Hello everyone and happy Tuesday!! I can’t believe that we are officially only ONE WEEK out from Christmas.
This Christmas has felt a little different for me. Mainly because I’ve been in somewhat of a fog with all of the medical issues my mom has been having, but it also because this is our first Christmas in our new home.
A couple of weeks ago I shared a fun post where I looked back at our old house and compared what it looked like during our first Christmas there versus the last one. (In case you missed it you can catch it here!)
The main takeaway was that it took me a few years until I felt like I was truly able to make it feel like ours and I experienced quite a bit of trial and error when it came to decorating it.
I wasn’t going to share a home tour this year because there are sooooo many unfinished projects sticking out and I didn’t think anyone would care to see it. But then I realized that years from now I will probably want to take a peek back at our first Christmas here. So I decided to share what I put together this year after all!
So. I officially present to you a tour of our first Christmas in our new fixer upper! Come on in 🙂
Really quick–let’s try to look past the door molding that is half ripped off, the closet that’s missing a door entirely, and the plywood steps and instead focus on our beautiful NEW WOOD FLOORS!!
I am beyond impressed and proud of my hubby who nailed down each and every board with very little help as I was preoccupied with my mom. It was a true labor of love and I am absolutely smitten with what a wonderful job he did and how they turned out.
Ok let’s start with the entry table. I set it up pretty similarly to how we had it at the old house. It makes me really miss my board and batten that we used to have behind it! Now that the floors are done that should be the next big item on the list since it has to go up before the baseboards.
One of the first things that I fell in love with when we first saw this house was the big bay window in the front. I instantly knew that’s where my big pretty woodland themed tree would go.
Hopefully by next year we will have window treatments that will block some of the harsh lighting that’s so tricky to photograph! For now you’ll just have to trust me when I tell you that it’s super pretty and probably my favorite space in the house.
The staircase banister is decked out with my usual garland ribbon and lights combo.
Yes, the bottom three steps are plywood. They used to stick out and curve around to the wall and it drove me absolutely crazy. So we removed the carpet and chopped them off while we were working on the floors.
I set up our hot cocoa bar once again in the kitchen. I think the boys like to sneak marshmallows when nobody is looking because the level in the jar seems to go down awwwwwfulyquickly….
Having it front and center on the island sort of distracts me from the fact that our cabinets and countertops are still stuck in the 90s. Sort of…
Do you see our little gingerbread house and elf peeking out on the counter top back there?
I temporarily let go of my perfectionist tendencies to let the kids decorate the gingerbread house however they wanted. They actually did a great job and I’m mighty impressed!
Our elf’s name is Paco and he’s been pretty lazy this year. Most nights he just moves from one spot to another but on Saturday he busted in to the syrup bottle for a few sips.
I kept our tablescape pretty similar to last years’ since I loved it so much. The only thing that I did differently was add ornaments to the lantern in the center.
And finally, let’s swing in to the living room which is where we spend most of our time all cuddled up or playing.
Our living room still has a lot of updating to do, especially the fireplace. Hopefully by next year the kiddos stockings will be hanging from a new mantle in front of a pretty limewashed fireplace.
I filled up our coffee table tray with a few festive items.
I draped a garland adorned with ribbon and jingle bells along the top of the card catalog dresser and then replaced the candles on the sconces with my DIY birch vases filled with greenery.
Let’s try to ignore the fact that some of my labels are missing from the card catalog drawers…kids haha.
The focal part of the room is our Santa tree that I shared with you guys a few weeks ago.
It’s so much fun and the kids had a lot of fun helping me set it up.
Thanks for stopping by today my friends. I hope you all have a wonderful rest of the week and a very Merry Christmas!!
Linking up to these awesome parties!