Christmas decorations!

Since moving into the new apartment, the bare, white walls have been bugging me. I mean, really bugging me. I've been trying to come up with photos and frames and such to hang, but time and money have been a factor.

That's why I love Christmas! And I had so much fun decorating this year (even though I'm only getting around to posting about it just now).

This was super easy and took up a whole wall. We got a blank wreath at Hobby Lobby, on sale for half off. From the floral department we got these random sprigs of berries, pine cones, and apples, most for a dollar or two. We came home and twisted them into the wreath  and voila! Instant wall decor. Love it.

We also took advantage of Black Friday savings at Hallmark to get started with our own nativity set. I'm a big fan of the Willow Tree line so I was thrilled to find they make a nativity line. We started with just the basic package - Mary, Joseph, a shepherd, and a few animals - and we'll build it out each year with more animals, the wise men, etc. Hans hung a shelf (Bed Bath and Beyond with the 20% off coupon!) in our dining room and we stuck them on there. The track lighting in the dining room makes a nice little spot light on the beautiful scene.

Christmas to me says red, green, and white. I don't know how other people feel about blues and golds and purples. I'm all about the red and green. Crate and Barrel is my favorite interior decor store and they don't have sales too often. That's why I was THRILLED with their Cyber Monday sale. 20 percent off your entire purchase and free shipping if you spend $100 or more. Thanks to the brilliant Stephanie Hall, I ordered just over $100 worth of stuff and returned about half of it. Nice little loophole. I was able to get the gorgeous red vases, snowflake bowls, cute green and ribbon embroidered placemats, and some sweet snowflake soaps and hand towels for the guest room. The simple red table cloth, the reindeer mugs, and the polar bear plates all came from the Crate and Barrel outlet for a steal! (Can you tell I get a rush from bargain hunting?)

The center piece was really quick and easy and I love how shiny. The glass hurricane was a couple dollars at Marshalls and the red and white ornaments came in two packs from Hobby Lobby, both half off.

I picked up a few other Christmas knick knacks - the Snowwoman, jingle bell mistletoe, Joy! welcome mat, and Christmas weinie dog from Hobby Lobby and Marshalls - two of my favorites.


Annnnddd Welcome, Christmas.