I'll show you mine. Again.

So yeah. this was kind of the video I watched before dipping my toe in the holiday madness fuckery. Drew always has tons of great ideas and makes it all seem very simple. I should know better. Because you totally know that nothing looks as good as it looks when someone styles it for a video. But here we go.

This is as close to a xmas tree as I get. These are the boxes where I keep my sewing gear in. Somebody gave them to me years ago with assorted chocolates and pretzels. The green box is stuffed with 45s. The Swing records I got from the manfriend. They came from an estate sale and are actually pretty cool.

Everybody seems to style their fireplace for the holidays. I never use mine, so I decided to hang these stars there. I've had them for awhile because I got them at the As Is section in Ikea awhile ago. I was planning on using them as lamp shades and never did. The little heart garland thingy is from Ikea too. I'm gonna leave them there until February, because why not? Also, I'm plotting on getting some battery operated string lights and stuff them in the stars. Also, because why not?

Ah! I like this centerpiece. Everybody's got one of these. It should be in seven thousand homes and I don't care. All I did was go out and get some pine cones and put them here with some string lights. Literally, that's all I did. I think this centerpiece is my only nod to seasonal holidays. During the Fall, I usually put here gourds. They last forever. In the Summer, I'm going to put here my seashell collection.

I love sock monkeys. This little guy I've had for YEARS. He came in a little sock monkey mug that somebody gave me with gourmet chocolate. The dry flowers came from the garden. As in literally from the garden. The candle is from a set of four I've had for years. The box was an actual gift from a coworker from years ago. I just realized that I did not really had to buy a ton of stuff for this xmas madness project.

Ah, yes. These red flowers were part of a flower arrangement. I literally stuffed them here and put little lights around them. The candle was supposed to be red, but I like the smell of these. Vanilla is one of my fav scents. Also, I liked the idea of having the candle next to my mum's photo because why not. The box is where I keep stamps.

Yes, he's a leather daddy. Yes, he's a glass ornament. Yes, you could send me a real one as a xmas gift. No wrapping necessary because I'd wear him right away. 

This is the other side of the bookcase. The garland thingy is actually branches of an old xmas tree. The lights used to be in the kitchen but a whole section decided to stop working. I folded the string and put it here. The rubber ducky I got in a bar many years ago. The little guy in the red checkered shirt came from Alaska with me. The gnome? Ikea. Also, here's where I put the xmas cards I get. This year I've gotten around eight already. I sent out about a ten (I tend to only send cards to the people who sent me cards the previous year, natch). I sometimes send three or four right before xmas because I get some surprise late arrivals. I send non-denominational holiday greetings and they are kind of valid until next year because not all my friends are xtians. So there's that.

I tried to give you the whole guacamole here. It's a Panorama photo so it's a little distorted but you get the idea. There's red candles all over and I went nuts with the little fairy lights but I kind of like it. I spend a lot of time in this 'room', bingeing tv shows, listening to music and reading. The 'bar' is literally a sewing machine with a tray and bottles on top. With string lights added for effect. I'm so very into the whole string lights thing, honey...

Ah, yes. these little tin boxes happened to be upstairs. They came with cookies or something. I stole them and now they're sitting on that Lack table with another of those vanilla candles. I decided to put candles everywhere and I'm loving it. I may keep that going after the holidays.

If I remember well, this little guy came from Ikea. Something, something, xmas. More candles, this time this little votive. Also, I thought I had gotten it in the photo, but I did not and now is too late: the flowers in the vase have little straw ornaments, modeled after the little figure. I'm not Swedish but I you know I love Ikea and sustainable stuff. They're also strung on red thread. They are cute but I did not catch them in the picture and I'm too lazy to take another one now. 

So that's the holidayz Chez Sixpence. I kind of like the warm effect the candles and the red details and the string lights have. I may put all this in a box and just take out again next year. Who knew? I may not be as Grinch-y as I thought I was...

XOXO

P.S. now I'm going to need YOU, Constant Reader, to give us a tour of YOUR holiday madness. Tit for Tat, no?