It’s Christmas! (ish)
Well, it’s been a busy week here in Lake Woebegone.
I’m not sure, but I think Christmas might be trying to kill me. Not on purpose, really, more like accidently trying to kill me. This is the time of year when my creative flights of fancy and my staggering lack of organizational skills collide– which basically means that my fertile little brain is dancing with these FAB-U-LOUS ideas of a frillion artistic ways I can bedeck every square inch of this house with boughs of holly, BUT– and this is a big but (not unlike my own)– I can’t quite pull it together enough to actually complete a task from beginning to end. And also I sometimes have the personality and attention span of a parakeet (“Oh look! Something shiny! Wait, what was I doing…?”) so every room in the house is now half decorated and it’s really hard to walk because there are these overflowing storage boxes everywhere with tangled wads of lights and random ornaments and stray garlands hanging out of them because I’m not sure where I want to put everything yet. I probably ought to have it all sorted out right about the time we leave for Arkansas.
OH!! Right before I show you the fruits of my (half) labors, I need to announce THE WINNER of the Russ Taff Christmas CD Giveaway (which once again, I chose by using that random number picker thingy, so it’s all kosher and honest and what-not), and HERE IT IS:
It’s meb!!!!
Yay, meb, you won! And I’ll have Russ sign it any way you want– just email me your mailing address and your signing preference and I’ll mail that puppy out to you!
Annnnnnd here’s a photo montage of what it’s *starting* to look like all up in here:
**BTW– just to put the cherry on the cake of my decorating week, it SNOWED today!
**Isn’t that pretty?! By Nashville standards, that is a BIG HONKIN’ SNOW– quit laughing, all you Yankee readers!
OK, here’s what I’ve managed to finish so far:
(What’s with the tall guy in the left corner staring off into space over there? Hold up, gotta go fix him.)
(Don’t you think adding tiny Christmas cookie cutters to this little number in the kitchen was a brilliant idea?! ME TOO!)
(Started to spray paint and put glitter on the Grammys, but then thought better of it. You’re welcome, Russ.)
(Hey Linda, look– a tablescape!!)
**And of course, ’tis the season for these beauties, Tori’s Soon-To-Be-Famous,Way Too Labor Intensive Christmas Cookies:
SO… What’s Christmas looking like around YOUR house?
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Beautiful job, Tori!!! Almost hate to look at your ideas ‘cuz I start getting more ideas for my home, (hadn’t thought about decorating the chandelier!), and I haven’t even bought my tree yet! HA!
Thanks for the chuckle regarding Russ’ Grammys!
Merry Christmas!
Love the photos. I love, love, love, love ,LOVE the dining table setting!!!!!!!!
OMG, TORI! We must be twins separated at birth……or one of us got distracted and wandered away! I have hundreds of incredible ideas for Christmas…..from decorations to food to fabulous homemade gift ideas. And it all ends Dec. 24th with nothing finished and a last minute trip to the mall for gifts, or cash stuffed in an envelope for those folks I can’t decide what to get for! (I can’t even start to analyze why that sentence is just structurally wrong.) But you, Tori, have done some spectacular decorating! Your mantle is ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS! I have seen mantles like yours only in classy decorating magazines! It’s so impressive and festive! Good job! Your chandelier is very elegant. But that tablescape? It’s FANTASTIC!!! LOVE IT!!! How did you find plates with a matching table runner? Love the napkins folded and placed in the goblets! (I’m still looking for some cheap charger plates.) Are your chairs covered? Did you make them? When I did my tablescape for Thanksgiving, I had the problem of “where do I put the food—-there’s no room for anything else on the table!” We have a buffet server but it’s got too much stuff on it to actually use it—including my husband’s speakers! Anyway, thanks for showing us your tablescape! It’s like you—-unique and metropolitan (i.e. the black and red color scheme at Christmas time), yet grounded in tradionalism (tablerunner, candles, chargers). I have no idea what I just said. Look,…. something glittery!
Your cookies are amazing! You don’t let people EAT those, do you?
Your front door belongs on a Christmas card! Has Hallmark called you yet?
Are those nutcrackers on the mantle? What a collection!
Love it! You make me so proud! I love it when people decorate all of the rooms in their house. I put up all of my normal stuff sitting around the house during Christmas and put all Christmas decorations in every room. I start decorating about a week before Thanksgiving and it takes me a good week or more to get everything down, unpacked all displayed and cleaned up. In fact, unless we expand our attic, I don’t have any room for any new Christmas stuff, which just is not right. I have a Christmas village that is just about to take over my living room but would not have it any other way. It is fun to watch people come over and look at all of it. Tis the season. Great decorations Tori! I always love to see your Christmas cookies.
Oh, and I’m so glad you have the snow and not us
Congrats, meb ! = )
Congratulations, meb! I guess I better get downloading then.
The photos are beautiful. To my shame my house isn’t at all Christmassy at the moment, I haven’t got round to it, and may well not manage it at all because we go away this week and don’t return until just before new year. Actually, I tell a lie, the kitchen is covered with paper snow flakes made by the girls a couple of weeks ago when they couldn’t go to school because of the real snow outside. It looks like we’re getting more snow than usual on both sides of the atlantic.
