Holiday Traditions: Christmas Village

Merry Christmas Eve Eve! 

My family just settled in after dinner for some boiled peanuts, chocolate covered strawberries, Blue Bell, aaaaaand James Bond movies. 

So Katy settled in for some boiled peanuts, chocolate covered strawberries, Blue Bell, and my blog. Which will be shortly followed by my Christmas book. 

Last week I shared with you my "little North Pole" - as in, my Christmas decorations around my apartment - but today I wanted to share a little more about one of my favorite Christmas traditions. Last year I shared my tradition of holiday dishes, and this year I want to share behind the "heart" of my Christmas village. 

Which really is called the North Pole. 

<in the dark with lights on>

<with actual lights on>

So here's the thing about this village. I have been collecting this village since I was 13 years old. THIRTEEN. Most girls that age were focused on training bras and Lisa Frank stickers, but I was begging my mom for village pieces. 

I mean I might be part elf.

I wish I would have done this on all pieces, but on a lot of the pieces I actually included the date. This is the oldest one I could find...

Tilly's Tiny Cup Cafe - back in 2001. 

I grew up with my mom putting out her Charles Dickens village (the woman has like 30 pieces), and I always loved "playing" with it. I'm sure my mom loved me playing with her fragile porcelain pieces, but I loved moving the villagers around and having them "visit" all the various shops and houses. Tiny Tim was my favorite :) 

Then my sister (who was graduating from college) wanted to start her own village, too. And I remember thinking, "if I start my village now, I can have so many pieces by the time I'm older!" So my sister started the Snow Village (50s theme), and I started the North Pole (all the elves, reindeer, and Santa your heart could ever desire!). 

I would ask for a NP piece every year for Christmas, and often on my birthday. And I LOVED going into old little Christmas stores when we'd go on vacations and finding new pieces. This little village became my hobby. 

One of my favorites. Babes in Snowland!! Heehee - gets me every time. It's funny how much I remember about who gave me what. For instance, I remember back when my village was a mere 4ish pieces (my mom would always let me put it out at Christmas), and my dad came home from work one day with three peppermint "roads." Still one of my favorite accent pieces :)

Actually, a lot of my pieces look like this - with the date and who gave it to me. Now I'll always remember that my sweet Grandmama gave me "Custom Stitchers" when I was 15 (because all elves need a tailor of course...). 

The reindeer barn :) And don't worry - all reindeer are accounted for. I made sure before I purchased. 

I currently have a little over 20 pieces. My dad actually built me a new table this year over Thanksgiving, but it still wasn't big enough. Sadly though, my village might stop here. I've done some research on the Department 56 North Pole series now, and they've completely modernized all the pieces. 

So the pieces no longer have this "look." And quite frankly, I don't think they have the same charm. You can obviously find some pieces on ebay and such, so I may still grow it a bit, but it will never be the massive colony I once hoped (insert Jeff rejoicing here). 

This village just makes me happy. I love the colors, I love the detail that is put into each and every piece, and I love the fact that one of my pieces is a reindeer flight school that includes a reindeer "flying" in circles when you turn it on. This village brings out the kid in me. 

And it makes me think of the Santa Clause trilogy - which are by far some of my very favorite Christmas movies. #seriouslylovetimallen

It's also something I really hope my kids enjoy looking at and "playing" with. Just like I played with my mom's. :) 

And in the picture above you can see the flying reindeer! 

So yes, this village is filled with holiday memories for me. I love putting it out and looking at each and every piece. Yes, it gets a tad tedious, but it's oh-so special, just the same. 

I hope you are all having a WONDERFUL Christmas Eve Eve and that it continues through the weekend! I hope you have the merriest of Christmases, and I'll check back with you before the New Year :)

Until next time,

Katy

Christmas Cards 2016

Annual Christmas Cards! 

This is my SIXTH year to do Christmas cards. That's crazy to me. Most people start when they get married or have kids -- but I just really love my dog. 

We were supposed to take pictures last weekend, but my hair lady cut my bangs outrageously short. So then, we rescheduled for this weekend, not knowing (or paying attention to the fact) that the temperature had the intentions of dropping below freezing on the day we rescheduled. 

So THEN I considered just cancelling them altogether, but 1) Char pup is getting old, and I always love looking back on these pictures, and 2) this year I told Jeff that he could be in them (that may or may not be the only reason he proposed!) - and he was way too excited for there to be a cancellation. 

SO, we kindly asked our photographer (Lisa) to bundle up, we bundled up ourselves, and set out to take outdoor pictures.... in 25 degree weather. Bless. I have never so been so desperate for a pair of long undies. I have also never questioned my sanity more. 

Due to the fact that I just couldn't get my act together, I'm pretty sure I'm having a quarter-life crisis (that's a real thing, y'all), and it's December 20th - we sent out less than 20 cards between the two of us. So this year you all get a picture of a picture!! You lucky lucky dogs. 

