Welcome to My Home
This year was the year the Concolor came down. I went out to the garden and chopped it to become the Christmas Tree. I had hoped that my friend would come and dig the tree to sell, but that did not occur. Getting too large for the front yard at twelve feet, it had to be removed.
My living room has nine foot ceilings, so I cut off the bottom three feet to design the mantel garland and door wreath.
Also, the boughs became part of my backyard wildlife photo studio that you will see in a post in January. I will show you how I created a place to photograph birds that looks a tad more natural than shooting them at the feeders, plus give you tips I learned.
The tree is simple this year because the Concolor is such a majestic tree. The long needles give it the look of Pine, yet the tree is very neatly pyramid in shape. I cannot get far enough back in my living room to show the full tree unless I move a lot of furniture, so this will have to do.
The mantel was also simply adorned with the same dried hydrangea that decorated the tree. I have seven hydrangea in the garden which to pick the dried flowers.
I like birds inside and outside.
This is Frosty below, a stray cat I took in from the bitter winter cold a number of years ago. You can see he is king of the Ethan Allen furniture. He has his own pillow!
Now to the Dining Room and the two artificial trees. They have Dollar Store poinsettia along with some of the natural ornaments on the real tree in the Living Room that coordinate the scheme.
Handmade Santa from a gourd.
The pretty centerpiece arrived today from my wonderful cousin, Pat in Pennsylvania. I am nor sure how it is possible, but she always matches to my decor perfectly. One year it was all lime green and gold, and what arrives, but a centerpiece of lime green and gold. The red this year is perfect, even the homey plaid ribbon.
Poinsettia ball ornaments.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all. Have a safe and healthy holiday season.
A beautiful tree. We have some similar ornaments, like angels made of flax fibers. However, we did not put up a tree this year – or buy presents. We are all going on a trip instead. Happy holidays!
Enjoy your trip and be safe! Have a Merry time.
Your tree and decorations are lovely. The Santa gourd is wonderful. Best wishes, and Merry Christmas!
I wish you a great holiday season. Maybe the bear can have one too!
Concolor is my favorite Christmas tree and yours is amazing…Donna your Christmas was a joy to see as it brought the me the beauty of the season… thank you and Merry Christmas!!
Concolor is a wonderful tree. It is holding up this year better than any other tree I have brought home from the farm. I feel bad having to chop it down, especially since it raised a robin family last summer. Merry Christmas to you too, Donna.
Merry Christmas Donna! I share your affinity for natural elements to make the home look festive for the holidays. Love all those birds!
Thanks Karin. I hope you and your family have a great holiday season. Did you have some feathered friends over for the holiday?
Your home looks so warm and inviting. Love the natural elements. Merry Christmas Donna!
It is a change every year. Some years there is glitz and glimmer, others is laid back with scrounging around the garden. The Concolor left a big void in the garden, so some plant moving is in order next Spring. I hope you have a wonderful and joyous holiday season Lee.
It all looks just beautiful, Donna. I especially love the Santa gourd and the wooden reindeer decoration. When I first moved into my house, I was thrilled to have a high ceiling in the lounge room. I bought a beautiful Christmas tree and lovely decorations, but then, just a couple of years later, I got the first of my two dogs, and the poor tree has been in storage ever since!
I know what you mean with pooches. I had two large white dogs myself and they loved Christmas. They would open their own presents and had a great day. Even their dinner was our dinner. They loved turkey and Prime Rib. Have a fun holiday season and give them a pet from me.
Your tree and mantle and all the decorations are lovely, Donna. You really know how to “deck the halls” for the holidays! Frosty looks pretty comfortable and contented, too. I’ll look forward to your tips about the natural wildlife studio. Merry Christmas!
Thank you, Beth. Frosty is king of the castle. He adopted us! He used to follow right aside of me and my Akita on our dog walks. Any cat with that much courage deserved a home.
dear donna, your home looks so warm and inviting – and the photos equally so. I enjoyed the visit, just as I know santa will.
