Wednesday, December 2, 2009

More Decking The Halls

Mostly what I like to do now for Christmas is garlands and lights.   The family room and living room are lit up everywhere, and it looks so pretty at night.  During the day, it is hard to tell.

I got these gift boxes that light up at Tai Pan a few weeks ago when I took my Mom to see the store.  
My tree this year is a live potted tree, and we will put it in the yard after Christmas.  I am only doing lights and birds and bird nests in it.   The cloche with blue and silver ornaments is in a dark corner of my family room, and above that is a little snowman light that my friend Maryrose gave me several years ago.  Sometimes he is in the bathroom, and sometimes in other places.  But wherever he is, I love him.  The two mice by the cloche are AnnaLee dolls from my parents.  Some day I will do a post about my nickname that my Dad had for me...which was "mouse" and I will show the newspaper article that our local paper did.  I have every kind of mouse you can imagine.

This pine garland in my foyer on the mirror was purchased last year one day when I was up in Big Bear wiith my Mom.  I love it, and keep it out all winter.  It looks so real!!This is my hutch lit up.  I have lots of special treasures in there.  I made the tree skirt many years ago, and it has flocking on it that I cannot get off!!!  See that stack of gits under the tree? They are sitting on a antique sled that a friend got for me a few years ago.  Lauri B......I have been looking for an old pair of ice skates to display by it since I saw how darling yours were with the simple Christmas flowers placed inside and set out as Christmas decor!THIS..is a VERY SPECIAL treasure indeed!!!  It is my Nana holding my granddaughter Hannah for the very first time. She LOVES babies!!  And Nana is very dear to all of us!  I adored this photo, and a good friend of mine, Ally in New Jersey, took this photo, and had an artist paint this special ornament that is an exact replica of the photograph.  I display it on a martini glass in my hutch, away from little hands that could break it!  The garland with the antique red clothespins is hung in the entryway to the living room.  This is where I hang my Christmas cards by the clothespins.This has nothing whatsoever to do with Christmas, but above is my new living room picture I bought last weekend when I was out shopping with Gennifer.  She and I both saw another picture and both fell in love with it.  They had two left.  We set them up in front where the cashier told us to, and then when we went to pay, they had BOTH been purchased by someone else!!!!!!  But, it was for the best, as I found this one that I wound up liking even better!   And here are my outside mice, Dolly and Louie.  They wear the appropriate attire for every occasion.  And have even been seen in a Laker's jersey and Dodgers and Angels jerseys during playoffs.  They always love to be part of the party!!!  We added two animated and lit reindeer to our outdoor decor this year.  The kiddos love these!!!!

11 comments:

everyday katie said...

It's such a warm welcoming decor. I bet you're right...it probably looks spectacular at night all lit up. My favorite pic is the first one on the next post of your Merry Christmas sign.

LOVELY!

Anita Lasher said...

Hey Kris,
Love the bird idea. Do you know what the bird in the tree represents? Well there is an old Scandinavian legend that a nesting bird placed in your Christmas tree, brings good luck all year long. It is called the "Good Luck Legend" I always have a little bird in a nest in my trees.
Wish I could drop on by for a cup of cocoa. I will keep my eye on ice skates here in the Ice Country I am in. I am sure to find a pair somewhere......... Anita

Lauri said...

You're right...ice skates would be a great touch. I can tell you love decorating for Christmas as much as I do.

Pam said...

More cute decorations! I have something very similar to the mouse house - they must be made by the same company.

Genn said...

It all looks so nice!! I love the stuff you gave me too. I remember most of it being up in the house when I was a kid and it brings back happy memories. Thanks!

I really like the living room too.

Kris said...

Hi everyone, and thank you for your nice comments. Pam, the mouse house is made by Blue Sky and the artist is Heather Goldminc. I have collected these pieces for several years. I have a beautiful Christmas church that I failed to put in my post.
Anita, I DO remember hearing about this good luck thing with the nests. Well, we should be A-okay for 2010!!!! Phew!!! I wish you could stop on over for cocoa too!!!
Lauri and Katie, thank you, I do love to decorate my house. But truth be told, my least favorite decor is Christmas. Imagine that!
Genny...thank you....XOXO!!

Debbie said...

Oh Kris your house is soo darling and pretty. I have a feeling I would love to tour through it. The pics are good, but I'm sure they don't do it justice. That ornament of Nana holding Hannah is just priceless. What a wonderful idea and gift. We should get together for lunch or something sometime, (we're only about 20 to 30 min. if you live by Kristi that is) that would be fun. Looking forward to more pics...

Kelly said...

it's begining to look a lot like christmas! looking good and sooo winter-like! i just want to come over in my jammies with some hot chocolate and sit by a fire and hang out!

Kris said...

Hey Deb,
My house is much more "cabin" than "castle" but I do love it! It would be fun to meet for lunch. How about after Christmas?

Kristi said...

Oh Kris, I just love it all. I'm so in the spirit! I almost picked up a few of those lighted packages at Tai Pan. I didn't know where I'd put them, and now I have just the place. I need to start buying the things that I like, and then find places for them later!! All of your stuff is so pretty, love that picture and ornament, what a great idea!

Maryrose said...

You certainly are "decked". Everything looks so homey and festive as always. You do make a lovely home.