Christmas Decor...

I. am. not. a. good. decorator.

There, I said it, internet.  Sometimes I like to think I am {insert sweet smile}

I don't have 6 totes of decorations for Christmas alone... I don't have 15 totes of decor for the entire year.  I have 1.5 totes for Christmas decor... then I have the rest of the year decor.

This is one of my favorite times of year... I really do enjoy my christmas decorations once they are up and I've gotten a compliment or two on them {love language=words of affirmation}

So I thought it'd be fun to let you into my christmas decorated world... via pictures.

If there is ever something going on... or anyone moving at all somewhere in the house - Molly is right there to supervise.  She is spunky, adorable, sassy, cute, and right in the middle of everything... so this post wouldn't be complete if she were left out of it :)

She especially loves new things to explore... to lay in... dig around inside of... this is perfection in her world.  Molly is pawing around the loose tree needles from the tree tote - while enjoying a new perspective...from inside the tote, of course.

I found these stackable ornament boxes at Bed Bath and Beyond 2 years ago and I've been obsessed with them ever since!  I will eventually need another one to hold our ever-growing ornament collection.  I am very picky though... you must know that I don't take ornament selecting lightly.

Here is our tree!  Yes.. we are huge MU fans.. and probably 2-3 years ago I found this adorable MU santa hat and thought we had to have it!  When I got it home... I had no idea where to put it... so it landed on top of our, at the time, 4-foot tree that our friend Candace gave us when she moved to CA.  Well... it has continued to land at the top of our tree every year... even last year when we got our first 'big kid' tree.  I kind of like it... I know that is weird... but I like thinking of why it's there... how that tradition just naturally developed... i love it.

Of course, it wouldn't be a tree without Molly being our present!  Every single year Molly curls up under the tree... it is her favorite thing about christmas time... that and pretending the tree is real and it was put in place as a toy for her to play in.... yes.  not with. in.  It's ok... after the first year of Molly being a part of our family... I quickly learned to put the breakable ornaments up high.

So on to our mantle... this is what it has looked like since February 2011.  {insert Jen's cringe} Well ok... I did have hearts cut out of scrapbook paper hanging instead of pictures during the month of February... so it has changed a little bit.  Regardless... this is our mantle before christmas threw up on it...

Here is the mantle after christmas took over this town.  You can't see it... but there is an adorable string of ornaments strung in front of the lit garland... so basically... it is cuter in person :)

I love the additions of my wood frames from Hobby Lobby so much that I couldn't part with them even for a few months while christmas decor took over... so I got creative.  I now wish the ornaments on right the frame were colored ornaments... but oh well - I'll switch it up next year.

Back in high school my mom got me this tiny christmas tree for my bedroom because I have always loved christmas lights.. and had them hanging all around my room all year long so we decided to add a tree for christmas one year.  So this tiny tree lives in my stereo box (yes... from 1999) and went to college with me and has lived on my desk at work since I graduated college!  To this day - that box lives at work waiting for this time of year to display my tiny tree!  I really need to find a pretty box/tote to replace the stereo box... but it works for now!

It stays decorated all year long... so it is by far the easiest piece of my christmas decor to display :)  My cubical is now ready for the christmas season!!

and uhhh... have I mentioned that we are MU fans?...

What are some of your favorite decorations you display for christmas?!