simple holiday decor

Hi everyone!

 For the first time in many years, we will not be hosting our family's Christmas. Instead we will head north to my mother's home. There is no pressure to decorate so I am enjoying just a few holiday touches in our cottage. A fresh wreath with simple checked bow on our blue front door

and a little live tabletop tree found at Lowe's in Brevard. 

This photo is off center on purpose, see the tv on the left of the hearth behind the lampshade? 

The little tree comes with a reservoir stand attached and is under $20. 

I decorated without lights, just tied ribbons to attach the glass bulbs to the tree. 

 An old nut tree that I made years ago is on the kitchen counter next to the temporary baking station

I need to be better prepared for holiday baking next season. Could only find a few cookie box choices at Michael's in Asheville. Blogger Libby Wilkie recently posted some nice canisters found at The Container Store, will try to find some post-holiday bargains online, if I remember!

A few antlers that our dog Andy found from our woods in Ohio are placed around.

I tucked a few sprigs of evergreen into a pedestal of acorns found in our yard here.

Nightly fires in the hearth, indoor bulbs growing in sunny windows and a nice commercial-free Christmas station on our Sonos sound system  softly playing all day make the season special. I will add greenery to the mantle and perhaps bring out some silver as we get closer to the holiday.

Hope you are enjoying the season no matter what holiday you celebrate or how you like to decorate your home!  I am a less-is-more lady these days.

Thanks for visiting!

Cindy

holiday touches

Here are a few seasonal touches in the family room. I used shiny ornament balls in glass containers to decorate the tabletops, simple. The key is to make sure everything is sparkling clean. Tied grosgrain ribbon to the ones used for the tree.

Satin ribbon on a wreath.

The first paperwhite narcissus have been harvested from the big pots we have growing in the bay window of the dining room.

Using florist capped tubes to keep boxwood on the mantle fresh.

Our son brought me this scented candle from a recent business trip to Copenhagen. It smells divine. Christmas trees seem impossible to get a good shot of without natural light and with the lights lit, which results in a very blurry image. The burlap skirt was rumbled  when I took this, usually lies flat. I like an understated Christmas tree in our casual house. Will try to get a better shot of the tree but the dark days make it difficult and I don't like to use the flash. 

Hope everyone is enjoying the holidays by taking time to appreciate the little things that make this time of year special. Prayers are being said for Newtown, CT...

winter house

Added a  few holiday touches to the house this weekend...

I made this swag several years ago, just give it fresh ribbon each year. I see I need to clip the boxwood on the left a bit. This happens every time, photos reveal things the eye just does not pick up.

 Our sweet daughter overseeing the bar, this buffet chest recently swapped places with the Welsh dresser which is now on the long wall of the dining room. 

A dressed up dresser! Why are they called dressers? Made the little boxwood wreath on a wire frame, will take it down for a soak in the sink once a week to keep it fresh through January.

Used dark pink ribbon to compliment our wedding china stored on the tea cart in the bay window. Also is the best place to grow the winter bulbs. 

A little begonia for the front hall.

Nut tree I also made several years ago, a painful project...hot glued fingertips. Also one of the deer antlers Andy finds in the woods in the spring after the thaw.

 How do you decorate for the holidays? Do you simplify every year like I do? I am getting lazier in my older age/emptier house stage of life but I love to see what magic others are able to create in  their homes during the holidays!