The Grand Tour

Wow, I've been loving all your comments describing your holiday decorations, guys! That, and desperately craving pictures. Hmmm - new Facebook album, perhaps? So you can all share?

You know, it's funny; on Cake Wrecks I've always been a pretty private blogger. If you'd told me even a year ago that I'd be photographing my house and then posting the pictures publicly online I probably would have fainted. I guess the difference is I feel like I already know you Epbot readers, in a geeky camaraderie kind of way. Posting here feels like I'm just e-mailing a bunch of friends - nothing weird or creepy about that, right?

Besides, I worked for THREE SOLID DAYS getting all this Christmas stuff up, and by golly, people are gonna see it.

Ahem.

SO, my friends, since I'm sure you're simply dying to see my decked halls [smirk], allow me to take you on the grand tour.

(Uh. Brace yourselves.)

We'll start at the front door, which dumps you unceremoniously into our front room:

Here you're greeted by Tree #1.

It has PEACOCK FEATHERS. Wheee!

I initially stuck that bow there as a joke - it looked so silly I cracked up every time I looked at it. Then I realized I liked laughing at my own tree, so it stayed.

I couldn't swing steampunk this year, so instead I used what I had and tried for India: lots of jewel tones, peacock feathers, and orange and bronze. (Although that ornament next to the elephant IS pretty steampunk: it's called a "nocturnal time piece," from Etsy. Once the tree is down, I'll display it in the dining room.)

More pretties:

And check out what I just found at Crate n' Barrel last weekend:

They're peacock feathers inside glass ornaments! Cool, right? All our other ornaments come from Big Lots and cheap discount stores, but I figured these were worth the $3 splurge.

Can't forget the gem that Number 1 gave me:

When you press a button, Spock's voice plays *really loud.* It's great for scaring the bejeepers out of the cats.

Here's the tree lit up:

Looks about like every other tree, huh? Yeah, I actually like this one better during the daytime.


One of my favorite things is making little table top displays around the house:

There's another steampunk element for you: a heavy brass compass with built-in level and mirror. (Found at Hobby Lobby, of all places.)

On the photo wall I tuck in little wrapped boxes and berries:

The photos are ones I took in John's home town in Maine. The old gas pump shot is my favorite.

Yikes, and that's just the front room. Um. Maybe you should go make some popcorn or something... (and be glad my house is less than 1400 square feet. Heheh.)

All set? Ready to see more? Ok, here's the dining room:

(That male model charged a fortune for this shoot. Yeesh.)

And the wall to the left:

Check out the mini diving helmet! Oh, and the steampunk goggles that John made. Eventually there will be a tutorial for those...um...maybe next year. The art is a print by James Christensen.

You've already seen everything in our dining room, of course, but I did add a few things for the holidays:

A different wreath, a few sprigs of berries, an ornament or two: it's fun to add little surprises here and there.

I'm ashamed to say we still have the boring paper lantern chandelier, but at least it's a nice place to dangle a few ornaments:


Oh, and my favorite addition is on top of the cabinet:

A clear plexiglass "NOEL", with silver glitter on the edges.

It looks so pretty with all the other glass and silver!

I made the garland and big bow with glittery fruits and ribbon from Old Time Pottery.

To the left is our little bitty galley kitchen:

We ripped this room down to the studs three Christmases ago, and redid it ourselves on the cheap using all IKEA cabinets and shelving. I adore it.

The pass-through window:

With more orange and bronze sparklies in some leftover garland.

And finally (promise!), our back room:

This picture is when I realized one of the light strands in the tree had burned out. I replaced it, and then the replacement burned out. Yeah. This tree is officially on my "naughty" list this year.

Here's another table top display behind the couch:

Yes, I wrap empty boxes. FOR FUN. I'm one of *those* people. I also wrap the lids separately and reuse everything, although the boxes are all empty again this year as we've skipped gifts in favor of the Charity Countdown. The framed pieces are inexpensive (less than $10) original watercolors found on ebay.

"Why Jen, do you really have an old sign from the Magic Kingdom hanging in your living room?"

Yes, yes I do.


Another cabinet:

A close-up of our entertainment center:

And FINALLY finally, the tree itself:

The cats' new favorite thing? Burrowing under the tree skirt. It's hilarious to watch, but they leave giant humps under it in the back. ;)
It looks even better at night:

The tree is covered in twinkle lights, which are quite possibly my favorite things in the whole wide world. Hey, Dizgeeks, you know how all the trees in the Disney Village have twinkle lights? Or used to? (Seems like there used to be more than there are now.) That's where I fell in love with them, at the ripe age of 7. Having them in my house now is a little slice of twinkly heaven - or maybe Lothlorien.

Well, guys, hope you enjoyed the tour! (There is more, of course, but I'll spare you the office and bathroom. For now. Heh.) And, since I can't invite you all over for a holiday bash, I guess now you'll just have to drink some eggnog and exchange hilarious gag gifts amongst yourselves.


Have pictures of your own decorations? Link to them in the comments, or upload them to the Epbot FB page - I wanna see!