Happy January everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday. We enjoyed some time in Utah with family and I have to say that tonight I’m feeling depressed! SO bummed the vacation is over. I’m really not ready to re-engage tomorrow. I know I should be all excited about a fresh new year and goal setting and organizing and I’m sure that will come, but tonight I just want to keep eating chocolate by the fire in my pajamas. :) Because of my ‘not ready to let go of all things Christmas’ mood it feels quite appropriate that I share some pictures of our front porch decked for the holidays that I never got around to posting. Nothing like bringing in the New Year with Christmas lights right!? Anyone with me?
Since none of you are answering I’ll assume it’s ok to carry on.. :)
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It was so fun decorating the outside of our house for the holidays this year. First time decking the new porch since last year at this time I was swimming in boxes and too overwhelmed to do much decorating.
I have to admit that I was too scared to put a wreath on my front door! The black paint on my door was such a nightmare when we were building. My painters had to go over it again and again to get it to look smooth so I was nervous to use the command hooks. Knowing me I’d be the one person who couldn’t tear it off right leaving a fabulous mess behind. But I did find this fun Merry Christmas banner that fit perfectly over my door which made me not miss a wreath so much. :)
I picked up these two inexpensive little trees from Home Depot and just added some burlap and red and silver ornaments. Kole helped me decorate. See the way the burlap is angled just so? I tell ya that kid is a natural. :)
I found this fun wrapping paper at Home Goods (2 bucks a roll!) and decided it was too cute to use on gifts that would be torn apart.
So I wrapped a few fake presents under each tree. I put one old cook book in each present so the boxes wouldn’t blow away if we were suddenly hit with a storm. Storms never happen here btw but sometimes I like to pretend they do. Finally my cook books have a purpose! Saving my fake presents from fake storms. I’m only now realizing how this sounds.
I tie bows on gifts about as well as I cook so ignore my sad attempt at dressing up the presents. By the time I got to wrapping the last present with the grey deer paper I just gave up all on bows together. I tossed my white lanterns next to the trees and added a few ornaments. So easy! Now I can use the presents again next year. And maybe practice my bow tying in the mean time.
My old stair garland fit perfectly across our front deck railing.
And I decided that I needed at least ONE wreath on the front of the house.
I fell in love with these black planters and bought them on sale at the end of last summer. I hadn’t gotten around to planting anything in them yet, so I filled them with fake poinsettias. Loved the RED. (I used bubble wrap left over from moving to take up space and fill the bottom of the planters… cook books were taken so they weren’t an option.) :)
My simple front porch looked so pretty all lit up at night! Aren’t Christmas lights magical? Nothing like them.
We started taking the lights down today. :( Part of the reason I’m depressed. I know most people love to take Christmas lights/decor down right after Christmas and are ready to have it all over, but I’m not one of them! I always wish December lasted longer.. like six months. :) I debated keeping our outside lights up through February. We did use red and white lights which technically could count as Valentines decor, right? Sort of? Not so much?
Not so much. {sigh} I guess the good news is that there is always next year. 2015 baby! Bring it on.
As soon as I finish my chocolate.
:)
You’re not alone! Every Christmas I struggle to put up the decor bc I love having it around. It makes me feel happy & cozy every time I look at it. Today my kids go back to school so I plan to do it after I enjoy a warm cup of coffee snuggled op on the couch taking it all in. Or maybe I will do it tomorrow. ;)
And I forgot to say that your decorating is fabulous & house is beautiful!
Thank you Blythe! No rush. That’s what I told myself this year. In fact the ornaments are off our tree, but the tree is still up. :)
Your christmas decor was so beautiful I would be sad to pack it away as well.
Happy New year
Thank you Trish! Same to you!
Looks so pretty! Love the fake presents! I do those too, but keep them inside here and there in baskets and buckets. Just had to remind the kids not to open those “gifts!” Also a little bummed about the end of Christmas, so am eating Christmas Hershey kisses with coffee today to get me through! Have a Happy New Year!!
Love it Janet! Off to find some Hershey kisses. :) Thank you!
Loved this post! I am always in such a funk after Christmas…it’s so much fun and excitement and then..bam..over..back to normal. So I completely relate. Hope it goes away soon..I’m slowly getting into gear for 2015. Happy New Year!
It’s hard, isn’t it Sara!? I feel a little better this morning. Hopefully the funk will end for both of us soon! Happy New Year!
Love the porch, Erin!
Our tree is still up. I didn’t get it up until Christmas week because we were all sick and the kids are loving it so much. They also told me now it seems like Christmas because we finally got snow. So it will stay up another week. Ironically, it is the first year ever that I’m itching to get stuff away (mostly because we have a small house and I’m trying to organize and clean out).
I had to chuckle at the “taking lights down”. It is currently -9 with -20 wind chills so there is no taking down lights for month(s?) to come. Simply turning them off. It makes me sad when the neighborhood goes dark again.
Have a good week back to routine!
JC
I feel the same way JC! I was driving through my neighborhood last night bummed the lights were all off. Good luck to both of us with re-entry! And stay warm! xo
Beautiful!
Happy New Year!
Your home looks beautiful, Erin! No wonder it’s hard to take everything down. I love the cozy, magical feeling that the holidays bring and I always hate to leave it behind (maybe that’s why some of my “winter” decor manages to stick around until Valentines Day….).
I love your decorations, and you could definitely leave those lights up until February. I haven’t taken my tree down yet, and for a brief moment I considered just removing all of the ornaments except for the red and silver ones and leaving it up until next month. It makes perfect sense to me. :)
Looks gorgeous! I always hate having to take it all down too.
I am with you!!! So hard to take all the Christmas decorations down. I live in Kona Hawaii so we really have to work hard at making it feel like Christmas.
