Kitchen Updates, Chevron, Tree Reveal and Another Great Feature!

Happy Sunday barbies! Since hubby was in Texas yesterday visiting family and I went on a very fun shopping road trip with my mom and her bff, today is a day for catching up, cleaning up and hopefully finishing all of the Christmas trees at the BDH. Later today one of my best friends who is visiting from out of state is going to come by, which makes it a good day around here.

Before we dive into house projects today, I have to share some exciting news - the BDH was featured this week for our dining room table that hubby built - this time on the fabulous site KnockOffDecor.com ! Major thank you to Knock Off Decor for featuring hubby's handy work! My favorite part is that the author, Beckie, uses the word "woof" just like I do! Y'all go check out the article, which for now is at the top of the home page, but can forever be found here.

Also, I have to share my new little treasure for our kitchen - it's a geometric patterned, vintage black and cream tray that I picked up on my shopping adventure yesterday for... wait for it... $12!! I'm in love with it! I also picked up this cute chevron vase at Hobby Lobby (the nearest one is an hour away, but it was worth the drive! I used to have 3 Hobby Lobbies within 5 minutes of my house so I need to get my fix every now and then) for $7! I'm still waiting for my chevron fabric to come in the mail so I (or my mom) can sew me a chevron table runner. Will post pics when it's complete!

 Funny story about chevron by the way, my not so trend-savvy mom and dad were debating the meaning of the term chevron after being mystified by hearing me use it a few times yesterday, and my mom said to my dad "Did you know chevron isn't just a term for the gas station?" to which he replied in complete seriousness "yeah, it's also an oil company." They kill me!

Also, although its not Wednesday, I'm going to reveal my black and white Christmas tree because it's peaking into the photo, and because its a longtime fave. She's 7 ft tall, solid black with all white ornaments and a black and white damask bow as a topper. Her nickname is Black Beauty, which started as a joke but stuck, the way all bad temporary nicknames (including the Barbie Dream House) somehow manage to do.

I've also included a few shots of our black and cream / black and white kitchen so you can get a feel for the whole space (especially since we keep changing it!).

Oh, and last but not least, how positively ADORABLE are these Santa chair covers?! They're another treasure from our shopping trip yesterday, mom actually spotted them, and guess how much they were? $1 each! They're from the Dollar Tree of all places if you want to go pick some up.

Oh, and for those who keep messaging me, our kitchen granite is colonial gold granite / colonial cream granite (there doesn't seem to be a real difference between the two so the two terms are often used interchangeably).

Thanks for stopping by barbies. Be sure to check back in Wednesday, for our second installment of the Christmas Tree Reveal Mini Series! If you're keeping track, so far we've revealed 5 of the Christmas trees at the BDH, so we have at least 21 more to go! xox!

Christmas Tree Reveal Series & Featured!

Hello barbies! I hope you're all having fabulous weeks and enjoying the cooler weather. I have two exciting announcements for you lovely ladies:

First, the BDH Blog (and mostly hubby's amazing handy work on the custom dining room table he built from scratch for us) were featured on a very fabulous, notable blog: Savvy Southern Style ! We're so excited to have been featured on such an amazing blog - thank you so much Kim! It's an honor!

Second, the BDH is launching its first ever Reveal Series!

Beginning today, and continuing every Wednesday until the first week in December, we'll reveal a couple of the BDH's Christmas trees to help get you in the Christmas spirit and inspire you as you begin decorating your own beautiful homes for Christmas! As I wrote about last week in my Christmas Post, we have 26 Christmas trees that we put up each year (this year it might be 27 or 28 - I forgot about buying some last year after Christmas - whoops!). It's a little crazy, but a lot of fun.

We began putting them up this weekend, since it takes almost the full month of November to get them all up and decorated. As of now, we have 24 up, 22 with lights and 10 fully decorated/complete. We still have a long way to go, but getting them all standing  and "fluffed" as I like to say, is the hardest part, and we're mostly done with that at least. Enough with the jibber jabber, here are the first BDH Christmas tree reveals!

These photos were taken in our formal living room. These are matching 7 ft trees from Garden Ridge, just in different colors. The pink tree features mostly bow ornaments and pig ornaments (I love pigs!). It used to also have shoe and purse ornaments but I've broken those off into separate mini-trees now. I have a 4 ft tree with nothing but shoe ornaments (its going to be in my shoe closet this year!) and one with purse ornaments, featured later in this post.

This tree features iridescent ornaments in pastel colors and 6-8 inch fairies. It's a little cheesy, overly girly and a little juvenile, but I just had to do something in these colors. These photos really don't do it justice - I'll try to get better ones soon.

 

 

This mini tree on the left is my 4ft pink purse tree - most of the ornaments are purses!

