Around Here.

Today was my day here at home (well, except for a quick trip to the vet ... no worries, Holly's fine!, a quick stop at my mom's - lots less boxes!, and a not-so-quick trip to Costco) and I finally got gifts wrapped and "stuff" cleaned up enough to make my annual photo walk through the house. Sadly, we have not seen the sun (in days!) so the light's not great, but it is December!

Here's the view from the front door. Four poinsettias by the stairs and three trees. The poinsettias are struggling (not as bad as last year); I'm not sure if it's lack of sun (I moved all of them in front of the windows for most of the week, but it hasn't been sunny) or overwatering, but I think I need to consider a new plan for next year.

Off to the right is the dining room. Much the same as previous years except for the table. The tureen in the middle of the table came from Marc's mom and is now our new centerpiece; I dressed it up for Christmas with a sugared fruit wreath I've had for years.

Continuing down the hall, here's our advent calendar/tree

with just two photos left to hang.

Then into the living room ... the word tree and the "big" tree.

The mantle here is just greens and mercury glass. Katie and I shared a bunch of mixed greens from Home Depot this year; worked perfectly!

Turning the corner, here's the family room

and the view I see when I turn my chair around. (well, except that now Marc and Sara are sitting on the two sofas and there's a movie on the TV)

I think this might be my favorite year of decorations since we moved into the house (in 2012 - yikes! how can this be our sixth Christmas here?!). It was relatively easy to get everything out (the artificial tree helped with that a lot), it looks warm and cozy (and red!) and I'm not dreading the un-doing.

Thank you for taking this walk with me while I made the notes for what to do next year!

Wishing you and yours a warm and cozy weekend and a very Merry Christmas (if that's the holiday you celebrate). I'll be back on Tuesday with a recap of ours.

p.s. I made Katrina Kenison's Cardamom Granola this afternoon. It smells wonderful and tastes delicious ... highly recommend!