Christmas Home Tour

Welcome to my holiday open house! I hope you enjoy yourself! :o)



We have put our tree in the sun room since we've lived here- it is nice because it is out of the way but we can still enjoy it. A nice bonus is that you can really see it from the back of the house when you are driving up to it!



I've been trying to go for a brown/rustic/woodsy look for Christmas. I also have a lot of gold and glittery things so I am thinking next year I might try and switch things up a bit.





Michael loves the tree!



I only bought three poinsettias this year; one big, one medium and one small. They are SO cheap and beautiful at Walmart. You should pick some up- you just have to keep them alive for a few weeks! I've heard if you take them outside in the summer and plant them they get huge, but we'll see how much patience I have with them over the winter. I feel like mine are always picky to take care of because they like to be watered every day, but just a little bit and not too much because they don't like that. Geeze!



We decorated our ledges this year- I had everything ready to go so it was pretty quick. Scott got the tall ladder out for me and everything!




Live wreath on the front door. It is so hard to find a wreath that does not have all sorts of awful decorations on it, but they had some really nice ones at Trader Joes for about $10!












Merry Christmas to you from our home to yours!

p.s., check out last year's post and also head on over thenester.com for more beautiful holiday homes!!

Bokeh, Bokeh

No, my house is not on fire in the background....those are my Christmas lights on my tree.

Believe it or not, I've contemplated putting more lights on it because I have a string that just went out. :o(

I'm linking up over at m3b: go check out all the wonderful photos!

@

A big check off the to do list!

Last night my students and myself pulled off yet another successful winter concert. Phew. It is such a big check off my list!

This semester has been particularly challenging with my temporary subbing schedule that required me to shift some things around at my main school. The kids missed out on some rehearsal times and instead of me being refreshed and energized to come to school after my days off I was usually harried and worn out from teaching hours of lessons. My kids did nothing but greatly exceed my expectations and I am so thankful for such awesome students.

We had a little "come to Jesus" rehearsal last week where I said if they didn't know their songs by now they needed to figure out some way to get them learned before our concert. Don't get me wrong, most were doing great, but there were a few just hadn't gotten it quite yet.

So, at one lesson yesterday one of my little flute players was doing a fantastic job. I asked her what she had been doing to be playing so well and she said she went home every night last week and practiced an hour until she knew her songs. I was floored! A student actually did what I suggested!! A teaching miracle!

Their hard work paid off and they played their best at the concert last night. It was so fun to hear! I love those moments where I am conducting at a concert and I'm just thinking, "This is great!". Because it is great. :o)

One big check down! One more week of my subbing job, then a few more days of regular teaching then bring on Christmas break!!

Visiting Santa

On Saturday morning we headed into our local community center for a "Breakfast with Santa" event. It was sponsored by the fire department and you could get pancakes, sausage, and then stand in line to see Santa. I had actually never been to our community center before- it is a new and it is an old church. It is a really great space to hold community events, but this one was kind of a disaster. We waited in line for both breakfast and to see Santa for over half an hour each. Everyone who had little kids with them just looked so stressed out. Santa was only there for an hour so it felt like we were just in line the whole time to see him. And also, our fireman did not have a huge pancake griddle to cook pancakes. Isn't that some sort of fireman's code to have that? I should have earmarked my donation to go towards one. :o)

All in all, it was fine and probably better than going to a mall to see Santa. We got to see some of our neighbors and daycare friends and support some local business at well. They had a little vendor fair set up and my favorite at home business- Usborne books- was there. Love them!





Michael has been loving the Christmas ornament bulbs or "bahs" as he calls them. He spent a long time entertaining himself by taking the little bulbs in the box and putting them in the big tube and then back again. He just thinks it is so fun!

I've really had to be on tree patrol with Michael being mobile this year. I think he really just thinks the bulbs are balls and wants to play with them. He is pretty good about just looking, but sometimes I will catch him sneaking a couple of touches in. He really loves the lights and when we see a Christmas tree he goes "Ooooo". So cute!

