Late to the Party

I had every intention of posting my holiday decor pictures before Christmas. But first I had to make caramels. And clam chowder. And wire a boxwood wreath from scratch. And then I had to wrap presents and set out luminaries. And then, all of a sudden, it was Christmas Eve. And I hadn't written a word.

On Christmas Day, I certainly wasn't going to ignore my family to blog. I was too busy enjoying my new iPad case and looking up what new hairstyle I would get this week courtesy of the money Santa gave me for that purpose. (Well, if you want to get technical, the note was from Vixen, Santa's reindeer. She mentioned that I was to use the money to up my "sass" factor. I have the note if you don't believe me.)

So there was no blogging there either.

And here we are on Day After Christmas Eve. And as I happen to believe in the phrase "better late than never," here goes, a tour of my Christmas house!

I decided to go with fresh pine garland this year. I like how it looks, but maybe I'll add some ribbon as well next time. And I made the Williamsburg style wreath at the peak of the pine garland myself! I have always love the fresh fruit wreaths. They are just so welcoming. I just don't have the over-the-door space for a traditional one with a pineapple, but my smaller version with a pomagranite and komquats was just right.

And then there was the fresh boxwood kissing ball I made. My husband started calling it "The Holiday Death Star". It even got it's own theme song. Every time he came in the front door, he'd start humming "the Imperial March" from "Star Wars" while adding Holiday lyrics like "Jingle Bells" and the random "Ho, Ho, Ho!"

 Once you come inside you can see my Miss Mustard Seed "inspired" decorations. I loved her idea to hang a wreath off an old ladder. And I had finished making an ornament wreath I started last year, and then abandoned during the Christmas rush.

Here is a close up of the fresh boxwood garland I made. I just used trimming from my unruly boxwood bushes in the front yard. I also relied heavily on the over-the-phone construction advice from my dear friend Andrea, creative floral genius at Lynn Vale Farms. (She also made the gorgeous wreath on my front door) I wanted to make two garlands, one for each side of the ladder, but the first one took me about 5 hours when all was said and done, and I never had the second 5 hour block. Oh well. I love it anyway, and I am crazy proud of myself for learning how to do it.

 
In the next room, the kitchen, I stole another Miss Mustard Seed idea, a garland with ribbons and ornaments hanging off my chandelier, inspired by this post.

This little ornament was made by my dear friend Leah McGee. See all the tiny stars inside the glass ball? She folded them all out of vintage encyclopedia pages. She's amazing! She made the one behind it with the bow also. All this vintage glitter and sparkle inspired me too.

I filled an iridescent clear glass ball with sparkly white mini pom pom balls that I got at the craft store and put the top back on. Impressive, right? We are sending a few of these to our cousins who live in snowy places to start a "snow ball" fight.

My bay window is the perfect place to grow stuff. And I couldn't resist a few Christmas paper whites and a pretty "Red Lion Amaryllis", that bloomed right on cue.

But the best of my decorations is definitely my mantle. Don't you love the cow boy boot stockings?

And yes that IS a cow skull. I may live in Virginia, but I am still from Phoenix.

I have a small collection of Cowboy Santas and reindeer cows. 

Or just cows looking jolly hiding from their cowboy. 

I even found a place for my antler.

So there you go. My house at Christmas. 

At least this year. Just in time for New Year's. 

Oh Well. At least I got it posted in 2012. 

Happy New Year to you all! 

And thanks for reading my blog.