Wednesday, December 15, 2010

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!

118 comments:

  1. and now i am OFFICIALLY in a Christmassy mood! thanks for sharing all the pretties and sparklies. i am motivated to hit the after holiday sales and stock up so my house can approach the shiny splendor that you have displayed...=)
    and also, PEACOCK FEATHERS!!!! *squee!*

    captcha = cutizine
    as in, "your house should be featured in a cutizine!"

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  2. I LOVE your peacock tree! The other one too, but especially those feathers! Everytime I see someone's house decorated I say "that's how I'm going to do mine next year!". But I know full well that every year I'm going to do my gingerbread theme. LOL Here's some of my decorations...

    http://lifewithliane.blogspot.com/2010/12/christmas-house-tour.html

    http://lifewithliane.blogspot.com/2010/12/christmas-tree.html

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  3. So...can you come and help me decorate my house? It feels like a boring little hovel compared to your awesome domicile. I pay helpers with food and alcohol and cuddle time with my pugs. Deal?

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  4. I LOVE the peacock tree. I LOVE super heavily-decorated tress. My husband loves sparsely decorated trees.
    This year, we let our 3 and 1 year olds decorate, so it is heavily decorated from about 2 feet down and sparesly decorated with our dear favorite ornaments on top.
    Though I'm starting to think we should do a theme.... Thanks for the inspiration!

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  5. I love your decor!

    The best part of our holiday decor is a Mickey Mouse wreath my sister made for my mom a few years back. I'll try to get a good pic up on the FB group so you can see it. :)

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  6. First of all: love, love, love your kitchen!!!! We are hoping to redo ours and I may have to show the husband that pic to motivate.

    Your peacock feather tree is amazing. I would never in a million years be that creative. And the bow just works.

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  7. LOVE the peacock tree! The bow is perfect also! Your house is so much less cluttered than mine, so it makes your Christmas decorations really stand out. I blogged about our main decoration, our Christmas village:

    http://livingfarfromhome.blogspot.com/2010/12/its-beginning-to-look-lot-like.html

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  8. Thanks, that was brilliant! Love the trees especially! So beautiful :-)

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  9. okay, while I am jealous of the Disney sign, I am more jealous of a James Christensen print!! House looks gorgeous... we don't decorate because 1 of our 3 cats can strip all the bulbs from a string of tree lights in about 15 minutes... sigh....

    thanks for sharing your house!!

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  10. Oooooh! Aaaaaaaah! I suddenly want to snuggle on my couch, flip on The Nightmare Before Christmas, and sip spiced butterbeer. Thanks for putting me in the holiday spirit. :)

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  11. My tree is a fake white 6.5 foot tree decorated solely in robot ornaments and candy canes.

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  12. I actually really like the peacock feathers on the tree! and the tree in the back room kinda looks like there is a swath of dark on purpose where the lights went out...so not too naughty.

    off topic- why does the disney world sign not have florida on it??

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  13. Oh I LOVE you for posting these pictures! It's looks amazing and gobsmackingly Christmassy!!!

    Also, your house is so tidy and beautiful I now need to you to swap with me. It will involve you moving to England and looking after my kids but that's fine, isn't it? Xxx

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  14. We did an entire Disney tree this year. I'm so excited to have an excuse to photograph it. Will post some pics on CW FB.

    We're such Disgeeks that we have several Disney treetoppers and have to cycle through them each year. Sparkly Tink with light up wings is my favorite!

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  15. Ohhh! Ahhh! So beautiful! I love Christmas decor! Seriously, my husband would tell you that my most prized possesions are my Christmas decorations. We have a Santa/Candy Cane theme for our house. I'll see if I can get a good pic. Thanks for sharing! I LOVE your trees!

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  16. Love love LOVE your trees! They are fantastic! And my dad has that Star Trek ornament! There are a few others like it that he has, too. They're usually in his stocking every year. :)

    Unfortunately, I'm not decorating my house this year. I'll just live vicariously through yours.

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  17. That peacock tree topper is incredible! Good job. Thanks for sharing.

