DIY Repurposed Christmas Garland

There’s nothing like finding the perfect Christmas garland… pre-lit, perfect length and fullness, not tacky. I found ours at Costco a few years ago and as our aesthetic has shifted and grown, I knew I needed to give it a little makeover. It had red poinsettias and red accents all over the place, which normally would be perfect for the Christmas season, but now with our blue walls downstairs, it made Christmas feel more like the Fourth of July.

So a few weekends ago it looked like Christmas had exploded in our home as I was sifting through all of our decor to get rid of any hint of red (except a few of our more elegant red accents). I was complaining to my brother-in-law about how much I loved my garland but that unfortunately, she had to bite the dust because of all the red. And then he suggested I DIY the dang thing… why didn’t I think of that?! Such a good idea, plus a great way to save money.

Off to JoAnn’s we went! And boy did I come back with quite the faux floral haul. You probably already know how much I love faux floral given a few recent blog posts (DIY Fall Floral Pumpkin, DIY Fall Vintage Dough Bowl Centerpiece, and DIY Seasonal Vintage Dough Bowl Centerpiece), but man I’m telling you I could create my own faux floral storefront at this point with how much I’ve accumulated 😂

Here’s just a sampling of what I found:

From left to right (many of these come in gold spray as well):

1. Bloom Room Holiday Flocked Eucalyptus Bush

2. Bloom Room Holiday Glitter Leaf & Pinecone Bush - Champagne

3. Bloom Room Holiday Glitter Berry & Leaf Spray - Silver

4. Bloom Room Holiday Pine & Berry Bush

5. Bloom Room Holiday 5 Head Snowy Hydrangea Bush - Dark Blue (in my opinion, this is what really steals the show in the garland… such a perfect blue match to our walls. I even had leftover and put some stems in our tree 🤩)

6. Bloom Room Holiday Eucalyptus Spray - Silver

7. Bloom Room Holiday Pinecone Bush

8. Bloom Room Christmas Glitter Leaf Spray - Silver

The evening I got home from my JoAnn’s extravaganza, Tim put on Dune and I went to work. I clipped off every last poinsettia and red accent I could find on the garland and started laying down the faux floral and gold ornaments in their place. It was getting late, so I went to bed and the next morning I tied the ornaments on and hot glued the floral. It honestly turned out so much cuter than I ever imagined! It feels much more elevated and elegant when compared to its original state (check out my Instagram to see the comparison!) and I love how it ties into our new Christmas decor theme (blues and greens).

What’s your favorite Christmas or holiday decor DIY? Shout out in the comments!

Pure Magic // Christmas 2017

This year was our first year traveling for Christmas since we moved to Portland 4 years ago. We went to Vegas to spend Christmas with my sister, brother-in-law, niece, mom, brother, and other brother-in-law. It was simply pure magic seeing Christmas through the eyes of a 1-year-old. Though I don't think she quite gets it yet, it was fun getting to experience her reactions and sweet personality during this spectacular time of year.

Before we left, Tim and I dressed up our tiny apartment with Christmas decorations that we're still enjoying ❤️🎄🎁

A fun little timelapse of Timmy and I decorating our apartment for the holidays! I love this magical, spectacular time of year. Head on over to the blog for more Christmas joy:

We arrived in Vegas wearing Christmas Vacation t-shirts I found on Amazon. Mine read "Why is the carpet all wet, Todd?" and his read "I don't know Margo." We thought we were hilarious at 4:30 a.m. when we had to arrive at the airport for our 6 a.m. flight. But no one noticed the shirts except one flight attendant and our family. 😂 Oh well, at least we got a kick out of it. I'm bummed we didn't take any pictures wearing them together, but I felt kinda gross after flying and wasn't too thrilled about the concept of picture-taking that day 😉 Tim took pictures galore of Mila, however. You're welcome:

We mostly stayed in and spent lots of quality time together catching up, baking, and drinking wine 🍷 The first night we arrived we made at least 100 peanut clusters (seriously one of my favorites) and what my sister calls "Christmas Crack," our family's delicious toffee (Tim approved, which says a lot considering he's a toffee connoisseur). 😋

My sister & brother-in-law's friends came over for Christmas Eve dinner (we had tamales 😋) and brought their adorable daughter, Charlotte, who's only a month younger than Mila. The two of them together are a crack up. Charlotte LOVES Mila, but Mila wasn't too sure about all the affection. They still ended up having fun sporting their matching jammies and exchanging gifts 🎁

Christmas Eve night we all got cozy in our matching jammies (thanks, Mom!), played the oven-mitt gift game (it was hilarious), and watched Christmas Vacation. It was perfect ❤️

Christmas morning came fast and swift. We woke up and enjoyed coffee, cinnamon rolls, and bagels with cream cheese and lox. We exchanged gifts and helped Mila open hers. My favorite Mila gift was her cute kitchen set. Just look at that farmhouse sink!  It's ridiculous how cute it is.

Spending time with family always goes by way too quickly. But we definitely cherished it while we were all together. I hope your Christmas was just as magical as ours! 

Farm Sweet Farm

Over Memorial Day weekend, Tim and I stayed with his cousin's family on their 60-acre farm. The city has its pros, for sure, like walkable grocery stores, beautiful parks, and amazing restaurants. But even with all that, it's nice to get away to the country to breathe in the fresh air, relax, stargaze, and forget about the stresses of our day-to-day lives.

The farm is BEAUTIFUL and the plan for it is even better: growing hops! While we were there, Tim helped plant a few rows and was seriously on cloud nine. He loves it! And what a great area to invest in a hops farm, with PDX being such a beer capital.

While the guys were out planting, I spent time with his cousin's wife and their three sweet kiddos. We played, baked, chatted, and relaxed. One of the highlights for me was Michelle teaching me how to bake bread. Those who know me know I'm obsessed with bread! I can't tell you how excited I am to bake homemade bread all the time once we invest in a few supplies (blog post coming soon!).

During our stay, I ventured out here and there to take a few photos of the farm to document its beginnings. It's such a gorgeous place and it's exciting to see it grow (pun intended) from the start. Did you know hops can grow up to a foot per day? Crazy, right?

We closed out the long weekend with a delicious BBQ of ribs with homemade sauce, corn on the cob, the bread I made by hand(!), and more mouth-watering sides. They always feed and treat us so well when we visit! It's hard to go home ;)

Here's to farm life and what a joy it is to finally have some day trip-close family in Oregon!