Today is a banner day!

Because let’s face it.  Some days simply require a banner.

Hope you’re having a banner day as well!!

Happy New Year!!

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After a wonderfully busy and fun Christmas and New Years, I am sitting in a quiet, and clean, house.  No, not quite as clean as the house above, but almost as quiet.  I can’t quite believe how quiet it is around my house today.  It’s the first official day back to school around here, and, since we pretty much took down all our Christmas decorations before we went out of town for New Years Eve, I’m catching up on laundry and relaxing in my clean family room.

And I’m LOVING it!

There’s just something about starting a new year that brings out the organizer in us all, don’t you agree?  Like many of you, I have a list of projects I hope to tackle and complete in 2012.  And I plan on sharing them all with you.

But first, I’m basically taking a “me” day.  You know, one of those days where you take some time for yourself?  Okay, I realize that I already told you that I’m doing laundry today.  I also plan on breaking out the ironing board for all my holiday linens before I put them away.  And although that hardly sounds like something a sane person would do on a “me” day, I have decided that I don’t want to leave my calm and quiet home.

So… I’m thinking a nice movie (that I get to pick) and a little ironing may go well together.

As you know, I haven’t been around as much lately.  There’s been several reasons for that and I’ll be sharing some of those with you as well.  Soon.  But for today, I’m simply going to revel in the a few more hours spent exactly how I want to spend them.

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Okay, okay, so I probably won’t be ironing like that.  Probably.

I hope you’re enjoying the day as well!  Blessings!!

Merry (Blue) Christmas Greetings! No, I’m not sad. I simply decided that I really liked the touches of deep indigo that we added to our Thanksgiving decor and thought I’d continue the theme right into Christmas.

I started at the front door.  Hanging on the front door is my virtually cost free version of a wreath. The pretty blue tin container came from a little gift shop in Indiana. I originally bought it for my daughters new room, but then changed my mind. I think it’s the perfect choice for this years “wreath”.

The pine branches are leftover from when we trimmed our tree and the other branches and berries are leftovers from previous years. Even though the ribbon is the only new element here, I think this may be one of my favorite wreaths ever. Simple and elegant.

This years deep navy shows up in our living room tree and also in several places in the family room and kitchen.

Small touches here and there. My whole family agrees, we like this years color scheme. White, silver, gold, and creme are timeless and this deep navy adds a depth and richness that took us all by surprise. The end result is a festive, yet calm effect.

And during this hectic time of year, it’s the perfect setting to slow down, relax, and focus on the real reason this Holiday is so important to our family.

Olivewood Nativity - A gift from our daughter, bought when she was in Israel

I wish you the very merriest of Christmas greetings. May your weekend be filled with warmth, happiness, and the awesome wonder of this Glorious season!

** I’m linking here:

I know I haven’t been around much lately.    I have been very busy, getting our house ready for Christmas, helping my kids get college apps sent, working, working, working.  And, if you’re like me, you are finishing up all the details for surrounding this Christmas season as well.  Looking for some great ideas for some homemade Christmas gifts?  Look no further than this awesome ebook created by two very talented ladies, Myra from My Blessed Life and Mandi from Life Your Way.  Here’s a chance to see all your favorite bloggers and holiday decor tutorials in one spot!  Oh and by the way, I’m in there twice! (pages 36 & 54).

If the preview above is not working for you, click here if you wish to download your own PDF version of the Handmade Holiday Decor eBook.

Happy Holidays and Enjoy!!!