Whiskey enjoying some tree time
Wishing all of you a very merry Christmas filled with laughter and fun with those you love!
- Laura, Mr. JC, and Whiskey
I think I’m the last blogger in blogland who celebrates Christmas to post photos of my Christmas decorations.
I have loads of ornaments for the tree but not many other decorations, so I headed to Jo-Ann Fabrics and hit up a 60% off sale where I scored loads of goodies for hardly any money. I’ve had the wreath above the mantle for a while (yes, it’s hung too low but at this point I don’t feel like wasting another Command strip to adjust it) but bought the garland, votive holders, and shimmery votive candles at a steep discount.
It’s difficult to see in the photo, but I wove three different types of garland together: basic faux evergreen, silver berries on brown vines, and gold berries on vines. I also grabbed two pieces of faux greenery to include, which have a different type and color of needle from the wreath and garland and a few pine cones. I’m pretty happy with the layered effect.
The candles are in short vases that double as votive holders. Inside are red and gold candles. The votive holders serve a secret purpose: I put reusable sticky-tack putty on the bottoms of the vases to temporarily adhere them to the mantle, keeping the garland firmly in place behind the vases.
It’s a long-standing tradition in my family to exchange ornaments, so over the years I’ve amassed a good collection. As a child, my parents gave me my own little faux tree to start a collection of teddy bear ornaments, and Santa would leave a few packages beneath it. As I grew older the collection grew as well. When I travel, I try to find teddy bear ornaments. I’ve found them in Edinburgh, Moscow, Amsterdam, Paris… Not all of the ornaments I’ve collected during my travels are bears (much to my husband’s delight). Other styles were picked up in Greece, Germany, Hungary, Switzerland, and Austria.
Circus bear from Moscow
Glass heart from Crete (our honeymoon)
My favorite sentimental ornament was made by my mom in 2005, for the first Christmas after my grandma passed away. She used old buttons from my grandma’s button box to make this ornament for me:
In an ideal world, I’d have room in my house for two trees – a “designer” on with fancy, matching bulbs, and a family tree with all of our sentimental ornaments. Which do you prefer? Fancy and well-coordinated, or collected over time?
A large historic home in a ritzy suburb of Boston is on the market for $1,435,000. The sellers gave it a massive update to the tune of $400k, but with mixed results.
The exterior is a traditional New England colonial, covered in a thick blanket of snow, likely from the storm we had over the weekend. Looks quite lovely, right?
boston.com
Inside, though, things get a little weird. Or shall I say “yucky”.
boston.com
Here’s the description directly from the article:
“They also added a master bedroom with a large L-shaped storage bench and an enormous ensuite bathroom-closet combination with cherry and green onyx his-and-hers vanities, a spacious glass-enclosed steam shower with handmade glass tile, all opening up into an extensive built-in cherry closet complete with window seats.”
Why I think this is a yucky bathroom:
- Too many high-end fixtures. Onyx, really? It’s totally excessive, looks a bit like swirled poo, and the sellers likely won’t come close to recouping the $$ they put into it.
- The shower looks like a display cabinet, just waiting to show off your naked bum. I prefer my privacy when contorting myself to shave my legs.
- The modernity of the bathroom, with it’s Asian vibe, does not at all fit in with the rest of the house. Check out the article and I think you’ll see what I mean.
- A window seat in the closet? Other than a perfect hideaway for a child to read a book, I truly see no point in this. It reminds me of the “Cribs” episode from way back with Kimora Lee Simmon’s closet, which had a refrigerator. If your closet is that big, and you spend enough time in it to warrant snacking, there’s a problem.
Now on to the “yummy” – the kitchen. It’s to die for.
boston.com
Why I love it:
- It’s spacious without seeming cavernous. Kitchens that are too large can be awkward. Sometimes I think my own kitchen is a tad too large (or at least the appliances are spread too far apart).
- I can tolerate the cherry island because it’s a nice contrast to the white cabinetry.
- I want that stone back splash in my own kitchen!
- The breakfast nook has loads of natural light.
- The only thing I would add is a larger countertop on the island so you could comfortably pull up a stool.
So what do you think? Is the bathroom yucky or do you think it’s yum-o? Do you like the kitchen as much as I do?
