A Casual Christmas Gathering

A little casual get-together can be just that...

casual.

But, casual doesn't have to lack beauty, charm, warmth, or attention to detail.

It's knowing how to accomplish all of that with balance... as a host.

Here was a quickly put together party I had this week with my neighbors.

Just a few of us girls getting together to eat... drink... and be merry.

A friend help me with the foods. We kept it simple with just finger foods and an easy hearty appetizer of chili with cornbread. She came over 30 minutes early and cooked the cornbread and heated the chili in the kitchen while we finished setting things up.

I made some fudge last week and stored it in the fridge. It was quite simple to just arrange on a small white plate. It worked out lovely.
The small desserts I purchased at our grocery store {see... I was keeping it casual and low key}. Friends come for relationship... not necessarily for your home cooked desserts. Although, I do knock out some quite mean Chocolate Peppermint Cupcakes!

To keep things elegant and casual, I laid out all the drinks and glasses on the table. The festive glasses I found at 2 locations; a consignment store for one set and a thrift store for the other. I found them about a year apart and... THEY MATCH! Awesomeness!

I don't use these glasses all the time, but they are perfect for a festive red punch of fabulousness!

We asked each guest to only bring their favorite drink with them. And I knew we had ladies who liked, red wine, white wine, champagne, soda, water.... etc.... I just placed all styles of glasses out. This way, they had what they needed at their finger tips and they didn't need to ask or go searching around.

I used stackable cups with appetizer spoons for the chili. I also used the cups for the Chex Mix. Perfect!

I prefer to use real items and not plastic.
#1: It's cheaper.
#2: It's more elegant and special feeling.
#3: You can just throw everything in the sink and then into the dishwasher later. Easy Peasy!

Again for the simplicity of it all..... I purchased the sushi rolls, cheese and crackers for a cheese tray.

I did prepare the Candied Bacon about an hour before the party. It made the house smell like there was some yummy food awaiting the guests. It is simple, but lovely addition to the food. I have also used this on top of a salad.... FANTASTIC!

CANDIED BACON
1 package apple cured bacon
1 Tbsp of Southwest Chipotle Seasoning Blend {Mrs. Dash}
1/2 cup brown sugar

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line rimmed baking sheet with foil.
2. Arrange slices of bacon and top with seasoning and brown sugar.
3. Bake 20-25 minutes until carmalized and almost crunchy.
4. Cool and store at room temperature.

The Chex Mix I had made a day in advanced and stored it. 

The carrot and celery arrangement is my go-to arrangement. I prepare the veggies a day in advanced and then just simply and quickly arrange them with hummus in the little appetizer cups.

The mixed spiced nuts I made a huge batch around Thanksgiving and froze some to be used for the holidays. This previous preparation worked out great because the nuts still tasted wonderful!

And then as a simple, but lovely, take away gift.... I purchased some incredibly tasty chocolates and truffles from a quaint chocolate shop in the Bishop Arts District.

A little casual get-together can be just that...

casual.

But, casual doesn't have to lack beauty, charm, warmth, or attention to detail.

We had a lovely time together. I am really thankful for these girls! 

We are all different, but appreciate each other's differences. 

We are all kind and loving and know how to laugh and smile at our troubles and difficulties.

We know how to encourage one another with no words.

We also know how to eat, drink and BE MERRY!

We will be doing these casual get-togethers more often. 

Not only because they are fun... but, as a tribute to good friendships!

An Ecclectic and Funky Christmas Home Tour

I know many of you have been waiting on this post....

Waiting to see what our Christmas decorations are like this year.

And thanks to a very cold morning for us, I was able to be all cozy in a faux-fur blanket with my warm cup of coffee in my flannel snowman pajamas..... and write this post for y'all. 

So, yippeeee for cold and cozy days!

But, before we start this year's tour... if you want to check out last year's it's located here.

Now, onto how I decked our halls for Christmas.

This year I wanted to scale back the color drama and go for more shine, glitz and glamour. So, I opted to decorate with a lot of golds and silvers and use RED as an accent color. This is how it played out in our Double-Wide in the Sky.

THE FOYER
This is where it all starts.

I added the silver ornament wreath to the mirror and moved around some of my other decorative accents {like the foo dogs} to make way for my collection of Christmas Trees.  I really love the red sequence trees!

They are just so festive!

And I added my red paper weight to the collection on the foyer table. It too provides a festive punch!

I have the silver ornament wreaths on both sides of the entry door.
These simple elements make a grand impact when you enter our home.

MY OFFICE
Immediately to the left, as you enter, is my office. I haven't shared with you the updates to the office... but that AWESOME wallpaper is temporary/removable wallpaper. AWESOMENESS!

I am really making this space... MY OWN! 

I homeschool out of it, it is command central, I blog from here, and I work from here and volunteer from here..... it needs to be comfy, cozy, provide inspiration and be GLAMOROUS!

It's a beautiful place to be. So, I had to include Christmas decor in my little sanctuary {never thought I would think of a work space as a sanctuary... but, it has a door -- people --- I can shut my door whenever I want to! Awwww...... see.... sanctuary!}

THE MASTER BEDROOM
I hung silver ornament wreaths on the mirrors flanking our bed.

Simple, but yet, GLAMOROUS.

The accent pillow on the bed added the RED punch this space needed!

