Friday's 5: Christmas Decorations

Many of you probably kicked your Christmas tree to the curb on Monday. You Scroogey Grinches, you.

But because I have a strict no-tree-before-my-birthday policy, I'm not tired of our Christmas decorations just yet. In fact, I like to keep them up until Epiphany, although sometimes they come down a little earlier because we need to get it done over a weekend.

So in honor of the festivities still lingering around my house, here are five of my favorites from holiday decorating this year:

1. Mantel: This is the first year we've actually had a mantel in a long time, so I loved having a place to hang stockings and display my nutcracker collection. Throw in some branches trimmed from the tree and a sparkly Target wreath and it all fills in quite nicely.

2. Window: No drapes in the dining room? No problem. Just hang some of those leftover balls that wouldn't fit on the tree. They're even pretty at night, but especially fun sparkling in the sun during the day.

3. Cards: We're lucky to receive lots of cards from friends and family across the globe -- but I've never had a good way to display them all. This year I stretched string across those quick-release hooks along the empty dining room wall, covered the hooks with bows and used kid-painted clothes pins to hold the cards on. Next year, I think I'll do three rows so I don't have to cram them in so tight.

4. Napkin rings: These little gems are not only festive and useful for setting the holiday table, they also provided a craft project that distracted my kids for about 15 minutes while I was cooking on Christmas Eve morning. Just cut toilet paper tubes into thirds, cover with stickers and enjoy an instantly festive table.

5. Carolers: If you've been reading this blog for a couple of years, you know I can't take credit for these winners. My crafty neighbor one-upped herself again (see brilliance from 2010 and 2009), using my one leftover Halloween pumpkin and four of her own to create this caroling crowd that she left on my doorstep. In case you can't see their song sheets, they're singing "Silent Night" (*snort*). You can only wish you lived across the street from her, too.

So what was your favorite holiday decorating trick this season? Share your best so we can add it to our list for next year.
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Remodeling: A Cautionary Tale

An ode to our home renovations past, present and future, all at the same address, with apologies to Laura Numeroff

If you give a Mommy new crown molding in her bedroom, she's going to ask for new baseboards, too.

When she sees the new baseboards, she'll want new wall paint to go with them.

While the paint is going up, some of it spills on the floor, so she'll ask for new carpet. For the whole upstairs.

Walking on the new carpet will remind her of walking on soft beach sand, which will make her want to open the windows for some fresh air. When she looks out the windows, she'll want to run around outside and play.

After she comes in from playing, she'll realize she's sweaty and want to take a shower.

Taking a shower will cause more water to drip through the tiny crack in the shower floor and stain the kitchen ceiling, so she'll need to bring in a contractor to replace the entire shower. Replacing the shower will involve cutting through the kitchen ceiling to bring the drain pipe up to code.

Once the kitchen ceiling is cut open, she'll figure that they might as well replace the popcorn ceiling in the kitchen and the den and the foyer (because, of course, they're all connected) with smooth ceilings. And new lighting.

The vision of new lighting bouncing off the stained sink, rusty refrigerator, badly-installed cabinets and dirty laminate counter will make her want an entirely new kitchen. And a new opening to the dining room. And the family room.

Tearing up all these walls will inspire her to replace all the flooring, too. Because, you know, why not.

Putting in all new pre-finished hardwoods will remind her that she needs to have baseboards installed to match the new molding upstairs.

And chances are, if she gets new baseboards downstairs, she's going to want some crown molding to go with it.

For later posts about how the renovation turned out, click here and here.


Above photo of my actual kitchen, mid-reno to the upstairs shower.


For later posts about how the renovation turned out, click here and here.

Before and After: Outdoor Dining Chairs

I love a nice renovation project. Probably a good thing, given all the work we need to do to our house. Sadly, I don't have the carpentry, tiling, dry-walling, plumbing and electrical skills to tackle a lot of projects myself. But I can wield a paint can and staple gun with minimal risk to my personal safety, so that's usually where my solutions start.

We inherited a set of six chairs from my husband's grandparents several years ago. They lived in our shed (the chairs, not his grandparents) at three different houses. The chairs had great lines -- especially the slightly curved backs -- but the faded yellow paint was chipped and rusting, while the vinyl green seat covers were sticky and, well, ugly (see "before" photo above).

This summer I finally brought them out of the shed and into the light. After some scrubbing, I spray-painted them to match the legs on the table on our deck. Then I took the left-over fabric from our outdoor cushions, stretched it over the seat rounds and stapled it underneath.

Et voila! A brand-new-ish set of six chairs that we can use to eat dinner on the deck (see "after" photo at left). I think my mother-in-law will be proud of my craftiness and the fact that we were able to re-use some family furniture -- and I feel good about saving some money and keeping a few things out of the trash.

Now if I can just figure out how to get rid of the flies and mosquitoes, we'll be all set for some lovely dining al fresco.