Post-Christmas Decorating Wrap Up

My plan was to keep going with the Christmas decorating… To not rest until you all were weeping in a corner because my house was so much more Christmas-y than yours.

But I ran out of care.

So you are getting the photos I uploaded but did not use, jumbled into me answering random questions and telling you I love you.

Overall, I think I did a pretty good job with the blog-required Christmas extravaganza. (I base this on the possibility that if you do not celebrate Christmas, you may have been converted by the sheer volume of my holiday decor.)

But there are still things I did not show you.  And stuff I started, and did not finish… Maybe I will pick it back up next year, or maybe I will just light it on fire.

Some of the topics I did not get around to are:

• A side-by-side comparison of new glass glitter to somewhat-tarnished glass glitter. (I hope you can survive until next Christmas without knowing this important information.)
• How the sled turned out… Initially, I just threw some mercury glass ornaments in it until inspiration struck. (typing the phrase “inspiration struck,” in relation to a repurposed-sled-as-tabletop-vignette and involving mercury glass ornaments must be the MOST blogger-thing I have ever written. Part of me is ashamed, and wants to delete it, but I also feel that I should be forced to reflect.)
• Christmas tree hair, which I did not see until it was too late, but will definitely be happening next year.
• My mini-tree stand collection. (Technically, that is not actually a tree stand. It was probably the base to a coat rack or something.)

Also, I started making a mini-tree skirt out of the leftover duck cloth from the bow debacle. (Because what Pinterest REALLY needs is another tutorial for a tree skirt.)

But then I abandoned it in one of my piles and Elvis started sleeping on it… So it looks like what I really made was a holiday cat bed.

Plus, it was so ruffle-y that I just wanted to WEAR it… So for sure, next year Pinterest will be astounded by my 3-in-1 tutorial for a tree skirt/cat bed/holiday apron.

Now, questions:

The decorative (?) hole-in-the-wall/door-to-the-cat-powder-room (6th photo) is courtesy of the previous owner. It goes into the basement stairwell and is one of his many “creative” projects that did not in any way address any of the house’s actual issues and might be considered a bad idea. Similar to the marble dog bath in the basement.

Paul wanted to get rid of it… And I agreed that would be the “right” decision. However, as discussed, I love anything that is “special” for Elvis. Even if it is stupid.

I meant to decorate it with a tiny evergreen swag over the top and the battery-powered lights from the Halloween chandelier… I did not get around to it, but it is on the list for next year.

The source for the tufted ottoman and paint colors are here.

Now is the part where I tell you I love you:
I love you.

I hope your holidays were warm and full of family. And if the holidays were hard for you, I hope you survived with some shred of sanity.

I wish you the very best close to this year. Unless like me, you hate New Year’s.
I hate all endings anyway and I particularly hate that we celebrate the year being over.
I was not finished with this year.

I understand that theoretically it is important for society’s infrastructure to categorize time as a measurable quantity… But whoever invented the concept of years was an overachieving lunatic. Who can get anything done in 365 days? Not me.

I am still working on 2009.

The only redemption for New Year’s Eve is the requirement for wearing glitter/sparkle/clothing of questionable taste.

This year I will be exceeding my usual quota of obnoxiousness by testing out this glitter-stick-on-tattoo lipstick… The instructions say to not eat or drink anything while you are wearing it, so I will report back on how the intravenous-champagne goes. (This is why my blog is so much more important than other people’s blogs – who else is doing this kind of hard-hitting research?)

Of course, it is also possible that I will bail at the last minute. The odds of me actually leaving the house are about 50-50. Because:
A – I hate New Year’s.
B – why take a shower and leave your house if you do not HAVE to?
C – why would I spend New Year’s Eve without Elvis?