We’re off to disneyland Paris at the weekend – and I’m guessing its going to be Christmassy enough there and my lack of decorations at home will be forgotten. We’ll be going straight from there to Mum and Dad’s for a few days, on the 23rd. I know they’ll have the house decorated nicely – complete with cotton wool snow around the Lilliput Lane cottages! We’re forecast more snow and freezing temperatures from the end of this week right through to the new year – it should be magical – as long as it doesn’t affect all our travel plans. Too often the country grinds to a standstill as soon as more than a few flakes fall!
Oh, and Hannah wants the Santa Cookie, and Beth wants the Christmas Tree one!
OK the tree is up and there is cotton wool round the Lilliput Lane cottages but may I add that the one year the cotton wool disappeared it was Rachel who objected! Loved the decorations Tori particularly the chandelier. I was trying things for the table scape this evening but they didn’t really work but with 3 grandchildren around for Christmas I guess it will be crackers and glitter!
Congratulations Meb….you are gonna love Russ’ new Christmas cd. I know that I do.
Tori, your decorations are absolutely beautiful!!! I use my table scape as part of my decorations, arranging the table days ahead of our Christmas dinner. I will have to wait until after Christmas Eve when pictures will be taken here.
Merry Christmas everyone!
Thanks all. I’m so looking forward to hearing the new album.
Tori the pictures are amazing!! I love the table scape. And the cookies, I don’t think I would have the heart to eat one, they are so pretty. I definitely would not have the patience to do that.
I’ve done some decorating this year, but not as much as in years past. Being in apartment this holiday there isn’t as much to decorate and we can’t put up outside decorations since we don’t have anywhere to plug them in.
Now if I could just get the cat to stop eating the tree…
So, I’m the Grinch! LOL! Actually, I’m working TONS lately so youngest daughter got up the essentials (i.e. tree, nativity scene, couple of family favorites). Oldest daughter–the artsy one of the family–comes 12/16. I figure if I look sad and frazzled (I’m practicing in front of the mirror to be really effective!) she’ll do more decorating! Or maybe with 2 grandsons and all their legos/trucks/etc. underfoot in our little house, we’ll go minimalist this year!!! No one will mind!!!!
Actually this “Grinch” does write a daily “Gramma Jac’s Gazette” for the grandsons, nieces, nephews, etc. with links to coloring pages, Christmas songs, on-line cartoons and games December 1-25. AND I’m posting a Christmas-Song-A-Day on Facebook! So I’m not REALLY bah-humbug and WAY more Ho-Ho-Ho!
Oh, I forgot–LOVE LOVE your decs and congrats meb!!!
Oh my gosh! It’s so pretty! All nutcrackers have been placed and all trees have been trimmed. Stockings are hung and the christmas movies and music have been brought out of the depths of our basement. TORI- if you want any help decking halls, I’m up for the job…I’m probably the only one in my family who slightly enjoys untangling christmas lights or stringing the tree with lights for that matter….MERRY CHRISTMAS!
-Jess
GORGEOUS! GORGEOUS! GORGEOUS!!!! Everything looks like a Christmas card. The snow was perfect!
meb – enjoy your new tunes!
Merry Christmas everyone!
Did I sound like I was complaining about the decorations in Mum and Dad’s house? That certainly wasn’t my intention, and as Mum quite rightly points out if it is ever not there I do complain! If we ever get to host Christmas here I will have quite a lot to live up to
I agree with Linda B, your house does look like it belongs on a Christmas card.
I love Christmas.
Your Christmas cookies are always THE BEST I’VE SEEN ANYWHERE!!!
OK. So random…you and I have met before (at blissdom…) but I was reading one of my old Christmas posts (b/c I amuse myself, apparently) when suddenly I saw a comment from you. First, I thought, “Oh, how nice. BabyBloomr commented on my blog!” Then I read it and it said you…well, that you, you know, sleep with Russ Taff. (Because my post was about Christmas albums–and his is one of my faves.) So. I’m thinking, “HOW DID I NEVER NOTICE THIS COMMENT?!” And I have to come over here and investigate. And whatdyaknow? You’re giving away Russ’ album today. AND lo-and-behold you really do sleep with him. And are in fact married to him. (Which is quite a relief!)
So. Now I feel famous by association. And ashamed for never reading your bio (or your comment) before.
Merry Christmas to you and Russ! I’ll be thinking of you everyday till Chrismtas–since I listen to the album almost every day!
a
Love the Christmas album. Stuart got it for his birthday today (Thanks Rachel) so I got to hear it. Amazing!
OK, a BIG For What It’s Worth; flight tickets booked. I’ll be in the states from 22 DEC 2010 until 11 JAN 2011.
jonny
Tori – I just finished listening to a Christmas compilation CD from the 90’s called “Our Christmas”. Russ’ version of Silent Night stopped me in my tracks. His distinctive voice and different arrangement make it really stand out.