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  18. @ Jenny - DEAL! And if you have any gifts you need wrapped, I'm totally up for that, too. I'll just be there in spring of 2015. That works for you, right? :D

    @ Mary B. - Oooh, *spiced* butterbeer?!? WANT. Do you have a recipe to share?

    @jkel - I totally need a pic. I *love* robot ornaments, but sadly have none!

    @teri - the sign was displayed here in Orlando, so it only listed the other locations. :)

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  19. Thanks for posting. Now I feel a like friend you invited into your home.

    All of the decorations are really great, but after looking at the photos, I just have to know what your back splash is. Thanks!

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  20. I really LOVE your house Jen, like in a major "I want to live there!" kind of way.

    I also love you, but not in the same way because that would just be weird.

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  21. I want to marry your house. It's gorgeous! I also love both the trees (and that you put up two!!)

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  22. The first thing I thought of when I saw your peacock tree was gee, they must not have cats. Then I read further that you do. How do your cats NOT attack the feathers, ribbon and garland??? Do you have special magical cats that actually behave??!!?!?

    (BTW Your house looks wonderful.)

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  23. your place looks fabulous! & i recognize that star trek ornament. my grand parents had it on their tree & we damn near wore it out playing it every year! "shuttle craft to enterprise. shuttle craft to enterprise. Spock here. happy holidays. live long & prosper!" ^_^
    have you seen the Disney ornaments w/ the different characters all doing holiday stuff? my mom started collecting them years ago & gave my sisters & i different ones every year. between the 3 of us is a complete set. we each have enough now that they dominate our own full size Christmas trees. ^_^

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  24. The moment we put up our tree our grand madame pekingese decided that it's purpose was obviously to be the jewel on her throne. -- Her bed is across the room, it's not like we moved it for the tree, but now nowhere is good enough for sleeping but underneath it. The look of betrayal when we started adding presents.... Oh my. (We have two small children and they have grandparents that spoil them so there are many)

    I created a tunnel for her myself when she started trying to dig her way through.

    Your tunneling cats made me think of it again so I offer it up for others amusement.

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  25. Maybe when my kids are older and won't tear everything down ten minuets after it is up, you can come decorate my house. It looks amazing. I am also "one of those people" who wrap empty boxes for fun. My first Christmas with my husband that is all we had for decorations on the tree.

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  26. @ Laura - our backsplash is actually faux painted tile - do you like it? :) We found this unbelievably expensive tile in some hoity-toity tile shop, took a picture, and then came home and recreated it on the wall in paint! I love the colors and shape. It was time-consuming, of course, but since we were faux finishers at the time, we already had all the supplies.

    @MrsBlocko - yes, we just have really great cats! :) We were worried about Tonks, since this is her first year seeing the trees, but she's been great. I think the 2 of them wear each other out running around all day. They do love sleeping under the trees and tree skirts, and chewed on the light strands while I was putting everything up, but other than that it's been smooth sailing. (knock on wood!)

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  27. I love all the little "hidden" decorations!

    My tree has a "celestial" theme in that 99% of the ornaments are either a sun, a moon, or a star.

    Tree

    When we moved into this house I was SO excited that I finally had a banister to decorate. We may not have a fireplace, but at least I have my banister.

    Banister

    There's also the matching wreath that you see immediately upon walking in the front door. I decorated it myself with some design assistance from my mom.

    Wreath

    And we hung lights on the outside of the house. Still perfecting this but one of these years I'll get it to where I like it.

    Outside lights

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  28. Thanks for sharing! I don't get to deck my halls quite as much as usual this year, and combined with the absence of snow, I'm feeling decidedly un-festive most days. But your trees and decor are so lovely it helps boost my Christmas Spirit! Love the tree with all white lights sooooo much! I'm an all white light girl, myself. I love that you also load the lights on too! No skimping!

    Everything is gorgeous! Thanks for sharing!!

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  29. Your decorations look great, and I love, love, love your kitchen! I have to echo @LauraM and also ask about the backsplash... it's fabulous!

    Btw, any chance you'll divulge what town that gas pump is in? I'm guessing somewhere around the midcoast area based on the sailboat pic... am I close?

