Since I started blogging after the new year, I totally missed the boat on posting Christmas decor pictures. However, on the theory of better late than never, and to work on my “adding pictures to the blog post” skills, here are a few from this year anyway. For those of you who are thoroughly sick of Christmas decor and have already put yours away, sorry! Next year hopefully I will be more timely. But with our fresh coating of several inches of new snow, it’s feeling pretty festive around here today. Well, to me anyway, although my fellow mid-Atlantic dwellers probably don’t agree. Since I have the advantage of working from home and don’t need to go out on the roads today, I do have it pretty easy (although that also means I don’t get to take the snow days my colleagues do).
But back to Christmas decorations. First and foremost, we have Cecil, who obviously adorns our house year round, but who absolutely adores the holidays. How could he not, with a real tree to sit under, shiny things to abscond with and bat around in the middle of the night, and bows, bows, bows (his favorite cat toy)?
Last Christmas was our first in this (rental) house after a cross-country move from Montana to Maryland, and we had been here less than a month before Christmas decorating time came around. Overwhelming much? So I pinned lots of pictures of decorated chandeliers, but never got around to actually decorating ours. This year I had some fun with them, and I decorated both the dining room and kitchen chandeliers. I like the crystals I added to the kitchen chandelier so much that they may stay up even after the holidays!
Under the picture of narcissus in the dining room seemed the perfect place to put paperwhites. My committed domestic partner (or CDP, for short) absolutely abhors the strong perfumey smell of paperwhites. The first year we lived together, I grew some paperwhites and the complaints were endless, so I haven’t grown them since then. This year I wanted them anyway, and (thus far) he hasn’t complained. Progress? Probably not, more likely forbearance on his part!
And a few more odds and ends: the top of the bookcase in the sun room (with my favorite new Christmas lights — the starry starry lights from amazon.com), and the wreath I put together after our inspiring trip to Williamsburg in early December. I dried the orange slices myself, but the quince slices came from Williamsburg. I want to practice my drying techniques and do more of this next year.
So, now I know how to post pictures. One of the biggest things on my 2014 to-do list is to improve my photography and photo-editing skills. I am researching DSLRs and looking for classes to take, and I am very excited to finally be pursuing this dream that I have been talking about for years. But, lest you worry that my post-Christmas Christmas decor post means I will always be behind the 8-ball, my content will hopefully become more timely. And I promise, it will be diverse. So many ideas percolating, but first there is the learning curve to start heading up! What’s on your learning agenda?
Happy Friday to you all.
The Loveliness Chronicles 
LOVE the wreath! I’ve been wanting to dry items for wreaths myself but have yet to actually do it. I can’t even get herbs from my garden to dry properly… Maybe that will be my resolution for next year!
Thanks, Edie! You know, I think it is harder to dry things “out east.” When we lived in Minnesota, I would dry sliced fruit (for decorating, not eating) by setting half-sheet trays of it on top of the radiators in winter. In Montana, fruit practically dried itself if it was left out on a counter (I accidentally dried a few pomegranates that way, oops!). It takes a lot more effort here. I did mine in the oven this year, lacking radiators and a climate with less than 15% humidity, but the color suffered from that approach, I thought. So I will be looking for a way to do it differently next year — and I hope to expand my repertoire to more than just oranges.
Gorgeous decorations!
Thanks, Linda! I have been enjoying your blog/writing (and I know W has been reading too), but (hanging my head in shame now that I know how encouraging comments are) I haven’t commented. I will do better from here on out!
I strung white lights on our staircase at our previous house one Christmas and liked the effect so much I never took them down again. I put them on a timer so they would come on in the evening. Sheryl was rather ambivalent about the look, but I liked them.
I love this, Jake! I like to leave white lights up on the deck year-round, and this year I have left my new “starry starry string lights,” which are teeny tiny LED lights on a very thin wire, on the mantle, at least for the time being. I will hold on to the sparkle for as long as it makes me smile!
Thanks for sharing your Christmas decorations. Always love seeing what you create for decorations– any time of the year but especially at Christmas.. I still have my mantle decorated with greens, lights, angels and candles. I love the look and will leave it for a while longer. Happy shopping today.
Thanks, Mom! I miss decorating with you. I still have lights on my mantle, and the outside lights are still up, but the rest is put away. Successful shopping today! I found two pairs of jeans, and since it is frequently challenging to find even one, I am pleased. Especially since the J Crew pair was only $15. I love sales. 🙂