Like many bloggers, I got the tree out a few days before Thanksgiving because I just couldn't wait any longer! Pulling out the boxes of vintage Shiny Brites and bottle brush trees was just what I needed a few weeks into Brett being gone to give me something to look forward to. The boxes covered the dining room table and spilled over onto both sides and sadly stayed there for weeks. I'd get some corner fixed up and then get stuck again. I didn't want to waste any great opportunity to do something creative but with little time and energy left over at the end of the day, my efforts were stalled and my enthusiasm wained.
I finally got the last of the boxes cleared away the day after Brett flew home for Christmas so we could eat together as a family on Christmas Eve. It was our first Christmas at home as a family this year and I didn't want to forget a thing about how it looked since we'll be in another house next year! I spent most of Ruby's nap on Christmas day picking up and photographing the living room. It only looked like this for about two more hours but it is still leaps and bounds better than it has been the last few weeks!
My MIL found our white tree at a garage sale for $5 and gave it to me for my birthday a few years back. I've never missed having a real tree but Sebastian asked me why ours was white this year. We may get a small one for the kids to decorate next year. I did thrift another 4 ft. white tree about two weeks ago that I decorated with gold and silver bulbs for our bedroom. I feel really lucky to have two!
I finished sewing the Christmas stockings a few days ago and then added one for Sunday after Sebastian decided she needed one, too. My vote was to put a lump of coal in it for those three instances in the back of the Volvo (shudder).
Next year, I'll be tackling the DIY I had planned for our little nutcracker collection but this year the time just wasn't there. This was Ruby's favorite vignette. She'd climb up on the chair and sit on the edge of the desk to play with them. One morning I found a blackberry in the big one's mouth. His beard is purple-ish grey now. The nutcrackers were either thrifted or found at the $$ section of Target.
I made the stockings from coordinating new and vintage fabrics I had in my studio. I used a standard stocking size as a template for their shape and then added a large bow to each of ours and a small bow to Sunday's. I used my favorite floral fabric on mine! It's from Melody Miller's line Ruby Star Rising and I used a different fabric from the same collection for Brett's. You can read more about the vignette on top of the locker here.
Most things in our home were found at flea markets/garage sales/thrift stores. Other than electronics and a few random decor accents, everything is vintage or handmade. It's been collected over the last few years and I've switched things out as our needs/spaces have changed.
And just so you don't go wondering how we keep things so clean with two kids and a puppy running around...
This feels more like it these days.
We call them the Glimmer Twins because they're trouble when they get together. They're either leaving a trail of toys, chewing on something that doesn't belong to them, or creating little emergencies. If you're a mama or a puppy owner, you know the routine.
We have thoroughly enjoyed getting to spend these last few days together again as a family. Brett has been taking the reins with housework and entertaining the kids so I can spend some time catching up on things that make me feel balanced and refreshed. He's pretty fantastic!
More Christmas photos to come as well as a little recap from the last few weeks. I hope you had a special Christmas this year. Do you keep your tree up through New Year's or is it already down?
xo,
Rachel
See my Cafe Mom Holiday Home Tour from 2008 here.
I would get the winter staycation cardigan and give it to my sister. So cute!