    Thanks from another Mainer named Yates! :-)

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  30. Everything looks gawgusss darling!
    ^_~ I love the peacock feathers!

    Your house is adorable. I really like your kitchen. Wish we could go that route, but we have kiddos. Which means big boxes of colorful cereal and lots of wild patterned kids dishes. Fantastic job!

    and ditto on the can you come help decorate? Not only would it mean fun decorating, but I'd be willing to toss in some homemade cinnamon butter....

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  31. I love all of the little wrapped boxes jauntily placed everywhere. Thanks for inviting us into your awesome home!

    We have an "old fashioned" tree with random decorations. My husband gets one for me every Christmas that symbolizes something that happened the past year. Awww.

    Here are two of my favorite tree decorations:
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/jrmaddy/5251967821/
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/jrmaddy/5252640460/

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  32. Your house looks great! I would love to eventually have themed trees/rooms, but I need more space/time/decorations before I can get to that.

    I love Christmas decorations but didn't put them all up this year. The BF and I just moved in together, and I didn't want to overwhelm him with Christmas spirit right away because he is more of a Scrooge.

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  33. As a licensed interior designer practicing in Orlando, I have to tell you that in my professional opinion, your house looks stunning. Really, very well done, absolutely gorgeous! Thank you for posting the pics!

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  34. Oh. My. SWOOOOOOON...

    I could only dream of living in a house oozing with that much style! For now, at least while the hubs is finishing his PhD and we're still doing our part to contribute to the population (our tree is done in typical we-have-a-toddler fashion--with ALL of the ornaments on the top third of the branches).

    I've said it before and I'll say it again, Jen--you rock my world!

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  35. Oh, Jen, it is GORGEOUS!

    I absolutely adore your house and your decorations. I have been so inspired!

    I have a super small special-needs house (I'm renting, so whatcha gonna do?) and now I'm brimming with ideas!

    You should come to Virginia and help me. :) (that's not creepy, right?)

    Thank you for sharing your home with your underlings!

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  36. My favorite part of your decor is that you buy your ornaments at Big Lots like I do! :) I absolutely LERV your table top displays the most though. It's the small touches, right? Merry Christmas!

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  37. love.love.LOVE. your house. and the way you've decorated. (wait...that doesn't sound a little creepy at all does it :P)

    and it's nice to know i am not the only person who wraps empty boxes, and saves them.

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  38. Your decorations are SO beautiful!!! The trees are lovely. Especially the peacock feathers. :) I can't wait to see the tutorial on the steampunk goggles next year. Happy Christmas!

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  39. It looks so Christmas in your house! Love it! We've only really got one room and I still haven't managed to do any Christmas at all yet. Although, I have two kids under 5... I choose to blame them for eating my time. But they're cute, so they can stay.
    Your house looks beautiful :)

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  40. Can I come and visit? I'm absolutely in love with your house (and super jealous of your wood floors!). The decorations all look absolutely gorgeous! We haven't done all of ours yet, but I did share a photo of last year's Christmas table: http://recoveringfirecracker.squarespace.com/blog/2010/12/9/christmas-favorites.html

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  41. Your cat is named TONKS??? That's just plain amazing. Is it common for people to do themed trees? If you do a different tree each year, do you get new ornaments?? What do you do with the old ones?

    Our theme would probably be... Ghosts of Christmas Past since we put up all of the old ornaments we've been receiving since we were children. There's Sesame Street, Dr. Seuss, dinosaurs, Ninja Turtles, and a random assortment of ornaments representing various hobbies we had as children.

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  42. We have an annual Christmas banquet early in December, and the venue always has a different theme each year. Last year was feathers.

    mantle decorations"

    close up of glittered peacock feather"

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  43. You have a great eye for detail :). Your whole house looks so pretty... stores should hire you for holidays to make displays!

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  44. So pretty! Your house is so "catalog" -- but in a good way, not in a who could possibly live there way. And we have the Enterprise ornament, too. It rocks!

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  45. Swoon. SWOON. SWOOOOOOOOOON!!!!!

    (Which, now that I think of it, is much like The Tick's cry of SPOON!)

