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.

I'd call the old blawg From Under the Laundry Pile today, but I think that one is already taken

Today Goggle Girl and I are staying in. Because I'm cold. And also because I have roughly 40ish loads of laundry that need to be done.

I have finally realized that the laundry is not going to do itself, even though I've given it nearly three weeks to try.

"And I Count It All As Time Well Wasted."

It's official.

I'm loosing it. And by It, I mean my mind. It is gone.

I know that I have mentioned a time or two that I have a slight problem with procrastinating.

And today, I must mention it again. Because I have really hit rock bottom. I have a to do list a page long, and somehow I managed to only get one thing crossed off of it today.

Due to the fact that I was busy. Very busy.

Entering bloggy giveaways. Catching up on some blog reading. Visiting People.com, because you know Britney's album was released today and OH MY WORD IS ANYONE OUT THERE BUYING IT?

Because I am concerned.

And what, you ask, am I exactly procrastinating from doing?

That would be packing. For all 6 of us. My kids have a fall break next week, and we are leaving Friday afternoon on our journey towards sunny skies and sandy beaches. And drinks that are served with big chunks of pineapple and little paper umbrellas in them.

And I hate packing. Because it is so much easier to pack, when the laundry is actually done. And laundry and done are not two words that are spoken together very often in my house.

So I was busy today doing anything BUT the laundry. And the packing. And the cleaning. And getting a pedicure. And renting movies. And exchanging too small shoes, for Choppy. Because I am too lazy to leave my house.

So instead, I made good use of my time. Of course I did.

There is a blog I like called Creative Organizing. I like this blog because it is so pretty. It is clean and simple and funny and all the projects that Aby shows are just perfect. And I am a sucker for perfect. So in doing my catch up blog reading, I came across this.

Which I found to be...inspirational. And of utter importance. And something I must do RIGHT NOW. Because what if we get sick? And need medicine? And can't find it? And then it won't matter if I haven't packed for our trip if I CAN'T FIND THE PROPER MEDICINE WE NEED. Because we will be sick. And we won't be going.

So see, I really was thinking ahead on this one.

I even pulled out the old P-Touch again. Because hey, Gramma always said if you're gonna take the time to do something, do it right.

When I was in college, procrastinating meant laying in my dorm room all day watching all the Designing Women re-runs and Sally Jesse my brain could take.

Now that I'm an adult, I organize pharmaceuticals. That I've paid 20.00 a bottle for. With a p-touch.

And that Internets, is the value of a college education.

You Can Not Know How Happy My Heart Is With These Two Prints Hanging

Lara, the Lazy Organizer, is hosting Talk About Tuesday today. It's similar to a show and tell, and I've been trying to think of something to come up with that I could contribute.

And I came up with nothing.

But then, my husband K finally got around to hanging some pictures for me. After I just wrote about how he is rather lacking in the picture hanging department, leaving me to lean photos against my wall, he went and hung something.

Since he actually made the effort, I thought I should share his accomplishment with you. Guess I should not have been so quick to criticize his lack of level-ness in the area of wall decor.

Because this time, he even used a level.

Nothing makes my heart go pitter-patter quite like a man using a level.

Because I love LEVEL.

Look at all that beautiful, LEVEL, gloriousness.

So here they are. Two prints that I bought on my recent trip to Hawaii. I love them. I have been looking for something for 4 years to fill this long, empty, red wall that I have running thru the WHOLE LENGTH OF MY HOUSE.

It has given me many years of anxiety. It has caused my OCD to kick into overdrive whenever I have seen something that might, maybe, possibly, could be considered as a candidate for THE EMPTY RED WALL.

I really think my friends and family members are probably more happy than I am that these prints are finally up because they are sick and tired of hearing about THE EMPTY RED WALL, Every. Single. Time. they come over.

Because I can be obsessive like that.

