French Vintage Friday – A Taste Of Christmas In July

Psstttt….do you have a minute?

Set down your sunglasses and wipe the perspiration from your forehead…..

Maybe you better throw some ice into that coffee. After all, this isn’t December.

Yet.

What with all the Christmas in July pictures floating around the World Wide Web, Emily and I thought what a fun idea to share some pics from our homes all styled for Christmas LAST year and share some of the ideas we have of what we would like to do THIS year!

Sound like a plan?

Oh good…..

Remember this view? This was before Aurora. I did the best I could styling a bookcase almost like a hutch because I needed more storage than my kitchen cabinets could afford for things like Ironstone and the like…..also who wants to hide those things behind closed doors anyways?

I’m SO looking forward to dressing up Aurora for Christmas this year. The possibilities are endless and I honestly think it might be the first thing I tackle when I start “decking the halls”

This was the second year I put greenery in my dining room chandelier but I liked this drapey vine like greenery much better than the stiff evergreen garland I used in 2019. I will definitely be festooning my chandelier again this year but, like always, will change up a few things about how its styled.

I never do the exact same thing twice.

Possibly my most favorite thing about Christmas 2020 was the white tree I found while thrifting that stuck with me and ended up in my shopping cart almost as if by magic.

I have always adored vintage Christmas ornaments but have not collected more than a few so far partly because I didn’t have a tree to display them on. I always envisioned a sort of vintage style feather tree but hadn’t ever found one that didn’t break the bank.

When I saw this one it wasn’t at all what I had had in mind but sometimes that’s just how things work. It struck me that it would work very well to display vintage ornaments with its sparse branches and little clumps of white berries. Plus it was a pre-lit and with any luck the lights would still work (you never know when you are buying something used) and it would save me SO much time and effort.

The best thing is that now with my “new” tree, I can really seriously start collecting vintage Christmas ornaments.

One of the best memories of blog posts from Christmas 2020 was when a group of friends got together and we all showed gift wrapping ideas.

Much as I love my kids, I think a person tends to give up some of the fancy touches they might have added to things before kids. I know I have. I went from taking a lot of time wrapping gifts and making them look like works of art, to slapping some bargain paper on oddly shaped packages because I knew it was going to get torn off in seconds without a second glance at the wrappings.

Except…..

I enjoy wrapping pretty presents and the pretty preparation for this blog post reminded me of that!

This year I plan to get much more creative and intentional with my gift wrapping.

I tried really hard to go the extra mile at adding “cozy” to my living room last Christmas. Having a fireplace and a mantel automatically creates ambiance in a space but I added more pillows, some homemade vintage inspired stockings and some cozy throws.

Vintage prints adorned my mantel and added that special touch to the simple neutral colors I was drawn to that year.

I’ll be honest, I think my days of lots of traditional reds and greens at Christmas are over.

Maybe for good.

Year after year I crave the simple touches. Natural elements like greenery and pinecones and ribbons and candles.

Neutral colors like greens and whites and wood…..with just a touch of color splashed here and there.

I had so much fun creating some lovely ornaments from cheap plastic ones….an idea I “stole” from my best friend Emily over at Le Cultivateur. When I saw her Anthropologie inspired ornaments I knew I had to make some for my home and I did.

I definitely think a few more, in various other colors, will find their way into my home this Christmas.

This Nativity is one of the first things that comes out each year when I start decorating for Christmas. The kids pester and fuss until I locate where I have stashed the box and they insist on setting it up all on their own with no assistance from me.

It’s tough not re-positioning something here or there or adding little touches. That’s what I do.

But I resist the urge and let them have their fun.

I know it will be the first thing that gets put up again this year!

Christmas 2020 saw my kitchen the most simplistic it has ever been. Perhaps it was a good thing that I didn’t have nearly as much of the style of simple and neutral decor as I would have liked. It prevented me from filling things up as much and forced me to keep things cleaner and neater. Especially above my cabinets.

I still managed to add some fresh neutral touches here and there….

Especially in my open cabinet.

I liked the simple garland I made and hung over my open cabinet SO MUCH, that I definitely plan to throw some more of those together to string up in other places this year.

Our “memory tree“, as I like to call it, always gets set up in the living room and the kids enjoy putting all their special memory ornaments on it each year. Every year they all get a new one that reminds them of a special memory from that year or means something to them. This tree isn’t about being magazine worthy – it’s all about the kids and our memories.

This tree will be loaded up with even more ornaments this year and while it may find random locations around my living room, it will always be displayed in the busiest room of our main floor.

Every space gets some Christmas touches from my laundry nook to my powder room.

This year I’m going to add Christmas decor to my master bathroom and my master bedroom which I’ve neglected dreadfully so far. The kids rooms always get Christmas decor but I don’t usually add it to my Christmas tour because their rooms are not only small and hard to photograph – they’re usually kind of messy!

I promise I’m going to get them whipped into shape so I can show you the kids rooms all done up for Christmas as well!

This was my favorite tablescape last year and was completely inspired by the rusty little jingle bell tree ornaments I have on the plates. I liked those so much I want to get more this year if I can find some for a good price.

It really set the mood for an old time, simple, rustic country Christmas with all the cozy feels. I love the tiny dash of red in the napkins and the faux cranberries I put in with some real daisies.

I hope to be setting many more Christmas tablescapes this year and actually getting to gather people around the table for a change, other than just family. I want to fill my dining room with good food and good memories.

A final plan for this year is to start putting my decor out a little sooner so I can do it a little bit slower and more intentionally and not feel rushed. I say that most years but maybe this year I will actually follow through?

Emily’s Inspirational Plans

Wanna know someone that inspires me not only every year for Christmas decor, but pretty much every day? That would be my best friend Emily. It doesn’t matter what season or what room she styles, her home always has just the right amount of cozy charm that draws me in every time. Click on the photo below and you won’t be disappointed!

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