Before I get to sharing my Christmas décor with you, I just had something to say that’s been weighing on my mind and I have a feeling it will resonate with many of you too.
I’ve noticed something in blogland. It’s gotten crazy around here during Christmas. I just wanted to take a minute and give a few observations of my own about the Christmas season and blogging and how if we’re not careful, we can let that old ugly monster, comparison, creep up on us. I can honestly say this is the first year of my 7 years of blogging during the Christmas season, that it’s affected me. That clicking around blogland at all the beautiful home tours and feeling a wee bit depressed because my house can’t possibly compete with all of those?
How can it? I’m a pretty confident person and it still gets to me somewhat.
We all have different decorations, houses, styles of decorating, talent, skill, not to mention time to decorate our homes for the Holidays, so how in the world can every house be so darn beautiful? There’s such a multitude of talent out there, I see it every single day. So, if I’m feeling the pressure to perform this year, I know countless others of you out there are feeling the same way. I have never felt the pressure as much as this year in performing for Christmas and showing off my decked to the max Christmas home.
But, the problem is, I can’t compete. Everyone has their own style of gorgeous and putting it all together for Christmas festivities and it can be intimidating to the normal homemaker out there who just wants to create a pretty decorated Christmas home for their families.
So I wanted to take a minute to say, let’s all take a deep breath. There’s talent, beauty and amazingness out there. Some folks take better pics than others. That can be intimidating too. I’m still working on my photography, I’m not at all where I’d like to be (even though I improve every single year!) and find myself oohing and ahhing over those who do it better than I do. We all have to really take a step back. Slow down. Remember the season and why we are celebrating.
I (we) are celebrating a baby Jesus who came to earth, a savior who was born for us, who loves us just as we are. Beautiful home or plain home. We are all loved the same. I hope we will remember that this season, as blogland is scurrying around decorating and showing off all the beauty that is out there this time of year. There are home tours galore and blogland is positively exploding with them this year and I’m part of a big one too.Â
I, for one, have to step back and remember. This is not a competition. This is sharing creativity and festiveness for the season. Mine will never be the best or the most beautiful, but I hope you enjoy this season at my house. I throw in the towel and admit that I see so many MORE beautiful homes than mine. But, mine is mine and we all have to embrace our homes and spaces and create the most gorgeous Christmas home that we can…with what we have been given…big and small.
OK, now that we got that out of the way. That was just weighing heavy on my mind, because I know if it’s bothering ME, it has to be unsettling to a whole bunch of other bloggers out there. Not to mention all of you wonderful readers who read our blogs. You have to be feeling intimidated at times, wondering how your home stacks up in blogland.
So, let’s give ourselves a break, OK?! Don’t get hung up on who has the prettiest decorated house! Decorate for your family and enjoy this precious time of year and soak up all that this season brings. The meaning behind who, why, and what we are celebrating at Christmas. It’s not all about the decorations and we all certainly know that, right?!
With that being said, I’m ready to share my living room decorated this year for Christmas. I use most of the same things every year, so if you’ve been reading me awhile, you’ll see the same old stuff. But, I love my home and am still so grateful for every single thing in it!
Merry Christmas 2013!
Welcome to my living room.
I added the real wreath to the fireplace mantel this year and am so happy to have a mantel to decorate this year.
I’ve had these gold trees for over 10 years and this year used them with my white Southern Living urns. I went for rustic and natural on the mantel.
These white JOY letters stand out against the stone.
My living room decorated for Christmas this year.
Just a few greenery touches around the room, with ornaments and beads.
My black side table in the living room got a cloche with winter scene and I added some fresh greens cuttings along with feathers and gold touches.
Just a few touches around the room.
I love adding fake snow to my cake plate and putting out a winter scene for Christmas.
My nativity set that I’ve had for over 20 years, from Fitz and Floyd.
The coffee table got a few festive touches too.
I brought in my little white iron birdbath and filled it with snow and pretty gold and white ornaments. A few snips of fresh greens finishes it off.
Another cloche holds my vintage ornaments just found this year. Love these colors!
More blue baubles on an end table.
Simple touches on this side table too, with a white bottlebrush tree, I found at Target last year after Christmas, along with a simple boxwood wreath hung on the mirror.
This cute tree makes me smile.
