or less than that, if you're a quick reader!
Yes, folks, my sincere apologies as I'm starting my week off with a shameless shout out ...
Last week, a local magazine, Coastal Carolina Home & Lifestyle, did a big ol' spread on the homes that were on the "Christmas Tour of Homes" last year ... our humble abode being one of them. They included several pictures and an article for each house. *Thare* she is, in all her Christmas glory (feel free to click on pics to enlarge):
I love how the writer *outed* me right off the bat by referring to my self-prescribed "ADD" (Attention Decorating Disorder)! LOL.
It truly was an honor to have been asked to be part of the tour, as proceeds from the ticket sales benefited many organizations. (And, okay, to see your home in a magazine is pretty neat, too)!
And, speaking of Christmas ... I was really super flattered and humbled to have been hired by a local business, Marine Service Center, to decorate their store for Christmas. It's a super fun place (owned by a great couple, Mickey and Kayla Thompson) that sells all kinds of boats in every size you can imagine and other outdoor fun "toys." (If you're ever near Longs, SC, you should pay them a visit!)
While I don't have a picture of what it looked like last year, it was done in a nautical look with red, blue and gold ornaments. The owners wanted it to still coastal/nautical feel as it did last year, but to change it up a bit. Sooo, I traded out their gold ornaments for silver ... added more blue and red and white ornaments and hoped for the best:
To keep it not so "froo froo" (since mostly men frequent this store), I decided to add nautical rope and burlap as garland (adding the red ribbon for a fun pop of color). I carried that to the top, as well, by adding two large bows made from burlap, red ribbon and a white (with silver) ribbon. Too, considering that there are mounted deer heads all around (who watched my every move ... scary), I thought the brown burlap might tie in with the mounted creatures.
I wrapped the presents in coordinating blue background paper and chose burlap for the ribbon/bows, adding a snowflake on a few packages to tie in with the tree. I also added plain white boxes (with red ribbon) as well for contrast:
And, as for those mounted deer ... well, of course they needed some Christmas cheer, too! HowEVER, I've never come close (by choice) to a mounted deer head. It was a funny (no, make that pa-THETIC) sight to see me tossing the garland around their necks to form a wreath, praying every.step.of.the.way that: a) the deer head didn't fall on me; b) it didn't all of sudden yell "boo," sending me to the floor; or 10) I didn't have a panic attack. Seriously, folks, I was sweating! When it was time to add the Santa hats ... well, forget it! I couldn't do it ... I couldn't get *that* close. Thankfully, Kayla and her receptionist, Melissa, did that for me. I'm so ashamed!
After I was done, I decided to have some fun on the toys. I think I can get to Home Goods SUPER fast on either one of these! Watch out, here I come! Vrrrrrroooooommmm!
Well, I'm off to tackle more Christmas!
