Holiday Party-palooza!

Welcome to my home! Come in and sit for a spell. Isn't it fun to peek into someone else's home for design inspiration while wearing your jammies and eating snacks? I LOVE this!

First off, my front door is NOT purple, it's red. Sometimes I really hate cameras. The pictures never do this stuff justice. I was at a loss as to what to do with my wreath this year. I wanted to do something different and unexpected and fun. As I'm sure you will notice I am having a love affair with this mesh netting stuff. It is AWESOME...I love it and want to marry it (sorry babe). I think the wreath is still missing that extra somethin' special, and I'm sure it will come to me soon what that somethin' is! But until then, this is what you get.

These are just a few of the fabulous parties going on right now. I wish I could survive without sleep. There just isn't enough time in the day for all the blog hopping I would like to do. I was able to narrow it down to a manageable 4, sadly. Go check these parties out if you haven't already. I promise you won't want to stop!

Sarah @ Thrifty Decor Chick

Rhoda @ Southern Hospitality

Before the tour starts why don't you grab a few oatmeal cookies. Mmmmmm...I think I need one too. I need to refuel so that I can go to all these swank parties!

Oh mantel...how I love thee so! I have never done whimsical Christmas decorating before this year. It was sooooo much fun and my kids love it! I don't know if I'll ever go back to traditional. Oh, who am I kidding. Of course I will. I change my mind every 6 seconds.

Oh look, more mesh. I just can't get enough! Did I mention that 80% of the stuff on my mantel is from Dollar Tree? Yes ma'am it is! LOVE me some Dollar Tree!!!

Would you look at that! More of that mesh crap on top of my armoire. Are you getting sick of me yet? Oh...p.s. that polka dot ribbon is from Wal-Mart (75 ft. for $6.50). And I am two timing the mesh because I am also having a love affair with this ribbon. Isn't it the cutest? I admired some almost identical at a friend's house recently. She is a wholesale florist and got hers from one of the shops she sells to (very high end, fru-fru). She got hers at a discount for $50. What's that? You just fell off your chair? Tell me about it...CRAZY! The day after she bought her hoody doody ribbon she found this ribbon at Wally World. I know she was sick about it. Live and learn. I'm glad I got to learn from her mistake!

More mesh and more dollar store goodies!

Mis-treated candles and dollar store glitter balls (giggle, giggle)

This year I took a different approach to decorating the tree. In the past I have been so uptight about what ornaments go where. I was a HORRIBLE mother and let (made) the kids decorate the side and back with their "special ornaments". They never had a clue that this was a bad thing. Recently I had an epiphany. One day in the not so distant future my babies will not be babies anymore. They won't live in this house forever. They will grow up and have families and lives of their very own. When that time comes, I will miss them terribly. And when it's time to decorate the tree, I feel sure I will want those "special ornaments" front and center. The popsicle stick reindeer, the lightbulb santa, the thumbprint reindeer, the upside down handprint santa, the clothespin reindeer, and all the rest. Those are the ones I will treasure for years to come. Those are the ones that will tug at my heart strings, and bring a tear to my eye. So this year I encouraged them to put their ornaments wherever they wanted. And I am so glad I did. I LOVE my tree. It is reflective of us and who we are. It makes me happy. It reminds me of how unbelievably blessed we truly are. I am so grateful for the privilege of being a mother. I am a blessed woman!