Christmas cards for couples...

I love receiving photo Christmas cards. I have friends from all over the country that I don't get to see very often, so it's nice to see how they and their children have changed over the last year. It makes sense to do a photo card when you have kids but what if it's just the two of you?

The first year we were married, we did a photo card with our wedding photo. Last year, we just sent a regular card and my husband told me he wished we'd sent a picture card. So this year, we did.

Part of me felt a little strange about sending a photo of just the two of us since we don't have any kids yet, but then I thought as much as I want to see my friends who are far away, they (hopefully) want to see us too. To me a photo card feels a little more personal. 

What do you think? Photo card or regular greeting card? What about photos for couples vs families? 

Photo or not, The O'Briens wish you a very Merry Christmas! 

Oh Christmas Tree... and other stuff...

Yikes, it's been two weeks since last I posted. I assure you there have been post-worthy things going on, just not enough time to post them. 'Tis the season. Last year we cut down a Christmas tree. This year due to some serious snow, we bought one from a tree lot. It's tall, it's full, it smells great.... and it's dead. Well at least we think.

As soon as we got it home, we put it in water. Then when we moved it into the house, we dumped out the water, I filled it again and that same water has been sitting there for two weeks. Oh well, Christmas is Wednesday, so it will be fine until then. And most importantly, it looks great. I've never had a tree smell so fresh before.

We don't "theme" our trees. I know some people do something different every year and they do look beautiful, but I feel like a Christmas tree should reflect your family. After all, isn't that what Christmas is all about? Making memories with the ones you love? Most of my ornaments are hand-me-downs from my grandmothers, some I have purchased and we have a few that were given to us. I love the idea of having our tree evolve every year as we collect more and more meaningful ornaments.

Speaking of trees, how many of you had one of these ceramic trees in your house growing up? They were super-popular in the 70s and 80s. My mom had one and I was so bummed when she said she got rid of it because it was missing lights. But much to my delight, I found one at a local antique store. And for just $18, I had to snatch it up.

I kept the dining room super simple. Just a jar filled with ornaments and a festive red/bronze/gold runner from HomeGoods. Over in the corner, I added a red and gold ribbon to the plant pot and dressed up some old candles I had with plaid Christmas ribbon.

I didn't do too much DIYing this year, but I did update one of my old wreaths with gold accents. I just wrapped it in a white and gold ribbon and added a gold ornament in the center. 

It hangs on the basement door and is the first thing you see when you walk in the house. It's accompanied by my favorite sign ever...

The perfect mantra for the holidays. 

Don't get your tinsel in a tangle and just enjoy the spirit of the season. 

Merry Christmas! 

Christmas mantel 2013...

Mantel oh mantel, how you have challenged me over the years. This year my approach was more laid-back. I wasn't trying to emulate any Pinterest mantel, I wasn't set on DIYing every single element of the mantel and I tried to use decorations I already had on hand. Instead of stressing, I just let it happen and lo and be hold.... it's my favorite mantel yet.

When my in-laws visited, I found the cutest candleholders that had a cork on the end so you could stick them in a wine bottle. It's the only part of the mantel I DIYed this year, and I'll share the how-to in the coming days. 

I bought those lanterns two summers ago with the intention of spray painting them and using them around our deck. Yeah..... never got around to that, so there they sat in my office closet. I just bought some $1 red candles and they fill the mantel with Christmas spirit.  

I wanted my garland to look really full so I took two strands of garland, folded them in half, wrapped them around the end of the wine bottles and it gave me the look I wanted. Plus it was easier to work with than trying to manipulate it around all of the decorations. Then I added a faux poinsettia, a metal Christmas tree, reindeer stocking holders and the red/green/silver berry garland I've had for a few years. 

This year's mantel taught me to trust my instincts. Just go with what I like and not overthink it. I'm so happy with the results. It's starting to feel like Christmas up in here! 

Low-cost holiday craft: Wall art...

This weekend seems to be the weekend for holiday decorating so I thought I would share a low-cost craft that makes a big impact. In our family room we have a beach sunset canvas print on the wall. While it's beautiful, it's not very "Christmasy." So I grabbed a few supplies I had lying around the house and got to work.

I used an old canvas, craft paper and staple gun. You simply wrap the canvas in paper, staple and you're ready for decorating. As far as decorating goes, you can do whatever works with your decor. 