Santa may not come after my poem last post. He does not take too kindly to dissing. Have a great holiday!
Donna, I love real tree on Holy days so I can imagine the wonderful smell you have in your living room. Nice design and decoration. Happy Christmas to you and your family!
Thank you. You and yours have a wonderful holiday too!
Love all your natural ornaments and your Santa gourd, amazing, you certainly know how to decorate your house! Have a wonderful Christmas and New Year.
Thank you Pauline. I wish you and your family a joyous holiday too. I need your link!!!!!
Donna
Merry Xmas and Happy New Year. What a nice set of photos. Your cat looks docile and not at all likely to pounce on your ornaments. Beautiful decorations. All the best to you and your family.
Thanks Victor. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your beautiful family too. The cat… well he toppled a tree his first year here. It was too inviting I guess, but it scared him into never doing it again. He found out quickly it was not the same as when it was outside and rooted.
Happy Christmas to you, Donna.
Right back at cha Mary. Have a great one.
Wow! Beautiful decorations and beautiful photos. The front of our house is done (maybe I should say decorated rather than done because Phil keeps adding things). We follow the old German custom and will put up our Christmas tree on Christmas Eve
You are lucky Phil does the outdoor decorating. I am German too, but our family always had it up early. Merry Christmas, Connie.
As always, you are a decorating genius. Not many people can get their tree from the front yard or use it twice for that matter—the ultimate in sustainability. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!
Have a great one Carolyn. I hope you and your family have a joyous Christmas. See you soon! I finally did some online ordering.
Merry Christmas to you, Donna! Your house looks wonderful and festive. All the best for the new year!
Thanks Jennifer. I pass along good wishes to you too. Have a great holiday season. I know it will be beautiful because I bet everything you do in your life is beautiful.
Lovely, warm home for the holidays! Merry Christmas to you and your family!
~Julie
Thanks Julie. I hope you and your young family have a loving Christmas season.
Lovely arrangements and pictures, thank you for sharing. Merry Christmas to you and your family.
I extend my best wishes to you and your family. Doggies too!
What a wonderful tree and decorations. Have a wonderful Christmas
Thank you and I hope you have a restful break, Helen. May your season be merry though.
Your house looks so festive, thank you for the pictures! Love the bird decoration and the gourd Santa
. I am looking forward to your tips on bird photography.
Thanks, Masha. Your warm weather has birds all the time. The tips are mainly for those of us that have to lure them here in winter. I hope you have a great holiday season. Merry Christmas!
Donna so many beautiful decorations,
wishing you a very Happy Christmas, Frances x
Thank you Frances. I wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
I wish I could come there to see it in person! What beautiful photos. My autistic son and I would have went crazy in your home looking at all the decorations! Thank you for sharing. Alesia
Thank you Alesia. I bet Luke loves the holiday. Lots of color and spirit in the air. Merry Christmas to your whole family.
Wonderful and WONDERFUL Pictures and Decorations !!! Merry Christmas to You and Family , Much Joy , Health and a Lots Of LOVE & LIGHT !! A Happy New Year , Much Succesc and Continue the Beautiful Work and Inspirational Posts !! LOVE IT .. Thank You !!!!
Thank you for coming. I wish you and yours a beautiful holiday.
Merry Christmas Donna. I hope mean ole Santa leaves a few presents under your beautiful tree this year.
Lucky Santa does not read GWGT. The gnomes are on the down low. Have a great holiday, Patty.
Merry Christmas to you and your family as well!
I wish you the same Les. I wish you much joy.
What beautiful decorations! I love all the natural looking ornaments. I hope you and your family have a wonderful Christmas and New Year’s!
Have the best Indie. Merry all around!
Beautiful Donna! Your home looks warm and inviting! The decor is fantastic!
Merry Christmas to you and your family!
Thank you twice Nicole. I wish you a very Merry Christmas and extend that to your family too.
Donna, best holiday wishes to you! And A Merry Christmas. Greggo.
Hoping the season brings you much joy!
