My Holiday Home

Happy Monday, and welcome to the third stop on The Blended Blog's holiday home tour.  I live in the Pacific Northwest, just north of Seattle.  And though it seems like we should get buckets of snow, the constant weather battle between the mountains and the Puget Sound keeps us fairly mild.  This winter is shaping up to be cold and wet though, so there may be more days like this one!

Last year I shared some of my favorite Christmas decorations, so today I'm highlighting a few new things, and some oldies but goodies.

This room is my favorite during the holidays.  It's warm and cozy, and I love to sit on the couch, enjoying the twinkling lights, with a good book.  This is where we open presents on Christmas morning, and Santa always leaves a few special gifts under the tree.

On last year's tour, I mentioned our missing baby Jesus, who was eventually found in my husband's sock drawer. And there's another mystery.  If you look closely at the bookshelf below, on the left of the fifth shelf down, you'll see that we only have two wise men.  They belonged to my mother in law, who received them as a wedding gift over sixty years ago.  After she passed, and we were cleaning out her home, we found that the third wise man was gone. So we have gold and myrrh, but no frankincense!

I think the room is even prettier at night.

This quilt was a special gift from my grandmother, and it stays on this chair year round.

My father loved penguins, and had quite a collection.  His favorite was "Algonquin", a carved wooden fellow that stood in the front yard, and wore a santa hat during the holidays.  When I look at this pillow, it reminds me of dad and Algonquin.

I've been collecting Lenox Christmas china since we got married, and try to add one new piece each year.

This is my favorite new ornament, purchased at the Louvre when we were in Paris.

The second tree lights up our family room.  I was worried that the puppy would find it a little too interesting, but he hasn't seemed to notice.  I think he's just biding his time, waiting for the right moment to find out how all the ornaments taste.

I redid the mantel in this room, adding a wreath and some greenery.

Thank you so much for stopping by to visit.  Hop over to Andrea's house next - I'm sure it will be lovely!  And come back tomorrow for our third progressive dinner, featuring easy recipes to make the week after Christmas, when we're all worn out!