Come on in, the decorating is done and the Rescue Heroes are ready

Well, here it is. The much anticipated and long awaited Christmas Tour of Homes, hosted by the Southern hostess with the mostess, Boomama.

I am excited to be actually participating this year, instead of just stalking you all and your beautiful homes like I did last year.

The halls are decked, so let's get started.

This is our front door. Which we never use. But I love the sparkly fruit wreath and the urns artfully filled with greenery by moi. Oh the joy the festive urns bring me. You have no idea. Martha would be proud. All those years of subscribing to her magazine have really taught me some useful skills.

(Please excuse the leaning greens. It's been a bit windy around here, and they are too frozen in to straighten. Just know, that I know, that they are crooked.)

(And don't judge me by my leaning greenery. I didn't have the staff at Martha Stewart Living to help me start over.)

Let's go on in.


You're in. Welcome to the place where chaos reigns, it is never quiet and the laundry is never done. Drop your stuff anywhere, everyone else does, and I'll come by and pick it up.

When you walk in my front door, the living room is to your right. We use this room a lot for reading and talking. And time outs. But mostly reading and talking. Which is good. Because I grew up in a house where you couldn't walk on the fresh vacuum marks in the living room, and this room is nothing like that.

This is a good representation of the ornaments on my tree. The gold ball was my grandmother's and when you pull it it plays Silent Night. I can remember listening to this ornament every year and I'm so glad to have it now. The house is just one of about 30 that my mom started giving me when I was a kid. I have a few scattered red birds on my tree, also as a memory of being at my grandparents house. Everyone who knows me thinks it is very strange that I, of all people, would have a tree full of birds. Because everyone that knows me, knows I am not a bird lover. Rather, I am a bird loather. It is a hate that runs deep, firmly rooted in a childhood bird traumatization. But I think of these red feather cardinals not as birds, but as reminders of Grandma and Grandpa's house, looking for cardinals out their kitchen window.

And besides, this is Christmas, so I don't want to think of the bird unpleasantness, the terror of it all, now.



This is the coffee table in my living room. It holds a nativity set my mom gave me along with a picture of me as a child with my grandfather during a blizzard in the 70's. I'm so excited to see this picture every year. And not just because I was vision in bright red snow pants.

Yes, those are Rescue Heroes helping to stand guard over the baby Jesus. We believe that we are one people under God, regardless of race or plasticity.

As soon as you walk in the front door, there is a long hallway in front of you leading from the foyer to the family room. At the end of this hallway is the family room where we have our second tree. It is a real Frasier fir, decorated by the kids with all of their own ornaments, their handmade ornaments, as well as K and my ornaments from our childhoods. It really is a pretty tree. If you can appreciate the beauty of overly glittered, clumped together, made with love, ornaments. Which I can, and I do.

Just not near my pretty tree in the living room.

This is the nativity under the kids tree. Or as Gracie calls it, Jesus and the peoples. It is played with and rearranged daily. For some reason though, the Rescue Heroes prefer to do their worshipping at the other nativity scene closer to the pretty tree. Apparently, they are not fans of overly glittered ornaments.

The entertainment center in the family room is decorated with my Santa collection. I started collecting these when K and I first got married and I love them. They are old-fashioned and rustic and homey, which is not really the way I decorate, but I love to bring them out in December. We buy a new one every year, and date them all. (Notice that animal print accent, Martha?)

Here they are. My jolly fellas. Happily residing among the fresh greens and berry garland.

And, I had to throw this picture in for K. When I was going around the house on Sunday afternoon taking pictures, I made him pause the game so I could shut the doors and snap a picture of my Santa collection that didn't include the Ravens or the Dolphins. He said I should photograph the house the way it really looks and leave the doors alone. So the stockings are hung by the TV with care. And how was I supposed to know the second I shut those doors to take the picture the Dolphins would win their first game of the year? Sorry, K.

Last stop on the tour is the dining room. It is across from the living room and is to your left when you come in the front door. I think the dining room is my favorite room in the house, Christmastime or not.

This is the dining room table centerpiece. It looks very pretty at night with the lights reflecting off the glass vases. I'm sure it would look even prettier if the candles were lit. But those are my prized Pottery Barn glitter candles. And they were to expensive to you know, actually burn, so they come out every year as a reminder of a time when I could actually afford to spend that kind of money on candles, instead of a Wii. Ho Ho Ho.

This is the nativity on the sideboard in my dining room. I love this piece. It is big and heavy and, along with my Grandma's gold ornament, is my favorite Christmas decoration. It is, after all, the reason for the season.

Thanks for coming over.

Merry Christmas to you all.