Love this Silent Night handpainted sign from Beyond the Mossy Tree at the Woodstock Market.
The tree this year got some new ornaments from the Michaels Christmas tree challenge. My sister used part of the ornaments and I used the other half.
Since my old prelit tree died, I picked this one up last year at Lowes after Christmas sales. I love a tree in an urn.
Love the mix of green, silver, and white along with the burlap snowflake ribbon.
A big silver mesh bow, sparkly picks and feathers at the top make it extra fun.
All of these ornaments and ribbons came from Michaels this year. I love those cute white birds.
And that’s my biggest Christmas tree this year, just my size. I am not sure I’ll ever do a huge tree again.
The foyer table always gets dressed with my mercury glass collection and all things silver. I just love this mix and how pretty it looks. I added the zebra runner to the table this year and love that added bit of pattern.
The square boxwood wreath was a gift from Wayfair this year and of course, I love it’s natural feel. You can’t beat preserved boxwood. That 3 tiered stand in the middle was one of my World Market finds from earlier this year and is the perfect holder for these pretty ornaments.
The silver candelabra is a long ago yardsale find and I still love it, along with the silver tray on the left, holding the cute silver tinsel tree.
I’ve collected this mercury glass at all different stores, including TJ Maxx, Homegoods, and Target. Love all of these together and how sparkly and shiny they are.
A scripture white ball gives a beautiful message.
These sparkly words I’ve had for years too, picked up in an after Christmas sale: Joy, Hope and Wish, that describes this season to me. I added a few snips of greens to this vignette too, that always is a lovely touch.
The boxwood wreath up close. I added a jingle bell garland to the middle, along with a pretty silver angel and this Merry Christmas sign was a yardsale find long ago. I love it’s simplicity.
I sure am enjoying having a working gas fireplace now and have turned on the logs several times already this year. The warmth and glow add so much to my living room. Love it! The addition of the mantel this year and the gas logs are good ones that I’m so thankful for.
Mr. Cody joined me in my photo session and he’s been so much fun to have around this past year. He loves me and I love him! Cody and Rhonda have been great roommates the last year.
Come back tomorrow and we’ll head into the dining room!
Merry Christmas to all of you!
Wednesday will be my big home tour, where I’ll be joining 25 other bloggers (5 bloggers per day, Monday through Friday) who will all be sharing their beautifully decorated homes for the Christmas season, so you will have so much inspiration, you won’t know what to do! It all starts on Monday morning. Chris from Just a Girl is the host for this tour and you can see the first day’s line up at her blog on Monday morning, so don’t miss out!
If you’re not completely toured out yet, here are this week’s blogger home tours for Christmas. I’ll add live links as the days go on this week. And really, these are a talented group of ladies, so I know you’ll enjoy the inspiration!
Monday
- Life in Grace
- Not Just a Housewife
- All Things Thrifty
- Funky Junk Interiors
- Thrifty Decor Chick
- Storywood Designs
- Decorchick
- Southern Hospitality
- Our Fifth House
- Sand and Sisal
- A Place for Us
- Songbird
- Pretty Handy Girl
- Beneath My Heart
- I Heart Organizing
- My Blessed Life
- Emily A. Clark
- A Thoughtful Place
- Remodelaholic
Boy Rhoda, you hit the nail on the head. I started feeling like this 3 yrs ago. My nativity is out 24/7, 365 days a year. This year with all of the stores starting Christmas in September! We didn’t even get a break from any holidays. I told my adult daughters, that we weren’t going to have, what I call ‘Santa Claus’ Christmas. I firmly believe that in this time, Christmas is nothing but that. My family are all Christians, and I am not going to let commercialism take Christ out of Christmas. We will be together, and share the blessing of Christ’s birth, the salvation we receive from him is the only thing I will celebrate. Many best wishes, and Merry Christmas. Blessings Paula Lusk
Oh, I forgot, your house looks beautiful, as always. Paula
So well said-I couldn’t agree more! Your home is beautiful! Happy holidays!
Everything looks beautiful. I love a touch of natural with simplicity and bits of sparkle. Your dining room and living room look just a little more special for Christmas, and I like that.
You said this well. I skip all those major blog tours, except for my few regulars. I visited a blog where I shared my Christmas linky last year, only to regretfully learn that it was turned into voting for your favorites, so I skipped that one even though it got me a couple of new readers.