Last but of course not least, my parents were here for a few days last week to see my little sister dance in a state competition. They were a big help and even watching Michael when I went to work on Friday. My mom cleaned my house....it was awesome! Michael really loves them and it is so fun to see them together.

Friday Night Holiday Party

Gosh, December is just flying by! Was it really just last weekend we all had Thanksgiving dinner?

We've had a busy week getting the house decorated, groceries bought, family visiting and hosting a party.

We had a little get together with some friends this past Friday night to kick off the holiday season. Really though, it was the only weekend night we had free during the whole month of December. Isn't that crazy? We aren't even busy people or anything! So the whole party was a little last minute and a little early in the season, but it was great to see all of our friends and their kids!

I am so bad at taking photos during parties. Luckily I had everything set up beforehand so I could take some pictures of things before the party (like I forgot to do during Michael's birthday) but then I set my camera down and didn't pick it up the rest of the night. Next time! :o)

I went to Trader Joes (the first one in Iowa!) and stocked up on 3 buck Chuck wine. I sampled all of it and it was really delicious! I highly recommend it!

Have you ever made this sweet Crispix mix? It is addicting. It is almost gone so that is good...I won't be able to make it until next year otherwise I will just eat too much again!

We also had meatballs, cheese tray, crackers, dips, potstickers, pigs in a blanket, and pizza. The best part of having a party is that we've been eating the leftovers all weekend! It's like a party for every meal! :o)

The house is all decorated and now I feel the Christmas spirit coming on a bit more than it was earlier in the week. This week is a busy one with my school concert on Tuesday and rehearsals and a church performance Friday night. I'll keep you updated! I hope you all had a great weekend also!

Last football game of the season

Our last football game was a COLD one!! We had a house full of guests all weekend and it was a lot of fun!

Michael having fun with Kelly. He got to stay home and watch the game on TV with Grandma, Grandpa and Uncle John.

The last game of the year is our traditional cinnamon rolls and chili game. It was awesome, although I think it took me two weeks to finally finish eating all the chili leftovers!

My husband...so excited to get his picture taken. Actually, this is usually the look he is giving me. :o)

We had a big crowd for our last tailgate which was surprising considering the cold weather! It was nice to have one last hurrah to celebrate the end of the season.

We were watching the Iowa game on the TV and other tailgaters thought it was so cool we could get the game on a TV outside. Scott had a huge antenna to pick it up. Our neighbors next door even said that is what they wanted to do next year!

Even though the Cyclones ended their season with only 5 wins, I was still happy with their performance. We got to see a lot of good games and experience a lot of good heartbreak...isn't that what football is all about?

And also- Thanks, friends, for spending the time with us! Can't wait to do it again in September!

Just in case you are already feeling unambitious...

I am feeling so unambitious this year when it comes to holiday decorating. I just feel like I don't have the time or creativity to do it this year. So if you want some inspiration, mark these dates on your calendar and check out these link up parties. (courtesy of thenester.com). I'm planning on joining up with Kelly's Korner and The Nester Holiday Tours so hopefully I find some inspiration and get everything done by then!

• December 2nd :: Rhoda’s Christmas Vignette
• December 7th :: Kate’s Christmas Craft
• December 6th :: Deck the Halls Party @ Between Naps on the Porch
• December 9th :: Sarah’s Christmas Tree Link up
• December 9th :: Coastal Charm Open House
• December 10th :: Cloche Party @ A Stroll Through Life
• December 13th :: The Nester’s Holiday Tour of Homes {here at Nesting Place!} AND Kelly @ Kelly’s Korner; Show Us Your Life Christmas Tour {don’t you love how I bold our day?}
• December 15th :: White Christmas Party @ Cuisine Kathleen
• December 15th :: Share the Decor @ No Minimalist Here
• November 28th, December 6th, 13, and 20th :: Photographer Sereina Charise is hosting photo linkies with various topics