It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas

All of you probably know by now how much I love fireplaces.  But to my dismay, we don’t have one in our house.  Last year, I bought an old fireplace mantel off of Craigslist, so I could at least pretend to have one.  I even put a chalkboard behind it and drew a fake flame on it to create ambiance. 


It helped, but it really wasn’t enough for me.  So when Tim asked me what I wanted for Christmas this year, I told him I wanted a real fake fireplace and that I wanted it before Christmas so I could actually enjoy it all season long.  
On Black Friday, we ordered an electric fireplace.  It arrived earlier this week and I loooove it.  The flame is fake, but it looks very real.  It also has a heater, so it warms up the room just like a real fireplace would.  I have used it practically non-stop since it arrived.  Tim even turns it on for me before he leaves for work in the mornings so our living room is warm and cozy when I get up.  I’m watching the flames jump and flicker now as I write this blog.  It makes me happy. 


Did you notice that Frosty is back again this year?  I’m not sure if it was the heat from the fireplace or what, but sadly we had to amputate his legs last night because they had started leaking and rotting all over our hardwood floor.  We fondly refer to him as Stumpy now.  Isn’t he cute?!


Since we’re on the topic of Christmas decorations, I’ll just go ahead and give you the grand tour. 
This year, I mixed turquoise in with my Christmas color scheme.  I like the color too much right now to pack away all my regular turquoise decorations for Christmas.   I’m really liking how it looks with the red.  It’s a little bit merry and a little bit bright. 




There was a blank spot on my wall that needed a touch of Christmas.  I really didn’t want to spend any extra money for something, so I got creative.  I sawed branches off a tree, cut them up, spray painted them white, tied them together with twine, and stuck a sweet gum ball on the top.    And Ta-Da!


I think using found things from nature is a great (and affordable!) way to decorate.  It’s also kind of Pottery Barnish.
Free tree clippings from the tree farm.


More tree clippings tied together to make garland, as well as pinecones, and acorns put in old bottles.


Wood and tree clippings stuffed in an old bucket.


I guess that’s about it, or at least that’s about all I’ve taken pictures of around here.  Our tree is up, but we haven’t decorated it yet.  Hopefully, we’ll get to that this weekend.