The craft supplies and paint brushes are all put away but I’m keeping busy this week baking, getting the house ready for our daughter’s visit and wrapping gifts. I know you are all busy too, so I thought I’d pop in one more time before the big day and share a bit more Christmas around the cottage. (If you want to see more, you can check out our cozy Christmas cottage and front porch tours here and here).
Unfortunately, the kitchen doesn’t look like this right now, there’s boxes and gifts and cookie making ingredients all over the place. It’s how it should look the week before Christmas, right?
I took a few pictures of our living room dressed for the holidays. I haven’t shown this room a whole lot since we moved in. It’s a small, dark and awkward space and I’m still learning how to photograph it. I’ll keep at it and share more as I fix this space up. (Room sources listed at the end of the post)
I couldn’t fit our big tree in here but I found a little one that was the perfect size.
Our fireplace isn’t in working order this year so the Yule log will have to do. At least there’s no mess to clean up. 😉
We’ll be spending a lot of time in this room during the holidays watching movies, playing board games and catching up with our oldest daughter. Sadly, our youngest won’t be able to make the trip out from San Francisco.
Moving outside…
I couldn’t let the holiday season pass without sharing a fun tradition that takes place in our new neighborhood. I won’t get into the whole story but years ago a family in the neighborhood started hanging lighted balls in their trees during the Christmas holiday.
Over the past 15 years or so, it’s grown to where most of the whole neighborhood is glowing with these lighted orbs. It’s truly magical to walk or drive through at night.
Actually, this tradition has turned into a fundraiser to help feed those who are hungry. It’s a wonderful and very worthy cause.
We wanted to take part, so we built and hung 15 balls in our own trees. Normal sized balls…just like everyone else.
Of course, the hubs had to be different so he, along with a few guys from work, built this massive 6 foot 2 inch lighted ball. 2000 lights (I know because I picked them out) and weighs about 50 lbs. Ummm, yeah…it’s huge.
I’ll be sad when everything comes down and gets put away. I don’t want to think about that right now though, I want to enjoy this coming week and all that comes with it.
Thanks so much for stopping by to visit. Hope you have a great week!
From our family to yours, we wish you a very Merry Christmas!
Sources
Affiliate links used. Please see my Privacy Policy for more info.
- Red velvet and plaid pillow – Pottery Barn (affiliate link)
- Entryway bench – LL Bean (affiliate link); painted and upholstered by me
- Black Cabinet – Pottery Barn (years ago)
- Mercury trees – HomeGoods, Pottery Barn (affiliate link) (collected over several years)
- Round wooden mirror – HomeGoods
- Silver mercury lamp and shade – Pottery Barn (affiliate link)
- Grain sack stockings – Flea Market in Oakland, CA
- Christmas tree – Balsam Hill
- Tobacco basket – Flea market
- Mirror stars – West Elm (affiliate link)
- Glass Lamp – DIY by Me
- 3 tiered tray – Vintage Farmhouse Finds
- Wooden chair – Restoration Hardware
- Pillow with red truck and tree – Porter Lane Home (Etsy)
- Round jute rug – Overstock (affiliate link)
- Dining room light – found it in a little shop at the beach in NC
- Mini faux tree – Crate and Barrel (affiliate link)
- Reindeer mugs on tray – HomeGoods
- Red mercury glass ornaments – DIY by Me
- Bar stools – Target (affiliate link)
- Couch – Taylor King
- Coffee Table – West Elm
I ended up with 2 different sizes, so I decided to use both for my banner.
I didn’t want to drill a hole through the wood to hang it, so I just added an eye hook. Because birch is such a hard wood, I couldn’t get the eye hook to go in easily, so I started a hole by gently tapping in a push pin. 
Once I had a hole, the eye hook screwed right in.
After the eye hooks were in, I was ready to paint.
A bit of twine through the eye hooks and it was ready to hang on our fireplace with the 
I was able to get a few good shots of our (always) dark living this past weekend, while the sun was out, so I’ll share the rest next time.
Are you all decorated and ready for the holidays? Hope you have a great week!
The other side of the porch is the spot we enjoy most. I got these outdoor chairs from Wayfair and love them. They are sturdy and so comfortable. It’s the perfect spot to hang out and watch the world go by.
This past weekend, I hung wreaths with red ribbon on all of my front windows. I was going to use real but I found these nice faux ones for about the same price. I like that I can use them again, for years to come.
That’s it for the tour our cozy Christmas porch.
I shared a (very) quick, unedited video below to give you a different perspective on the porch. I apologize in advance for the cameo of the hubs as he rakes the 1 million leaves we’ve been blessed with. Just kidding…I think it’s more like 2 million. 😉
Our family has lived in a lot of homes over the years and, although it’s not the smallest house we’ve lived in, it’s definitely been the most challenging when it came to the all important tree placement. 
When we first moved in, I envisioned this window decorated for the holidays with a beautiful live garland. It’s my favorite thing in the kitchen right now.
I usually end up decorating with a lot of natural elements anyway, and don’t like to spend a lot on new decor that I don’t have room to store. 