I added ribbon to make it look like a package, painted the word Joy in glitter glue, then add glitter. 

For a little more sparkle, I added a few snowflake ornaments and it was done. Easy peasy. This one is at the top of our stairs. The one below is the one I created to replace our sunset canvas.

You could cover the actual art you have on your walls this way, instead of using an old canvas, but I would be careful about the hot glue or glitter glue getting onto your print. You could even hit up Thrift stores for cheap canvases to cover.

Happy Holiday Decorating! 

Holiday decor sneak peek...

I know Thanksgiving isn't here yet, but Christmas decorating has begun. I need a full 4 weeks of Christmas up in here.
Here's a sneak peek....

history in the holidays: decorating with family treasures...

For me, the most important part of the holidays is family. Admittedly, I am super sentimental. I save everything that I deem "meaningful." Cards, furniture, pillows, ticket subs, clothes... if it has a memory attached, I save it. So when it comes to the holidays, if I can decorate with things that have family meaning, I am all in.

One of my favorite memories of Christmas is my Grandma's Christmas Village. When we were little, every year we would drive to visit her in Cleveland and get in late at night. Even at that late hour, my sister and I would race to get into the house and start playing with the village. It was pretty elaborate. It had multiple levels, ice rinks, skiers, all kinds of shops and houses, fake snow... the works. So it was with great honor that I inherited the village -- well, parts of it. No one knows what happened to the houses but I got all the people.

Santa no longer has reindeer and the horse is missing a leg, but it makes me so happy to see this Village in our front room. It reminds me of that magical feeling you would get as a child during Christmas.

I added some new houses and trees, a blanket of snow, and I even gave the Village their own version of the Rockefeller Plaza Christmas tree. 

This year, my mom and dad found some old ornaments from my other grandma, and I jumped at the chance to decorate with them. 

The ornaments have a great patina to them that make the pearl and silver ornaments look like mercury glass. My mother-in-law gave me three faux mercury glass decorations this year for Christmas so I filled a vase with some of the ornaments to create a "vintage" vignette. 

Our tree is full of ornaments from our families and childhoods mixed with some new ones we've acquired since we've been together. 

I know that decorating with a theme is popular around the blogosphere but there is something about decorations that evoke fond memories that puts me in the holiday spirit. 

What are your holiday decorating traditions? 

Christmas mantel...

my love affair with mantels has been well-documented on this blog. So it's no surprise that I was chomping at the bit to decorate ours for Christmas. It is collection of some pieces I already owned, some new purchases from our Thanksgiving trip and a craft project.

I love a good mirror above a mantel, so I knew I wanted to incorporate that into the design this year. I thought I would hang a wreath in front of it but it made the whole look too busy. Simplicity was the name of the game. On a recent trip to Target, inspiration struck. I bought three $1 ornaments and some fishing line.

I tied the fishing line to each ornament individually. 

Then I tied all three ornaments together, being sure to stagger the heights of the ornaments. Fishing line stays put after you knot it, but just to be sure, I tied them together multiple times to make sure they were secure. Then I securely taped the line to the back of the mirror with packing tape.

I love the way the mirror makes it look like a bigger cluster from certain angles and how it adds just the right amount of sparkle. Plus the fishing line gives the illusion they are floating in mid-air. 

I paired it with a topiary that I plan on using all year round and a candle and base from last year's decor. 

Now we just have to remember to turn on our fireplace at some pint and it will be a cozy first Christmas in our first home. 

Merry Christmas!! 

Christmas decoration shopping...

during our visit to Iowa, my awesome mother-in-law took me shopping at some local shops for Christmas decorations. My husband's hometown has so many cute antique shops and home decor boutiques. I wish we had that many in our town. There is also an apple orchard that has a home store on the property and was full of great finds. It was two days of shopping and I loved every minute of it!

Some of the goodies I got include:

Cool coasters made of wood circles. 

Wool snowflake pillow that has an envelope closure on the other side. 

Reclaimed metal Christmas tree.

We had such a great time shopping and it was fantastic to get to spend such quality time with my mother-in-law. I wish we lived closer so we could spend more time together. I'm excited to share all of my finds with you and unveil our Christmas decorations.