Y'all c'mon in...let me show you around!

Hello y'all!  I'm joining up with Kelly's Korner (Do y'all frequent her?  She's a breath of fresh air!) and Nesting Place's 2010 Christmas Tour of Homes.  It's so neat to be able to see homes from all over the United States without having to venture out into the cold!

Growing up, my mother decorated (and still does) over the course of about a week. I enjoy drawing out the design process, because it mimics my personal design philosophy, "Don't make it to look like you did it all in a day." In fact, I was still doing a little tweaking around the house tonight. This year I blended my traditional decor, with a little whimsical (and y'all, I'm NOT a whimsical person!) and pieces of the outdoors. After all, the best decorations are the ones you find outdoors.

The Outdoors


Nearly every home in Mountain Brook has a decorated mailbox.  I joined in on the fun this year and strung together juniper branches and magnolia.




I finally did it up right this year with the wreath.  I have always half-heartily displayed one that was the rear end of all my Christmas decor.  This fall, I found this "Joy" gem at the Tennessee Valley Fiddler's for only $17!  The rest was found at Garden Ridge (a very dangerous 3.5 miles from my house!)  Though I went out of my comfort zone and did the whimsical theme (I am very simple & fresh) it has become one of my favorite creations!



The Foyer



This year I took an old galvanized pail from our wedding decorations and filled it with fresh juniper, (that my mom and I nearly froze our tails off retrieving!) holly from our tree in our yard and magnolia leaves.



The staircase is pre-lit garland strung with my "re-purposed" tree ribbon from several years back.  I found the stockings for $2 a piece last year at World Market and the cones are from our wedding decor as well.  I filled those with fresh greenery from our yard as well.



The Living Room



Rather than putting away all my everyday treasures that adorn our mantel, I decided to leave them out and adorn them with pine garland with berries that I score at Hobby Lobby.






I grew up in a house with an artificial tree (mainly because everyone in my family was allergic to the real deal), but Chase and I always get a real Frasier Fir. Our living room has to be one of the best smelling rooms in our house!  I'm not the biggest fan of themed trees, but those that reflect nostalgia.
(Schnauzer not included in decor...he's a permanent fixture.  In this spot.  All day.  Rescue dog my tail!)

 The Kitchen


I strung together the gathered juniper branches with floral wire and created a swag above my kitchen sink.  I treated it to a few silver and white snowflakes, since that will probably be the biggest snow we see in Alabama.



Simple centerpieces of cranberry wreath and candle for the breakfast nook.

 The Dining Room


I continued this year using garland and silver berries to sit atop my china cabinet.




I added a little glitz to the garland using glittery reindeer from Garden Ridge.


Merry Christmas y'all!  Join me tomorrow for a quick season in review as I make my return to the Five Times Fast!

Three Christmases

Winston's expression says it all! I am exhausted! Christmas about took it OUT of me this year!

Growing up we went to only ONE set of grandparents house. Depending on which year it was, we'd travel to Alabama or Missouri! (Remember, I grew up in Kentucky!) I was slightly jealous of the kids at school that could easily travel across town to visit to either set of grandparents. Well...I'm taking my jealousy back! I finally got what I asked for...Chase's family (both sides) live 20 minutes away from my Alabama family. Yep, I finally got my taste of 3 family Christmases! It was purely joyful...but not even two cups of coffee could revive me by days end!

After Chase got off work on the 24th, we loaded up the Honda and headed to North Alabama to his parent's house in Decatur. From there we had Christmas Eve dinner with his dad's side...man that family can COOK!!

Christmas morning was enjoyed at my in-law's house. For the first time, I participated in Christmas morning festivities as a true Allen. Chase's family has a tradition passed through the ages...you don't come downstairs until mom plays sings, It Came Upon a Midnight Clear and you all walk down the steps together. This tradition started with Chase's grandmother nearly 90 years ago!!! What a tradition! Santa was very good to us at our first stop...the highlight was our new BIG GREEN EGG!!!!

Next stop....Chase's aunts for Christmas brunch with his mom's family! Again, this family can cook!

Nope, we're not done yet! We headed for our next destination 20 minutes north in Athens to my grandfather's house! We greeted my parents and sister and got to open our second Santa loot! Once again, he treated us well and decided we needed an ice cream maker (electric and hand cranked) to go with our new grill. (Really, I think our parents Santa's elves just want more homemade meals when they come to visit our house in Birmingham!) After our annual family swap, we headed to my aunt's house (which thankfully is only one block away) and we enjoyed Christmas dinner with my family and close friends. Now my aunt can cook....in fact, it was my favorite meal of the day!

Christmas was wonderful this year. I enjoy being surrounded by family and friends. It may sound cliche, but it's the truth. I hope yours was every bit as magical.

It's HIS birthday! Rejoice!

"And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." -Luke 2:9-14

Blessings to all my blog followers...Merry Christmas!

4th Annual Christmas Dinner

Have I mentioned that Chase and I have a wonderful circle of friends here in Birmingham? Most of our friends here were his fraternity brothers at the University of Alabama. Over the years, almost everyone has gotten married (and some even have families!) and we have become close friends. We are truly blessed with such wonderful (and quite comical) friends.

Every year we all get together the weekend before Christmas and have a Christmas dinner together. It's quite an orchestrated event to say the least. We take turns hosting between us and our friends Rod & Catherine. Everyone brings a dish, wine is poured...even their beloved housemother comes to join us! (God bless Miss C, none of us wives could have ever handled our husbands in college better than she could!) This year we were given a wonderful opportunity to share the Christmas Spirit with a family from the Middle East that converted from Islam to Christianity. We had a wonderful time shopping for their children and the parents as well as Christmas Angels.

More ramblings...

Want to see what other shenanigans I've been up to? Following up on a previous post, these are a few other cards I designed this Christmas Season for dear friends and family! Thank you all for your support!!!

I've been hiding out...

Think I've been avoiding you all? I'm sorry. I've been trapped behind my desk, taking no lunches and working at home on a new, exciting and draining work project. The reward? I'm off the rest of the week after this afternoon! Will you please come back later on (say tomorrow?) and I will fill you in on the Christmas happenings happening in and around the Allen house?

Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus....

...and he's a Bama fan!!!


Apparently Santa works a few Christmas miracles early. Not only did Bama win.....the 32-13, and we made Tim Tebow cry. (Santa, I didn't know you were a devoted reader!) I think he's is also working on bringing Mark Ingram a stiff armed trophy next week too...we'll find out! Apparently he knows we've been that good this year!

We're goin', goin', going', back to Cali, Cali, Cali...ROLL TIDE ROLL!

**Pictures courtesy of Chase....lucky boy got to go to the game!

Dear Santa,

Dear Santa,

I have an early request that needs to be filled urgently. You see, I sent my husband off to Atlanta this afternoon with his dad. They both have tickets to see the Crimson Tide play in the SEC Championship game against the Florida Gators. I know you're particularly fond of the Crimson and White color scheme....I've even heard you're a pretty big fan of the Tide.

Do you think you could find it in your heart to bring all us Tide fans a Christmas Miracle tomorrow afternoon for all the Tide fans? We would all be very gracious!!!

Thank you and Merry Christmas!

Sincerely,
Alice

P.S. We need someone to shut the media up about Tim Tebow as well. If you have time to pull a few strings, that would be appreciated too!

Christmas Decorations at the Allen House

As promised, I am sharing my Christmas decorations in my home with you all! I just got a new camera, a Canon EOS Rebel T1I. I'm a tad bit excited....if you can't tell by all the pictures I took! Enjoy! The Christmas Spirit is alive and well in the Allen House!