Horse Chestnut Series - Round Up & Chestnut Decorations

The beautiful Horse Chestnut Tree started out 2014 stark and bare.

By March the buds had appeared.

By the last day of April it had burst into leaf.

In May it was flushed with flower.

By July the pollinated flowers had turned to fruit.

In September the leaves began to change colour and fall.

By October the ripened fruit had fallen.

On a frosty December morning the Horse Chestnut stands bare once again.

Our Horse Chestnut Tree has given it's all; 

buds, leaves, flowers and fruit and so the cycle begins again.

This Christmas I wanted to use the lovely shiny conkers to make some tree decorations. 

The colour scheme in the bedroom includes hues of orange and browns from the Connemara wallpaper. 

For the first time this year I put a small tree in our bedroom.

 I wanted to keep it inexpensive so purchased a small fake tree for €12 and tried not to buy any decorations apart front the LED lights.

I made these by drilling holes through pieces of cinnamon, threaded them onto a ribbon, tying a loop at the top and finishing with a lovely shiny conker.

I dried orange slices slowly in the airing cupboard and made bows from ribbon left over from some curtain tie-backs. I bought the bird and the orange glitter ribbon to make bows and everything else was repurposed including an old bracelet!

I'm really happy with how it turned out and it's nice to have a bit of our Horse Chestnut Tree on our Christmas Tree!

Wishing you all a very happy and healthy New Year!

Christmas House Tour 2014

Hope you all had a very merry Christmas and that Santa was good! As I sort of threatened a Christmas House tour in my last post I thought I'd give it a go before 2014 is out. As I said, I started decorating early this year...and finished late! 

Ah the best laid plans...

O Christmas Tree!

I started out totally inspired, ready to deck those halls a little differently this year and have all done by our anniversary (a week before Christmas) so I could relax and enjoy thereafter. I ended up rushed, exhausted and surrounded by boxes, adding and tweaking until it was Christmas Eve! There has to be a better way - which I have to figure out before next year!! Suggestions welcome!

Some newly gifted additions to the tree this year

This one came all the way from Germany

This one came from Marks&Spencer

Decorating drama aside, I am pretty happy with how it turned out. So using my super duper new Christmas present from Mr. Auburn (a new camera!) and my usually crappy photography skills;

here are some pictures of our home at Christmastime....

Fireside is blazing bright...

Our Mantlepiece

Our coffee table

Even rabbit can't escape 

The baby Jesus in the manger

Christmas in the Kitchen...

This little guy got a new eau de nil hat and scarf for Christmas

Deck the Halls...

 

Sleigh Bells Ring!

 This sleigh was a market find last year and last Christmas I laid it down in the front hall and piled Christmas presents on it. This year I decided to upturn it and add another vintage find from the same market this summer. The chance of finding a sleigh and ice skates in a market in the Midlands of Ireland must be like winning the lotto! I trimmed the top of the skates with fur I bought at a craft shop (the extra trimmed the tiny stockings on the tree in the kitchen window). Added some greenery and a sleigh bell of course and I love it!

Our stair garland

Top of the stairs

I am a huge Norman Rockwell fan and have been lusting after this print, Home for Christmas, for so long. This year I found it for sale on eBay and Mr. Auburn made it mine. 
I LOVE IT!

As it is quite long and narrow, I tried to balance it with a fresh wreath of fir and bay.

And a Partridge in a Pear tree!

 I had this idea for a long time and just executed it last year for the first time. I had sourced a partridge on eBay but lets say he wasn't exactly glamorous! He looks better on the more rustic kitchen tree. I searched for so long for pears and eventually found them in TK Maxx and sourced a better looking 'partridge' from Gisela Graham.

And to think in just a couple of days it has to all come down again!

O Christmas Tree!!

Well it has been several months since my last post, apologies again for my unannounced absence. Once again life and mainly work got in the way and now it seems to be Christmas! Despite my very best efforts including two days off work for the pre Christmas decorating clean and starting the actual decorating in late November, I'm still not done! 

This November I became full of decorating inspiration. You know how it is, virtual Christmas house tours all over the net, festive blogs, pinterest, glossy Christmas magazines, magical shop windows! So, I decided to shake it up a bit this year, change things around, make some new additions. So many ideas, so much to do, so little time. I was feeling a little Christmas anxiety in the last week and then I decided to give myself a break. I don't have to get all the decorating done in one night, it can be a process. I will get everyone's gifts, I always do. I might even share my own Christmas House tour! Some of it looks really good, at least it would if all the boxes were back in the attic.

 As with every Christmas it starts with the tree in the sitting room. We have done real cut trees in here, real potted trees and now we're back to the artificial tree again as I like to get it up last weekend in November. I have to say I miss the pine smell but I've got my fix elsewhere in the house. I love this tree every year. It's a great shape, it always looks full and symmetrical and we don't skimp on the decorations! I've often meant to count them but its alot! As this tree is in the window, we have to decorate all the way around, no cheating! We have our old favourites and usually add more each year. We just use golds and creams on this tree as it matches the decor best. Some came from lands far away, some made by our own fair hands here at home.

  

 The rest of the room gets its share too.

The Fireplace...

The Crib...

A Christmas Stocking...

And this?!..

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!!