Happy Saturday! Hope by this point you’re totally relaxing and soaking in every last moment before Christmas. But I have a hunch chances of that are slim and most of you are out finishing your shopping. I’m right there with you…I’ll be doing later this evening.

Have I mentioned how much I enjoy having internet service again? Today I’ve been editing photos and getting those blog posts lined up. Really missed you guys and posting in here last week. But today, it’s a new day – with internet – and I have my Christmas decor home tour to share!

Welcome!….

This year I invested in all new outdoor garlands and wreaths…

The wreaths are pre-lit, battery operated and have a timer option. I struggled last year with extension cords all over the place along with old outdoor decor, so this year I opted for this option. I love these!…

I purchased them from Improvements (with a coupon code) and am very happy with them. I ordered their Classic version because I enjoy mixing up ribbons and colors over the years. I figured if I went “classic” I could modify over the years. I also ordered one of their firewood racks, which fits perfectly tucked on the inside of the front porch…

Gotta love organized firewood. 😉

Oh, hey there!…

Living room…

 

 

 

 

Another new addition to the house this season is this fireplace screen…

The previous one stood out too far and was becoming an issue with kids running around…

I sold it (quickly) on Craig’s List and grabbed this new one from Pottery Barn. Love it so much! It’s much lighter and I like that you can see the fire without doors blocking your view.

This year I have a mantle to decorate thanks to a very easy DIY project I completed earlier this year…

 

 

 

My DIY pine cone garland from 2 years ago has held up well. Looks perfect here…

Kitchen…

 

 

 

 

 

What does a blogger without internet do with her time? Make a Merry Christmas glitter banner out of all the boxes being delivered at the house – ha!…

I saw this one in the Pottery Barn catalog and clearly had way too much caffeine and free time…psh….

Tutorial coming up soon…just in time for you to take it down and stow it away for next year.

*insert sarcasm here*…

 

 

Here’s a couple of oldies, but cuties…

PB from about 7 years ago…

 

Playroom…

 

Kids did an awesome job decorating their very own tree…

 

Spent last weekend doing a major pre-Christmas toy purge. The media suite and baskets in the playroom are still working so well. My DIY chalkboard labels are great and made it easy to re-label the basket contents…

 

 

 

 

This piece is fun to decorate during the holidays!…

 

That’s it for inside…so let’s head back out to chat about the new, soon to be old, gate. If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen this pretty image…

This happened today. And it will happen again next week because the gate was built too wide for the 2nd time. It’s also warped in several spots from the powder coating process. Spent the day cutting metal to get them up like this ?. 3rd set of gates on order now. But hey, those wreaths tho ?. #homeownerissues #christmas #christmasdecor #wineme #positivity #itsonlyagate

Some of you wondered why I said a new gate was being built. It’s all about lighting peeps. ;-). I was able to hide a lot in that sunset image. Yes, for the 3rd time the fence company is re-building the gate. And here’s a sneak peak as to why…

See the white markings on either side of the gates? That’s because the fence company built the gate about 5″ too wide. Yes, again! They decided (for some reason?) to cut and weld what we had on hand just to at least have a gate up for the holidays. Trust me, I wanted to tell them to take a hike but on that particular day I was inundated with a million other things so all I could muster was a frustrated sigh and a head-hanging walk away from the crew.

Also, during the powder coating process the left gate suffered some metal buckling (seen below behind the wreath). I’ll have a full update about the gate situation soon..with close-up images. This project has been the biggest headache and proof that home improvement jobs don’t go as smoothly as planned…no matter how organized you are. This was the one project I figured would be a cake walk. When in reality, it’s been the most stressful project on the books since buying this house in June 2013!

In any event, I had the wreaths in the garage…so why not put them up?…

 

That’s it friends! Hope you’ve enjoyed…but I really hope you have enjoyed reading this from a cozy spot in your home while as you enjoy this final Saturday before Christmas. Hard to believe.

Have a great night!