Our Christmas

Our first Christmas as a married couple was busy, busy, busy!

Josh had to go to his office for a few days before we went to his parents' house, so we stayed in the luxurious Peabody hotel! Their tree was gorgeous and about two stories tall.


When Josh was at the office I hung around the hotel. What is so special about the Peabody is their duckies. They stay in a posh pond somewhere in the hotel and at 11:00 AM they walk to the elevator and come down to the lobby where they march to music on a red carpet, leading them to the lobby fountain where they will bathe all day. CUTE. Then they march back to their quarters at five-ish.

We headed to his childhood home for early Christmas and had a good time. He comes from a family of wonderful cooks and my too-tight jeans show for it. **pout** We woke up early to look in our stockings and open our presents!

I didn't grow up with boys around, so I'm not used to all this rough-housing. I do however enjoy taking pictures of them, looking as homoerotic as possible. Mwahahaha....

A highlight was when my sister-in-law received the pink Snuggie she had been wishing for. I told her that her sex life as she knows it is now over. Her response: That's why the back is open. **shudder**

Please take notice of her husband to the right, already inching away from her.

When we got back home to have Christmas Eve with my family, an unexpected blizzard came in! (Blizzard, Texas, what?!) We made it to my grandma's for lunch but were not able to have Christmas Eve dinner with my parents like normal because of road conditions. Josh and I still had a fun night though! We kidnapped baby-sat our neighbors dog, A. Czar, and he and Millie had a fantastic time.
It was a peaceful Christmas Eve. I did some cleaning, played in the snow...

Enjoyed some snow ice cream (I went a little overboard with the sugar though).

Christmas morning! I don't like mornings, but I can do it for presents. We both ended up getting each other the movie "Up" as a stocking stuffer. Oops.

As usual my husband spoiled me. I love my necklace! It's gaudy and reminds me of something that came out of a pirate's treasure chest!

And he loved his sweater vest, of course.

And we spoiled our puppy. We gave her a chew bone about as big as she is and a stuffed animal that looks like her husky friend. I think I interrupted a private moment here:

Then off to my parents' house for our Christmas lunch! I convinced my mom this year that it would be awesome if she got a white Christmas tree. And by convince I mean simply saying, "Hey, your ornaments would look super cute on a white tree." I didn't have to twist her arm.

Josh and I looked on as the family opened presents. There is no telling what made our faces do this:
One of my favorite gifts was my Anthropologie apron!

Crazy-eyed sis got Beatles Rockband...

And somehow Christmas day deteriorated into, well, this:

I would tell the story, but I think I'll just let you come up with your own for it.

On that note, hope everyone had a lovely Christmas! Happy New Year as well!

Linked up to Funky Junk Interiors Christmas Story Party.

Millie wishes you all a merry Christmas!

Deck the Halls!

Okay, okay. So I promised I would post my Christmas decoration pictures and I've put it off repeatedly. For the life of me, I've tried so hard to take good pictures around here, but the natural light through the windows is just not enough for my digital camera. It looks a lot better here in person, but without further ado, I show you my Christmas decorations!


My peacock Christmas tree! Last year I got the tree skirt and blue mesh at Hobby Lobby. This year I added the green ribbon and the feather sprays next to the tree topper. Here are some of my favorite ornaments...





Then there's my mantle....



Sparkling ornaments in apothecary jars....


Glittering candlesticks....

And my stocking that match the tree skirt...


And this year I tried something out in the little display nook in the foyer. I put some stems from Hobby Lobby that had feathers, pine branches, and other glittery things with some gold beaded ting in a vase of faux snow...

And that's about it this year. I made an ornament wreath, but it didn't turn out so well. I think it's because I used a bunch of different sizes and it made arranging them really complicated. I am still contemplating dismantling it, but we'll see!

Linked up to Funky Junk Interiors, Nesting Place, and Thrifty Decor Chick's Christmas posts.

A Christmas Preview

Well, I survived Thanksgiving, but just barely! Something really got to my allergies while visiting the family and I'm still recuperating. Ugh. I'll share more about the Thanksgiving extravaganza later-- Josh is out of town and has some loot I need to take pictures of!

Since I've been back, I've been spreading myself between school work and Christmas decorating. Mainly the decorating though. (Does that tell you anything about my priorities?) I haven't completed the decorating yet as there are some final touches to be done in here, but I will give you a peek!