Anyway, the prints are perfect because they are paintings of signs pointing in all different directions to places we visited during a recent trip to Oahu. Some places are well known, some are hidden gems, but we saw almost all of them. We stumbled upon these prints in a small shop in Kailua, the town we were staying in, and knew they were the perfect souvenir of our trip. Because, we had visited every place but one on the little signs. AND THEY WERE PERFECT FOR THE RED WALL.

So really, even if we had only been to one, or none, of the locations featured on the print, we still would've bought them anyway.

Because I will make sacrifices like that in the name of home decor.

I am not much of a souvenir-y person. I would rather have some shells or a rock or a photo, even a napkin from a trip than, say, a shot glass.

Or a little spoon. Or a T Shirt from a place that sells 4 t-shirts for JUST 20 DOLLARS.

Those things don't look quiet as nice displayed under my bell jars.

So yes, I bring home some different things from my travels. The last time I was in Mexico, I brought home a whole family of ivory and fish bone elephants. And I display them proudly. Indeed.

But this post is about my new prints. Hung by my husband. With a LEVEL.

Here's a close up of the actual prints.

And here they are, side by side. And yes, they are even illuminated. Because we have had lights on that wall installed and ready to go for FOUR YEARS while we have been looking for something to actually, Illuminate.

And I think we've finally found them.

Because did I mention that the EMPTINESS of the RED WALL was driving me crazy?

(Please ignore the unpainted electrical socket, I've just realized upon seeing this picture just how bad that really looks.)

If I had not labored for 18 hours with this one, I'd wonder if she were mine

This is what it looks like when I am busy working on all my 'stuff' during the day.

And this is what it looks like when Gracie is busy working on her own 'stuff' during the day.

I'm sure you can tell that she gets her organizational skills from me.

Thank y'all for the very sweet comments yesterday. Rest assured, I am not 20.

Or even 30.

And yes I am still on my y'all kick, since it is Fall Y'all!

So be sure to come back on Monday because I will be doing a giveaway.

And giveaways are fun!

I want to give a BIG thank you to the New Diva on the Blog who awarded me this:

The best part about winning an award is knowing that someone out there is actually enjoying what you are writing. And you get to pass it on to others! And that is what I call bloggy FUN!

So, I'd love to give this to Stie, for this post. Because truer words were never spoken. Or in this case, truer pictures were never taken. And it made me laugh. Go see for yourself!

The other person I want to pass this on to is Cindy, because this post will really make you stop and think. There is so much in the news right now with the fires in California, and this post really got me thinking about what is really important. What would I grab if I had to GET OUT IN 5 MINUTES?

And like Cindy, it would not be my window treatments. Even though they are plantation shutters. And I am a bit obssessive about my plantation shutters. Because I love them. A LOT.

This week my real-life friend, Jul, launched her own blog, Mom's Side of the Story. Won't you please do me a favor and go on over and say hello?

Thanks.

Showing Off My Favorites...No Holes in the Wall Necessary!

Lara, the Lazy Organizer, is hosting Talk About Tuesday. This is a blog carnival were you can share just about anything! It is a great way to meet other bloggers. And Lara has a really great blog, so be sure to check it out!

This week, I am going to share my way of displaying my seasonal favorite photos. I love to take pictures of the kids, and I love to show them off. But I have two problems trying to accomplish this.

One, I am not a huge fan of small picture frames scattered about the house. I have a couple of them here and there and I am always seeing frames that I like. I just feel like my pictures never look that great in them. I almost never take posed pictures of my kids, I am more inclined to snap away while they are going about their business. Anyway, what I am trying to say is that my "action" shots never seem to look right in the smaller, table top style picture frames.

Second, I have a phobia of putting holes in the walls. I can't do it. Maybe this is because my husband, K is horrible at hanging things level, and I have a thing for LEVEL. If something is off even .000000001 of a cm, it will drive me nuts. And he does not believe in going back and patching the holes he makes while trying to get the object in question, level. Yes, he just leaves all of the mistake holes behind the pictures. It makes me a bit twitchy just thinking about it. I do have some large paintings and prints around my house, that the painter hung for me. They are level, with no random holes behind them. They make me happy. Anything that K has hung, gives me anxiety.

