Welcome to my Christmas Home

Welcome!

Come in from the cold air and warm up with a cup of wassail!  I'll show you around...  

(Please keep in mind I'm a real person not a designer and you'll see toys here and there because I have a 4 and 5 year old.  If I'm going to keep blogging, you have to be good with the imperfections, because it's real life!)

It's always an old fashioned Christmas at our house.  The kind that I hope helps you imagine stepping back into Jo March's Orchard House with warm glow from the crackling fire to warm up by and a bustling of children.

Perhaps you feel the joyful merriment of Fred's house from A Christmas Carol!  

A home that's filled with the simple pleasures of a joyful Christmas with laughter and a pot of Christmas wassail simmering on the stove.

As you know I love having antiques in our home here and there.  The look of old and new coming together is so timeless to me.  

For Christmas I use lots of woodsy greenery, but especially now since we're living in the country again.  If you're new here, we moved into our home back in the summer. We have a beautiful view of woods, fields and even a horse farm from our windows!

I like candles and weathered pieces like these old windows that add a sense of age and character, but our family's pictures around and the children's homemade ornaments are really what makes my house our home!

Cotton and bells.

Berries, burlap and pinecones.

My husband helped me by putting up garland on the banister with an old fashioned looking holly ribbon intertwining through it.  He is definitely a man of many talents!  He also picked out the gorgeous live evergreen wreath for the door, and I love it!!

Since those pictures above I decided to embellish the banister even more.  I cut sizable sprigs from our holly trees to add some fresh holly to the garland and liven it up!  It did just the trick!

 Next, I hung the stockings from the banister, looping through some of the sturdy evergreen sprigs to hold them in place.  I think it looks darling and whimsical, especially with the kid's bedroom upstairs they'll really enjoy seeing them going up and down!

Follow me into the living room.  This is truly one of the most festively adorned rooms in the house! 

As we step in on the natural maple hardwood floors you can find an oversized leather chair perfect to curl up in to read or even take a little nap.  This fair isle patterned throw is the softest and best blanket I've ever been under.  (It's by Martha Stewart and still available at Macy's.) It was a special gift from my husband last Christmas!  A home cannot have too many soft and cozy blankets!

The advent calender house is a wonderful tradition we've started with our children.  I get it down everyday (well, if we remember!) for them to open the charming doors and find a message or treat inside.  

We remind them the ultimate gift we have everyday...  Jesus coming to earth and dying on the cross for our sins (and arising 3 days later).  Doing so He gave us freedom from our sins and cleanses our heart.  He made a way for us to have an intimate relationship with Him on earth and a way to Heaven to live forever with Him!  All we do is surrender our lives to Him!  It's a free gift that we could never ever earn by being good, but only by accepting Him as our Lord and Savior!  God sent His Son because He LOVES us that much!!! (John 3:16 & 17)

It's hard to fathom but I serve a God who --no matter what I've done-- He runs to me!  He is in so love with me and I him, so I will worship Him for all my days!!  

It all goes back to Jesus, because it's a good reminder to the kids and myself that although sharing gifts are fun and festive it doesn't compare to sharing with others the gift of what Jesus Christ has done for them!!!  

He came to save us. It's the very reason we celebrate Christmas.

Our big tree is full of memories over the past 11 years of marriage and 3 years of parenting. We try to get ornaments wherever we travel to and for the big events in our lives.  Our family knows I love collecting ornaments and will also give us some from their travels!  Now several of the ornaments are homemade by our kids at school and use their sweet faces or handprints and of course they're the most cherished!

Lastly the kids add candy canes and we add a large plaid bow to the top to complete the homespun look I want.  I think it's beautiful placed next to the fireplace!

When we bought this house I just knew it would be a beautiful "Christmas" home!  

Especially with the colors we chose of grey walls in the living room and red in the family room, the Christmas decor pops.

See my baby girl over there? :)

  

These beautiful red shelves are a unique find we got at a wonderful furniture store named Feagans in Fredonia, Ky.  Turns out they're one of my favorite things in the room and the cozy chair completes a library type reading nook perfect for quiet moments.  Favorite books and pictures fill it out with some sweet festive touches this time of year.

Behind the chair is my "partridge in a pear tree".... Well minus the partridge (ha!). I need to find that bird!!  

Special Christmas memories adorn the shelves such as this homemade stocking filled with dried flowers.  We have kept this from our very first Christmas we were married.  Just about 6 weeks after our honeymoon we went to a special B & B, and the stocking was a gift on our bed from the owners.  What a magical time that little getaway was for us!

Our century old piano gets a lift with a faux garland of greenery and berries!  It just looks so old fashioned, decorated this way.  It doesn't have a great sound, nonetheless we love playing worship music and singing together almost every day.

Mr. Cozy plays the guitar as well, and we both absolutely love music so when we moved in we had no doubt the piano and guitar would be a focal point in our home!  We want a place friends and family can kick back and play themselves or we can sing and play together.  We want our home to exude peace and joy and warmth to all who enter!

Another view to give you from the other side of the room.  

This day I was getting the house cleaned and ready for a French themed Christmas dinner party!  I'll have to show you some pictures for that night soon!

So that's the nickel tour of our entryway and living room here at Christmastime! I hope you feel like you know my space a little better where I relax and do some of my blogging from.  It's always a pleasure for you to visit me here my blog!

From my cozy home to yours,

Merry Christmas!

"For unto you born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord."

Luke 2:11