And of course, I had to add some nativity and "Noel" pieces throughout the room.

THE DINING ROOM AND KITCHEN

Speaking of "Noel" pieces.... I have several of them.

Here is a pillow on an Asian bamboo accent chair.

Gotta love ginger jars..... and they add the red punch... SO WELL!

We don't have a mantle in this home. So, we hang our stockings on this credenza which is purposed as a book case. I have a collection of Christmas trees on the top.

So glam and sparkly.

Plus, my little silver nativity piece. I love how contemporary it is.

Can't forget to wreath it up in the kitchen --- even on the refrigerator!

THE LIVING ROOM
Here is our tree this year {our tree from last year}... we went with a silver tinsel tree!

I am SO excited about this.... it is just WONDERFUL for our space.
I still have the festive - funky - faithful elements incorporated....

You can see here more on our Funky Christmas Tree Topper.

We added the teal mostly to this living space because of the teal on one of our main walls.
We wanted to keep the decor fluid to that which it is throughout most of the year.
The red was a fun and consistent new color punch throughout the home.

The tree looks SO lovely.
Especially at night.

It just sparkles 24-7!
I can't believe we waited so long to do the silver tree.... but, it is a BIG step when coming from a green artificial tree. It was somewhat of an adjustment when decorating it. But, it turned out well.... and I will be prepared next year for the decorating-know-how of said silver tinsel Christmas tree!

See how the red just makes a punch?
I actually spray painted this ginger jar red. That's what you do when you can't find something in the color you want.

Ginger Jar in Different Color + Gloss Red Apple Spray Paint = Perfection!

I added red crystal ornaments to the sconces that flank the TV. They look like they belong with the sconces. I love it!

I also have not updated the Living Room photos to show the new addition to our brown furniture pieces in the Living Room..... the second couch. It really adds a sense of space. It also provides such a cozy section for conversations with our guests. I am SO glad we added that piece. The space feels finished now.

Aren't these vintage brass deer just FANTASTIC?!
They are so elegant looking. I love how they are in such an exquisite pose.

I arranged some more of my Christmas Tree Collection on our Eileen Gray Side Table.
It's as if the pieces are art propped up on a pedestal.

LOVIN' it!

This is the view of most of our living space. It serves as kitchen, dining room, seating area, and living room. You can see more of the teal pops of color....
Red is such a FANTASTIC complement with the teal!

If you want to see how I decorated my son's room {including his tree}, you can check it out here. 

I truly hope you enjoyed our Double-Wide in the Sky Christmas Tour.

We have several get-togethers and parties planned for this space left yet this holiday season..... we will shower our guests with LOVE and FUN as we share the joy of Christmas with them! I hope you get showered with LOVE and FUN as well this Christmas!

Have an ECLECTIC and FUNKY CHRISTMAS!

Linking up for all the marvelous vignettes at our Double-Wide in the Sky to Southern Hospitality's Vignette Party, The Nesting Place and Thrifty Decor Chick:

Kiddo's Christmas Bedroom

I love that with each passing year, our kiddo becomes more and more excited about Christmas time.

Not only does he understand and appreciate the significance of what the season celebrates.... but, he is also enjoying all the festivities at a much fuller degree.

He brings up memories from past Christmases and he wants to engage in the old and new traditions to create more memories.

I love it!

I LOVE HIM!

And with all that love and some Christmas songs in the mix.... 

we DECKED HIS HALLS BEDROOM!

We had a grand time creating another Funky Christmas Tree Topper.

I utilized a lot of the sprigs from our tree last year. He was so thrilled to see how huge this made his tree. It is quite impressive. And the colors are just fantastic!

This year, when we went to put up his tree, we discovered that all but one strand of lights were burnt out. HOW frustrating! It was a prelit red tree and I didn't want to have to rewire it. I worked several hours on trying to find those stupid burnt out bulbs to replace. But, it was no use.

After much discussion and frustration.... we decided to order him a new one. Plus, we would be able to get a pencil tree that would free up more space. Kiddo got to choose the color and he went with bright blue! Or teal.... we LOVE it!

We fill his tree with ornaments that he has chosen through the years, or ones that have been lovingly given to him. We are starting to build many memories on his tree.... and like many of you have probably experienced, there is so much joy seeing their faces light up from memories of specific ornaments.

He loves Star Wars {all year long} and Nutcrackers at Christmas time.

And then, there is this..... his manger scene that he received his very first Christmas from his very first babysitter. Even though she is all grown up now.... she holds a very special place in our hearts. Kiddo has been placing it under his tree EVERY year since he was two. It's like his special job after all the decorating is accomplished. Very very special.

This year, he added all the snowflakes at the bottom of the tree to simulate a "snow scene"..... he added the Millennium Falcon to simulate ---- ???? --- I don't know. An out-of-this-world nativity scene?

He loves his bright blue tree!

And so do we. It is SO FESTIVE!

And when we found this matching nutcracker this year..... we just had to add it to our Christmas decor!

And he wanted wreaths to hang in his room.... so we did {seriously he's not that spoiled -- wink wink}.

But, this pillow says it all.....
Kiddo brings SO much JOY to our lives.

I love it!

I LOVE HIM!

And with all that love and some Christmas songs in the mix.... 

we DECKED HIS HALLS BEDROOM!

Linking up to Thrifty Decor Chick.