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VP Square opens March 1, 2018

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Simple Christmas or Simply Me

Minimal decorating for Christmas was on tap for 2017.  I planned to do a tree and nothing more.  Let's face it, getting the tree from the basement is a pretty big deal.  Getting ornaments from the third floor is another big deal and requires more than one trip as did the tree itself.  So that's what I did.

I settled on black and gold as the theme for my silver tree this year.

That included the wrapping for presents too.

My grandsons got pretty excited when they saw all the wrapped presents until they were reminded that Grandma wraps empty boxes.

I felt good having my decorating finished early but then I realized I should probably take the bright orange and yellow leaves off the front door and replace them with something more seasonal. No big deal.

Reflections are always a problem when trying to photograph this door.

I tried one last time.  This time I got the radiator inside the house, the storm door I'm holding open, the mail carrier and the house across the street.  It will have to do. When I went out to take this picture, I noticed that this spot of color seemed a little lonely,

so I tossed a pink pillow on the swing and wrapped a little garland across the back of the swing. I have several strands of pink outdoor lights, but...that's where I draw the line.  Dealing with extension cords and getting the plugs inside the house for power is a pain.

Since I put the tree up before Thanksgiving, I had ample time to get re-energized.  Before I realized it I was thinking about what I could do to the mantel in the dining room.  I started pulling out more things tucked in that over sized closet on the third floor.

Empty boxes are always an economical start.

Some of these I had saved from previous years.

This is a tree I found at a yard sale some years ago.  I added lights to it this year.

I can't even remember how long I have had these poinsetta plants but I use them somewhere every year.

I did buy something new this year.  The votive light on the left came in a set of six.  I couldn't pass up the 20% off sale at Gringo Jones.  By mentioning them here, I am also included in a $50 gift certificate drawing.  Seemed like a win either way to me.

So there we have it.  The mantel is looking festive for the holidays.

I couldn't resist a little computer enhanced shot and one more package to balance things out.  Oops, I forgot to light the tree!

Because the buffet is on the opposite side of the dining room I wanted to add a little color there too.
I ripped these beautiful poinsettias from a $5 wreath I bought at St. Vincent de Paul. Can't beat the price.  You can't really tell here, but the ribbon is gold with the perfect shade of pink....a Hobby Lobby find this year at 50% off.

Because I kept finding things in that 3rd floor closet I just kept adding.  I stuck these ornaments into stemmed candlesticks.

OK, good enough.  I'm finished.

Except, I had pulled out some curly, silver sparkled spears for the mantel and then decided against them.  So instead of returning them to the closet, I stuck them into an arrangement I had in the kitchen window.

Then I knew I needed to add a couple touches around the kitchen to balance things out.

There are those votive lights from Gringo Jones again.

That's it.  Enough for the kitchen.  But what about the back porch.  I'm on a corner and almost everyone uses the side entrance to the back porch.

  I got the bright idea to do something I have been wanting to do for a few years.

Here is how it turned out and here is the process in a separate post.

Getting this done created some momentum and rather than slam on the brakes abruptly, I thought it best to do a little something to the mantel in the foyer as a way of slowing down gradually.

I wasn't thinking of Christmas when I purchased these hydrangeas earlier this year at JoAnn Fabrics.  I just liked them and knew they would come in handy sometime.

I wanted to attach them to the mirror for a wreath like effect, but making that happen seemed like a struggle I was willing to forego.

I'm showing this just so you know I restrained myself in this room.

I usually do a little something outside but I was beginning to run out of steam.

This niche on the side of the garage door just took a few minutes.

But then I needed to pull some color around the corner so I added a wreath to the side door. Remember that wreath I abused by pulling off the pink poinsettias?  It didn't sell at my last garage sale even though it was priced at $1.  So, I pulled it back into use and doctored it up for the door.

There are so many opportunities to decorate the exterior of the house and I do have some ideas.  There are still 15 days until Christmas but I better devote some time to shopping and wrapping real gifts.

Maybe next year I'll start a little earlier.