Welcome friends to the much anticipated Holiday Home Tour! Today is the 4th installment in our multi blogger collaboration created by one of the kindest and most energetic women I have the privilege of knowing Ada of Elegance and Mommyhood.
This installment had me so excited, it’s fun to see where people live, right? It’s fun to see if their good taste in fashion carries over into their homes, right? I was all kinds of excited until I started taking pictures. It’s funny how when I look objectively at a photo of something I love in real life how different it appears. Flaws and imperfections are front and center. With that being said, let me start by telling you that my house will never be featured in House Beautiful and if Better Homes and Gardens ever calls me it will be to sell me a subscription not to collaborate with me – of this I can be sure. Now my sister, the interior designer? Her house looks like it came straight out of a magazine. Mine pales in comparison but I am okay with that. So don’t get your hopes up too high, around here we’re all about doing what we can and knowing that it’s absolutely good enough. You’ll see that just about everything has a meaning beyond beauty.
Let’s start at the entrance. These wreaths were made for us by my sister several years ago. My favorite symbol is a fleur de lis for no other reason than the fact that I like it, always have. I also like a little bling and of course a little dose of cheetah print for good measure.
Our home has a very open floor plan so when you enter you have a clear view of our living and dining rooms. I love the wreath hanging on the mirror. You’ll also see Ho-Ho, my husband’s childhood Santa doll. This little elf kinda creeps me out but once a year he takes up residence in our entryway.
The dining room is cozy. I purchased the centerpiece at Michael’s last year when they had a crazy good sale, like 75% off or something. Nuts! I think the snowman is precious. Gold chargers look great with all the red and the napkin rings were painted by mother in law years ago – I was lucky to inherit them and use them every year.
In the living room we have a wreath with a Santa in the middle. There’s just something I like about this particular Santa. Above the tv I decorated with gold, silver, and cream to lighten things up a bit. Collin made us a gold wreath for our bedroom door when he was in 5th grade (he’s a senior this year). 
For the first time in the 21 years we’ve lived in this home I enjoyed decorating my kitchen for Christmas! I do intend to do a whole post devoted to the reno with before and after pics so for today I’m sharing a few snaps from here and there. There are drawers missing and crown molding from above our new pantry and wall of cabinets. The white cabinets seemed to be begging to be adorned with small wreaths. I love the way the plaid ribbon looks against the cabinetry.
My favorite nutcracker watches over me while I cook and bake all season long.
By the sink I have two of my favorite snowmen watching me, reminding me of my sweet little boys when they made these years ago! Of course it looks like one is touching the other because, duh, brothers!
The breakfast nook is decorated as well. The windows have the same wreaths and ribbon and the table is dressed with red snowflake place mats. I love the gingerbread napkin rings but my favorite piece is the pine cone Christmas tree at the center of our table. Nolan made it when he was 4 and we’ve used it every single year since – btw, he’ll be 20 in January.
A small santa wreath adorns the door to our pool area.
The kitchen overlooks the family room. First up is our newly renovated fireplace. It used to have a dark green marble surround but we updated it with this lighter stacked stone. The stockings were handmade by my mother in law’s friend back in Greenville, PA. She was so sweet to make them for Brian and I when we first married and then when the boys came along. We bought one for Sophie even though it never gets filled. Poor Sophie has to eat hypoallergenic treats and food and she doesn’t play with toys so her stocking doesn’t get filled. But she’s an important member of the family so she gets representation on the mantel.
This is the view from my sink into the family room. 
Our tree is artificial and old. We know we’ll have to replace it one year but we’re not there just yet. It needs more lights but my husband won’t hear of it. For years we used clear lights and then a couple of years ago the boys asked for colored lights so that’s what we use now. The ornaments mostly belong to our boys. That’s because we have a very dear family friend who has given the boys bags of ornaments each year. They are absolutely beautiful and all so different. They boys love pulling them out. Speaking of the boys, they decorated the tree this year. I didn’t touch it, they did it all while I did other things. They only used some of their ornaments, actually not even half. I promise I’m not exaggerating when I say they have a ton- they typically each get 8 -10 ornaments a year and at 17 and 19 that really adds up. When they move out we’ll have to start all over again with our own ornaments. While it’s certainly not a pinterest worthy tree it means so much to us and I love looking at it.
The boys started collecting nutcrackers when they were 5 and 7 thanks to the influence of their elementary school music teacher. Every year they each get one from us and then my parents get them one as well. Over the years we have collected quite a few and the funny thing is that they know exactly whose is whose!
I try to infuse a little Christmas in every room but sometimes I’m met with resistance. For instance the boys don’t really like having Christmas trees in their rooms so that prompted the purchase of this sign:
Mostly because I crack myself up but that was always my favorite answer when they would question Santa’s existence. Now the sign hangs in our powder bath along with Christmas hand towels.
Well that was quite a tour, huh? It was nice to share it with you and I am looking forward to doing a whole before and after kitchen reno post. You can probably tell in some of the photos that the drawers have not been installed and I didn’t take pictures of part of the cabinets and pantry because we’re still waiting on crown molding to be installed. It is scheduled to be here on Monday. #fingerscrossed
Honestly I am so thrilled with the kitchen, the fireplace, and the paint throughout the house that I sometimes feel like pinching myself because it’s so beautiful in my opinion. How can this be the same home? I suppose that’s a common reaction after a reno but I’ve never done one before.
Now take a peek at the other lovely ladies participating in the Holiday Home Tour and don’t forget to link up your post as well!
Thanks so much for hanging with me today and I hope you enjoyed a peek in my home!
