So, I realize that I’m supposed to be showing you pictures of my house all decorated for Christmas.

Thing is, it’s not there yet. And, depending on when Baby #6 comes (a 38 week update is coming soon), it may never get there.

We did put up the tree on Sunday, and it was, as I described it on Instagram, “chaotically awesome.” (See: broken ornaments courtesy of a certain twin twosome).

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But as far as any other Christmassy touches, we’re not there yet.

I did, however, trade out a few of my accessories  a while back for some slightly more seasonally appropriate options, along with a bit more fluffing, and thought I’d show you the updates, since a) they happened and b) I took pictures of them. (Both of which pretty much scream blog post in my world).

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This is what you’d see looking from the kitchen into our living room. I love the openness of it so that I can still be at least a small part of the epic tickle fights that happen on that (increasingly stained) rug while I’m in the kitchen making dinner.  living room1

I wasn’t interested in buying much of anything new for fall, but I did score that fun, multicolored throw and that mustard dip-dyed pillow at Ross for $25 (for both!). living room2

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Another new score (though hardly “seasonal”) is that HELLO sign from Tarjay. It started out a blah cardboard brown, and I spruced it up a little with some white spray paint and gold shimmer polka dots.  living room5

Another quick (and CHEAP) project was this little Dollar Store pumpkin, which got a similar makeover with white spray paint, gold craft paint, and our family monogram.living room6 living room7

I also decluttered my shelves a bit and am loving how much more streamlined everything looks.

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I’ve had the same accessories above the TV for at least a year, so I shopped around the house and ended up putting together a surprisingly neutral-for-me collection of mostly black/white knickknacks.

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Most everything you see is old, but I did get that wooden ampersand for something like $2 from Hobby Lobby recently and just decoupaged a layer of patterned craft paper from Target on top to make it a little more interesting.

Oh, and my favorite part?

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That painted acorn garland that I made after a Friday afternoon crafting session with the kids (otherwise known as smearing paint all over acorns while listening to Christmas music).

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Ezra, my oldest, kept saying, “Mama! They look like little Christmas lights!” I think he’s onto something.acorn garland

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I also (rather sloppily) wrapped a clearance Hobby Lobby fabric score around my bench cushion to give it a bit of an update.

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Oh! And I can’t tell you how much happier I am with the toys in our living room after I bought those pretty $15 bins from Marshall’s about a year ago. There’s absolutely nothing organized about their contents, but it sure does make the evening pickup process so much easier. Just grab, dump, shove ’em under the bench, and–voila!–we can all pretend that the floor stays this clutter-free all the time.

A look towards our front door from the living room gives you this view.

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This is one of my favorite little nooks to fiddle with. I never really plan it out. I just grab what’s leftover from something else that I’ve moved and fuss with it until I’m happy.

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Back in the living room, if you turn around toward the kitchen, this is what you’ll see.

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I painted that “Give Thanks” canvas a year ago (and blogged about it). Oh, and I made that sweet kid you see getting snacks ready for his sisters about 8 1/2 years ago. The painting’s only so-so, but him? Yeah, he’s pretty great.    living room15

Y’ALL. I cannot emphasize enough how much I love the flow from our living room into the our made-over kitchen now that the wall colors are the same, and the kitchen shares the same pops of black motif going on in the living room. It’s like a mental sigh of relief every time I step back and take it in.

So, do you feel sufficiently bombarded with pictures of my house? I may or may not do it again when/if we get some Christmas touches up. But no promises. In fact, let’s just assume it won’t happen. And then we can all be pleasantly surprised if I pull it off, m’kay?

Have you guys put up your tree yet? And what about fake vs. real? I love the idea of real (not to mention the heavenly SMELL!), but I’ll be honest–I love the convenience of fake so much more these days. It’s up in 5 minutes. The lights are already on. And there’s no shedding!

What about decorating for Christmas? Do you go all out? Throw up a wreath and call it good? I’m happy with little touches here and there, but this year, I think I’m most excited about the (tiiiiiiiiny) trees I got for my kids last year, but only because they are. Hopefully, we’ll get them decorated this weekend.

7 Comments

  1. Love your updates! Stair runner details please….. I am sure there is great story behind it. We need to add one and the one you have is right up my alley. Praying for you and your little one as you prepare for labor and delivery!

    1. Hi Victoria, the stair “runner” is actually a series of rug runners spliced together and stapled to our stair treads. I originally ordered them from Overstock, but while I know they stocked them for a long time, I’m not sure they still do (it’s been at least 5 years), and I can’t remember the brand or description name. I did a quick search right now and didn’t come up with them. BUT! The concept is sound if you wanted to try to find a pattern you liked and do the same thing. It’s an indoor/outdoor material and is super-grippy (great for littles walking down the stairs) and clean up/hides dirt nicely without fraying or showing much wear. I’m really pleased with them!

  2. Funny! I was shocked the first time we help set up my MIL’s fake tree…it sheds MORE than our real ones! It was a decent quality too, it’s just getting up in years and losing needles galore. If I’m going to vacuum up needles, they might as well smell amazing as I work rather than be little pieces of dusty plastic. : )

    We are your exact opposite: all the decorations BUT the tree are up. My husband and I keep threatening to skip the tree this year- less mess, less clutter… and the kids are having none of it. Rats. I love my house decorated for Christmas until the tree comes in and hogs so much space!

    We live in the middle of Christmas tree country so they’re averywhere, and don’t even have to buy one, at that, cuz my dad planted acres of pines many years ago, so real is the way we go. Besides, there’s not the storage issue with real (we’re low on storage space). And we get a bonfire in the spring! : )

    1. Ha! I think you make a very convincing argument for a real tree! And I think we probably keep our real trees around a little too long…if you catch my drift…hence the shedding. The one we’ve got now is crazy low maintenance and packs up pretty small, so until the kids start caring, I think we’re sticking with it.

  3. Love your decor! We get a real tree. Cut it down fresh. I have to say, my fake greenery has been shedding more than my real tree. Nice thing about real is that you don’t have to store a tree for 11 months out of the year!

  4. Love your decorating style! It always gives me lots of good ideas. We will be moving right after Christmas, so we decided to give ourselves a break this year and not decorate for Christmas. It is making me a little sad, but I know it would just be too much. Instead I am thinking of ideas to decorate our new place next year!

I love hearing from you guys!