In the back of the house in our new rustic, casual sunroom, I've started this tree for the first time. It's mountain themed, with moose, bear, squirrel, sleigh, antler, pine cone and sled ornaments and berry picks. The bows are done with the cutest burlap ribbon with reindeer painted on it that I snagged at Michael's last weekend. I decided to do this one in honor of our two mothers, who, despite being very different in most ways, both have special ties to the mountains. My mom went to college at Appalachian and thus has special ties to Boone, NC, and my mother-in-law grew up in the Adirondack mountains and has a summer house there.  I also assembled three rustic looking pole trees I already had around the base with a stuffed moose to complete the vibe. Shout out to my amazing mama who bought me several of these ornaments last weekend!

Lastly, here's a little preview to next Wednesday. These are some of my favorite ornaments from my dessert themed tree, which is 6.5ft, flocked (which makes it look like its covered in icing) and adorned with candy, ice cream, cupcake and donut ornaments! Check back in next Wednesday for this yummy tree and several others.

Thanks for reading barbies and again, a special thanks to Kim from Savvy Southern Style for the feature! Check back in every Wednesday for new Christmas tree reveals and be sure to pin what you like on pinterest!

Thanks barbies! xox!

A Barbie Halloween!

Hello Halloween Barbies!

I hope you all had a blast yesterday celebrating the holiday. We were so excited to spend our first Halloween at the BDH! I wore a Tooth Fairy costume and hubby went as a tooth, complete with a crown. Some of our best friends dropped in to see us as did several of our fab neighbors while trick-or-treating with their little ones. We made spider cupcakes (shown below in my Williams Sonoma spider cupcake holders courtesy of my mama) and pumpkin cookies with cream cheese icing. The cookies weren't very popular but the cupcakes went fast. I've included a couple of my favorite shots from last night below. I have so many absolutely adorable photos of our neighbors' kids, but hesitate to post them without the parents' permission. Take my word though, they were beyond presh.

 

 Here are our babies showing off their costumes. Aren't they cuties?

 Snacks (with a husband photo bomb):

 

With some of our favorite friends & my mama:

 

 With some of our favorite neighbors:

 

 Me in my tooth fairy costume:

Scout the cowboy taking a snooze:

 Apple cider:

Also, we've really started to notice this week how beautiful the trees are now that they're changing colors for fall. Here's a photo of the natural area across the street from our house with no filter. Aren't they gorgeous?

As a HUGE fan of chocolate and dressing up, I really enjoy Halloween, but this year was extra special because it was our first in the BDH and we got to see so many of our favorite people. I have to give Halloween its props, but I am BEYOND ECSTATIC that now, at least in our household, Christmas decorating can officially begin! As I wrote about in my latest post about my Christmas obsession, my 26 (or actually possibly 27 or 28 now - we found a few Christmas trees in storage yesterday that I didn't remember buying last year - whoops) Christmas trees take awhile to put up, so we typically start in early November to make sure we have them all up in time. This November we have a TON going on, plus we hardly had a Christmas last year due to the BDH not being done, so we're starting tomorrow! I'm so excited!!

Lastly, click this link if you're interested in reading about the family from Cypress, TX where hubby and I used to live that has helped inspire (read: exacerbate) my Christmas obsession. They founded the Christmas décor line Round Top Collection, which I absolutely love, but what's even better is how they fill their home with 12 amazing Christmas trees, most of which are professionally decorated and several of which are antiques. The entire house is absolutely breathtaking, especially the foyer which features a giant sled (see photo below courtesy of Fort Bend Lifestyle magazine)! Swoon. The best part is that they start decorating in mid-October, which makes me feel just a little less crazy. :)

 

As always, thanks for reading barbs! Stay tuned for Christmas tree pics!! xox

The Crazy Christmas Tree Lady

Hello Barbie dolls! I just checked my countdown app on my phone, and it's only 62 days until Christmas and ONLY 9 DAYS until my Christmas trees get to come out of storage!!! In case you're new to the blog, my biggest obsession in life is without a doubt Christmas. I have 26 Christmas trees, almost all of which are 6 or 7 ft and above, each with their own themes and color schemes. It's a little crazy. My friends have called me a Christmas tree hoarder and my dad thinks I need professional counseling because I love the holiday so much.

 

Our dessert/candy themed tree

Our first Christmas tree

Our Christmas photo from 2011 in front of the Dessert Tree

Here's a list of the themed trees we have: 

