Christmas at the Parsonage

Merry Christmas from the Painted Parsonage!

 Some of you will be quite bored with my photo heavy post, as a lot of our decor is the same as it was last year, and the year before that... but I just can't leave everything the same, I have to change up some things, so maybe you'll see a few new things, too :)

The living room is pretty simple and natural. 

I used an old wash tub instead of a tree skirt this year, and I am HOOKED. Most of the tree mess falls right down into the bucket, and I don't have to wrestle with a skirt getting all wrinkled up. Besides, it's just plain cute!

The centerpiece on the coffee table keeps getting rearranged by a certain 2 year old... I've been finding birds and nests in strange places around the house.

I got inspired to add a romantic touch to our bedroom this year, and put some little trees with lights on our mantle. I've enjoyed the pretty lights in the evenings! Yeah, it's the little things...

Once again, the boys stockings are hung on the staircase, along with some fun and whimsical garland. 

I filled some old mason jars in the hallway with faux snow and some vintage snowmen. I love them!

The front door is all happy and festive, too.

I'm really enjoying the season, and having all my pretties out. I'm not going to be ready to take it all down when Christmas is over :(  

I'll have to share pics of the dining room and kitchen a little later, as the Christmas crafting operation has completely overtaken my dining room table, and Christmas baking and candy making has overtaken my kitchen. Tis the Season!

 I love it!

Happy New Year!

Can you believe it's already 2013? Me neither. But I'm looking forward to a great year. I love a fresh start, new goals. Thanks to my Mother-in-law, I've already met one of my goals - she helped me take down and pack away ALL the Christmas stuff! It would have taken me weeks...

I have to share my latest thrifty find with ya. I wanted some new parsons chairs for our dining room for Christmas. I found a set of 4 tan fabric covered chairs on craigslist for....

wait for it....

20 bucks. 

Yep, as in 5 bucks per chair. Unbelievable! I was so stoked. The covers are even removable and washable. Awesome. So my sweetie got me 2 new ones to go with them, giving me a total of 6. Yay! 

He also promised me some new flooring for our kitchen/dining areas. So I'm really excited about that!!

All the garlands and stockings have been safely packed away for another year...

 I decided to leave the cards up for a bit longer. I just love seeing all of your faces! Thanks to everybody who sent us cards - it's one of the highlights of Christmas for us :) 

And just in case you didn't get a card from us, I'll post  it here...

Happy New Year from our house to yours!

Tis the Season!

How 'bout a totally random Christmas post? Just various samplings of Christmas cheer around the Parsonage...

The outside looks exactly like it did last year. As a matter of fact, it was the easiest part of my decorating! I left the trees and wreath all decorated and set those babies up in the attic as is. Alls I had to do was carry them down the stairs and plug 'em up. The best part is, most of lights still *worked* - that's a Christmas miracle for ya right there. 

A few scenes from the kitchen...

 My very crooked little kitchen tree...

And then here's a few shots from around the dining room.

(I still love these old skates!)

I'm enjoying the battery operated candle lights scattered around - they make things look so festive!

Ok, so hydrangeas aren't exactly a Christmasy flower...but I needed some filler. It works for me.

 There's a certain lil reindeer around here that is very curious about the Christmas tree...

What's not to love about a pouty little guy sporting a milk-dribbled chin, wearing reindeer antlers and monkey jammies?!? 

Carson asked if I would please make a Birthday cake for Jesus, since it was His Birthday. I couldn't turn that down, so we had red velvet cake to celebrate Jesus' Birthday. 

 We've been enjoying the Season...the glow of the tree, hot cocoa, fresh baked cookies, Christmas music...it's the most wonderful time of the year!

Merry Christmas to all of you!

It's Beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

We'll be doing a little Christmas tour over the next several days, as I try to play catch up! So for today...

Welcome to our Living Room.

 (And please forgive me for the ridiculous amount of photos in this post.)

I stuck with neutrals this year, and used lots of natural things - twigs, pinecones, birds, burlap...

Our poor Christmas tree...it was so beautiful when we first brought it home. But since then it's survived a toddler, a nose dive, a rewiring of the lights, and a number of redecorating sessions... it's starting to look a bit worn out!

 I got a new rug (on clearance!!) for this room a few weeks ago, and I'm LOVING how much brighter it is! 

I had fun with the mantel - gotta love those free chalkboard printables! 

 The fresh greens came from a pretty little tree in our backyard. It smells so good!

 (The little guys do have stockings, too  -they're in a different room.)

So that's the living room... till next time, Be Merry!