & Forever,
  ME

Get Your Kicks on Route 66

For Hunter's 2nd birthday, I kind of had to do a Cars theme.  The kid is mildly obsessed not only with all things motor vehicle, but the Disney movie as well.  

After going all out for his first birthday, I wanted to keep things low key this year.  Just immediate family and neighborhood friends, I said.  We will keep it small, I said.  

I should know better.  30 adults and 14 kids later, we had ourselves a guest list.  

To keep costs down, I relied heavily on Dusty from All Things G&D and her list of free printables.  They were a life saver.

For food, I kept it pretty simple with chicken fingers, macaroni and cheese (for the kids) and sandwich sliders and pasta salad for the adults.  

I also added in some Chex Mix as something to nosh on the go.

I snagged the sandwich sliders from our local grocery store, Giant.  It's the same place I got the 6ft hoagie last year, and man am I glad this is the route I went.  I thought about pizza, but the boxes take up so much room, and you never know if you have enough plain for everyone.  I didn't want to get another 6 ft hoagie because transporting it was a bitch, and so was cutting it into individual sizes.  With the sandwich platter I had a nice mix of chicken salad, egg salad, ham & cheese, roast beef & cheese and turkey & cheese on potato rolls.  They were a huge hit.

Instead of having doing one big cake and having to cut it, I opted for more grab-and-go options of cupcakes (red velvet and strawberry), Twizzlers, and of course Luigis Casa Della tires made of  chocolate donuts.

The pièce de résistance was in the back yard.  With 14 kids, and only 600 sq ft in our main living area, I wanted to have activites to keep them occupied.  I painted a couple boxes to match the characters Lighting McQueen, Chick Hicks and Strip "the King" Weathers.  I was all about just letting them run around the back yard willy nilly, but JEGs said "Oh no.  They need a race track".

So a race track he did build.  

Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the Falconhead 500

I had to take the picture from Hunter's room so you could see the whole thing

He grabbed two cans of spray paint from Lowe's (the kind specifically made for lawns) and outlined the track in white.  Since our backyard is still a hot mess of monkey balls and super deep holes, he used orange spray paint as a way of letting the kids know they shouldn't be running in certain areas.  I had ordered 100 ft of checkered flag banner that we cut in half and strung across the yard from poles mounted to the fence.  Balloons and safety cones from Lowe's marked the Start/Finish line.

This was such a huge hit for the kids!  Not only did they use the boxes, but they took any wheeled vehicle Hunter had for a spin around the track,  ran three-legged races and just chased each other around!  It was a great way to keep them occupied AND burned off energy!

Abigail and Wyatt dominate the three-legged race

My nieces Skylar and Bridget take Chick and the King for a spin

Hunter runs around with Lighting

..but ultimately balloons win out.

Gabe of Shannigans fame even made an appearance 

We sang Happy Birthday and finally let the kids pounce on the chocolate donuts they had been eyeing up all afternoon

In the 'Winners Circle' I had favor bags for the kids.  I glued VIP pit passes to the front of the bags, and inside was a Matchbox car, M&Ms, and Cars stickers.

I am really happy with out everything turned out.  Many thanks to all our friends and family who made it out!

Always & Forever,
  ME