The color red has been banished from the living room this year due to my latest fixation with hot pink accents.  However, the rest of our collection of crimson décor is making an appearance all around the rest of our home.  

As rainstorms pounded the house yesterday, we decided to skip those crowds at the malls and stay warm and dry indoors by making hot chocolate and decking our front hallway and foyer with garland, berries and red ribbons. 

In years past, I’ve made every effort to cover the banister to hide the ordinary oak railing that I was never crazy about.  Ever since we refinished the staircase in this dark espresso color, I have no desire whatsoever to hide its new finish, so I swaged some simple greenery this year instead of wrapping it all around. 

Underneath the fresh cedar, the base is formed by a lighted faux fir garland.  We thought ahead to Christmas when we remodeled the house, and added electrical outlets at the top of the stairs. 

On top of the fir I’ve swagged some fresh cedar from a local farm.   

Love.This.Scent.

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We love to send them, we love to receive them.  Christmas cards are just one of those holiday rituals that some dread, some cherish, yet we all must decide how to display them every year.  Years ago, I used to apply some double sided tape on the back of the cards I received and I would secure them to a door.  Back in 2006, I bought one of those Christmas card display trees on sale from Pottery Barn – that worked fine too.

This year, I wanted to do something more creative, more unexpected.  When I ordered a new chandelier from Ballard Designs for my home office, it came with some extra chain that I never used.

My daughter tried to convince me to make her a Marley costume.  I decided it was better put to use as a tool to display some Christmas cards in front of my window.

Originally, I decided to just use white paper clips.

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For me, there is no such thing as too many ornaments during the holidays, especially ones that are handmade, heartfelt, or historic in one’s family.  I just love to deck the halls at Christmastime and having plenty of ornaments on hand is the key to a fa-la-la fabulous season.  My girls and I had a ton of fun in the last few days creating new ornaments this year. 

Welcome one and all to my little parade of DIY ornaments !

This year, I came up with a medley of merry décor, from a boxwood kissing ball to glittery cookie cutters to kid friendly peppermint letters to several variations of glass ornaments. 

All of these projects are incredibly simple !  The step by steps are so easy, they can’t even be called tutorials, but I’ll share the ingredients just the same. If you’ve got something creative you’d like to contribute, or a host of family ornaments you’re showcasing, then please join the party and link up at the end of this post!   MckLinky is active through Wednesday to encourage plenty of holiday blog hopping.   

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I’m making my way around the casa, decorating here and there.  Just recently, I picked up a sideboard from the local thrift for $50 dollars and decided to jazz it up for the holidays. 

I brought out some of my silver, gave it a good polish, then embellished with some gold accents.  I also shopped my home, and raided my party supplies stash to add some unexpected elements. 

I’m so into mixed metal sheens this year, and I adore a combo of silver and gold together.  I had this old wreath from a few years ago that inspired the color scheme, as well as the pink and bronze mantlescape from a few days ago. 

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