A Cottage Christmas

I am honored to be part of the Christmas Tour of Homes this year with 25 dynamic and creative bloggers.

I love our house year round, but especially at Christmas.

Since 2003, our tradition is to take a family vacation at Christmas so there are no real trees in the house.

I bought this tree in 2003 and even after 14 years it looks fine adorned with a wooden bead garland I bought in 1987.

Our step back cupboard provides a nice background for the tree and the vintage look shopping cart is a fun container.

I've been purging and limiting my purchases due to the lack of space, but I couldn't pass up the cute wooden horse candlestick.

The dining room is my favorite room to decorate-

  the wall of windows,

the shelf above the windows,

and our new plate racks are all perfect spots for both old and new treasures.

The kitchen is Steve's domain, but I get free reign on the open shelves.

All my red and white dishes came out of the cupboard

to fill up the shelves and the few bits of jadeite I received as gifts last Christmas fit right in.

With a background of white, the living room is easy to decorate for Christmas.

All the "beachy" decor was moved to the bedroom and a few new pillows were added to the sofa.

Our home is Steve's art gallery so the paintings don't change (until they sell), but Christmas trees, greenery, sparkling ornaments and of course Christmas stockings make the mantel festive.

I looked for a Charlie Brown tree for over a month and finally found just what I was looking for.

I had fun decorating these shelves in the living room

and it smells so good in this corner with all the different scents of the candles.

The old typewriter is one of my favorite items to decorate seasonally and this tall candlestick might be a new favorite decor piece.

The guest room is decorated 

and ready for this little guy who's coming with his mommy today.

 Andy won't even notice the decorations in this room,

but next year I bet he will want to play with all the pixies

which gives me an excuse to keep adding to my collection of Maileg toys.

Yes, I have a bit of a problem - I blame my Scandinavian roots (grandma was born in Norway) that draw me to all the pixies.

The bedroom has a nautical theme going on because my sweet daughter-in-law recently bought me fun pillows.

 I popped a mini tree with shells and starfish into an old beach bucket.

My sister has the magic touch for gifts - Neptune Santa was a gift the year we moved into our beach cottage.

Stop by again on Friday to see my "Christmas Outside" post as part of the Cozy at Christmas blog tour.

And now, on to the rest of the Christmas Tour of Homes.

MONDAY

Deeply Southern Home ... Noting Grace ... 
The Red Painted Cottage ... 
Poofing the Pillows ... Love Create Celebrate 

TUESDAY

Simple Nature Decor ... Houseologie ... 
At Home With Jemma ...
 Paint Yourself a Smile ... County Road 407 

WEDNESDAY

Celebrate Creativity ...  Celebrate and Decorate ... All Things Renee ... Nourish and Nestle

THURSDAY

Savvy Apron ...  Hey Fitzy ...  Camelot Art Creations ... Weekend Crafts ... A Home To Grow Old In

FRIDAY

The Summery Umbrella ... Love Your Abode ...  Twelve on Main ... Bluesky at Home ... Sweet Parrish Place ... The Aspiring Home