Holiday Home Tour – 2018
CHRISTMAS IS ALMOST HERE!!! I’m pumped. As much as I wish I did, I currently don’t have every room in the house decorated. It’s hard enough keeping my current decorations in place with a toddler who insists on trying to re-decorate. She just doesn’t understand my vision, guys.
The areas that I have decorated are the porch, the dining room where the Tree is (It’s the only room that has a big bay window and I love seeing the tree when I pull up to our house), our kitchen (very minimal decorating in here. It’s mostly the island top where the baby can’t reach. We also have our entryway decorated and of course the fireplace! That is about it though.
I’m sure when Isla is older we will go all out but at the same time I really enjoy only have to pack a couple of tubs at the end of the holiday season. We have made a conscious effort this last year to have less stuff. We donated a ton of Christmas decorations at the beginning of the season and it felt really good to only hold onto the pieces that we really love.
At our house, you can usually find us after the Thanksgiving meal digging into a slice of pumpkin pie with enough whip cream to double our blood sugar but…everything in moderation, right? These are the five holiday desserts to make this holiday season for your family get togethers – all from a certified pie critic (I’m self-certified).
Mini Pumpkin Pies:
I used this recipe for my daughter’s first birthday and everyone loved it! It’s so creamy and delicious! Pro tip: Add a layer of whip cream. Stop when you hit the ceiling.
Here is the recipe:
Ingredients:
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3 eggs
- Mini pie crusts from Walmart
- 1 (15oz) can pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 cup evaporated milk
- 1 cup sugar
I’m so excited to show you 3 different ideas for your dining table at Christmas time! I hope you enjoy these ideas as much as I enjoyed putting them together! These are all Christmas Tablescape looks you could recreate with things you probably already have at home!
All three looks have a book page table runner that I felt added some dimension to the table. It was so simple to make. I just used pages from an old book and scattered them down the center of the table. The three tablescapes all include fresh greenery that was found at Trader Joe’s. Make sure your greenery isn’t dried out. It’s important to never leave a candle burning, especially around dried out pine.
Let’s dive in!
Can you believe there are only 16 days until Christmas? December is flying by. Normally this time of year, I’m busy running around and trying to find last minute gifts and I’m guilty of not being present in the moment. It’s easy to get so distracted by everything else and forget what the season is all about. That’s why Family Christmas Traditions are so important – they keep us focused on what’s important.
This year is different than years past – I was done with my Christmas shopping before Thanksgiving. (that never happens!) I’m not sure how it happened, but I started thinking about what I wanted to give everyone back in October so that helped. It’s given me so much more time to pay attention to how fast Isla Rose is growing and just how magical Christmas can be through the eyes of a child. She loves to say, “OH WOW!” when we turn our Christmas lights on. We took her to see Santa this year and even though she didn’t cry, she certainly didn’t smile either, but I’ll take what I can get.
I’ve probably been driving Evan crazy with all my talk of family traditions lately (feeling a little like Clark Griswold over here trying to get him in a Christmas-y mood) and even though we already have a few that we have done for years, it’s Important to start some now that we have our own little family.
So below I have a list of Christmas traditions we already have and some that we are starting this year!
DIY Book Page Christmas Tree Banner
I’m excited to share with you guys how I made this adorable little Christmas tree banner! It’s currently on my entry way table but you could use it on a mantle, shelf or headboard-which I may end up doing in my guest room later on. Does anyone else move stuff all around their house trying to find a home for it? I seem to do this a lot with my Christmas decorations lately.
My sister is a librarian, so when old books are to be thrown away by the library, she gets to bring them home and we try to give them new life!
Just take a look at my sister’s other book page projects!
She is crazy talented. If you’d like to see a tutorial on any of these projects, please let me know and maybe I can talk her into doing one for you.
Let’s get crafting!
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I was so torn between going all out on Isla’s stocking and not doing anything for it because she is too little to really understand. However, my need to be the most awesome Santa ever won out and here are the things going in her stocking this year!
I am obsessed with everything nutcracker/ ballerina décor at Christmas time. I love it so much. It reminds me of when we would go see the nutcracker when I was little. I can’t wait until Isla Rose is old enough to enjoy the ballet. It is magical. I introduced her to the one on Netflix and she didn’t seem that impressed. Sigh.
Let’s get on with the gifts –
DIY Entryway Coat Hooks – A how-to guide
Today’s Blogmas post is going up pretty late. I still made it before midnight so it totally counts! It has been crazy over here. I was supposed to be in Dallas for a work trip today and tomorrow but I canceled it because the weather is supposed to get bad. Hope you stocked up on groceries if you live around here! The store was a madhouse last night. Anyway, let’s get down to the building! That’s why you’re here after all! This simple DIY Entryway Coat Hook project only takes about an hour to complete!
In our entryway, we don’t currently have anywhere to hang our bags or coats. We have a coat closet in our hallway but it would be nice to have something a little bit more accessible. The diaper bag and my purse usually end up on our dining table and our console table is giant so there isn’t much room for coat hooks but I finally thought of a solution that works!
Isla Rose LOVES books. Not as much as she loves pushing the buttons on the remote control but we’re working on it. She loves to sit and pretend to read. It’s the cutest thing ever. She will come sit in our lap with a book before bed time and we read to her most nights. Her all time favorite is Goodnight Moon and my husband has it memorized and it’s pretty much falling apart. A tell tale sign of a well loved book.
Does everyone already have their porch decorated for Christmas?
If not, I’ve got a few simple ideas for you. My decorations are super easy to recreate and look very festive. I didn’t buy a Christmas door mat yet so if you already have one of those you’re a step ahead of me, but I wanted to go ahead and do this post in case anyone was needing some inspiration.
I always see a ton of posts on Instagram of porches that are decked out with a ton of stuff but I prefer just a few items for a seasonal look. After all, my porch isn’t that big. I also have noticed a ton of posts where every single decoration is neutral or flocked. Our tree in our house is pretty neutral so I wanted some color on the porch. I love all the red. So Christmas-y. Now, I just need some carolers to stop by and sing about figgy pudding.
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Is anyone else super excited about being Santa this year? I am so looking forward to seeing Isla open presents and starting Christmas traditions with her. I’m also really pumped that so many of you have read my posts. It means so much. You have no idea. December is only a day away and I think I’m going to try and do blog-mas this year and publish a post for every day of December. I really want to document our lives while Isla Rose is little and Christmas is such a special time, so expect lots of new content if you are subscribed!
I’m writing today to let you know about a fun project I’ve been working on! I don’t get to build very often because our daughter goes to bed at 6:30 and power tools are loud but I was able to steal away for a little bit and throw this vintage looking sled together! I started building furniture in 2012 and almost everything in my house was built by myself and Evan. Carpentry can be very relaxing and my goal is to help those of you that might be intimidated by using power tools or saws. I hope you give it a try!
