My Quarterly Post

 

Hi my name is Jill and I am a … blogging slacker.  Thanks to everyone who have been checking in and I apologize for the disappointment.  I’m thinking I should just go to quarterly posts…haha.   I have been traveling a lot for work and have not had any time for projects or blogging.  Steve and I have fully taken advantage of the 4 day weekend to get the house up to snuff.  We are planning to have Christmas dinner here at the house and want it to look perfect.  Here’s the ongoing progress.

Step One: Rearrange the furniture

Because this is our first Christmas in the house, we needed to figure out where the Christmas tree will look best.  We decided that next to the TV and close the built-ins is the perfect place.  We already had a table and chair in that spot so that needed to go, which started a domino effect.  The table and chair went where the IKEA bookshelf was, the IKEA bookshelf went to the kitchen where the buffet table was, the buffet table went to the dining room where the unfinished baker’s rack was and the baker’s rack in now in the basement.  Whew!  Here are some pictures of the new furniture placement…

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Step Two: Decorate the Mantel

The mantel is the most important decoration spot.  It sets the tone for the entire house and helps to establish the color pallet.  I had a general idea for the Christmas decorations that I wanted for the house but wasn’t sure exactly how to execute.  We went to all our favorite stores (Marshalls, Home Goods, Christmas Tree Shop and Home Depot) and came home with a bunch of random items.  Here’s how the mantel came out…  (I’m actually pretty impressed with us! haha)

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My favorite parts are the wreath on the mirror (an idea I got from Pinterest) and the Christmas trees that Steve made from scrap wood. 

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Step Three: Decorate the dining room table

I chose the easy way out on this one.  A Poinsettia and a candle. 

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While we were in the spirit of moving furniture, we created a foyer area between the kitchen and the dining room.  It seems like a strange place for it but because we come into the house from the garage, we really needed a place to drop mail, keys, shoes, etc.  We used an old bookshelf and some baskets.  We also mounted this cool mirror that we found in a furniture place in Hampton.

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Step Four: Decorate the built-ins

We haven’t finished this one yet.  There are still some things to be completed in the living room.  The one big task is the installation of the wood stove.  We purchased a wood stove and my dad had been helping us set it up.  We’ve been making a hearth out of tile we already had.  We’re close to being finished but at the moment the living room looks like this…

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Once we get the woodstove in place we’ll get our tree and finish the decorating!

Here’s another side project that I tried.  We spray painted the container that our Mums came in and then added some greens (from Mom and Dad’s yard) and bows.  Not quite like the ones we saw at Home Depot but a lot cheaper!

 Smile

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Hope you’re enjoying the holidays and all the decorating that comes with it!

Jill

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