Holiday Recap

Happy New Year!

Rich and I had a wonderful Christmas and New Year!  

We were fortunate enough to be able to take time off work to relax, spend time with family and friends, and relax some more.

  Poor Christopher has been in a neck brace since 12/5.  The story of why he is wearing it is a long one, but basically boils down to a freak accident and a series of really unfortunate events.   Hopefully he will get it off next week!

All the grands with their grandparents on Christmas Eve.

  Everyone had fun putting together this puzzle of the Chattanooga skyline.  I failed to take a picture of it completed but it turned out really cute.  Great gift for Christmas Eve when everyone is hanging out visiting.

Christmas Day Breakfast table

Sticky buns...a must!

My favorite gift was the record player that Rich gave me.  

Don't be alarmed by the Michael Jackson record...I have been a fan since 6th grade! Ha

On New Year's Eve Rich and I rode up to Point Park on Lookout Mountain.

If you have never been to Point Park you must go.  We arrived around 10 when it opened and were finished walking the park by the time it started to get busy.  We then headed down to the "valley" for lunch.  This is a great little jaunt to take when you don't really have any plans.

The views

For New Year's Eve we went to half a party at The Chattanoogan...it was our first and last time...The most fun we had was outside the building on our walk home...

Photo tip: say CAT when posing for a picture and you will always look like you are having a great time...Rich is not doing it right.

On New Year's Day my mom cooked a wonderful lunch!  

Traditional New Year's lunch equals lots of money and luck for the the new year! We did not win the Powerball....

Christmas Home Tour

It is hard to believe that this is our second Christmas downtown.

It has been fun and challenging going from 3,000+ square feet down to 759!  I will save those details for another post.

Hope you enjoy the tour!

The living room is where we spend most of our time.  Our dogs Grizz and Greta love looking out the window.

This is the second year I have used this pre-lit tree I purchased after Christmas one year from Michael's.  It is great!  You will never be untangling lights again!

When we were packing and planning our move I was very selective in the furniture I decided to bring with us.  This hutch was a must!  

If you have limited dining space in your home I would highly suggest a drop leaf table.  Our table stays folded down for just the two of us but can easily accommodate eight if we are entertaining.

The kitchen.  

I painted the back splash with chalk paint back in the summer and really like how it turned out.

It's so fun to change up the drawings with the seasons.

View from the kitchen to the living room.  

I have a weird obsession with deer antlers...

The bathroom.

The master. 

 I will be doing some tweaking in here soon!

More antlers...if you have seen the first season of True Detective this should freak you out lol!

My vanity area.  My morning routine is very simple, but a must is a place to sit down and do my makeup.

Last but not least is our hallway/foyer.

This area quickly becomes a catch all if we are not prompt about putting away our things....

Hope you enjoyed the tour!  

I know I have enjoyed decorating our home for Christmas and can't wait to spend this holiday season with family and friends!

Thoughts For Thursday

I cannot believe it is already Thursday, and Thanksgiving is fast approaching!

While Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays...I have never been crazy about fall decor.  I put a few pumpkins and deer antlers out in August...I know--way early!  But since our condo is so small, the seasons and holidays are really my only outlets for changing decor.  So as soon as Halloween was over the grand illumination took place, and with that Christmas is now in full swing at the Allens!

This is not a very clear picture, but you get the idea.  Lots of lights and sparkle!  This is the second year I have used this pre-lit tree I bought on sale at Michaels.  I have had several artificial trees with like a thousand individual branches and this tree is like a miracle compared to those! You literally put the three sections together, fluff the branches, and plug her up!

We do not have cable at our house so I am super super super super excited that Netflix has added some new HGTV shows!  My faves are Fixer Upper and Genevieve Gorder's NYC Apartment Renovation!

Love Chip and Joanna!  They are such a fun couple who are not afraid to share their Christian faith!

I have loved Genevieve since Trading Spaces on TLC.

Those of you who are from Chattanooga know that the Choo Choo a historic landmark is getting a much needed facelift!  Part of the renovation is a new restaurant and oyster bar called STIR, scheduled to open on November 16th.  

Rich and I can't wait to try it out!

They have artisanal ice...Whatever that is.

Weekend Happenings

 This was a super fun and busy weekend!

Friday night we threw a surprise 30th birthday for Rich's sister Rebecca.  I did not take any good pictures :(  Rich snapped this one of the birthday girl enjoying some nachos from the kitchen of Jane Bryan!  YUM!

Saturday was the 13th annual Christmas Tea at our church.  It was a lot of fun and gave me a chance to use the Christmas dishes I bought on the World's Longest Yard Sale!  This year was the first year that I hosted a table, but I think it may become a tradition!

 

My centerpiece was inspired by this image from Pinterest.

I found these Mary Engelbreit notebooks at Michel's, which I gave as favors.

All of the other tables look great.  It was so fun to see everyone's Christmas China.  I could not help but think I got the best deal on mine...$20 for a 8 piece setting ;)

Grace and Jeanine who do all of the cooking for events at the church did a fabulous job on the food!  They also made a spiced cider that was so good!  I will be hunting them down to get the recipe!

Sunday afternoon Mom and I went to a Tour of Homes in Chickamauga, Georgia.  Our first stop was  Peggy's log cabin.

So WHIMSY!

Love this chicken feeder on her dining room table.

Love them!  Mom and Peggy have been friends for at least 25 years!  Peg was too cute in her elf costume, which she made!  She is so talented and creative!

I loved how she had her master bedroom decorated in cream and black with all of the paper ornaments.

This is a letter from Peggy's father to her mother that she had blown up at a copy shop.  I would love to do this.  It is so pretty and sentimental.

The master bathroom is beautiful.  Her husband Terry converted an antique buffet into a functional vanity.   

The next few pictures are from her craft room.  She thinks of the cutest most unique things!  When you leave her house you want to make a stop by Hobby Lobby and just start crafting.

As we were leaving we picked up a sprig of Mistletoe!  Too cute! 

I am sad to say that my camera died right after we left Peggy's.  But the other two homes on the tour were fabulous as well!  We so enjoyed getting to see how other people decorate and got some great ideas along the way!