Weekend Recap

I love weekends, especially when they are productive and fun! This weekend was some of both for us.

Friday evening ended what was one of the longest weeks ever. We were able to get home a bit earlier than normal which was nice. I picked up some around the house and finally put our third room upstairs back in somewhat of an order. Well, at least you can now walk in and open the closet door in there! We also went to see Handel's Messiah at Calvary Episcopal Church in Shadyside. I discovered it wasn't really for me. I like the music, and would listen to it at home while doing other things, but sitting through it wasn't a great experience. Being completely uncomfortable where I was sitting may have had a bit to do with it as well. We ended up leaving at intermission and Peter promptly informed me that I have the attention span of a 5 year old. I calmly explained to him that he was raised sophisticated - drinking wine and attending Handel's Messiah. I was raised drinking hot chocolate and watching Chevy Chase's Christmas Vacation! At least I tried...

Saturday was another day of Christmas shopping. It went longer than we intended, but thankfully not over 8 hours like last Saturday! Around 5 PM, we were back home and had completed most of our Christmas shopping. We only have 3 things left and they'll be relatively no hassle. Saturday night I spent finally cleaning the house (having guests on Sunday after church was great motivation!), cooking, and catching up on my to-do list.

Sunday we attended a great church service and had some friends over for lunch/games afterwards. We played Apples to Apples and Mad Gab. Both are great games! Mad Gab brings the laughter almost immediately! It's fun to listen to people trying to say something and hear their Indian/Irish/Chinese accents come out! So funny!

Cleaning up Sunday evening was a breeze and then it was time for a nap! Peter napped but I just watched a movie. We enjoyed a quiet and relaxing evening at home and are now wondering how much snow we'll have tomorrow morning since they're calling for 6 inches or so...

Christmas Crafts

I love Christmas time and all of the fun decorations. I also like to get ideas from stores, movies, and blogs on how to decorate my own home. I love making my own decorations because I feel like the not-so-perfect-one-of-a-kind decorations made by yours truly are the ones I end up liking the most. Anyone can buy/order a pre-made decoration. Lately I've been seeing tons of great ideas for new crafts and decorations. The only problem is that I would need a 5,000 square foot house to be able to display it all! So I pick and choose what to make for my house.

Here are three new additions to our Christmas decor this year...

1. Christmas Pillow Covers

I posted about making these here, but here they are in all their glory on the couch near the tree!

2. Snowman Coasters

How adorable are these little guys?? Total cost for a set of 4 is about $2. They are so cute and super easy to make! I just used some 4"x4" tiles from Lowes for 36 cents each, stamped the snowman on it, painted over with a layer of craft polyurethane, and added 4 little felt feet to the bottom so they don't scratch any surfaces. The felt feet can be found at the Dollar Tree. I made a bunch of these to sell at a local Arts Center and will also be giving them away for Christmas presents. Cute and easy...love it!

3. Dollar Tree Hurricane

I've seen all over blogland how to make these hurricanes. I made some for fall, so I just took the fall stuff out, and added Christmas stuff, and voila! I bought some of this garland a few weeks ago at Kohls. I snipped one end and emptied the garland into the vase, keeping the twine for future projects. (As a side note, I loved that it was on twine that I could use later.) I added a $1 Joy ornament from Target and tied it around the front with a piece of the twine. I love it! Please don't mind the antenna or speakers - those are Peter's "decorations"!

Here's a close-up:

To see more great Christmas crafts, go here.

Photo Dump: Christmas Decorations 2010

Christmas decorations make my house feel cozy and my heart feel happy.

The view into our dining room. This extra-wide arch is so cute.


Dining room:


Not much has changed from last year to this year with this hutch.


I think the only change may in fact be this little ornament that I got at Cracker Barrel after Christmas last year for a buck. I love the scripture on it. I popped it in a dollar tree easel and it looks great with the rest of my decor.


There were minimal changes to this hutch. The wine rack was new since last Christmas and needed a place to go since it got the boot from the buffet for the Christmas village. I also found a Christmas tree plate that matches the sugar bowl, creamer, etc. that I already have. $5 at Ross!


I made this dollar tree hurricane with some red cranberry garland (that I took off the garland) and a $1 ornament from Target. Total cost was just under $7.


I don't like how the flash makes it look, but was trying to show a picture that wasn't so terribly dark.


And my beloved Christmas village has made another appearance. Each year it changes slightly with how things are laid out. I just love the light it provides when it gets dark out.






Looking into the living room from the dining room:


Our beautiful tree with our crazy cat next to it:


We got this Santa ornament from our trip to Hozak Farms to get our tree this year. Paula got a matching one and put location/date on the back. Love fun mementos like this!


I like this shot because you can see the reflection of me and Cadi in it.


I picked up these awesome swirly ornament hooks at the dollar tree this year. I replaced all the old paperclippy ones and love the small added touch. So cute! I saw them at Target in different colors too, but more expensive for less. Plus I think the silver pops better with the tree!


I've had this old tablecloth from NeeNee and Pat's that I've been laying under the tree as a skirt and this year Paula helped me make it into a real tree skirt. It lays better, has a tie to keep it in place, and will surely be used in years to come.


The tree again. Can you tell Cadi loves it? haha


Look at her cute face!


This picture is a bit dark, but as you can see (hopefully), Cadi was all tuckered out after all the picture taking.


I added a few touches to this corner to Christmassy it up a bit.


This is a new space this year. I wanted to add some lights since this corner is so dark compared to the side with the tree. I put lights around our advent "wreath" that I made a few years ago and added a few things around/behind it. Love the way it turned out!


Another dollar tree hurricane with cranberries and a $1 Target ornament. This one is actually my favorite. I love, love, love that joy ornament. So rustic and so my style!


My freebie nativity hanging that I love so much!


The nativity usually is on the tv, but with the change up, it got moved to the bookshelf. I actually like it here much better. I also added the star from some craft store foam, a small dowel rod, and a wooden heart. Cute, right?


My snowman coasters - new craft this year!


More Christmas decoration goodness:


I love this view as you come down the steps. I've been looking for a picture that I could put above the couch for this time of year that will be more Christmassy, but haven't found anything I love yet.


Living room:


The pillow covers I made! I am in the process of trying to talk Peter into letting me find fabric or tablecloths (since these were napkins) and make curtains. He hasn't gone for it yet though.


Another $1 ornament from Cracker Barrel. I love decorating with snowmen and santas, but I love more to use scripture and nativity scenes. It's a great reminder of the real meaning of Christmas.