Merry, merry

Christmas might be less than 15 days away (wait...what...I've only completed 1/4 of my shopping?? True story.), but when it came to decorating I didn't drag my feet. Want to hear another true story? I did it before Thanksgiving (cue the collective gasps!). I know, I know, but come on...Christmas was shoved down our throats by Halloween, it just felt right people.

I consider it an accomplishment that I got to things so quickly this year. Last year at this time I was still in a new mama, 'I got less than 4 hours of sleep last night' mode. The fact that I actually bought gifts or put ANY decorations up last year was nothing short of a miracle. And then I got the stomach flu on Christmas day. Yep, that happened.

I decided to go traditional & classic this year....golds, reds, rustic, vintage, etc. I really only decorate two rooms in the house--dining & living rooms. Aside from our bedrooms, they're the two rooms that we spend the most time in (and that our guests see too...obvs). I used to decorate one room more modern & in blue tones, the other more traditional. And frankly, that felt a little too chaotic for me this year. So gold, red, rustic & vintage it was!

 

 

(my mom made our stockings to go with the theme--bonus!)

 

 

 

 

(I have no clue how I've kept little hands away from this set up...it's as if she doesn't see it...a true Christmas miracle!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We even decorated the outside this year! Which is a total first. Unless of course you're counting the year we decorated the lawn with pre-lit reindeer...that stayed out until March. For the record, we've never once put them out again. That year was just too embarrassing. Again, another true story, folks. This girl don't lie.

 

 

(pay no mind to the old doormat...that I should have tossed)

 

And then there's the tree. Ah, the Christmas tree! I was fully expecting we'd have to put an electric fence around the thing. But by some miracle of all miracles, Emme seems to be completely clueless that we have a large, living tree in the middle of our living room. I kept ornaments minimal and up high, as to not entice little hands to touch. My mom gave Emme a little dog ornament that she placed on a low lying branch (obviously, grandparents think this sort of stuff is funny). Aside from the few times she's pointed to it, she generally stays away. I can't say this is going to happen again next year, but we've seemed to dodge a bullet so far this year. So far being the key phrase.

 

 

 

(the angelic cherub reading under the tree)

 

There's a bit of a method to my madness this year now that a little person is in the mix. You gotta decorate high, keep non-breakables down low, and there's got to be plenty of distractions for said little person...you know, to keep from reminding her that there are a lot of things that she shouldn't be touching (this also prevents parents from saying "no" 8,000 times a day). Like, stuffed santas (!!!) that are way more fun that that breakable santa mama put up on the mantle. No, no...that santa is noooo fun.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And oh my god, that playing piano Snoopy! This was my mom's and she didn't want it anymore. But we knew who would! It didn't take long for little fingers to figure out how to press the on/off button. I think she was a little confused by the music and movement at first. But this thing has become an endless source of entertainment (and distraction from the tree). To the point where she carries it around the house now. Oh well, you pick your battles. It could be worse, she could be carrying knives.

 

I've also kept a bunch of kid friendly Christmas toys in her playroom. Which, I know, I know...that post is coming soon. I've been finished with that room for ages! But anyway, a stuffed Santa Snoopy and other assorted Christmas toys keep her occupied too. The Little People Nativity set is a big hit as well (she plays with that daily). I've also left a stack of Christmas books on her little table. Which we've tried reading to her on several occasions and she pushes them away (for the record, there are like, 3 books out of the 800 we have that actually hold her interest....so no offense Christmas).

 

 

And just because I love sharing....behold! This year's visit to Santa...

 

 

Meh. Unimpressed.

 

And because everyone has already received their cards...Merry Christmas 2013 from the Keefe's!

 

I was planning to send out a card with a couple of pictures, and then found this one....so there you go, it's a Keefe family photo explosion! More of us to love this holiday season. We ordered our cards through Shutterfly as they were having a pretty amazefest sale around Thanksgiving (yep, ordered the cards then too!). I'm a huge fan of the Shutterfly/Tiny Prints/Wedding Paper Divas family and was *this* close to ordering a different card with Tiny Prints. But man, they knocked it out of the park with their cards this year (as always). For those of you who are still dragging your feet, get your holiday card on HERE!

 

And now it's time to get cracking on that shopping! Merry Christmas to me??