So given these two dilemmas I am faced with, it is a bit of a challenge to display my current favorite photos.

This is the solution I came up with.

It is my very own photo gallery that I did myself. It makes me happy.

It is a collection of my current favorite photos from whatever season we happen to be in.


Some of the photos are color shots, some I've changed to black and white. I don't worry about them all being the same. I also include more than just photos of my kids. This picture above of the Moku Lua's reminds me of happy times spent in Hawaii. The sandy feet are a reminder of our families love for the beach.

These pictures are all ones I have taken over the summer. I will take them down soon, because for the Holidays I decorate the mantel with garlands and lights, but after the Holiday stuff is put away I will run off some prints more reminiscent of wintertime, like sledding or a snowman, or maybe I will frame a photo of a grey winter sky. Whatever photos are my current favorites, will make it in the frames.

So this is what I do to display photos around here. It works out well for me because I don't need my husband to put any holes in the walls. I just lean the frames in an overlapping fashion and I have room for eight frames. No level needed!

I realize not everyone may have a mantel to display large frames like these, but I've used this idea on a counter top, a ledge style shelf and a dresser. Any size or number of frames would work. And the pictures don't need to match!

It doesn't get any easier, give it a try!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like....Halloween???

I did it. I caved in. I have no excuse. The only explanation I have is that whenever I go to the store with this

one of us usually ends up getting what we want. And it is usually not me.

I am weak.

So when my son had to walk down the Halloween aisle at the Jewel today, I could see it coming. My years of throwing a couple of mums in a pot and putting some pumpkins on the front steps in an effort to decorate for fall were about to come to an end. My son is 5. He no longer believes that potted mums are all that exist in the world of Halloween decorating. For years I have been telling my kids that I just don't think we have the right type of power outlet at our house to support one of those giant, blow up, outdoor decorations. And, I think they've actually believed me. For years I have also been telling them that I don't know where you can find all that blood and gore clingy stuff for the windows and the fake cobwebs for the bushes. I've said I've never seen that stuff at the store. And really, I don't think I've lied, because I really have never seen those things at the store.

Because I never go down the Halloween aisles at my local Wal*Mart and Tar*Zjay.

Halloween has just never been something I decorate for. I am not a fan of the gore-y, bloody look and screaming, motion activated props have never found their way in to my shopping cart.

I prefer to think of my pumpkins and mums as more of my tribute to fall than actual Halloween decorating.

But again I say, I am weak.

So we have decorated for Halloween around my house this year.

And it is lovely. Can Halloween decorating be lovely?

Or should I say it is scary? Yes, it is scary.

Very scary.

Very scary, that I have actually done this to my house, that is.
It is just not me. I look at other peoples' houses and think "Oh look, they decorated, HOW CUTE!" or "That house looks great." But, I have never actually had the desire to scary up my own house. Never. Until today.

It is not a blow-up on the front lawn, and it's not fake cobwebs on the bushes. It is not yellow caution tape across the front door or even a motion activated, screaming, headless figure.

It is however, the best compromise I could come up with, with a 5 year old.

So it is Halloween in the Dining Room.

And Halloween in the Living Room.

It is Halloween across the whole front of my house.

And it looks even better on the inside.

Oh yes, it sure does.

