Joining The Fun!

I'm all about joining the fun over at BooMama's Christmas Tour of Homes this year. For one, it helps not to have to come up with anything witty or original to write about. My brain is fried from a quick shopping trip this morning. Which was interrupted by a call from our sweet and cheery school nurse. Seems that the ONE morning of mild temperate weather, perfect for running Christmas errands with a baby on hip, is. NOT. gonna. happen. Baby BlueEyes is running a slight fever and has a headache and sore throat.

I finished the trip in warp speed and headed back to town to pick the sickie up for a long nap at home in his bed. Li'l Empress is all tucked into her crib for a long (oh, please Lord, let it be sooooo long!). I'm about to sort through all my receipts and shopping lists to figure out a game plan for my day out Thursday. But since I find myself with some time to spare here at home, I'm joining the fun earlier than I had scheduled for myself in the list-making part of my brain. I'm hoping to escape back out for some errands tonight when The Boss returns from work. Flexibility is the name of the game these days. Huh. My least favorite thing in the world. Flexibility. Huh.

So, slip on some cozy slippers and grab yourself a mug of tea or hot cocoa and join me for a tour of my home, all decked out for Christmas. Feel free to nosh on the White Chip Oatmeal Craisin Cookies on the counter. I'll post the recipe for them tomorrow, promise.

A couple days ago, I showed you our Christmas tree (sans tree skirt, which still needs to be mended. I fell asleep during Numbers - gasp!- and didn't get to it. I'm gettin' - I'm gettin'!)

Below is a homemade Christmas tree from my oldest and dearest friend. One of the hallmarks of her family is the beautiful handmade gifts they always give. This was a gift when The Boss and I were newly-weds and I still love it. It's like a puzzle, in that it is two pieces that are notched together to form the 3-dimensional tree. Comes apart for flat, easy storage, too. Does she know me or what?!

Here are several snowmen (below) that I have somehow collected over the years. I love them, but honestly, I never set out to collect snowmen. Maybe when people are thinking of gifts for me, the rounded bottom-heavy little guys just remind them of me. This is just the top half of a floor-to-ceiling bookcase. It has a twin and they both are flanking our huge picture window where the tree is centered.

Here is our gorgeous family room. I can say that because The Boss made this entire wall with his own little hands. Built the shelves, tiled the fireplace. Put the mantle together and trimmed it all off to look as if it's all built in. He's a genius DIY'er.

This adorable snow-couple below was a gift at a Yankee swap. They were THE hottest item being snatched up with each new number drawn. I was soooo excited to win them at the end. Aren't they just the cutest?!

This is the left side of my mantle. The bow tree is one of the first Christmas decorations I made for our apartment as a newly-wed. I love its simplicity. The fabric tree was a treat to myself at an after-Christmas H*llm*rk clearance sale. I wish I could find a bunch more like it. I would love a collection of rustic, simple Christmas trees.

Now we come to my favorite, favorite, favorite Christmas decoration. Our nativity set was something we bought together one night at Hershey Christmas CandyLane's many little gift shops. It was more than we could afford that first Christmas together, but I just knew I'd never find a nativity set I loved more. And all these years later, I still haven't found one I like as much as this one. With the possible exception of the adorable Little People nativity set. My word, have you seen that thing? Talk about cute and eternally minded at the same time.

I digress. . . Here it is, my perfect and beautiful nativity set.

Finally, here in the corner of my as-yet-unfinished dining room is a little vignette I made at the last minute. I realized that our dining room was looking sparse compared to previous years. With it gated off to protect Li'l Empress from tippy chairs and a glass-doored china cabinet, I guess I forgot to dress up that room too. So out came the boxes again and Voila! The little tree was purchased with the intention of creating an annual Advent tradition that was eternally minded and folk-arty at the same time. So far, it's done a bang up job as an additional decoration. We're still working on the concept of creating a tradition for it. But hey, I got the tree purchased and it can earn its keep holding all my crafty ribbon bows till its real job comes along, right?! And how cute are those gingerbread men? Their cheery little smiles always make me grin.

There you have it. The Gang's house is all ready for Christmas. Now if I could just get myself out of the house for more than 1.35 hours of concentrated errands and listifying. Then I could get all my shopping and wrapping and baking done. Then I could be all ready for Christmas. Excuse me while I go and breathe deeply into a paper bag. I'm starting to hyperventilate at the list that is currently forming and re-forming in my head, even as I type. It's like it has a life all its own in there.

Carry on. Tour the homes. Sip eggnog in your jammies.
And say a prayer for me, ya'll.
I might just lose my mind between now and the 25th.