Rhoda, Your home is beautiful decked out for the holidays, I love to bring out my sentimental Christmas decor and remember who gifted me with each cherished item. There is no way I could give everything away and start over like I have seen on some blogs.
I have quit reading many blogs, it started to depress me when I realized how much money and time they spend to update their home’s with the latest trend. It might not be the case but it seems to me their lives are centered around keeping up with the Jones’s. ( I do NOT get that feeling from you)
I gleaned a simple idea from your Christmas decor that I’m going to use, I have a metal cone that I’m going to fill with simple greens and winterberries like yours. Always come away with inspiration from your blog that I CAN afford…
I think you have done a great job on combining a business of blogging and sharing your life and family on the blog, I feel like your a friend that I have know for ages and could sit down and have coffee and have tons to chat about.
And, that you opened up your home for your readers to come and see your home just shows me that you feel the same way about your readers.
Have a blessed Christmas with your lovely family. Mary
THank you, Mary, I loved your comment. Thanks for taking the time to share that. That’s exactly what I hope to achieve with my blog and you expressed it perfectly.
I am glad that I somehow stumbled upon this post! I am not sure how I arrived but I am glad that I did. I wrote something along these same lines on my blog the other day. All of those ‘magazine’ worthy blog home tours are wonderful to look at. But I know that hiding somewhere in a corner is a dirty sock or a wet towel. And probably the oven is stuffed with dirty dishes so the pictures can be shared. And the kids are forbidden to enter the beautifully decorated rooms until the blog tour has ended. I know that all of those blogs have working mother (either at home or away from home or both) and families that are messy and dirty. I try to take it all in with a grain of salt. But if you let it, the envy will start to wiggle it’s way in. Maybe I will photograph my home in the state that it is in MOST of the time.
Hi, I’ve wanted to write to you for a few days, I’ve just wanted to mull some things over before I sat down and decided just to write.
So here it goes. I have been following you for a while, you were (and let me clarify, still ARE) someone I extremely admired in your design and in your thoughts. I loved when you went to see Ree, happy and not at all jealous, I felt you were like my sister. What a great moment in your life.
Well my life got turned upside down and scattered all around so I wasn’t on any blogs and to be honest with you, I had stopped writing on mine.
About, I don’t know the exact time probably a few months had passed, decided to sit down and read your blog.
With what I was reading made my mouth drop. Not you! I couldn’t believe what changes happened in your life, I read and retread your posts. My heart hurt for you and I cried knowing what you were going through. Then I read about your new home and your sweet dad helping you with the “beautification” of it.
Now you have a home that NO ONE can EVER take from you. Your home , is more beautiful than ANY home in blogland because it is made up from pure love and sheer determination.
You are my hero and you don’t know it, but you have helped me in my life with changes I’ve had to face and overcome.
So, thank you for your posts and I love your home and your beautiful decorations. Class never goes out of style. You, my friend , are First Class.
Merry Christmas and 2014 will bring happiness and blessings.
Jeanine.
HI, Jeanine, oh thank you for that! You made me get teary-eyed reading your note. THank you so much for your support and reading all this time. Life can be so hard and I’ve been through my fair share of difficulties, but God has been SO good to me and I’m definitely on the other side of the pain now. I do love my home more than words can express and I think my readers know that. It truly is my home, sweet home!
We (your readers) do know that. We are very proud of you and what you have accomplished. You are very welcome, Keep up the great words and know that I truly enjoy you
Here, here Jeanine!!!!
Thank you for being brave enough to express your thoughts on the competition thing. I am feeling it greatly this year too, especially since my home will be on a (very small) blog tour for Christmas. I have a small home with average furnishings – nothing fancy, nothing expensive. My kitchen is terribly outdated. My decor is from years past and a lot of items are from thrift shops. So when I see these McMansions and decor that comes straight out of a high-end magazine, it makes me heart drop and my self-esteem plummets. I actually had to stop looking at some of these blogs because of the way they made me feel. I even considered dropping out of my blog tour! But then a very kind, sweet friend emailed me and gave me words of encouragement, and so I will carry on….xoxo
Rhoda, Thank you for your blog…this one so special. I have followed you for some time when you were in Birmingham. You have such a beautiful home and I love your parents…not far behind them in age. I have no blog, think about it sometimes. I love people and I love getting ideas so I do read lots of blogs. I had already noticed where some seem to be in a competition but I can truly say, I love my home even though I am sure some would probably turn and go back out the door. I have many interests so I have some clutter but I enjoy my “stuff” and even though I see some beautiful homes, I have just what I like. I am thankful to God every day for my beautiful home. Blessings to you, Rhoda. You are such a jewel and inspiration.
