I don’t know if it’s the Christmas blues or if it’s just my hormones finally settling into the fact that I’m not growing or nursing a child or what, but lately I’ve been feeling a little down. Is anyone there with me? I think it might be a little bit of everything to be perfectly honest. That overwhelmed feeling….the water is creeping up and sometimes I think I’m drowning feeling….that what-is-the-freak-wrong-with-me feeling….that I’m not good enough feeling. It’s real in my life. I’ve struggled with it before. And you long time friends know that.
So I have been proactively trying to keep busy and do what I can do and celebrate the flashes of awesome when they come. I know this sounds kinda pathetic but taking pictures of my house in the well cropped ‘pretty moments’ do make me feel like I did something right. Even if just outside the frame, there are piles of dirty laundry and half done projects. It does make me feel just a glimmer of hope better. Focus on the good, right? Well, these shelves are the good in my house right now….along with my kids and my sweet darling boyfriend. And if you are feeling blue, just remember that my house is falling apart around these photos….and LJ just told me that he ate a booger 🙂
Christmas shelves! I now have a plethora of shelves in my house….and I LOVE it. Some of them got a little sprucing for Christmas and it seriously brings me so much joy to see them in their fancied holiday wares. The ones next to the newly stone facade fireplace are especially fun because they are like brand new babies. So fresh and new to the world!
I feel like in this room, subtlety is my friend. Like I want it to be Christmasy but not in the traditional red and green sense. I just want flashes of holiday spirit….like with a fun gold-foiled print or a few pretty ornaments or a star sculpture.
This print I got last year from Minted and I had it in my kitchen but I felt like I needed that Be Merry reminder when I woke up in the morning. Sortof like a just like you need to eat and drink, you also NEED to be merry and Katie, you get to choose joy….kinda reminder. ya know?! (wood slice here and book ends here)
The little wooden tree I got from Home Goods….which by the way, we got a Home Goods. And when I say ‘we’ I mean the town three towns over….but it’s only 25 minutes away….so yeah, all of the cells in my body are pretty stoked. And I ordered the cute little polar bear from Target. The metal containers are from Hobby Lobby. They are cute right?! 50% off! And then I just filled them with fake greenery and some clippings from our holly trees.
The shelves downstairs in the living room got shooshed too. I replaced a couple items on each shelf with a little christmas item and the result is very festive.
Most of the stuff was already in my stash…I just use them in different combinations over the years in different places. Maybe one day I will find a combo that is too good to switch up, but I like see things evolve for each year.
My favorite has to be the little nutcrackers next to Jeremy’s hippo. Doesn’t it look like they are guarding him? It reminds me of the videos we watch with the kids about the Northern White Rhinos and their guards. Those videos make me cry y’all!
I also got a new gold reindeer from Target during a sale…it’s hanging out with my glass garland. I was too nervous to put the garland anywhere it might get broken so this was a fun alternative.
The other shelves also got holi-dazed. This glass container had some shells in it, which I replaced with red ornaments….so easy and so effective.
And the kids insisted that this little teddy bear with his Christmas sled be included 🙂
In the kitchen, I also have some shelves…..two sets actually! #shelfobsessed
It’s like a little gnome forest with bits of gold and our countdown calendar. Click here for the link on how to make your own!
The gnomes are actually from the garden section at Target and the star and green trees are also from Target. They usually don’t sell the same decor year after year so if you want some of these, now is the time 🙂
The triangle trees are a DIY I made last year with a friend. I did a whole video on them so check that out!
Top of my microwave was clean….put that under “christmas miracle”….so I put my favorite Christmas picture up there along with some festive tissues and my favorite candle scent.
And the shelves in my coffee bar area also got Christmasy with a new nativity (it was only $10!) and some bottle brush trees and a little Santa ringing his bell. That Santa is from Goodwill but I like that he seems like he is announcing the good news of Jesus’ birth. Come one and all! Jesus Christ is born!
So those are my shelves….all ready for the holidays. I have a bunch more Christmas stuff to share….you really haven’t seen anything yet 🙂 But for now, I hope that the pretty little moments cheered you up….I know they did for me. And check back today….I have another little post I’m getting ready for you! And I promise….I will try my best to perk up a little. Maybe a little Baileys in my coffee will help. I’m willing to try 🙂