    You have the most exquisite sense of esthetics I have ever seen. Gorgeous.

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  46. Wow~ Your trees and decorations are so beautiful! wish i could invite you over for a month to decorate my house! your place looks so wonderful! And before I even go to the part where you proclaimed your moment of falling in love with twinklie lights at WDW, I was thinking your trees look so much like Disney World trees. Sigh... I'd be ashamed to post my pitiful decorations.

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  47. So pretty! Our tree still isn't decorated properly, because the kids keep arguing about ornament placement. My oldest son came to me a few days ago complaining that my middle son was violating the Neutral Zone on the tree by placing the Klingon Bird of Prey ornament too close to the Enterprise ornament. Sniff, sniff.... I was so proud.

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  48. Oh my gosh! I totally love the decorations in your house! Heck I just love your house!! Wanna come and decorate mine?? I have the Wyland Disney Dive Buddies painting we can talk over! lol

    Kim

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  49. What everyone else said about the house!
    You obviously have the 'good taste decorator' gene. I sadly am lacking that gene. I need to hire you and have you come make decisions for me. I too adore the colors of India. Maybe because I love the fall and all its autumn colors.
    I immediately knew that those cabinets were from IKEA. I adore that store. and the style you have is MINE, you just got their first!. I currently have paint and pipes in my kitchen as i am getting a new one installed and i am going for the IKEA cabinets too. I thought about placing the cabinets on their side, too, but have an irrational fear of them closing on my hand as i reach in. Did you take any photos of the kitchen install? you kitchen is just slightly larger than mine and i would be curious to see yours. i hunt the ikea fan page a lot for ideas, but one can always use more.

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  50. I love your Christmas decorations and house decor in general! And I totally know that Star Trek ornament... my husband has one on his Star Trek/Star Wars tree!

    -Amy

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  51. I JUST bought those peacock feather ornaments from Crate and Barrel about a week ago. I love them! I will be attempting a peacock feather tree topper next year.

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  52. I just started reading your blog and let me tell you, I LOVE IT. Its fantastic. I adore your tree. I love rich jewel tones for Christmas time. Also am a huge fan of the steam punk table decorations. Im always looking forward to your next post!
    -Jane

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  53. In about 4 years can I hire you to come decorate my house for xmas? (We're not decorating until we have kids that will actually appreciate it so it might be 5 years)

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  54. Love your trees! We have the shuttle craft/spock voice ornament, too, and it's my favorite. :)

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  55. You have wonderful taste! Your decor is eye catching and fun while remaining completely classy... inspiring! Thanks for sharing.

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  56. I love the peacock feathers with the big bow! It just made me smile.
    Thanks for sharing your Christmas decorations with us.

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  57. I love that sign from the Magic Kingdom, and your house is beautifully decorated! It just looks lovely! :)

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  58. Heheheh Love the noel sign, we had a large light up one that went outside, I really hesitated to tell mr punxxi that he had put it up wrong and it said leon, cos I kinda liked that better.

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  59. Nice decoration. Have been a long time since I last did anything for Christmas. Usually I just help my mom decorate her house. But this the second Christmas I'm too far away to help. And a link for you: http://tinyurl.com/25apav8 - check the 4th photo. Happy Christmas and Merry New Year. :D

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  60. I noticed the James Christensen print immediately. Love it! I have "Two Angels Discussing Boticelli". What an amazing artist.

    I love love love the peacock tree. Thanks for sharing.

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  61. Thanks for sharing your house! It is STUNNING!! We could so be friends- I am loving the Disney sign! I blogged about how you and I could be pals munching on cake thru WDW. =) Jealous that you live so close to our favorite place- we have to wait until Sept!

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  62. It would take me longer than three days to clean up the house in order to take pictures of my Christmas decorations.
    I'll just admire yours.
    And your lovely clean house.

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  63. When you decide you don't want your red leather furniture anymore, let me know--I WILL buy it off of you. ;)

    Your stuff all looks great! I love all your reindeer. Reindeer are probably my favorite part of the holiday season.

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  64. Wow Jen, so immersive! Thanks for sharing. I'm especially fond of the peacock tree (I love jewel tones).

