Just The Beginning

I have been B-U-S-Y today...Trips to Garden Ridge, Target, Macy's, Bed Bath and Beyond. I think I've got a good start on getting the house ready for Christmas. Here are some pictures of what I have done so far. Ready to do more!

This is the dining room walking into the living room. The garland across the entry way is 25 ft and came from Garden Ridge for like $25 maybe. It's pre-lit and the ribbon around it came from Bella Vita in Collierville.

On the dining room table are several silver trees and a few sparkly reindeer. The silver trees I believe came from Target's after-Christmas clearance last year. The reindeer came from Garden Ridge today. Those candles behind the reindeer are awesome. They are vanilla scented and battery operated. Yep, that's right. No messy clean up. My mom bought them at Costco and the best thing about them is they have a timer. You can set them to turn on at a certain time, so coming home to a warm, "candle lit" house is now super easy.

Shot of the fireplace. Hard to tell but the stockings are green. The cross was a gift from years ago that a friend's boyfriend-at-the-time made. I love it and if anything were to ever happen to it (ahem, Rachael Jones) I would cry. There is a little metal nativity scene to the left of the cross. And the Gators are on the TV to the right :)

Close up of the mantle. The apothecary-type jars are from Garden Ridge. Recycled from the candy bar at my wedding reception. The balls are just extra ornaments I didn't use on the tree. The pine cones are actually gold glittered and are also ornaments I didn't use on the tree.

Picture of the tree. Looks waaayyy better when the room is dark and the tree is lit up. Golds and browns are my color scheme. I love the look of red and lime green but it would definitely clash with everything in my house.

These little berries came from Bella Vita in Collierville. Again, from after-Christmas clearance last year. The garland is pre-lit and came from Target for only 10 bucks!

Love my little nativity scene. I bought this a few weekends ago at Merry Marketplace. It was hosted by the Junior League here in Memphis and was full of lots of holiday goodies! I bought this from a lady who lives in Texas and makes them. It is actually two pieces.

Better shot of the stocking. I love the "sock look" of these. I bought these at Target today for ten dollars each. My hand-me-downs from my mom didn't coordinate too well with everything else.

I just love this ornament. Completely sequins and only two bucks from Garden Ridge (I love that place!)

This "M" came from Target last year. I bought this soon after Kyle and I got engaged.
It's starting to cool down here. And with an old house with not so great insulation, my feet have been getting a little cold when I head to the shower in the mornings. I have been looking for a runner for our hallway for a while and refuse to pay more than $50 for one. I haven't found too many that I have loved, much less wanted to spend the money on. Until today. Garden Ridge came through again. $15 bucks!!!
And at the end of a long, rainy day of shopping and decorating, I wind down with this...God bless Swiss Miss. Try stirring your hot cocoa with a peppermint stick! My friend Audrey did this today, and my friends, I tell you it was delicious!

My little bro is here helping me hold down the fort. And sadly we have had to endure two tough losses. A Bulldog loss and a Gator loss. My heart aches. And my body hurts from bending over to plug lights in, reaching way high up to hammer nails, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera...

As I add more to the decor, I'll add more pictures to the blog.

I hope everyone enjoys their Sunday. I'll be doing just as God commands me to. And that is REST!