And just like every year, or every year since I've started this blog, I post about the process and the outtakes. Because sometimes the outtakes are better than the ones that go on the card :)

And a huge shout out to this girl. We owe her for so many captured memories. This is the 4th year she's taken our card pictures, AND Jeff solicited her to hide in the bushes and capture our engagement. So we love her. We love her hard. And owe her a kidney. 

She also brought the wrong hat. She didn't intend to bring one with ears, but I'm oh so glad she did!

So, here's the thing. Before we went outside, I told Jeff he needed to be a constant. With the wind, my hair was going to be a variable, and Charlie is always a variable, so I told Jeff he just had to be a constant. And always look good. And y'all - out of 395 (yes) pictures, that sweet boy is smiling like a champ in about 370 of them. Lisa and I got quite the chuckle looking back through them. He was such a constant :)

 

....and Charlie was such a variable. 

We took pictures in the middle of a park, and while there weren't too many people out (a perk of frigid temps), the squirrels and rustling of leaves - so just overall NATURE proved to be quite distracting. 

And then he would often have an untimely yawn...

Or not understand that the blanket was supposed to go UNDER him...

And then you'd get head butted....

Or he'd just face backwards...

Require a mid-photo tummy rub....

Or make like BatDog and fly towards Lisa's camera.

So then we switched scenery, and this next spot proved to be quite distracting. Way too many things to watch. So this picture is a result of me telling Lisa to make a noise (you know, to get his attention), and Lisa starts CA-CAWING. Like...loudly. I lost it. I'm laughing now, too. That girl. 

And he still didn't look. 

So then Jeff just adapted. As most men do.  And most females don't.

I love this picture. I got some good lookin fellas in my life!

I posted this on instagram Sunday, but ever since Charlie was a puppy, I taught him to lick my face when I made kissing noises. So Jeff and I made kissy noises to see what he would do, and it may have resulted in my favorite picture ever.

We may have added a third party to the Christmas cards this year, but this sweet boy will NOT be squeezed out of his share of the spotlight!

Sun's out, tongue's out. 

And then we tried to kiss above him when he was laying down....

and got head butted. 

Yet again. 

Then Lisa just took the approach of feeding Char treats and getting artsy. Thou shalt never attempt to take pictures with a dog (or at least my dog) without a bag of treats readily on hand.

We adore him. Can you tell? :)

So those were the outtakes this year, and pretty much on par with the outtakes from last year and the year before that. But these three were my top favorites for the card!

Either way - posed or chaotic - I'm keeping all 395 pictures. Because I know that ten years down the road, when Char is no longer with us and Jeff and I are in who knows what stage of this crazy life, we're going to love looking back on the memories of this cold, cold day with just the three of us.

Okay, that's enough of that or I'm going to have tears in my coffee. 

SO - I'll end as I always do, with a little recap of years past:

2015

 

2014

2013

2012

2011

Yep - this is one of my favoritest posts of the year! 

And if you yourself are on the fence about Christmas Cards - you should do them. And if you're doing them and I'm not on your mailing list - I want to be. There is nothing I love more than a fridge covered with Christmas cheer! 

Speaking of cheer...

FIVE DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!

Until next time,
Katy

My Little North Pole

Hello!

And welcome to my little North Pole :)

I call it this because anyone who has lived with me, or has had the awesome opportunity to move me, knows that I have enough Christmas decorations for a 3-bedroom house. BUT - since this year I crammed all of those decorations into an 800 sq ft apartment, it highly resembles what I imagine the North Pole to look like. Or at least what it looks like on all those Christmas movies we watch. 

And I absolutely love it. I walk into my apartment every day and smile. Christmas decorations just make me happy. 

 

My little "stoop." And can I say that I never realized my door was green until I realized it completely went with my Christmas decor? Apartment complex win. Also, no apartment near me has anything different outside. They probably all make fun of me. But I don't quite care. 

 

My welcome sign I've told you about approximately 4 billion times now, and Rudy. Last year, Jeff made me go to Lowe's with him, and then I saw Rudy and carried him around like a 5 year old, so he bought him for me at check out. This is why I'm marrying him. He understands that stuffed animals still make me happy at almost-thirty :)

The view to the right when you first walk in! And see Char under/behind the tree on the far left? He loves to army crawl up under the tree and just hang out. My lil Christmas pup :)

My tree! My mom picked it out when I was in my first apartment five years ago, and so we had to go for the 7 ft. skinny version. But I love it just the same :) I have a baby blue couch, so my tree and living room are in blues/silvers, and then my kitchen is in the reds and greens. I love both color schemes. Don't make me choose.

I actually love the gold look too. I've already told Jeff I want at least 3 full sized "themed" trees when I "grow up." His response was: "is that what your mom does?" 

