christmas decor

Are you busy decking the halls? Here's a little peek at my Christmas style board.  The bird print is from a vintage post card I had enlarged for a canvas. I got it last year and I just love it. 

Here's our tree minus the star which I had to have my mom help me with. Even with a step stool, I'm too short for that. Hmmm... I wanted to use a tree collar this year (specifically THIS one), but found out too late that they must be in place before you put up the tree. Next year I'll plan ahead. It would be nice if they made one that has an open back. I'm still thinking about ordering this one and cutting an opening in it. You don't see the back anyway. I'll keep you updated on that.

For our piano, I like a simple, classic look. Two mercury trees, a glittery reindeer, some lights and garland. And this fabulous Bethlehem print. I still have a few finishing touches for our vintage utility cart turned bar cart. 

Are you finished decorating or just starting?

Pan Fried Onion Dip

We had a wonderful Christmas. I still can't believe how fast it came and went. We're still in holiday mode though, enjoying the season as much as we can. It's hard to believe we're almost in 2016. 

We always stay at my sister's house on New Year's Eve. We eat pizza and snacks, play games (Cards Against Humanity), karaoke,  laugh and try to stay up late enough to watch the ball drop. It's so much fun ringing in the new year with the people I love the most. 

One of the snacks we'll be enjoying is Ina's pan fried onion dip. It's my sister's favorite, so I always make it for New Year's Eve.  It's a thick dip, so you'll need to serve it with chips that can stand up to it - I usually go with kettle chips. 

Pan Fried Onion Dip

Ina Garten/Barefoot Contessa

2 Large Yellow Onions
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter*
3 Tablespoons vegetable oil*
1 Teaspoon salt
½ Teaspoon pepper
½ Teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 oz. Cream Cheese (room temperature)
½ cup Sour Cream
½ cup Mayonnaise

Heat butter & vegetable oil over medium heat in large skillet. Cut onions into half rings (you will have about 3 cups of onion). Add to skillet, add salt & pepper. Sauté 10 minutes; reduce to low heat & cook 20 minutes, stirring often, until onions are caramelized. Once caramelized, drain on paper towels. Mix cream cheese, mayo & sour cream until smooth. Add onions. Add more salt & black pepper to taste. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

*The original recipe calls for 4 Tablespoons of both butter & oil but 2-3 Tablespoons of each works just fine for me.  

Enjoy! 

Christmas Reading List

Reading is one of my favorite things to do with Landon.  I got him several new books for Christmas this year and we usually read two every night. It gives us quiet time together and also helps him with his monthly reading goal at school. 

Here's a few of our favorites this year.

Our Little Deer
This one is actually a bit young for Landon, but it's fun and sweet and gets lots of giggles. I always add Landon's name as I read, making sure he knows he's the star of the story. 

One Shining Star

Who Is Coming To Our House

A Very Merry Christmas Prayer

A Bed for Baby Jesus

Little Golden Book Favorites

Santa's Toy Shop

And one of our new favorites...

Little Blue Truck's Christmas 

I hope you'll add some of these to your Christmas collection. 

Happy Reading! 

 

*post contains affiliate links

A Visit with Santa

 

We always go to our local library open house to see Santa. The library is at the local high school, which is nice and convenient. The show choir does a holiday performance and then it's time for Santa. It was especially nice this year because my niece is in show choir.  There's also cookies and punch. Oh my goodness, I LOVE punch. I may have drank all of Mike's and then made him get seconds. It's that good! 

 

Landon was excited to see Santa this year and had his list ready to go. He's asked for a new Thomas the Train set, a sleeping bag and rain boots. I think Santa may be able to handle that.  Of course, in the picture below, he seems to be thinking over his options. LOVE it! 

 

 

And here's a little glimpse into Santa through the years. Time really does just fly.

 

Five on Friday

Happy Friday! I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! We had a great day with our family, eating, catching up laughing and just enjoying being together. And now we're moving on to Christmas.  I'm joining up with Five on Friday again this week. Here we go!

I'm putting up our tree later today. Here's my mock-up of how it will look. I got some great vintage green and blue satin balls on ebay and etsy to go with my white ones. I did this little mock-up in photoshop just to see how my colors will work together. I finally got my new drapes hung and I'm pulling all my colors from them.  I can't wait to see how everything comes together.

Remember these trees I shared with you last week from Pottery Barn? I passed on them because they are a little pricey, but found these at Lowes and a few other great options at HomeGoods. Just as pretty and so much more affordable.  I'll show you the ones I chose when I share some pictures of our Christmas decor next week. 

via

Mora Clocks are new to me. I saw one on instagram the other day from one of my favorites - (@frommyfrontporchtoyours) and, oh my goodness, I'm in LOVE. The mustard gold color would look perfect in our living room.  I would love to find one like hers. The blue ones are nice also.   Another item to add to my "lookout list". 

I'm not sure how I feel about leggings or skinny jeans, but I couldn't resist ordering these from Nordstrom. They look so comfortable and will be great for running errands or just hanging around the house.  I'm also thinking of pairing them with boots and a black tunic for an evening out. Lots of possibilities!

