~Christmas decorating at the lake~

I've been busy decking the halls here at the Thompson house!

This is a long post, so you might want to grab a cup of coffee....

As you walk up to our front door, you see this beautiful wreath.

This was created just for me by a sweet girl named Emily at

a lasting first impression.

You can visit her website here.

I just love it.

She even added little fish and a moose to tie

in with the setting out here at the lake.

Her work is gorgeous, be sure to check out her website.

A lot of you have asked about my house numbers on the door.

I got them at a company called wonderful graffiti, but sadly, they have closed their doors.

If you still want the numbers, hopefully you can find them here.

When you walk through the front door you are taken into the kitchen.
I have set up a special spot for the kids this season to make their own hot cocoa and stay warm on these chilly days!

All the necessities are here.

Underneath the shelf with the mugs on it is a microwave.

They have mini marshmallows, candy canes, mugs, and of course, the hot cocoa.

{I must admit that I have been raiding the kids cocoa station!}

I can't remember where I found these tags, but aren't they cute?

Yum.

Moving onto the living room.

I kept things quite simple.

The kids got to decorate the tree this year

{pictures coming soon}

I filled a rusty cast iron urn with paper whites

and added some ribbon and Christmas ornaments.

I added some old books tied with twine and

mercury glass ornaments from Pottery Barn a few years back.

My favorite thing is this advent calendar I made a few nights ago.

I had a old frame laying around so I cut a piece of wood to fit the opening.

I painted it "slate" by Restoration Hardware, added cup hooks, some simple tags from the office supply store,

{which I embellished with number stickers and glitter}

and a variety of little ornaments.

The idea is to take an ornament off and place it on the tree every day in December.

I used a lot of vintage silver trays under my arrangements.

The fresh greenery smells amazing.

All this is on the table behind the couch.

There is a big rusty star above those 3 photos on the wall.

I added a bit of leopard print this year.

I already had a leopard print pillow on my couch.

I tied a bit of ribbon around the bases of the lamps to tie it all together.

On the coffee table I used a smaller vintage cast

iron urn to hold mini Christmas ornaments.

Again, placed on top of a silver tray.

I carried the leopard theme into the dining room on this tree.

I printed out these little tags courtesy of Emily at Jones Design Company.

This woman oozes talent,

if you haven't already seen her blog,

you must go!

I filled little burlap bags with fresh greenery and hung them from the branches.

The tree sits in a large black urn.

I simply added more burlap around the base of it and used

more of Emily's tags to wrap little gifts.

I decorated the dining shelves very simply too.

I love this glittery reindeer!

The framed art was a gift from a friend.

I have quite a few white poinsettias this year.

I hung a little ornament from the pot.

I placed vintage books in muted hues on

the shelf along with my collection of white ironstone.

I made this frame,

I love the pattern!

< On the table I simply placed more paperwhites

in this canvas tote, and topped it off with moss.

On one side of the dining room there is a littl niche that leads you to the stairway.

My friend Jen

posted this great printable image of silent night.

You can find it here.

I added some simple bay leaf garland from Pottery Barn

and couple of my favorite Christmas ornamnets.

I hope you enjoyed the little peak into our home.

Thank you for all the comments on my kitchen re-do.

I read all your comments and they mean the world to me!

Have a fabulous Sunday!

xoxo