I like how it's shaping up! Can't wait to finish!

Giving Thanks

It may be a little while before I post again because there will be a lot going on these next few weeks! This whole week coming up will be completely devoted to family and we're going where -- gasp -- there is NO Internet access! Whatever will I do?!

Our puppy's uncle will be house- and puppy-sitting while we are in Kentucky at my husband's grandparent's home. I'm looking forward to a lot of goofing off with family and eating some yummy food! Seriously, his family is full of such wonderful cooks!

The week after that is finals week for me-- the last finals week of my college career! I really have to put the pedal to the metal and finish my senior year right! So that's going to involve five or six big tests and projects coming up. Though I should devote all of my time to that, I probably will set aside some special time to decorate for Christmas and show you what I have going on! I can't wait!

What are you thankful for this year? I don't spend enough time thanking God for the special things I have going on in my life. This year, I'm thankful for...

• my wonderful husband, Josh

• my incredibly supportive family

• my puppy-love, Millie

• our wonderful home we've lived in for a year now
• a lot of financial assistance to get through college
• the beautiful wedding and honeymoon we had that I'll never forget

• moving in next to neighbors who have become my best friends
  

• the power God gives me to keep going when things get tough

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Spend time with your family (and if there's anything I've learned in life, it's that "family" does not have to be related to you.) Eat yummy food, and be thankful for the blessings you have!

A Fall Wreath and a Feature

In case you all didn't already know: I'm important. Okay, I'll wait for you to stop laughing... Still waiting...

I say that halfway in jest because Funky Junk Interiors featured my post about Plate Wall Art! Thanks Donna!

And now, with little time to spare before we bid our beloved fall decorations farewell, I present to you my first fall wreath! I bought it on Wal-Mart clearance (go check your aisle, there's some cool stuff) for $15.


I took it home and cut off some of the berries and things that didn't survive the wreath flying off the top of my car and across the parking lot while I opened the car door. Take a moment to picture me scurrying across a parking lot after a renegade airborne wreath.

Done? Okay, let's move on. :o)

And then I added a few flowers I had at the house, some peacock feathers (because they go with everything), and painted the plastic pumpkins and gourds with a light metallic, just to take the hard plastic look away. I was going to add bows and such, but I thought enough was going on already.

Ta-daah!

Bedroom Blah

Our bedroom so far has been pretty neglected. As you can see we have no headboard, no bed frame, our nightstands are end tables from my mom. (FYI: Not proud of these pics, but I'm keepin' it real, people.)


The lamps are hand-me-downs as well.


The curtains are ones I bought from a thrift store when we moved in just to keep the light out so we can sleep. They aren't quite long enough to cover the window!


I'm also toying with the pillow configuration and have yet to begin adding my little touches of orange. I originally started with a blue and gray color scheme, but it quickly became boring to me. :o/


Up to this point, I've had my heart set on a metal bed frame. You know, an antique-looking one with scrolly metal work? Even on Craigslist the cheapest I have found is still a couple hundred dollars. Hmph. I can see I will not be getting this anywhere in the near future.

Both Pottery Barn

I know there are many DIY headboards that are beautiful, but I wonder how functional they actually are. The last thing I want is to have something fall on my head in my sleep.

Like this for example. This is adorable, and you could display any art collection. But can you lean against it with your pillows while you read? If you stretch in the night, will your hand go through a piece of glass?

Vintage hankie headboard and drum nightstands? How sweet! (BHG)

BHG

And this one would lend us some much needed display/storage space. But I can just picture pillows knocking our books and picture frames behind our bed or waking up with seashell imprints on my face from them falling on the bed in the night.

BHG

I can see a variation of this being a little more sensible (even though the comments on Apartment Therapy were surprisingly harsh-- ouch!). Instead of hanging the fabric on a curtain rod where it can be pulled down, it can be hooked up very well where the ceiling and wall meet and the frame can be hung just high enough that when sitting up, it doesn't touch your head.

Apartment Therapy

And probably the most sensible of all is the fabric upholstered headboard. This seems easy enough, but I don't have a vehicle that is big enough to carry a king-sized piece of MDF or plywood back to the house, or the tools to cut the board to size.

Um, ca-ute!!! (CandiMandi)

BHG

So what is a headboard-less girl to do? Are there any solutions I'm not seeing? Any ideas on how to add some beauty this blank slate of a bedroom?