Preparing for the Holidays.

Wonderful World Print: Stoico Designs

There has been a lot going on at our house lately. I don't know why, but I always seem to take on a project right before the holidays. Last year, we moved into our new home two weeks before Christmas. I painted, cleaned, and set up an entire house in that amount of time- knowing that my family was coming for a long weekend. This year, I asked Ty if he would help me do a small kitchen make-over. Our lovely little home built in the 1970's has a lot of charm and character. That is in part why we chose it. A few things were updated but there were a lot of small projects that still needed to be done. The kitchen was one of them. Oak cabinets and floral wall paper dated the house. So…..here it is, a couple weeks before Christmas and we are painting cabinets, ordering appliances and scrambling to be done before the holidays.

I love Christmas time. It's one of my favorite holidays. I love to soak up all of the festive feel and holiday spirit. Usually, I'd be baking cookies with Scarlett, watching countless Christmas movies and sitting by the fire with wine. The last week has been nothing but work, painting, sleep.  Work, painting, sleep. Repeat. Ty and I have been staying up until midnight or so, painting and then going to work really early. It's been tiring but I know in the end, it will be worth it! Yes, I am one of those people who decorates before Thanksgiving. You can roll your eyes now. I just love the holidays so much that I want to maximize the amount of time that I get to enjoy my decor and the lovely feeling that I get around this time of year. Everyone is happier, kinder and more thoughtful. We still had our tree up by Thanksgiving and decorated the weekend after.

I always seem to take on more than I should around this time of year. I guess it's a great way to get a project finished.  My entire family is coming this weekend to celebrate Christmas. I cannot wait! We just finished painting our kitchen cabinets!  When I say just, I mean today ;) All of the paint/top coats and drying time have taken us triple the time we anticipated. Our house was in shambles and our new appliances have had quite a few issues. (One dented, one not fitting and all delayed delivery from the snow storm). I had plans to do a subway tile backsplash as well and paint the kitchen, however, we are finding that with any home improvement project, it is taking longer than expected and we will wait to do that until after the holidays. Even though we have been busy, we still took a few breathers. We had a pizza and game night with Scarlett. We introduced her to Memory which was a favorite of mine and seems to be hers as well.

We were all really sick here a couple of weeks ago and it delayed my usual early Christmas decorating and the start of the kitchen makeover. Now, as Scarlett tries to recover yet again from an illness, (curse you childcare) we face the same time crunch as last year. Finally, the cabinets are done, the Christmas lights sparkle while Scarlett watches a Christmas movie. I am in the kitchen waiting for my Make Ahead Mini Quiches to finish. (These are delicious & easy to heat up for guests in the morning.) Recipe  here. The scent of Christmas fir fills the air and I'm ready for our festive weekend to begin.

I am so looking forward to the holidays. I want to eat, drink and be merry. I want to watch National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (yes, I love the movie & it's the reason I added the song above;) and A Christmas Story 10 times. I want Christmas music to play throughout the house while a fire warms the fireplace and Christmas lights twinkle. I want family surrounding us and laughter filling my home. After all, it's the most wonderful time of the year.



Kitchen Photos To Follow…...