christmas decorating

tis the season to take down the thanksgiving decorations and put up the christmas ones. okay, so i'm a little late on doing a blog post about this topic because I'm sure most of you have had your christmas decor up for awhile now. forgive me. this has been a very stressful adventurous last few weeks for me. lots of changes, trials and opportunity for growth. more on that some other time and post.

let's start with my favorite, decorating the mantle. if you don't have a mantle to decorate then just hang up a large shelf and pretend that's your mantle. it will still look really cool and you can change up the decor for each season...or whenever you feel like it!

isn't this little guy cute?

i love silver (as if you couldn't tell) and i put in splashes of green. most of my decorations came from hobby lobby and michaels.

hanging christmas cards from a jute string gives the mantle a nice rustic touch.

and, of course, the main piece...the christmas tree!

a friend of mine gave me a trimming from her fresh cut christmas tree (i still use my fake one from years ago that i purchased at walmart. don't hate.) and i came up with this card holder.

and i LOVE this rosemary plant that I got from trader joe's. it looks like a miniature christmas tree and smells delicious. who knew?!

here are some other odds and ends that i have put together.

there are two things that i love about decorating my home for the holidays and any other time of the year. for one, it allows you to be creative. all of us have a creative side and it feels so good to get in touch with that part of yourself. and two, a warm and inviting atmosphere is created when you put your special touches to your home. people enjoy coming to your home and experiencing it.

so, there ya have it! my christmas decorating for 2011. i hope and pray all of you have a safe and blessed christmas and may we all remember why we celebrate this season. the birth of our sweet jesus. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!