Holiday Home Tour 2017

It's the most wonderful time of the year, no doubt, and, like most of you, I've been busy gussying up my little cozy house, getting it all dressed and ready for Christmas. 

It seems a ton of work at the time, but isn't it all worth it when it's all said and done?

One of my favorite things about decorating my home is sharing it with all of you, dear readers. 

Admittedly, I kept things pretty simple this year as opposed to years past. 

Many of the Christmas bins never even made it out of the shed!

I still think I've succeeded in filling my home with just the right amount of holiday cheer. 

I kept the mantel especially simple this year, just using my usual lanterns and twinkle lights and adding a Christmas wreath over the mirror. 

Easy peasy. My favorite. 

I did my usual pillow swap out, bringing out my reindeer pillow and adding some red velvet and fluffy white pillows. The combination feels very wintry to me, yet fresh and not too heavy.

A trio of playful Santas keep company on the hearth, and the stockings were hung on the bookshelf behind the chairs. As lovely as it is to hang the stockings on the chimney with care, we use our woodstove as our primary heat source, so it's much safer to keep them on the bookshelf. 

I don't think Santa will mind.

I left the little sunflower bench in the corner next to the sofa, but dressed it in a red velvet runner for the holidays. It's a perfect spot to stack colorful wrapped gifts!

The dining room has been decked out with trees, trees, and more trees. These three bottlebrush trees on the table make me smile so much, and they are joined by three more mini trees gathered on a cake stand on the bench under the window. 

A lit tree on the bar adds a nice warm glow in the evenings, along with the candles in all the windows and the scented candles I usually have lit in the evenings. 

My kitchen is always bright and cheery, but even more so now that the door has been freshened up. Again, I kept things pretty simple in here, with a couple of cute snowmen and a candle in the window. There's so much red in my house it feels festive already, not much needed at all to get into Christmas mode!

There are a couple of other Christmas touches on the other side of the kitchen, I'm not sure why they didn't make it to the camera, clearly I'm getting old and forgetful!

In the master bedroom, things were kept even simpler, staying with the calm and serene color palette in this room. I added in a fluffy pillow for that warm and cozy feeling, which I absolutely adore. Add the candles glowing in the windows in the evenings and it's all I can do not to crawl straight into bed as soon as I get home from work!

On the dresser, a little Christmas Tree twinkles in the evenings, joined by a sparkly snowman. I have the timer set on the tree so that it is on about the time I usually go to bed. It's the perfect way to end the evening. 

See what I mean? Very simple, yet very festive. There are a few other touches here and there...a small lit tree in the guest bath, my usual light up snowman in the hallway, a few odds and ends. But all in all, very scaled back compared to years past when I went all out and then some!

The tree is always the most labor intensive part of our decorating. I've been collecting ornaments since I was a child, so the memories truly come flooding back each and every year when we open those ornament tins. 

Add a cozy fire, a good book, and a cup of great coffee and my weekend mornings are pure perfection. 

I love to curl up in my chair next to the fire and enjoy the cozy home I have created, filled with laughter and love. 

Usually I have a little furry friend or two curled up with me on the chair, which just makes things even more perfect. 

I wonder what Santa will bring Little Miss Molly this year for her first Christmas in her forever home? 

Either way, as you can see, she's settled right in and has taken over the house. 

We are truly blessed, no doubt about it. 

There are often times when the bills seem overwhelming, work is too busy, there's too much to do and not enough time to do it.  But then I stop and look around and realize how lucky I am and it all comes back into perspective. 

I hope you take some time today to count your blessings. That's what the holiday is truly all about. 

The twinkly lights are just a bonus!