 

Backyard progress

My mom and the husband have been diligently working on the backyard (with a little help from me now & again...there's something to be said for being pregnant!) Our yard has been a bit of a process for the last 3 years (we've come a long way since our days of cultivating a weed garden, much to the horror of our neighbors).

Last summer, we decided to part ways with the ugly tree that sat behind our garage. Talk about a mess...we definitely don't miss that thing anymore! Remember how things looked before? Let's take a walk down memory lane, just for kicks...

And then the tree left us. Best. Day. Ever.

And then nothing happened...for a long time. The tree/landscaper dudes never came back to complete their work until December. Yep, December (thank goodness for our mild winter). So things sorta looked like this for a solid 4 or 5 months.

After the soil was delivered and sculpted (is that a technical landscaping term??), things sat idle for awhile. And then a ton of weeds showed up. We have a HUGE crab grass problem that spreads from our lovely neighbors in the back. And try as we might, that stuff comes back each and every year. So with that tackled (until it comes back next year) & some misc. things planted, we had made some huge progress....

 

(points to anyone who can find the dog in this picture!)

The husband digging holes in prep for our trees to be delivered...

 

The trees are delivered (holy hell, these suckers are big!). And then the el prego would sit around and bark orders for the next 30 minutes...ha (it's funny, but only to me...the husband and my mom were not as amused)!

See? He doesn't look amused here...



We couldn't find the dog for much of the day. He was taking a nap in the garage (smart doggie).

Then I moved him out into the sun. I had to keep myself busy while heavy trees were being planted!



After everything was planted, I helped mulch. It's my favorite (I'm not sure why), and my way of actually helping that day. Things are looking much better, huh?



Our grass is shot to hell & we can't figure out how to get it back to normal (the crab grass really does a number to it each spring). I've been busy tossing around grass seed like it's my job, so we'll see if that works. Until then, ignore the patchy grass & admire the new landscaping, okay? The tall bushes were our way of somewhat disguising the neighbors ugly yard. They've made improvements to the house over the last year, but the ugly backyard and ridiculous shed don't seem to be going anywhere anytime soon. The eventual goal is to put some pavers or a patio of some sort back here. We've got 4 big chairs back there now (shoot...never got a picture of that!), but I can tell you that we enjoyed this remodeled area all weekend!

And a view from the new landscaping, overlooking our garden (which is about 3 bags of mulch away from being finished!)...

The dog is enjoying his new surroundings too!

So now that the backyard is pretty much complete, we've shifted our focus back to the indoors. Since, yeah...we're t-minus 11 days from the home tour and I'm crapping my pants just thinking of all the things that need to be done before then! So you bet your behind I'll be posting progress pics over the course of the week (heck, at that rate you won't even need to go on the actual tour!). See you soon!

Don't sue me

That's what I typically tell people who dare to use our front steps...

Well that was embarrassing. I guess I never realized just how trashy these things looked...but I bet our neighbors did! Okay, so let's get to it. We're replacing the front steps! I know, you can hardly imagine why, but it's happening. I'm sure it's obvious, but there are so many things wrong with these things. For starters, they're rotting faster than an idle banana. Secondly, not one of these steps are the same height. I'm not sure who was hired to build them at the time, but nothing is up to code here (a detail I was kindly reminded of by every contractor who stopped by). Lastly, I'm a big fan of symmetry, so the solitary pink & teal iron railing is outta here. See ya!

If you successfully make it up the stairs without sustaining an injury...congrats! You've made it to the front door!

Evidently, the door mat blew away in a wind storm & left quite an imprint in its passing. And since no one uses the front door...this is the first I'm seeing this myself. Awesome. I had good intentions of removing the old storm door last summer, but then chickened out for whatever reason. But this year I'm doing it! I'm not sure if we'll replace the door right away, but for now I love the idea of being able to see the original door when you come up the soon-to-be new & improved steps.

Of course, removing the door means no more of this...

Nothing says welcome to our home like a good spear to the gut! Or we could always charge admission upon entry. Apparently, this piece of the door also serves as a stadium turnstyle.

And I'm fully aware that removing the door means no one will get to see my creative sign that directs guests to our side door...

Don't fall off the steps on your way back down!

But WAIT....there really are doorbells at the front door!

I kid you not, I had no clue these even existed until 2 weeks ago! Well, that only took 4 years. I suppose it's time to finish painting the entryway stairs...it looks like we'll be using the front door more often!

I'll be back soon with progress pictures! But until then...please use the side door/doorbells.