Makely

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Deck the Halls and All That Jazz

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“Christmas is the time of year when you say to me, ‘How much do you love me? Now get up on that ladder and prove it’,” my husband said to me this weekend.

“Oh, that’s not true!” I replied. “But, you better get to climbing because we are losing daylight.”

Yes, I’ve become that person. Sue me.

Before we lived in our current home, I was happy with some simple white lights strung across the bushes in front of our house and a few trees in our front yard. I was a complete white light SNOB.

(This is where I’d show you those photos, but since I can’t find any, you’ll just have to imagine it. It was pretty, but simple.)

But then, I discovered this other house in our then neighborhood – the ‘Most Awesomest Christmas House in the World‘ house. It was G.O.R.G.E.O.U.S, and it was my intention to copy it as soon as we moved. At that time we weren’t even planning on moving, but I filed it away in my brain.

Fast forward a few years. Our new house was being build during the after-Christmas sales of 2007. I measured all of our windows (while there was little but windows and drywall) in the new house and rushed out to buy all of the necessary supplies. Tom knew that my plan would require him to climb all the way up to the second story windows of the house, but I’m pretty sure he didn’t think I would actually go through with it. I think his jaw just about hit the floor when the huge box of red, green, and white Christmas lights arrived at our door from Christmas Lights, Etc.

Oh, Buddy. It was ON!

It’s definitely a battle to get our decorations up each year. We just hang them up with some more of those 3M Command Adhesive hooks (they should pay me this time of year for all the plugging I’m dong for them!), some elaborate blue painter’s tape contraption, and a big long stick that Tom uses to just beat the garlands into place when he’s doing the high windows. I wish I had pictures of the process, but since I’m in charge of holding the ladder while Tom wacks at the windows, he didn’t want me to use the camera.

Silly, Tom! Doesn’t he know I have a very important blog? 🙂

Some of the garlands fell down the day after we put them up. I thought it was funny, but I found Tom sitting in the garage, rocking back and forth. I think he was trying not to cry. I’m sure our neighbors thought it was funny to see us out there on Day 2 with the big stick.

That’s okay. We’ll have the last laugh, because our house is the most beautiful in the neighborhood this time of year. Or, at least we think so. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, right?


Daytime

Evening
It’s even pretty from the inside looking out.
Do you have exterior holiday decorations? What do they look like? How do you hang them? Or do you just beat them in place with a long stick?
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I wanted to pass along a contest that I was just was emailed about. Balsam Hill is giving away a faux Colorado Mountain Spruce tree valued at $799. I’m always wary of these types of emails, but I checked it out and it’s for real (and it’s a beautiful pre-lit tree!). It’s definitely worth an entry, don’t ya think?

Plus, if you one of you win, I’ll win $500 for sending you their way. Gah! Oh, just think of the garlands I could buy!

Just kidding, Tom. 🙂

For the Love of Handmade

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As you guys know, I love to create. I love the hum of my sewing machine. I love to have my hands covered in paint, in glitter, and in Mod Podge.

Okay, I secretly love my hands covered in hot glue, too. It’s a sickness. I know.

My love of creating has led me down a few paths. Back before I had this blog, I ran a little handmade children’s clothing business. Poor Zack spent his younger years running around in cute little outfits with my camera stuck in his face.

That’s a handmade Jack and the Beanstalk hoodie.
It said “Fee! Fie! Foe! Fum!” on the back.
I’m still in love with that design.

Once Zack outgrew the cutesy clothes phase, I moved on to something else. Luckily, we had just moved into a new house, so I set my sights on decorating my home. I got pulled into the DIY/Home Dec blogger-thing one night when I was doing a Google search, and I’ve never looked back.

I know that there are many of you fantastic ladies out there who create beautiful decor for your home. I’m totally in awe of what you do and wish I could jump into your brains to figure out where you come up with some of these awesome ideas!

However, there are also many of you out there who simply do not have the free time or patience to do much creating for your home. I get it. Between dance class, soccer practice, homework, the grocery store, and not to mention your J.O.B., who has the time?

Well, have no fear. Lindsay to the rescue! At the urging of some of my friends, I have opened a shop on Etsy that features my handmade decorative items for the home.

I will be stocking my store with items that are particularly inspiring to me at that particular time. For instance, right now I am featuring holiday candles and tabletop Christmas trees. I have no idea what I may create to put in there in the next few weeks. There may even be times when it’s absolutely empty, because I’m lazy. Don’t judge.

I’m certainly not going to make it a habit of “pimping” Lindsay at Home on this blog. There is an Etsy widget over there in my side bar where you can always see new items I have listed if you are interested. I just wanted to mention it this one time because I’m so excited about it. I’ve been thinking about it for a very long time, and I finally convinced myself to pull the trigger and make it happen.

I hope you are having a fantastic weekend! I’ll be back on Monday with something fantastic for you. Oh, and Happy Birthday, Mom! 🙂