Do you have a tree like this? Almost everyone I know has one. I have one that was passed down from my dad's mom. I've been thinking of a way to modernize it and make it blend in with my decor. I really like the lights on this version. I'm also tempted to try my hand at making it look like mercury glass - with spray paint and a water/vinegar mixture I've seen on Pinterest. I hesitate because I don't want it ruined if it doesn't work out. 

Have a great holiday weekend. Don't forget to follow me on Instagram (I'm toniaTHC) for some great Christmas prints we'll have up early next week. 

 
 

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! I hope you all had a blessed holiday celebrating the birth of our Lord & Savior. We had a wonderful day filled with family, friends, food and lots of love. It was everything Christmas should be and more.

Landon had a wonderful day. Santa Claus was very good to him. He played so hard he wore himself out and took a 2 1/2 hour nap.  The funniest part of Christmas morning was watching him open his gifts with his new Hunter boots on. Shouldn't every little boy have a pair of red rain boots?  This momma thinks so! 

Now we're moving on to celebrate New Year's. I cannot believe it's going to be 2014. I still remember singing along to "Party like it's 1999" when that year itself seemed so far away.

What are your plans for New Year's Eve? We're spending the night at my sister's house for an evening filled with fun, food and board games. And lots of love.

Merry Christmas

It's been a few weeks since I had a chance to blog. Our life has been a bit chaotic lately. I'm looking forward to slowing down now and just enjoying Christmas with my family. 

Landon loved having his pictures taken. He's turned into quite the little poser. I love my boy so much. He's definitely the best gift we've received. 

Merry Christmas. As you celebrate, remember that Jesus really and truly is the reason for the season.  I'll be back on January 2nd.

XOXO
Tonia

Christmas in July | Week 3

Lisa Leonard Designs is having a "Christmas in July" sale. There are so many great ornaments available. I'm going to order this one  for Landon and this one as our family ornament. My parents had a family ornament and individual ornaments made for me and my sister when we were growing up and they are the last ornaments we put on our family tree. It's a comforting tradition and one that always makes us feel close to dad. 

While I was checking out the Christmas sale, I couldn't resist doing a bit of early shopping for myself. In two to three weeks I'll be happily wearing this necklace. I cannot wait to get it. 

What are you doing for Christmas in July? Be sure to link up!

Christmas in july | week 2

Wow - what a wild 10 days it's been around here. Until last night, my mom & sister had been without power since June 29th due to the terrible storm we had.  Lots of wasted food, a generator and $40 worth of gas per day later, everything is finally back to normal. We truly do take electricity {and blessed air conditioning} for granted.

I hope you're linking up with me for Christmas in July. With all the chaos, I didn't get a chance to finish my glitter letter project so I'll have to show that for next week's link up. Today I'm going to talk about Christmas trees. We've always had an artificial tree. During our first few years of marriage, when money was tight, we used a cheap tree from Kmart. Then my grandma got a new tree and passed hers down to us. We used it for 10 years and it started showing its age after 8 years. I just could not bear to part with it though, since it was the last tree my papa decorated. Oh, my emotional attachments. LOL  Every year we planned to get a new tree but then I would say "let's make do one more year".  Well, I can't do that this year because a few days after Christmas, ours tree was hauled away by the garbage men.


I'm looking at a few from Balsam Hill. They have great trees and are also doing a "Christmas in July" special right now - 50% off several great trees. I definitely want to make our purchase this month so I won't  be tree-shopping the week before Thanksgiving.


Here's the ones I'm considering...

The tree on the left is the BH Noble Fir. The tree on the right is the Blue Spruce. I love both trees. But the $1049 price tag on the Noble Fir is making me lean towards the blue spruce. Both have a nice realistic look. What do you think?


Do you use an artificial tree or purchase a real one?


I hope you're celebrating Christmas in July with me. Be sure to link up!

christmas in july

We're having Christmas in July at our house. Last year I waited until early November to start planning how I wanted to decorate. I put a lot of thought and time into decorating for Christmas,  but always seem to see a great new idea or theme just as soon as I'm finished. Last year about a week after the stockings were hung {by the chimney with care, of course}, Emily at Jones Design Company did a great post showing several beautiful options for tree decorating.  I really wanted to start over, but at that point, after pulling Landon away from the tree every second minute, I just wasn't up to it.

So this month, I'm looking over all the blog posts and magazine ideas I saved from last year and plan to start working on some craft projects and shopping for some new decorations. Michaels and Hobby Lobby should have some Christmas items out this month {I saw fall and Halloween decor at Michaels just last week}. And flea markets always seem to have Christmas items - they are a great place to find vintage Christmas ornaments and children's books. 

We are also going shop for gifts this month too. I'm planning to buy for everyone on our family and friends Christmas list. That way, when the actual Christmas season rolls around, I'll only be shopping for Mike and Landon.  Doing as much as I can now, when I have the time and don't feel that all-too-familiar holiday rush, I'll be able to spend the actual Christmas season enjoying my family, baking lots and lots of goodies and watching Christmas cartoons with Landon. 