Oh, my. This so resonated with me. For some reason, I felt that for the first time this year, too. I think it was because I was seeing Christmas in blog land everywhere long before Thanksgiving. We like to take our time and enjoy each holiday and this year that really got to me. I so appreciate all that you wrote. I was hesitant to be a part of the home tour thinking my home doesn’t measure up. Nice to know we all have to check ourselves every once in a while to keep it all in perspective. While I love to decorate, I do try to keep it simple so that the time is spent with the little ones. For us, that is really the beauty of the season. Thanks for sharing your heart. Oh, and for the record. . . your photos are amazing. Really, they are. And such a warm and beautiful home.
Thank you Rhoda for helping me center my thoughts again. I talked with you briefly at the Country Living Fair this year and I mentioned that as a somewhat new blogger, I was feeling like a small fish in a big pond. I have to admit I’ve felt overwhelmed the past few weeks with trying to do what I thought a blogger should be doing…posting pics of every room perfectly decorated for Cheistmas. I was beginning to feel I wasn’t cut out for this blog thing. I just want to share with others and learn from others. That “competition” mentality was beginning to creep in though. I enjoy decorating, crafting, cooking, etc. and I hope it will eventually turn in to something I can do once I’ve finished home schooling our youngest daughter (currently a freshman). Your post brought me back to why I want to blog.
You have a beautiful home and I have enjoyed watching you make it so. Your blog is a blessing! Keep doing what your doing!
Blessings!
Rhonda,
Your home is a reflection you. A natural approach is lovely in your home. It could not be better. Christmas does not have to be a blinged out to be beautiful. It is amazing what you have done to your home. I admire you and your home. God Bless and have a very Merry Christmas. x
Dear, Dear Rhoda…… Your thoughts about any type of “competition” at Christmas time went right to my heart. I’m going to keep it as an all year reminder when I lose perspective.
Your home is always inviting and even more so decorated for Christmas. You have chosen so many beautiful items – all sharing the magic of this season.
One quick question – I love your chair to the left of your Christmas tree. If you have a chance can you tell me about it?
Heading off for more tours of your decorating….
janice
Rhoda, I first read this a couple days ago and have been thinking about it and doing a little soul-searching of my own. Since retiring, I’ve reconnected with my love for homemaking. Reading the blogs, perusing pinterest..it all is such pleasant entertainment for me. I thank you and other bloggers for making yourselves vulnerable and exposing your homes and hearts. Like in every aspect of our lives, everyone cannot love everything we do. You have hits and probably have some misses…just the way we do in our homes. I sit in front of my Christmas tree and keep moving things around, and you probably do the same. A picture freezes a moment, it doesn’t capture a home. God bless you and your home. Merry Christmas:) (All that said, I’m waiting for you to change the shade on that entry lamp…just so you know I’m real…haha!)
Thank you so very much for sharing your beautiful home. Jann
I am sooo soooo late to your post. Your home is beautiful and welcoming. (I especially love your nativity and your mercury glass.) And your words speak from your heart to many many hearts. That is true beauty! I have been soooooooo swamped with work and trying to get things done around here that there hasn’t even been time to LOOK at blogs…which was making me feel guilty, BUT maybe it’s a good thing that I haven’t been able to see the zillions of home tours. Your post is one of only a few I have even read, and my plan is to enjoy everyone’s creativity AFTER Christmas when there is time to enjoy them. Then I can pin some ideas to use next year. So for once, maybe being behind is actually a good thing! 🙂 Thank you for always have such a welcoming place (your home AND your heart) for your readers.
hi, i was wondering, i have a fireplace almost identical to yours, and i have to know, what did you use to hang your wreath on the stone. I have been searching forever and all i can find are brick clips, which are not even close to big enough to work on one of the stones, i was going to resort to a clear wire, but dont want to. please email me if you can to let me know, i would soooo appreciate the help!! happy holidays! laura flat rock, michigan