Christmas Decorating 3. Thank you Patti and Jon!

Look what arrived at our house today:
I love these sorts of things. Patti has a wonderful hand at this. I like it so much that it's going to stay on the dining room table until, oh, spring, at least.

And Owen, of course, loved the circles.

Christmas Decorating. 2. Tree and Lamppost

And here is what I did with the lamppost in our front yard. Not much, but I think it helps.

The Christening of the Fireplace

After having the fireplace and chimney inspected a few weeks ago, we had our first burn last weekend. My dad, visiting with my mom in honor of Owen's birthday, was there to help us through the process.
It worked well, and Dad managed to mostly burn through two big pieces of petrified wood that were left by the previous owners. However, using the fireplace makes the whole house smoky-smelling, for, like, days. And since I associate the smell of smoke with morning sickness and smog chamber experiments at a previous university, we have a problem (well, I have a problem). I hope that there is some leak-fixit that can be done to the chimney. Another item on our long list of projects.

But it was quite cozy, as you can see from my view, sitting in the rocking chair next the fireplace.

Christmas Decorating. 1. The Fire Place Mantel

I snipped evergreen limbs from the yard, threw them on the mantel, added candles and some fake plastic fruit. I can't tell if it looks like cozy ensemble or a mess, but it's festive.

I also had placed our stockings on the mantel, via heavy iron stocking holders. There were there long enough for O to show me that he is just tall enough to grab the stocking, but not long enough for the logical conclusion to stocking grabbing to occur (that is, pulling down the stocking, carrying the cast iron holder with it, and crashing onto his head).

I'm perplexed with how to accessorize this part of our living room. The fireplace looks unbalanced to me. Starting at the top, the ceiling comes to a point on the right side of the center line of the fireplace. And then the left side of the fireplace is bricked, but the right side is sheetrock. And then there's the hearth; it extends on the right, but not on the left. Plus, I have a scale problem with many of the accessories I have, as in, they were purchased for decorating small apartments of our grad school years.

So, when I try to accessorize this area in a traditional way, it just looks weird and even more unbalanced. I need to embrace the asymmetry, but I'm out of ideas.

Two-year old in the house

(Those are supposed to be circles, which is his very favorite thing in the whole world. They became blobs, unfortunately; poor icing technique on my part.)
But really, it would have been simpler to give him a can of chocolate frosting.

Be gone, "Lettuce Alone"

This week, J and I learned what people working an academic schedule do when classes are not in session and they think they have free time the night before Thanksgiving Day.

They paint.

The second bathroom, before:

The second bathroom, after:

This is just the primer. I think we'll paint this an off-white at some point. We're just glad to have the green "Lettuce Alone" paint color covered.

Entry foyer, in "Tea Stain", egg shell finish. We painted the hallway the same. It's a subtle, a taupe/grey color.The green door needs to go. Maybe two shades darker than the walls?

Lighting Dilemma

This is the lighting fixture on the ceiling in our entry foyer.What do you do when one half of the voting household thinks this is hideous and the other half loves it, because it is "antiquey looking"? Especially when that half who loves it is the one doing the electrical work?

Mutant Tree

This is the sweet gum tree in our front yard. It was the first tree to begin changing colors and will be the last to loose its leaves. Notice the right side of the tree? That side has been a nice maroon color for about a month now, with little leaf loss. The rest of the tree started changing to yellow a few days ago.

There are other sweet gums in the neighborhood, but they're either all yellow or all maroon. Strange.

The Master To-Do List*

Bedroom #1
paint done, 7/06
install ceiling fan done, 4/07
fix dead outlet

Bedroom #2
paint done, 7/06, first thing to go. It was dark brown. With inspirational quotes written in metallic paint. Hideous.
install ceiling fan done, 3/07

Bedroom #3
paint done, 7/06
install ceiling fan done, 06/07
fix dead outlet

Bathroom #1
paint done, 01/07 except trim and touchups
install new cabinet, sink, mirror, and light

Bathroom #2
paint done, 01/01 except trim
level floor, install new flooring, paint trim
install new cabinet, sink(?), mirror/light
install new exhaust fan

Entryway and Hallway
paint walls done, 11/06
paint trim and door
fix dead outlet and switch (hmm... coincidence?)
install light
new flooring (ceramic tiles?)
paint outside of door
paint overhead outside light (done)
new house numbers, chosen for size appropriateness

Living Room/Dining Room
remove or otherwise deal with wallpaper-covered paneling (done)
paint (done)
new flooring (hardwood floors vs. laminate?)
improve lighting situation in dining room
fix dead outlets (2: one dining room, one living room)
fix dead switch (dining room)
paint overhead outside light (done 7/2007)

Office
paint (done)
enclose pass through to kitchen with bookshelf
wall off and install French doors
new flooring (hardwood floors vs. laminate)
install ceiling fan?

Kitchen
remove wall paper done 7/2007)
paint done 7/2007)
change cabinet knobs
install under cabinet lighting
enclose pass through to office with mosaic tile idea

Laundry Room
paint walls, trim, and cabinets done, 3/07
change cabinet knobs, done, 3/07
install steel door to garage

Garage
Remove panelling
Install insulation and drywall
Improve shelving/storage/workbench areas and lighting
Replace garage door
Install outdoor lighting, flanking the garage door
Paint existing overhead outdoor light done 05/07
Install deck in attic
Fix dead light switch
Replace door to backyard

Frontyard
Remove two dead shrubs and replace with spiraea? (shrubs removed 8/2007, new shrubs planted 6/2008)
Build beds for shrubs South of front door, plant maple and barberry (done 10/2007)
Lampost: paint? replace? straighten?
Paint shutters
Plant something where the hostas fried near the dryer vent (done 7/2007)
Euthanize sweet gum tree and replace?

Backyard
Herb garden (done 7/2007)
De-rockify the roses and boxwoods (done 7/2007)
Create bed for shrubs South of patio (bed done 8/2007, shrub installation in progress)
Drainage?
Reseed grassless areas in lawn

*List items and prioritization subject to change to suit our whims.

Happy Halloween!

Christmas decoration ideas??

How would you decorate this lamppost for Christmas?