• A very wide 7ft green tree from my childhood with all red and gold ornaments, red and gold ribbon and mesh,
• 14 foot tall tree (also from my childhood) with solid red giant ornaments
• Peppermint Christmas tree (all ornaments are peppermint themed)
• Dessert tree 7ft (very colorful, features candy, ice cream, cupcake and lollipop ornaments)(this tree is flocked, which gives the look of being covered in frosting)
• Solid black 7ft tree with all white glittery ornaments (lovingly referred to as "Black Beauty")
• Solid white 7ft tree with all white glittery ornaments
• Frozen 7ft looking tree - solid white tree with all silver and light blue ornaments
• Spode tree - a small white tree with all blue and white china ornaments (matches our china)
• 5 pink trees - all with all pink ornaments (lipstick, shoes, purses, etc.)
• Peacock Christmas tree -green 6ft tree with all blue, green and purple ornaments
• Sentimental tree - 6 ft traditional green tree with ornaments from both of our childhoods
• Solid red 7ft tree with all lime green and polka dot ornaments
• Cardinal tree ("red bird tree") - solid green tree with cardinal ornaments (my late grandfather's favorite thing)
• Solid white 7 ft tree with all iridescent pink, green, purple and silver ornaments and several 8 inch collectible ceramic fairies and fabric butterflies
• University of Texas tree - 4 ft tall orange and white tree with UT ornaments for Ross's garage
• 6 ft green tree with nothing but glittery brown ornaments and brown bow
• 3 identical 6 ft green trees with nothing but gold glittery reindeer ornaments
• Mardi gras tree - 5 ft tree with mardi gras beads and masks and purple, green, gold ornaments
• New 11 ft very full green tree we got on sale last year. Not quite sure what to do with it yet. Thinking maybe brown or brown and gold.
• New 7 ft white tree, pre-lit with rainbow lights. Not sure what to do with it yet but I know it will be crazy!
• I don't include in the 26 our 2 matching 5 ft tall porch trees since I don't decorate them other than with bows and because they stay outdoor.

HOW THE PROBLEM GOT STARTED:
When hubby and I moved in together in late 2008, we had one Christmas tree. It was a gift from my parents - my childhood tree that they were no longer using. So special. I decorated it with only red and gold ornaments (with matching stockings, nearby wreath, tree skirt and wrapping paper - also all red and gold) and was pretty pleased with myself. The next year on Black Friday (my second favorite holiday because it has so many ties to Christmas... and it's the one day a year when shopping becomes a sport, thereby making me good at sports for that one day only) I bought a pink tree, found a tree in the attic of our rental home a couple days later and bought an all white tree some time in December, making 4 Christmas trees in 2009. The next year we had 8 Christmas trees and it kind of spiraled out of control from there. After you become known as the crazy Christmas tree lady, the trees really start coming to you.

The most insane part about all of it was that our rental house in Texas - our home for Christmas 2008 through Christmas 2011 - was 2,100 square feet. In other words, by the time we left, we had more than one Christmas tree per every 100 square feet! I don't know why my husband allows me to indulge my Christmas obsession, overcrowding our house with meticulously decorated fake plants, but he does and I'll forever be grateful to him for it. In fact, its one of my favorite things about him is that he just lets me be me, despite how crowded/ridiculous it makes things.

I always begin putting up my Christmas trees on November 1, simply because it takes so much time to get them all up (and of course I want to spend as much time with them as possible). We kinda skip Thanksgiving aside from having a meal with family on the day of, which makes me no less thankful for my many blessings... we just don't really decorate for it.

 

This is "Black Beauty," my solid black tree with all white ornaments jammed into our little apartment last year

 

 

WHY THIS YEAR IS SO SPECIAL:
This year's countdown to Christmas is SO SO SO much more special than in any other year, because last year we were very disappointed and surprised to realize that our house (which was supposed to be ready for move in by Thanksgiving) was not going to be ready in time for Christmas due to builder delays. I cried, cried, criiiiiied and cried some more. So we spent last Christmas in our 700 square foot apartment, where I was unable to put up the majority of my trees (I think I got 10 up between my office and apartment). It was so sad. But this year, not only will it be the first time I've seen many of my trees in two years, its also our first Christmas in our brand new dream house! On top of that, we FINALLY actually kinda/almost have enough space to justify 26 Christmas trees. We won't have them crammed in awkward spaces and on staircases - they'll all have their own perfect corners! I mean, look at some of the awful places we had to cram them last year:

My peacock tree next to our bed! lol

 

My peppermint tree crammed behind the kitchen table 

My red and lime polka dot tree in my office at work!

So this year it will be such a relief to have enough room for all of them, or at least more room for all of them (I'm not sure you can ever really have enough room for 26 Christmas trees). Out of my sheer excitement, I've already begun to develop a map of where I plan on putting them all using our floor plan (yes, I'm that crazy!). Of course, I made this map of the first floor tree plan (several trees will have to be on the second floor) in September and I've already come across a few aspects of it that won't work, especially now that we've redone our sunroom. As you can see, I'm toying with the idea of doing a crazy 5 tree cluster in the turret of the formal living room, although it might be too much.

I also need to restock on wrapping paper, which I insist on coordinating with each tree. Do you know how hard it is to find peacock wrapping paper?

Then, sometime in late November, we'll pose for our 2013 Christmas card photo, which is so much fun for me, especially since all of the trees are involved, but hubby absolutely hates. See?

Last year, our Christmas card photo was relegated to this, so I'm THRILLED to have a proper venue for photos this year.

So there's your little peak into my craziness. It's a little nuts, but so much fun! Stay tuned for pictures and updates after November 1st!