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One week to go! Can you believe it? I’m more than a little blown away that Christmas is already within reach. Lucky for us, John and I started our Christmas shopping back in October, so we were able to relax this month (for the most part) while everyone around us was a-bustling.

Although shopping was the least of my worries this year, I somehow started to stress over decor – This is the first time I’ve ever given any attention to holiday decorations beyond the tree, but it was actually a lot of fun. There is so much amazing inspiration out there and I was able to find my own groove and style, with a little help from Pinterest of course…

Source | Beauty and Bedlam

Speaking of, the pin above was just too cute to ignore. Pretty blue ornaments in a bowl – What could be easier than that? You may have caught a sneak peek via Instagram of the hurricane glasses I ended up using as my vessels. I first caught sight of them in the clearance section at our nearest craft store while in search of other Christmasy crafts (to be disclosed later on in the week). They were each 50% off, costing less than $10 each – A pretty good deal I thought, considering how similar they look to these $27 mercury-faced beauties at West Elm.

I had initially planned on using them as designed with pillar candles, but after seeing the Pinterest image a couple photos up, I changed my mind. So the following weekend, John and I made a Target run and I was able to pick up a package of miniature blue ornaments, as well as a little extra garland as a base. Not only did I really love the blue ornaments in my inspiration image, but the color really “went” with the rest of the room as a whole. Our living room is largely centered on a blue and yellow color scheme, so pairing the blue ornaments with a few other holiday-appropriate accessories in yellow, helped to tie the seasonal decor in with our everyday style.

Here’s another little sneak peek I dropped on Instagram to wet your whistle.

And here’s the set up today…Oh, and to let you all in on a little secret. It may LOOK like the hurricanes are filled to the brim with the mini ornaments, but I actually filled them with white wadded up tissue paper first before adding the ornaments on top. By cheating a bit, I spent only $5 on extra ornaments instead of $20. It will also help with storage since I’ll only have to box up two handfuls of new ornaments rather than an arm load.

See? You can hardly tell my little shortcut right? All in all, I’m so pleased with how the table turned out. As I said, this is my very first attempt to style anything for the holidays and, I must say, it’s made me excited to take on the challenge again soon. New Years, anyone?

Oh, and in case you missed the tutorial on those tabletop glittery Christmas trees, here’s that link again from last week.

Happy holidays!

With the Christmas holiday upon us (like, RIGHT upon us – boy, Decemeber is flying by…), it was time yet again to switch up our front door decor. Out with the old and in with the new, as they say. You may remember our harvest month arrangement, when we added a DIY wreath, some potted mums, a new, more durable welcome mat and even a shiny new brass kick plate, just for…well, kicks.

Oh, and I finally did learn not to shoot the reflective door straight on, as you’ll see later on in this post…For now, please excuse my pajamas.

For our door’s Christmasy garb, I started by replacing the potted plants, opting for miniature evergreens this time. Let me tell you though, these babies weren’t as cheap as I had been hoping. They were about $8 each – I had been hoping for half that. But if they last as long as evergreens should, then I’ll forgive the high cost in lieu of longevity. Even with just this one switch, our front stoop was already looking far more appropriate for the holidays.

But then things kind of hit a wall. I happened to mention the update to my mom, who proceeded to tell me that my terracotta pots weren’t likely to last through winter’s chill. As she explained, wet terracotta pots have the tendancy to expand and crack when cold, so I ran to the hardware store for two plastic look-a-likes at just a couple bucks each.

Five minutes later and we were golden, albeit covered in red welts from those tricky pine needles.

Before calling the entire switcharoo “done,” I had one last to-do list item: a wreath. Luckily, I had one in the basement that was more than good enough for me. I made it several years ago for my old apartment, using a plain greenery wreath and some ornaments. I also popped a little owl on there too for good measure. Can never have enough for them, right?

Don’t you just love how inexpensive and simple it is to update a front door for each season? I never spend more than $20 each time (and that number is dwindling more and more each year as I accumulate seasonal decor in storage). Not to mention it’s one of the few ways we are able to personalize our home since there are about a dozen others exactly like it on our block. When I pull up to this scene each day, I know I’m home.

Hope all of you are enjoying a wonderful holiday season!

Pinspiration Monday: Bowl o’ Ornaments

Our front door gets “Holiday-ed”

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