And As I Type This, The Laundry Is Still Not Yet Done

I am paticipating in this weeks Talk About Tuesday carnival. Not because I have much to talk about, but more because I saw an opportunity to get myself on a blog that actually had something to do with organinzing! I love The Lazy Organizer, it is funny and inspiring and Lara makes me laugh everytime I read. And also, I am lazy. So I really feel like we have a lot in common in that respect. I am linking to this old post of mine, because as I mentioned, I am a bit lazy, and have not really started on my next organizing project yet. Actually, I have, but like many things I start, it is not yet finished. But, I am wondering...does anyone else love to organize and containerize and label but could care less if the house is clean or the laundry is done? It really seems like they should go hand and hand; but for me they do not. I wondering if I am the only one who is organized, but a bit messy?
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I am the queen of procrastinating. If there is something that needs to get done, have no fear I will get it done, but not until I absolutely have to or the last possible second before it needs to be done, whichever moment happens to come first.

Yesterday was a prime example of this unfortunate habit of mine.

I should have been doing this...

But instead, I spent the day doing this...

Check out the tags...hand stamped, people, hand stamped. Because I've got nothing but time on my hands...nothing but time.

I even pulled out my P-Touch to label the bins, because I have time.to.burn.

And yes...it is nice to have an organized laundry room. I thought about taking a before picture, but really, it was not pretty. I'm sure you all will say it couldn't have been that bad...but, it was. It was so bad that I'm sure the word slob, or perhaps pigpen, would've popped into your mind.

The clothes, the dirty and often the clean, because I'm keeping it honest here people, were often piled on the floor. And the shelves...well the shelves had everything from playdough to packing tape with even some riding boots thrown in stacked on them. The dryer had about 642 lint piles on it, because when I change the lint vent, of course I cannot be bothered to actually throw the lint away. I kid you not.

But I haven't even gotten to the worst part...the most procrastinating-filled part of the day. You see, we go to our cottage in Wisconsin every weekend during the summer.

And there are times when

a)the mosquitos are driving me crazy,

b)the kids are driving me crazy, or

c) I need a Coke,

that I will hop into my car and head for the Super Walmart to pass the time. Because you see, I don't live by a Super Walmart. A regular Walmart, yes, but SUPER??? Sadly, no. And really, I mostly shop at Target as opposed to Walmart because I tend to find it...cleaner? Don't get me wrong...I love me some cheap stuff at Walmart...but I usually leave there tending to feel like I

a) need a shower

b) should've gone to Target.

Anyhoo...I'm procrastinating...'member way back up at the top of this post I said I was really good at that?

So I can be found enjoying some quality alone time at the Lake Geneva Walmart Supercenter, most weekends from Memorial Day to Labor Day. And may I mention they have a McDonald's there? Super Walmart and the Golden Arches...this truly is the land of oppurtunity. If you're ever there and see someone just pushing a cart around with meaningless crap in it that it looks like she doesn't really need, and a super-size Coke in her hand...say Hi! 'Cause it's probably me.

Back to the point...and to think this rambling started with a post about my landry room.

At some point this summer, I picked up two of the small red bins at above mentioned Super Walmart. I thought they were

a) cute,

b)would come in handy somewhere in my house, someday. And,

c) I couldn't find anything else to buy.

Fast forward to yesterday, because if I don't get to the point now...it's never gonna happen.

I pull out the red bins...and decide they would be perfect for the laundry room shelves. Only problem is...I only have two. And I need eight. And I hate to have anything mismatched, so I could not simply use the regular white plastic bins that I have in abundance. Oh no...must.get.red.bins. So I head to my local Walmart...and lo and behold...they have the bins! But they are not the deep, burgandy red color. Oh no...they are a bright, primary red color. Clearly,the organizing stars were not aligned for me today. And because I compulsively need things to match...do you see where I'm going with this?

I drove back to the Super Walmart to buy the rest of the deep, burgandy red color bins that I needed.

IN ANOTHER STATE.

Again people, I kid you not.

My procrastinating, mixed with my compulsive bin matching habits, defies all state lines. No amount of time is spared and no amount of gas is too much for me.

And if you've ever read any of my previous posts...you know that I can be a bit of an idiot sometimes. And this time, was no exception.

And it all started because I didn't want to do the laundry.