Erin…I am loving your blog and beautiful photo’s. My son walked by my laptop when I had a picture of your kitchen on the screen the other day. He said…. mom is that a picture of our home in California? We did a complete home remodel in NorCal (made it my dream home) and then moved to Kona so we did not have the opportunity to live and enjoy that home:(
We are now building here in Kona…so, love looking at everything you did!!!!! Thank you!!!!!
Thank you Karis! So sweet of you to say! Your remodel sounds amazing – I can’t believe you didn’t get to enjoy it! So happy for you that you building again. I got your e-mail and just haven’t had time to reply but will soon! Thanks again! :)
Don’t you worry, I totally think it’s acceptable to leave red and white lights out until Valentine’s Day. After all, many people have icecicle lights hanging till Spring. Just sayin’ (;
Cook books! hahahaha! That’s awesome!
I love the decor! The lights, the little trees, the lanterns, the presents, the banner…I think it all looks perfect! How great the garland fit so well in a new spot!
I needed some ideas for my porch and now you’ve given me some great ones for next year. Thanks!
Erin, Your porch looks so pretty. I just love the red and white. That is too funny about your cooksbooks but at least they’re getting used lol. As for the wreath on the front door, you need to check out Amazon. There is a product called Attract TM magnetic wreath hanger in an oil rubbed bronze. It is about $14.50 for a 2 pack. They will not ruin the doors since they are magnetic. The main thing is to leave the paper backing on the back of the wreath hangers. It looks like you would take it off but you do not. That way it won’t scratch the door. You just simply put the wreath hanger up and it stays on the steel door due to the magnet. I’ve used it for two years now and it won’t scratch your doors. It’s very sturdy and holds a heavy wreath without moving at all. You can remove it after the holidays and it won’t leave any marks on you door.
Great tip! I will look into that for sure! Thank you! xo
Or you could put the command hook on the glass and hang the wreath there…would be beautiful!
Love that idea Anne! I might try that next year! Thanks! :)
Oh, Erin. I love your Christmas decorations. It turned out great. I was wondering if you were going to hang a wreath this year or not. It looks beautiful without one.
Oh, Erin. I had a question, where did you decided to put your house numbers at? I didn’t see them up anywhere? Thanks for sharing your Christmas decor. Happy New Year. Many blessing to you and your family in 2015.
They are on a rock in the front of our house! Part of the landscaping. :) Blessing to you too sweet friend! xo
I use an over the door wreath hanger–it has a curving hook at the bottom to hold the wreath. I have a several for other holidays too! No idea where I got them but I’m sure a quick google search would net some results.
Thanks Janet! I’ll look into it! I have an over the door wreath holder too but it was too short and metal and I was afraid it would scratch the door. I’m sure there are better ones out there though!
I love the way you used the red and white with the grey in your Christmas decor this year. I think your house looked beautiful. (inside and out.) I don’t know what got into me this year but I took all of my stuff down the day after Christmas. Even though it was beautiful and I miss all of the lights at night. I. Had. To. Clean. It was so refreshing to have everything clean and put away.
Thank you Cathy! I’ve felt that way too after Christmas but not this year. Our house is still so lacking in furniture/decor that the Christmas helped it feel more cozy and full! :)
I’m always in such a funk after Christmas, I totally understand! And we leave our lights on through Jan 6th since that is technically Epiphany and the end of the Christmas season. Love your outside decor! I was laughing out loud at your fake presents blowing away in fake storms :) In PA we could never put wrapped boxes on the porch or they’d be soaking wet from snow within a week at best. We need sturdy outdoor decor here, lol!
I love your home and decor everything looks SO good! I especially love how lit up your house is on the outside, I think I need to buy some brighter outdoor lightning
Thank you Raquel!
We were away for three weeks over Christmas and just returned on Sunday, so I completely missed this post. I can understand why you were sad to take it all down, because it was truly beautiful. I don’t blame you for not wanting to use a command hook on that gorgeous front door, and the swag was perfect. You crack me up about the cookbooks, but then I do love to cook. Speaking of cooking, that is such a cute pic of your hubby and little son. That’s exactly what our son did with me, starting at about three. Now he’s a chef, so it’s good to encourage that young “kitchen help!”
Have a great 2015, Erin!
Thank you Carol! So kind of you to say! I’m so happy you liked my front porch for Christmas and the picture of Kole and my husband. We do always seem to have lots of “help” in the kitchen. :) How amazing your son is a chef! I need to start praying for that one – we could use a chef around here! :) Happy New Year to you sweet friend! xo
I love your sense of humor. You crack me up!!! We moved in August from San Diego up to Ventura County. My husband now works in Santa Monica. We didn’t get a chance to hang up lights. 2 big storms. 2 different leaks in the living room from the roof. Whew. I was just happy to be able to put up a tree! So impressed with all you have been able to accomplish since your move! I’ve completely stopped caring. I am taking a break – officially.
Oh my word Holly! You deserve a break! What a crazy few months you’ve had. Sometimes a break is just what the dr. ordered. Thanks for your sweet comment! San Diego will miss you. :)
Hello and Good Morning,
I found your blog by happenstance and I am so addicted. We live on the east coast in the sometimes not so sunny state of RI. I am completely obsessed with moving to California- my husband works from home and can virtually live anywhere – but all of our family lives here. We are very fed up with the weather and the way it can play with your moods ( especially in the winter).
I have to say that I love your new home- just about everything – did you design it or have an architect come up with the plans?
We are alway discussing where we would move to in California if we did make that leap- it looks so sunny all of the time in your town- it would make such a difference in all of our lives ( we have 2 children, 8 chickens and 2 cute pugs:)
I would love any input you might have with regards to the best towns in CA for families as well as a close location to the ocean.
Thank you so much and have a great day,
Christine