I Survived the Plague.

I’d love to be all cliché and say “it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas” around our house, but to be honest, it’s been looking pretty Christmas-y in our casa since Thanksgiving ended.  I was all set to reveal our holiday décor last week, but I fell victim to “the plague” {also known as a wicked sinus infection}.  Thanks to some meds, my new bff...the neti pot and some major R&R this weekend, I’m feeling much better.

Which is wonderful news for you guys because I’m sure you’ve been dying in anticipation to see entirely-too-many pictures of our house decorated for the holly, jolly season that is upon us. ;)  Last year, we moved into our house on Christmas Eve...so our house was truly lacking in the decorations department.  In fact, we were lacking in most things at that point.  So this year, hubby and I were ready to go all out for the occasion!!  There weren’t many areas of the house that we didn’t attack with lights and/or garland.

Hubby took care of the outside, and did a pretty fantastic job.  If you follow me on Instagram {retroranchreno} you saw this shot of his handy work.

I took care of decorating the inside of the house.  We have a skinny, little pre-lit tree that we’ve been using since we lived in our old townhouse.  It was perfect for that space because it didn’t take up much room, and it’s also perfect for this house since we have an open floor plan without a “great” spot to fit the tree.  I love the corner we tucked it into…and how we added some red lights to tie it in with the rest of the house.

I couldn't help myself and decorated our TV console...with an owl, of course.

The mantle is one of my favorite places to decorate...and shocker, I included an owl there too.  He was just too cute and furry to not come home with me from the store. 

And onto our buffet...turquoise and red...YES PLEASE!

Our dining room and console tables got new DIY winter-ish runners and some fun decorations.  The fabric was on sale and exactly what I was looking for...perfect!

Our kitchen got some pops of Christmas...



And so did our barn door...it's my absolute favorite.

And in case you weren't 100% sick of seeing pictures...here are a few more for good measure. :)

Anyone else looooove to decorate everything for Christmas?  I'm pretty sure we aren't ever going to be a glitter-free house again.  It's all over, no matter how much I vacuum.  Whoooops!

And since we DIY'ed some new runners and a bunch of displays, I'm linking up to the final week of Kim, Michelle, Chelsea and Rachel's Dare to DIY (Deck the Halls) link party!

Thanks so much for hosting such a wonderful series, ladies! :)

That Took You How Long???

I really can't believe it took me several months to hang something pretty next to our front door.  What makes it so bad is that a) I always knew what I wanted to put up and b) I already owned the mirror, and had it in my basement since day one.  {It was one of the first things I bought for our old townhouse.}

Heck, it even took me a couple days weeks {no lie} to hang it once I brought it upstairs.  For the longest time, it lived on the couch.  I'm pretty sure Perny didn't appreciate the company.  He's not a fan of things that can't pet and snuggle him. ;)

Finally, after realizing I was sick and tired of having nothing on the walls, I got busy hanging some stuff.  You saw a couple things I was working on here, and shockerrrrrr...they are still not hung.  But at least this blank sliver of wall went from this... 

To this!

And for those of you who don't follow me already {retroranchreno...follow me!}...here is a shot of the area, a la Instagram.  I just love how the fancy, intricate mirror looks next to the bold, modern pattern on our curtains.

It's SUCH a transformation, right?!?!  I'll give you a minute to catch your breath after all that excitement!

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Obviouslyyy, I'm kidding.  I know it's not a knock-your-socks-off transformation, but every little bit of decor makes our place feel more settled, and more like home.  Since I took these pictures, I've even hung two frames in that area, and bought some paint to slap up on the door.  Of course, I haven't gotten around to adding pictures to the frames or actually painting the door, but every little bit counts, right??  :)