southern fried gal

Here it is! BBC says it’s the best tree ever! That makes my day because I really have changed from more decorative to kid friendly Christmas decor over the past couple of years. My mom always had a way of making Christmas magical and I hope I can create similar memories with him.

I usually take great care in individually wrapping each branch of the tree with lights. It’s a tedious process and usually takes me at least a couple of hours. This year you know I had to be sick because I let DH put the lights on. They are a little crazy but the overall look is still good so I will probably allow him to do it from now on to save time and frustration – ha! Do you like the look of the den? I can’t believe I’m even posting this picture. It’s a good mix of fall and Christmas and clutter don’t you think?

This year I decided to add mesh to the tree. It was a learning experience but I like the overall look. It helped fill in the holes and added a lot of depth and dimension to everything!

Wanna know a secret? I’m a little bit particular and I’m trying to balance that with raising a head-strong 4 yo. So I allow him to hang the ornaments on the tree and then later I go and rearrange to what I like. Right now he can’t remember where he put them for the most part so I don’t get busted!

The ornaments are mostly nutcrackers because my husband made the mistake of saying those were his favorite so we have collected nutcracker sets for the last nine years. Did I mention I have obsessive/compulsive tendencies? There are a few other ornaments mixed in and lots with sentimental value. Like this starfish Santa that we got on our honeymoon!

This is a neat cluster – the stork of course is for BBC’s first Christmas, the yellow book was for our Christmas as parents-to-be and the heart is for our first Christmas together.

My mom bought this angel for DH because our first Christmas together also yielded our first big fight. I had visions of a perfectly decorated house with perfect outdoor lights. DH didn’t want to hang lights outside. Let’s just say he ended up hanging them but he was no angel during the process! Our home was beautiful AND we survived – ha!