Hello friends! I’m so excited to be a part of the Cherished Christmas Home Tours hosted by Cherished Bliss and CountryLiving.com! For those of you visiting from The Wicker House or any of my other friends in the tour hello and welcome! My husband and I spent two years designing and building our house and moved in right before Christmas two years ago. (You can see more pictures of our home in my house tour.) We are so happy to be settling in and making our new house feel like home. 
I’m going to share our porch and family room with you today and the rest of the house throughout next week! My friends/regular readers know I take way too many pictures to squeeze this all into one tour. ;)
Welcome to our home!
I bought these cute little trees last year at Home Depot and love them on our front porch! They are just the right size. I keep the decor simple – red, white, grey and silver – my favorite Christmas color combo. The wrapped presents each have a cook book in them to hold them down. It’s the most my cook books have been used in years. Ha! :)
You can probably tell by our plants that we don’t have “baby it’s cold outside” weather. More like “baby it’s another 70 degree day in sunny San Diego but lights are on the palm trees so let’s all pretend it’s Christmas” kind of weather. To be honest, it’s kind of a bummer this time of year when all I want to do is wear a scarf and drink hot chocolate. But I know once February rolls around I’ll be grateful!
Anyway – the porch! Some simple poinsettias in my planters and a wreath on our window bring Christmas home regardless of the weather.
Along with Frosty in front of the side dutch door.
As much as I enjoy our decorated porch during the day, I love it most at night when it’s all lit up! Trees during the day..
Trees at night!
My outside light pics are still a work in progress so I’ll share more at some point when I finish teaching myself how to take them! Twinkling Christmas lights – there is nothing like them! I wish I could keep them up all year. Wonder if my neighbors would mind..
K – I’ve kept you all outside in our not so wintery weather long enough! Time to come inside and get warm by the fire. Or so I like to pretend. :)
Our family room is where we spend so much of our time. Having it decked for the holidays makes me happy every single day! Christmas decor adds so much warmth. I never want to leave my house once it’s decorated for the holidays! I want to light a candle and put on pj’s and watch our favorite Christmas movies by the tree all day long.
Some of our tree ornaments are new this year (all in my favorite Christmas colors of course). If you missed it, I shared all of the details and sources for my tree in this post. The pillow and throw (and the couch they are sitting on!) are all from Pottery Barn.
I’m hoping to get a lot more presents wrapped and under the tree this weekend. If you still need some gift ideas I shared my Favorite Things for 2015 last week! You can also look at past favorite things/toys here. I’m still shopping for my girls. They are tricky this year! Very pre-teen. Not into cell phones and make-up yet (thank goodness!), but not playing with dolls/toys as much either. At least their 5 year old little brother is easy. One trip down an aisle in Target and he’s good to go. :)
Can he please just stay in Kindergarten forever?
I added a bit of greenery to the shelves since I shared them last. 
We always set our Christmas books out by the fire so this reading chair is a popular spot in December! Reading to my kids’ will always be one of my favorite things. You can see all of our favorite Christmas books here.
When I moved all of the coral out of our family room to bring in the red my husband wasn’t happy that I moved our coral clock. Apparently he looks at it quite often! Luckily I stumbled on this cute black clock for a steal in the Nordstroms Home Department (it’s 40% off!). He gets his clock, I get my red for Christmas and all is right in the world again. :) Above it is one of my all time favorite Christmas pictures of me and my sister when we were little. Tis the season for toddler meltdowns!
The stocking were hung! I had Christmas music blasting and the fireplace on while I was taking these pictures. About 20 minutes before I was sweating to death! But I got a few good pics with the fire so it was worth it. ;)
My favorite new addition to my fireplace decor is this old sled. It was my mom’s when she was a little girl. I found it shopping in her garage (one of my favorite past times) months ago. It makes me so happy having it displayed!
I’m so excited about my Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas sign I got this year from Between You and Me Designs. I wanted it years ago but we were building the house so I decided to wait to get it. Tara is such a sweetheart (I’ve loved her signs for so long!) and she is offering 15% off anything in her shop with the code SUNNYSIDEUP15! Fun Christmas gift idea!
I also have a crush on my black and white striped reindeer. Isn’t he cute!?
You can see our Santa pictures displayed on the door in our hallway. We are about to run out of room! But I’m going to keep taking my kids to sit on Santa’s lap until they are too big to fit!
A few more pics of this space…
Thank you so much for visiting my home today! I’m excited to share the rest with you soon.
Next up is Krista at the Happy Housie! You can also stop by Cherished Bliss to start at the beginning of the tour. SO much inspiration! I can’t wait to see everyone’s homes decked for the holidays!
