Christmas: Living Room

I am sharing the living room (aka family room) this evening. This is the room we live in!

My goal this year was to decorate simply and buy nothing new. I needed to be simple this year because of the busy month I will be having moving Mama, selling her house, etc.

I was determined also to buy anything new, because quite frankly I have tons and you can get carried away while looking at blogs, Instagram, and Pinterest. Enough said!

So without further adieu, I am sharing the living room. I went simple this year. Just felt simple was the thing for this year. 

My sweet little reindeer was given to me by my mother-in-law a very long time ago. It is truly one of favorite Christmas decorations.

The Christmas tins were gifts from students probably very close to 30 years ago. They were all the rage then. I got lots, but somehow these two were favorites and I still have them. I added them to the shelves, but felt this side needed some red. Couldn't quite find anything to do the trick, so I did purchase the lantern at AC Moore and added the ribbon.

The reindeer is another oldie. Just really like him.

I took a cross stitched fish off the wall and replaced it with my country Christmas stitching.

I did place votives around the room. Hubby and I are enjoying the evening in the ambience of a candlelit room.

My sweet Lucy on the couch.

My favorite spot. Cross stitching is sitting on the table ready to work on.

Gotta get busy on my January cottage.

Another shot of the sweet thing. She stayed on the couch all the while I cleaned the room.

Sweet Lemony showed up just as I had completed mopping. She wanted to leave paw prints on the floor.

My so called formal areas will be shared tomorrow. 

I only decorated the upper level this year. I usually put a tree up in the big room downstairs with colored lights, but since no one has really gone downstairs since Paul Allen moved out, I decided to pass this year. I love to go down and read there, so I will probably enjoy the calm of the downstairs.

Christmas Tree 2015 and More

I am popping in this morning with just a few pics and an update. I have been CRAZY busy this past week, and my cleaning schedule has been turned upside down. Therefore, I can't show too many pictures of my Christmas. I guess I could show real life, but I do too much of that already, so my mission today is to get the main level picked up and Lemony's golden hair vacuumed up.

I will show a few of the tree in the family room. 

I will share more at a different time of the day when I can get better shots.

The sand dollars are from our very first tree. I went downtown and bought them, and added ribbon. I had pulled out a Christmas tree picture from Southern Living and tried to replicate it. It had light blue satin ribbon as a garland, and lots of natural items. That tree is still one of my favorites. The blue worked well in our first home because our furniture was blue. Remember those 80's.

I have several of these homemade ornaments. I think I got them at the Elberta Sausage Festival way back then also. I miss those crafty fairs of the 80's. So many really nifty homemade things. I don't see so much of that at the festivals anymore.

One of my favorites. I have three of the ornaments from my earliest childhood days.

These ornaments are easily visible on a Christmas tree when I was three. I was standing in front it. It was a tabletop tree. We were in Germany, and there has never been a prettier tree.

Sometimes simple is everything!

Just one of my favorites.

A dear friend made the one above. It is my daughter's wedding invitation.

A very special one gifted to me by my daughter. She knows me so well.

Oh my love, Hubby gave me this one the Christmas after we were engaged.

Ok, I am stopping. I love all ornaments. I added the poinsettias last year for the first time. I really like those too.

A little peek from Lemony. How could someone so cute and lovable put out so much hair. Goldens shed A LOT!!!

Christmas picture books ended up by the tree this year. The first one is The Night Before Christmas.

It is from my childhood.

A little covering up of the plugs.

I am off to a Christmas brunch this morning and then immediately back home to turn my cleaning schedule right side up, because this next week is going to be nuts as well.

I spent yesterday at Mama's packing. We will move her furniture here on Thursday, and then figure out what to do with the rest. After church tomorrow, I am sending the kids up to see what they might want. 

busy, busy, busy....

I am going to share what I am wearing to the brunch this morning. 

I was no where near ready for the snap, but oh well, I have never been good at selfies.

Note, I just walked outside with the dogs, and it is brrr cold. I had to go back in and change jeans. I put on some longer boot cut ones so I could wear socks!!!

Blessings to y'all.

Sandy