Want to join me?  Share your Christmas in July project by linking up below. It doesn't have to be a new project, just something to inspire! We'll be linking up every Tuesday thru the month of July. 

Here's my first project/search. I've been looking for the fabric in this picture for two years. I don't know if it's a just a piece of fabric, a tablecloth, etc. I do know it's not by MODA or Gooseberry Patch. It could possibly be a vintage reproduction... If someone can help me track it down, I would be so grateful. 

 

Chex Mix

I know it's Christmas when I can smell the Chex Mix in the oven. I've already made 6 batches and will be making even more on Friday. And, unlike last year, there were no kitchen disasters to share {such as spilling a pan just ready to go in the oven}. 

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

I cannot believe how quickly Christmas has come upon us {or how long it's been since I've done a new post}. Our house has been plagued by a nasty stomach virus and coughs/colds. And we were nice enough to pass it on to my mom and my sister and her family. Pay it forward...ha ha.

Haystacks {Christmas Treats}

My mom's friend Diana sent me a little bag full of haystacks!   When we were younger, my cousin & I consumed a whole plate full of these treats at a gospel sing {so sorry to all of you who missed out}. I don't make them very often because I'm the only one in the family who really likes them.  So right now I'm in a little bit of haystack heaven. And these have cashews mixed in with the peanuts. Thanks Diana!

White Chocolate Suckers {Christmas Treats}

I have lots of cranberries & pistachios left over from some shortbread cookies I made {more on those later}. I was watching Ina's Christmas special Saturday evening & decided to try the suckers she made. She used dried cherries & cashews, but any mix of dried fruit & nuts would work. I also smashed up a few candy canes to make some peppermint topped treats. They could not be easier to make...it took me less than 15 minutes to get these done. Wrapped up individually, they make great Christmas treats for neighbors, co-workers, etc.

White Chocolate Suckers
2 bags Ghiradelli white chocolate chips
dried cranberries (Craisins)
pistachios
crushed candy canes

Place 1 1/2 bags of white chocolate chips in microwave safe bowl. Microwave on 30 second intervals, stirring until melted. Add remaining chocolate chips & stir until combined. Drop by tablespoon full onto wax paper, shaping into circle. Insert sucker stick into each one, twisting stick to coat. Top with pistachios & cranberries or sprinkle with crushed candy cane. Allow to cool & set. Enjoy!

Sorry about the not-so-great picture. Landon had other plans for me. =)

Landon Loves Christmas

Landon has a new love...the Christmas tree. Every time I light up the tree, his mouth instantly forms into a perfect little circle as he says "ooh". And I just melt. He loves redecorating the tree and carrying around the little gingerbread ornaments. I love watching the wonder in his eyes each time he hands me one of the ornaments.

Last night we were cuddled up on the couch watching A Mickey Mouse Christmas and as I smelled in his sweet baby smell, I lifted a prayer of thanks up to God for our boy. I just lay there thinking about what a wondeful gift he is. If I never receive another gift, I could never complain. Oh, how I love our precious boy. And how God has blessed us.

Mike's Christmas

Is your husband the one you have the most difficulty picking out gifts for? Me too! And this year was no exception. With a budget smaller than I'm used to, it was even harder than usual. But all in all I think I did pretty good. After a quick trip to Kohl's early this morning {at 7:15 am I had the store to myself - HEAVEN!}, I'm completely finished except for a few stocking stuffers.

The one gift Mike won't be expecting is a George Foreman grill. Those have really come a long way. When he mentioned one a few weeks ago, I pretty much said "No way!", remembering how messy & hard to clean they were. Well, that same evening I took a second look at the Foreman grills online & found that they now have removable grill plates that go right into the sink or dishwasher. Picturing Mike smiling while happily grilling his burgers,  I ordered this one.  I can't wait to see his surprised face. I laughed to myself last night when he mentioned seeing a small GF grill on sale somewhere for $16. I quickly said again how much I disliked them. I hope he doesn't pick one up before Christmas.

A few other things I got him... two games for his Nintendo DS, cologne, shoes & a new watch since Landon broke his just last week. And from Landon & Shiloh...a pair of warm Isotoner gloves.

It's a good thing he doesn't read this blog {hopefully he won't start today}.

What's going under the tree for your husband?

Sugar Coated Pecans {Christmas Treats}

My friend Lynn gave me the recipe for her sugar-coated pecans a few years ago & I've been in love with them ever since. My mom doesn't think it's the Christmas season until I've given her a bag-ful. They are so easy to make & also make wonderful gifts.

SUGAR COATED PECANS
1 egg white
1 T water
1 lb pecan halves
1 c white sugar
3/4 t salt
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t nutmeg

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Grease one baking sheet. In mixing bowl whip together egg white & water til frothy. In a gallon baggie, mix together sugar, salt, cinnamon & nutmeg. Add pecans to egg white mixture stirring til evenly coated. Add nuts to baggie & toss pecans in sugar mixture til evenly coated. Spread nuts on baking sheet. Bake 1 hour stirring every 15 minutes.