Merry Christmas to you Donna. Your trees are always so beautiful, it’s a pleasure to see your photos. Frosty looks awful sweet on his pillow.
Thank you Marguerite. Frosty has his sweetness moments. He also killed my computer three years ago. I hope you and your family share a wonderful holiday season.
SO beautiful – all of it! Merry christmas
Thank you Rebecca. Merry, merry Christmas to you.
Merry Christmas, Donna! This post was like one of those tours of a celebrity’s home decorated for the holidays. Wait, you ARE a celebrity to your followers! Your decorations are beautiful. Thanks for the personal tour.
Sleigh bells ring, are you listening? Santa is on the way. Thanks for the kind words, John. Have a great holiday season.
Goodness, I thought we went all out for the holidays! Beautiful! Thank you for all your support this year, Donna, it is truly appreciated. Wishing you, and your family, a very Merry Christmas!
Thanks, Claire. Honestly, I did a lot less than in previous years, except last. Had I not cut the Concolor, a lot less would have happened this year as well. Thing are slowing down a bit, settling into gentler times. I wish that you and all your family, animals included, have a smashing holiday season.
Donna, your tree and Xmas decorations look wonderful!!! I wish you happy holidays !
Happy holidays to you too! Thanks much, Lula.
All your decorations look so lovely. I just don’t know how you get everything done! I hope you have a very Merry Christmas!
Holley, I hope Santa is kind to your family and the season brings you much joy. Santa loaned me the gnomes. He said, them being so small, were not doing their share. They did fine here as they picked all the hydrangea.
Merry Christmas
I loved each and every photo so festive this year we are having a BROWN CHRISTMAS with pretty things outside normally we travel by auto to DC or AZ or even VA Beach but we shall just be together with the dog and cat and go for a walk while dinner is in the oven tomorrow I am sure I will find something to capture on my camera
Enjoy your holiday
Eunice
Have a wonderful Christmas day, Eunice!
Wow, really gorgeous! I just love your nature-inspired holiday decorating. Love the browns (?) on the first tree.
Yes, they tree is in browns. Without pine cones too. I have hundreds of pine cones from the farm, but concolor have tiny ones so it did not seem appropriate.
Just beautiful. I just got pictures of my sister’s gold and brown Christmas decor in a modern style and am knocked out by the use of browns.
Oh, how beautiful! Merry Christmas!
Thank you and a blessed Christmas to you as well.
It looks like you’ve gone “all in” on the Christmas decorations… I love that! I’d love to spend Christmas in a setting like that, but the Flâneur Husband is not too keen on it, so he tolerates my 7½ foot tree and a couple of decorated boughs in the dining room, but little more.
I hope your Christmas is as lovely as your decorations!
I know you would have a beautiful tree. You have exquisite taste and do so much in such a beautiful way. Have a wonderful holiday season my blogging friend.
You’re too kind.
Also, However virtual it might be, I do love when somebody calls me “friend”. It is a great compliment in my perception, and I am honoured by it.
Seasons greetings Donna – I always look forward to seeing your Xmas decorations. I wasn’t expecting that tree though – it’s magnificent.
Thank you and season’s greetings to you. I was not expecting that tree either. I asked my friend at the tree farm two years ago to come and dig it for sale. He thought it was very well shaped and would bring a decent price for how tall and full it was. But he never found the time, and I decided not to find the time to do his work either.
So warm and inviting… a sweet haven from the storms. Love to bring nature inside. You have done it beautifully! Wishing you peace and love and joy! Merry (after) Christmas!
I do like nature indoors. It keeps a happy feel in the dark days of winter. I grow flowers indoors in the winter too. I hope you have a great holiday season. Happy New Year.
I’m loving hydrangea more and more. It’s beautiful outside in bloom, inside drying with color, brown in winter, and certainly stunning in your photos. Thank you! I enjoyed my Christmas visit to your blog!
Glad you came to visit. I like the dried hydrangea on the tree. I have used it in previous years too. Hope you have a great New Year.
Beautifully decorated Donna. Love it, feels very warm and inviting. I like the Santa gourd.