Happy December friends! :)
Your house looks amazing all decked out for the holidays! I really like the trees by your front door. They look amazing at night, that is for sure. Great use of those cookbooks you are so fond of. ;) The little striped reindeer is so fun and unique. I also love that sled that you got from your mom. I get a good perspective of how grand that fireplace is with it sitting up there. Truly beautiful and that is only the first two spaces. I can’t wait to see the rest. :)
Thank you Jeanne! Yeah.. that fireplace is too big in my opinion! I love it but wish I would have made it just a tad smaller because it’s so hard for me to decorate. The sled might be staying a while. :) Thanks again cutie! You are always so kind and supportive and I really appreciate it! xo
Just gorgeous! The red and green really pops in your living room!
Thank you so much April! I just can’t quit the traditional Christmas colors. :) xo
You know how they say “red is your color!” or whatever color looks good on you? Well, red IS your house’s color!!!!! I’ve never seen it look better. Everything pops Erin. It looks great. I’d think about keeping some red around.
Thank you so much Kristin! What a sweet thing to say! I decorate with a lot of neutrals so that I can add fun colors like red for the holidays. I’ll have to keep it up for a while! At least through February. :) Happy holidays cutie! xo
Your house looks so pretty. Love the colors. I fell in love with your clock. I had to talk myself out of it. Then, you know that little voice inside your head that keeps saying, buy it, buy it, so I did. Sometimes you just have to listen to that little voice. ( Just to be clear, I don’t hear voices, just the one that tells me to buy things. I hear that voice a lot.) It was just to cute to pass up.
Your house really looks beautiful Erin.
Xo
Thank you sweet Cathy! LOVE that clock! I think that voice is a wise one. I hear it too.. often. ;) xo
Simple and just beautiful! I’m sure you posted this somewhere, but where did you get the mirror hanging over the fireplace?
Thank you Danielle! That mirror is from Pottery Barn but they aren’t selling it anymore. It took forever to get here after we ordered it and then it was gone and off of their site! xo
Love your décor! I commented a while back… we are getting ready to build on a new lake lot. I’m determined to not build quite too big as my children are in or near college. However, your house is just fabulous and gorgeous. I thank you for sharing the pics and info. Pretty soon I will be in the throes of choosing colors, etch and it is so helpful to get insured from your amazing choices.
Also, love your fashion posts! I have already ordered from a few sites! :0. Shih… don’t tell hubby!
I am inspired by your house and your fashion and other great ideas! Thank you so much for sharing!
Have an awesome day!
Rebecca in SC
Hi Rebecca! Thanks so much for your kind words about my house and fashion posts! They made my day. :) So exciting you are getting ready to start building! I know what you mean. I was just talking to my husband the other day about how we will probably want to down size once our kids have all moved out. It’s so nice to have the extra room now with all of their stuff and to be able to have all of their friends over, but once it’s just the two of us it will be a different story! Good luck with all of your decisions and don’t hesitate to ask if you have a question about anything! Building is a wild ride. :) Enjoy your weekend! xo
I’m sure you’ve already surmised by comments I’ve left in other posts, that I kind of have a crush on your house, but not in a “stalky” kind of way…..let’s be clear about that! Your home is beautiful no matter what season we are in, but Christmas attire seems to really make it shine! I think your tree is beautiful (adore those big ornies), and the entire family room is so welcoming.
I’m so glad you survived your daughter’s absence…..maybe you should start a 12-step program for other moms in the same situation! My daughter is facing similar struggles with her 16 year old twin daughters. She has been home-schooling them since 2nd grade, so cutting those apron strings is going to be really difficult. Oh, btw, I cannot possibly be a Nana to 16 year olds, seriously!!!!!
Oh my word Carol! 16! I totally know how you feel. Time just slips by and they get big so fast! Your daughter and I need to meet for lunch and cry it out! Ha! :) Thanks for your sweet words about my house. You are always so kind and I’m thrilled you like it! Enjoy your weekend cutie! Praying you are feeling well. xo
All those pops of red against the white are just spectacular! I love the sweet pic of your son – I agree, why do they have to grow up??
I know right!? Thanks Kristin! So fun hearing from you! Happy holidays. :) xo
The photo of your son standing by the Christmas tree is EVERYTHING! Such a cool pic! Love your decorations and color scheme.
Thank you cutie! xo
My iPad is possessed! The first part got sent without me touching it or finishing.??
Last question, this one strictly out of curiosity…why are all the books on the clock shelves turned backwards?? I’ve never seen anyone do that before.
May you and your precious family have a CHRISTmas season filled wth blessings & joy! xo?
Hi Velvet! I turned the books around just because I liked the look of them that way. :) Thanks so much cutie! Enjoy your December too! xo
Erin!! It is absolutely gorgeous. I am completely smitten with the exterior of your home AS WELL AS the stunning interior. That family room space is so crisp and clean and beautiful.
Thank you so much Krista! You are such a doll to check it out! So happy we found each other this year! :) xo