Why yes, yes it is. Smart boy, that one. :)

See? Well - bad lighting, but a light blue couch. And a silver/grey Noel pillow I got from the Hob Lob this year. Just an extra little twinkle for my couch. 

My North Pole Christmas Village. And I'm not just calling it the North Pole to support the theme of my blog - it's legitimately the Department 56 North Pole Series. Like all the villages are elf, reindeer, and Santa related. I'm sharing the special-ness (it's a word) behind this village next week, so I'll just leave it there for now!

Because I am one of those people that completely takes down all the "every day" decorations and replace them with Christmas decorations instead. 

The top of my bookcase! Jeff gave me the sign on the right last year in support of my 25 Days of Christmas I did last December. And his mom actually gave me the little guy on the left, so the top of my bookcase is sponsored by the Smith family. 

These little guys may look friendly, but don't be fooled. They are the keeper of the Hallmark channel. Their job is to ensure that the TV never changes to anything but channel 123 :)

The view to the left when you walk in. I don't have a fireplace, so my countertop is my make-shift mantle. And yes that's a large stuffed gingerbread girl. (I told you I love stuffed "animals" still). And yes, I realize that I need to get Jeff a stocking. I guess since it's official I can do that whole "order monogrammed ones off Etsy" thing. Next year, next year.

My friend Melissa gave me this little red cup Starbucks ornament :) I just love it. And it's blurry because it spins. Took me about 7 shots to actually get this one.

More counter mantle pics..

My kitchen table is usually covered with all of my Christmas Dishes (last year I told you about that special little tradition here), but since I haven't had a party yet, I just put out these dishes I got at the Dollar Store in college. They may not be fine china - but they still make my festive heart happy!

Around the corner and the first look into my kitchen. Helloooo Christmas apron! I got this apron in Canton a couple of years ago. It's monogrammed with what will be my maiden name initials, but if you just read the letters from right to left, they'll work for my married name too :)

White Christmas lyrics on top of the fridge. My dad and I watch White Christmas every single year, so these lyrics (and the Bing Crosby version of this song) just warm my heart. A sweet friend from Baylor painted this one for me :)

Stove top decorations, and as you can see in the oven reflection, Charlie was following me around wondering why I was taking pictures of every aspect of our home. I was also dangerously close to the treats (that are in the penguin cookie jar on the left). So that's his hopeful face. And knowing me, he got one. #suchapushover

Ahhhh! My new last name sign!! Remember when my sister and I went to Canton and got it? I was so excited to put it out! And personally, I think it looks quite fabulous. Also, since I decorated/took pictures for this post, my sister gave me another precious plate that says Merry Christmas from the Smiths, and it made me so excited!! I love our new little name. I mean, it's the most common last name in the world, but I still love it :)

I always fill the guy on the left with dark chocolate red and green M&Ms :)

My little Christmas coffee station! Now coffee in a Christmas mug? That's Katy in a nutshell. Or I guess it should be a chestnut shell...

And yes, those are three Christmas mugs (on the left) that are solely used for decor purposes. Why's that, you ask? ....

...because I'm pretty set in the Christmas mug area. We all know I have a mug obsession, and I basically have a Christmas mug for each regular mug. But quite frankly I don't intend to stop buying them. Just sayin. 

Christmas wine carriers make really cute door hangers :)

Okay, so moving into my bathroom...

I normally use this tree in my living room (since it's silver), but since there wasn't really room, I put it in my bathroom. My color scheme is purple/grey, so it worked out quite nicely. And now I have a little festivity while primping in the morning!

My sister actually got this tree (and the two red ones at the coffee station) for me 5 years ago. I was in my first apartment, was hosting my first Christmas party, and was working really late hours. So she went to the Hob Lob for me and bought me some decorations! Big sister for the win :)

Next up: MY SHOE TREE!!

I have been collecting shoe ornaments for...goodness, I don't even know how long. I'm guessing since college. I didn't have room (or time) for a large tree in college, so I had a small one that was decorated with shoe ornaments. And I've been adding shoes here and there ever since. This tree is also Katy in a chestnut shell. 

We have everything from ugg boots and rain boots...

...to zebra print "Louboutins" and a Texas Ranger heel! Amy also gave me that one :)

My shoe tree sits in my bedroom, so when I'm lying in bed at night, I have my shoe tree on my right and my living room tree right in front of me. It's like my own little winter wonderland :)

And finally, we wrap up with my desk area. A little woodsy theme, if you will...

And the perfect little greeting to end on for your Friday morning! 

Happy {almost} weekend everyone! If you need me, I'll be frantically shopping for Christmas gifts. Oh, and trying on wedding dresses. Cause ya know, all smart people try on dresses between Thanksgiving and Christmas - and in between bites of holiday treats. #yikes

Until next time,

Katy