Pre-Christmas party fun with friends.  Blaine (far right) has since shaved off his mustache! 🙂

I filled out front porch urns this year with fresh greens and dried grass from our neighbor’s pasture. Faux red berries are from Hobby Lobby.

My paper-whites bloomed early and got really leggy this year. Next year, I’m planning to try the alcohol/water method in order to get shorter stems.

On a whim, I started selling homemade divinity candy for the Christmas season. I enjoy making it and luckily people around my hometown enjoy buying it!

I also made and sold some delicious, buttery, dark chocolate brownies.

Jack got the stomach bug. Here we are at about 3am sleeping in his floor. I think he’d thrown up about 6 times that night. 🙁

Christmas Eve after candlelight church service, we hosted friends and family for appetizers and soup.

Mitchell (Jack’s cousin) and Jack! They both slept well on Christmas Eve after playing together all evening.

Our living room – after the party ended.

We flew to North Dakota to see my husband’s family after Christmas.

Here is Jack with his cousin, Carson, who lives in ND. They played well together! Wish we could see them more often.

As soon as we got home from ND, I packed away Christmas decor and started fluffing our den. Blaine’s grandmother from Georgia is coming to visit soon and the den can easily transform into a bedroom. (This way she won’t have to climb the stairs.) The couch makes a queen sized bed. I want to add more wall hangings in here – maybe the white brackets on the floor to the right of the trunk.

My $6 orchid from Home Depot is blooming again! I think it likes the bright light and warmth from the radiator in this room.

I just won this antique wool rug at auction on eBay. I plan to layer it in the den somehow.

I’m currently bidding on these Chinese porcelain plates too.

I’m selling our iron sconces in the hallway upstairs. Love them, but need one more (total five) to complete the lighting situation up there. And these aren’t made anymore. I’m selling four sconces for $380! (Half price!) Click this photo to take you to the listing.

Blaine recently completed our gutter installation, and connected the downspouts to drain pipes. Now, all of the water that drains off our roof is diverted far away from the house.

Inspired by Tessa’s family room, we’re planning to budget out some cash for bamboo blinds downstairs. We have these upstairs in all of our bedrooms and are very happy with them.