Fruit Inspection

Welcome to our home for the holidays hosted again this year by Boomama. I hardly know where to start, so I will begin with my favorite decoration which also happens to be a reminder of why this holiday exists in the first place: Baby Jesus.

I am a big fan of nativity sets anyways, but this one is so cool because my sister and I received it as a gift from our Aunt in 1976. She brought it back from a trip to the Holy Land and this manger scene was actually made in Bethlehem. I just think that is so neat.

Next we’ll move on to something new for this year. This cookie jar is one piece from a set of dishes that my mother in law got me for my birthday last year. I love the whole set (more pictures can be found here) but this is my favorite because it is filled with Little Debbie Christmas Tree cakes and I’m the only one who knows it. Well…at least until now!

And while we are in the kitchen, let me show you how I spruce up the boring little fruit bowl on the table. Add a wreath of magnolia leaves and pomagranites, and continually tell the 2 year old to stop pulling off the berries!

Just off the kitchen is the keeping room which also happens to be my favorite room in the house. I added another magnolia/pomagranite garland that matches the wreath, and will eventually hang the kids stockings in here. If you look closely you can see the Advent Books sitting on the hearth, just behind the kids table with the Advent Wreath on top.

Moving on to the dining room. Normally I don’t do anything in here except maybe change out a few candles on the table. But this year I got creative. I dug out some Spode Christmas china that had been given to me AGES AGO and set each place setting with alternate red and green placemats. Instead of silverware, I placed a bundle of red and silver holly berries at each setting. Then I purchased a few holiday scented jar candles, put them in bowls and filled the bowls with gold or silver ornaments. I added a final touch when I came across the glass jars you see in the picture above. I filled them full of small oraments and tied each with a bow. Cute, no?

And lastly, how ’bout them trees? The pencil tree you see here sits in my foyer entry way. Until this year, I’ve always hung ornaments on it. But in last year’s Christmas Tour of Homes I saw this and thought it was the cutest idea: to hang my received Christmas cards on it. Brilliant! Thanks Boomama!

This monster of a 10 foot Christmas tree is the first artificial tree that Jeremy and I have had. I ordered it last year on December 26th so I could get it half price. I have been waiting all year to see it in all it’s glory!!! And glorious it is! Of course, not the night it fell and broke almost all of my glass ball ornaments. That was not so glorious. And I was ready to pitch it through the picture window. But luckily I have a husband with a level head who under no uncertain terms, told me I better pull myself together and help him pick up that 150 pound mega-tree because he was NOT going to let it get the better of him. No Sir-ee.

And that brings me to my favorite ornament which reminds me of my “reel man” that I fell for so long ago…hook, line, and sinker!

If you’d like to see more homes on the tour, click here. If you haven’t had enough of my pictures and would like to see more, click here. And have yourself a Merry little Christmas now, ya hear?!?!?!