Decorating Christmas

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I try. I try to stay ahead of things, but inevitably I fall behind. I meant to take pictures of my home decorated for Christmas and post them weeks ago. You know. Before Christmas. Like all of the other bloggers who can manage to create a post on time.

Rebels.

And I am sure you are done with Christmas. Because…It was over a week ago. Over. Done. I have all ready packed it all away. I am sure you have, too. If you celebrate, that is. If not, then I am doubly sorry for this late post.

Selfishly, this is a lot for me. I always forget how the heck I have arranged things the year before. Now I can have it on record.

And, no, I have not all of a sudden become “on top of it.”

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This is what my home looked like up until two days ago.

But let’s pretend for a moment that we did not see that. That packages have not been ripped open. That boxes and trash did not line every space upon my floor. That I didn’t find my dog humping a pile of wrapping paper and subsequently tripped over the hidden table and now have a bruise in the odd shape of a candy cane on my thigh.

These photos were taken before all of that. When I was in blissful ignorance of my houses’s demise. Of Ollie’s freaky new habbit. And my thighs were perfect.

Ha!

Okay, but we are daydreaming here, so that sentence still stands.

Here is what my home looked like not a week before. It never knew what hit it:

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Is your home put back together? When do you pack everything away? Do you keep a record of how you decorated? Do you have any candy cane shaped bruises to commemorate the day? Or a dog who likes Christmas a little too much?

* P.S. I shared this on Savvy Southern Style.

This Is Halloween

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I’m gonna let you in on a little secret. I love Halloween. I love it. The idea of transforming oneself into whatever one wishes. Millions of people playing “dress-up.” It’s exciting. Besides Disneyland, this is the closest thing us adults will ever get to our childhood left behind.

And trick-or-treating! Forget about it! I love it. The idea of knocking on someone’s door and having them not only answer, but give you candy. I mean: If you stop to think about it, it is such a wonderful thing in this world full of mistrust and heartache.

Halloween. It is such a ridiculous holiday. Which is why I love it. I just cannot believe how many people celebrate it and give in to the fun.

Growing up in the country meant never having one trick-or-treater. We would venture five miles down the road to my aunt’s house and trick-or-treat from there. My aunt would give out the most amazing goody bags to each child. This led me to immediately start this tradition from the moment I was on my own. (Post to come about my goody bags this year. Hmmm. Something about that doesn’t quite sound right). It is a thrill to me to get a trick-or-treater. Seriously, a thrill.

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Here is how we decorated our outside this year. Well, this is how we decorate every year, so don’t expect anything different next year.

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Notice, I kinda hid our green door from the association. I think I can get away with doing this until January. Christmas green anyone?

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How did you decorate this year? Do you love Halloween as much as I do?

I shared this on Savvy Southern Style

And My Romantic Home

Hung Up On Pink

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Our pink door finally got hung up!

Remember my post about that old pink door we purchased? Well, we finally got around to hanging it up a few weeks ago. It now hangs in our hallway. It actually looks really cool where it is.

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We hung three paintings on it.

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The alien painting is by Gloria Muriel. The gnome riding a dragon was a Christmas present my daughter painted for me three Christmases ago. The black and white dragon is by Becky Dreistadt.

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We are very happy with the look of the hallway now. It is decidedly fun!

What is the most outrageous thing you have done in your home?… decorating wise. ; )

Please tell!

Ginette Callaway

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When my husband and I first got married, everything was a struggle. We had only known each other for four months. We were expecting a baby. It seemed very surreal…

I had my daughter and life became very chaotic. My husband got offered a job in a city far from where we were living. We would truly be on our own. No friends. No family. It was just the three of us and it was scary.

I would spend my days cleaning obsessively and taking care of a baby while my husband spent long hours in training. We barely saw each other. Our landlords lived across the street and we never knew when they might stop by. It was stressful. I did not know if we were going to make it. I was deeply depressed.

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And then I found an artist named Ginette Callaway. She is currently on etsy. You can also find products of hers at DENY Designs. She recently had one of her pillows featured in Better Homes & Gardens Magazine. I am so excited for her! At the time I discovered her, she was on ebay. Her art was so colorful and brilliant. It took me away to a different place for awhile. I bought my first piece of art during this time. It was a teeny tiny painting of lavender fields. It was only 4X6. It was the lone piece of art in our hallway. It brightened my day to look at it.

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I began collecting more pieces. As our walls grew more colorful and cheerful, so did our lives. I began to realize how important it is to surround yourself with happiness. Who could be sad looking at these bright paintings?

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When we rebuilt our fireplace in our current home, I commissioned Ginette to paint a peacock to go above it. I love it! I think it fits the space perfectly.

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She had a sale on etsy recently. I purchased this bird painting. I cannot wait to get it framed!

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Today I own 23 paintings by Ginette. I am only showcasing a handful today. I decided on a bird theme. I will show more of her art in posts to come. Her art inspires me to be happy each and every day. She is a wonderful, extremely kind artist. I am proud to have her pieces in our house.

Do you have art in your home that you love?