Tuesday Top Ten

It's not Letterman's Top Ten, but welcome to Ten on Tuesday!

Ten Fabulously Easy Holiday Decorating Tips

1. We'll start with one of my favorite holiday centerpieces ever! Find an inexpensive cut glass bowl or glass trifle dish (often already living in your kitchen or pantry) like this:


and fill it with glass/plastic ball ornaments like these:
2. Do you love holiday wall decals like these? Me too! Unfortunately, we'd rather not spend that kind of money on them. Check out Walmart, Target and your local grocery stores. I found some smaller Christmas themed decals for...are you ready for this?

$2.00 each!

3. If you're having guests for the holidays, try to put a bit of the holidays in every room. In our powder room, I have a square laurel wreath with a brown velvet ribbon. During the holidays, I put red berry picks in the wreath. Before our guest room was otherwise occupied with a certain preschooler, our holiday guests enjoyed small candle groupings and holiday potpourri on the bedside table.

4. Stock up on Command Strips and Hooks. Trust me on this one. It will make your holiday decorating SO much easier!

5. Decorating is much more fun if you set the mood. A nice cup of cocoa or glass of wine, along with some fabulous background music will really make for an enjoyable time. I'm partial to a nice sparkling moscato and one of these new Christmas music collections:


6. Let the kids help. When I was little, Diva Nana used to let Baby Brother and I make window decorations. We'd draw and color to our hearts' content, then she'd tape the snowmen, candy canes and Christmas trees in the front window. They may not have made the cut for Pottery Barn or Martha Stewart, but we loved them and loved that we got to help!

7. Take a bow. You'll be taking bows after you show off your incredible bow-making skills. Several years ago I happened to be in a Container Store where they were giving holiday bow-making classes. That fifteen minute class and some practice with wired ribbon has served me well over the years. Pre-made bows are pricey, and it's amazing how some sale ribbon can be transformed into beautiful bows for stairwells, mantles, gifts, wreaths and more! Check out your local Michael's or Hobby Lobby, or ask a florist friend for their secrets!

8. Go back in time. Have a hot air popcorn popper in the depths of your cabinets? Pull it out and make some popcorn garlands. Be sure to use a fairly fine needle and make LOTS of popcorn, so you've got enough to string, even if some breaks. If you're really ambitious, alternate with cranberries or even red beads.

9. Remember your outdoor friends. Make some popcorn bird feeders with pinecones, peanut butter and birdseed. Hang them with some red string and deck the outdoor halls!

10. Pick up an inexpensive solid color tablecloth for everyday use. Even if, like me, your china doesn't match and you tend to use paper napkins, and your cuisine is more Rachel Ray than Julia Child, everything is a bit more festive when served with a tablecloth!

Happy Decorating!

Music Monday

Christmas is coming.

Yes, I realize that in past years, I've berated the jump the gun retailers who start pushing Christmas the day after Halloween.

But I'm actually looking forward to decorating for Christmas this year. I can't explain it, but because I'm an event planner, I have to seize that Christmas spirit when it hits.

Case in point: Last year, we had maybe 30 ornaments on our tree. By the time we put it up, I was so DONE with holiday decorating, that I just couldn't handle one more colored light, candy cane or styrofoam cup bell ornament.

Things are gonna be different this year.

We may be setting a new family record for earliest Christmas decorating, but by Jove, we'll have some spirit! :)

Which leads me (in a strange, roundabout sort of way) to Music Monday. Growing up, my mom had four Christmas albums that made the rounds during the holidays. My Christmas music teeth were cut on the classics.

Johnny Mathis, Bing Crosby, Boots Randolph and Andy Williams.

So it's no surprise that one of my favorite Christmas movies EVER is "White Christmas" with Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney and Vera Ellen.

Love it.

Happy Early Decorating.

Sunday Selah

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. One of my favorite bloggers, Octamom (note that she is the ORIGINAL Octamom, not to be confused with the Octomom) has a weekly Sunday post she calls "Sunday Selah".

The word "selah" is a Hebrew word that is often translated as "stop and listen". Sunday morning is a perfect time for Selah, which is a beautiful sentiment in today's go-go-go society.

Selah can be music or words, a picture or a thought, a point to ponder. Stop and listen, all who have ears.

I tend to be hard on myself. I joke that it's my Catholic upbringing...the guilt that never really goes away. I've had a lot of folks try to remind me that God never intended us to continue to berate ourselves for past or perceived sin. It's a tough lesson for someone who tends to harbor perfectionist tendencies and think in black and white.

"But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?" They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.

But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"

"No one, sir," she said. "Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin." (John 8:1-11)

I've heard that story dozens of times. Usually I think "well of course I wouldn't treat another person like that". But how about myself? Why would I treat one of God's precious children like that?

A dear friend recently introduced me to a new song. And since I love to know the stories behind the songs, I found it. Story first, then song.

Selah.