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  65. All I could think of is how having peacock feathers in the house is bad luck. Well, here in England it is anyway. I like your other tree though!

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  66. Whoa! This is fantastically classy! Christmas can be over done by all the decorations and lights. Half the time its just a smash of lights, reindeer, Santana, mangers and whooplah! I tip my hat at thee! Also I was very excited as a kind of new reader to see John is from Maine?! Where from?! I live in Maine myself and LOVE IT! Yes even the 6-8 months of snow... :)
    Merry Christmas!!!

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  67. oh wow *dreamy eyes* I LOVE your decorations! The trees are gorgeous! I can't decide which one I like better (I'm leaning toward the epic peacock feathers one). I wish I had the money to decorate my house like that! My decorations are pretty shabby this year because we have a 7 month old puppy in the house... I had to invest in some shatter-proof ornaments to avoid destruction of my well-loved glass ornaments. I will definitely be using your house for inspiration for years to come though!
    I have to mention, in regards to the Sparklies!!! post.. I was out shopping yesterday and I found a white owl stuffed animal, aka Hedwig. It took ALL of my power not to buy it and place it at the top of my tree (my silly grad student salary does not allow for such excessive spending *sigh*). I totally want to do a HP themed tree in the future though!! Thanks for the inspirational posts and the sharing of all your sparklies and other lovely decorations! xoxo

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  68. :) Your home is beautiful, and thank you for braving the public display of - decoration - for us! Have a great and safe Holiday

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  69. "Having them in my house now is a little slice of twinkly heaven - or maybe Lothlorien."

    You just made the Tolkien geek in me squee...and it woke the baby up >_<

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  70. wow! You have a beautiful house and your decorating skills are amazing! You totally inspire me :)

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  71. Your house is so pretty Jen! I'm officially jealous. I'm off to take pictures of our geek tree for the FB page :)

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  72. Your house it so pretty! Describing my decorations in the last post made me ever everything out and start decorating. I'll have to take pictures this weekend when everything is all the way up, we're making my roommate's kids make paper chains and string popcorn. :)

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  73. You're home looks so beautiful! And I love the trees since both have an abundance of teal ornaments - my fav color! Squees all around!!!

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  74. That is not just a steampunk compass, that's a legitimate geologist's Brunton Compass. Those things are awesome, and for a new, good one you could be paying over $200. I'm jealous that you have that. Oh, and your christmas decorations look great too. ha.

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  75. Every year I take down all the pictures on my walls, wrap them in pretty holiday paper, and hang them back up. It ends up looking really cool, and blends well with all my other holiday decorations.

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  76. I love it! Your decorations are fantastic! I love how well they match what's already in your house. It gives a very put together feel.

    Also, aside from the fact that I'm in love with your entire house (that I've seen) I might have to steal (or buy, whatever) your red living room set. I still maintain I need you guys to decorate for me.

    Love it! Happy holidays!

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  77. I'm sitting here looking out the window at our first snowfall of the season, and your decorations are the absolutely perfect cap to a pretty day! You are SO talented -- seriously, you have a real gift for decoration. As someone without a decorating gene, may I say how much I admire and adore what you do?

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  78. I have that exact same Star Trek ornament!!!
    My parents bought my sisters and I a new ornament each year for Christmas, and pretty sure my dad picked this one out more for him than me.
    Joke's on him, 'cause I get to keep it!

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  79. Oh my gosh I LOVE that vintage Disney sign!!! Where on earth did you find it??

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  80. The "pass through window" is called the "puka." I'm not sure how you spell it, but it's pronounced like Pookah. That's the official word for random decorative holes in walls.

    --Deborah K.

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  81. Awesome, awesome decor! I love it! I'm a big fan of peacock feathers. As usual, we stayed with a geek theme - Star Trek and Star Wars ornaments - with some sentimental, traditional ornaments thrown in.

    Of course,
    It Just Wouldn't Be Christmas Without

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  82. First, your blog is fantastic. I love it. It makes me happy. Second, you have the exact same Enterprise shuttle ornament that my father has, and that makes me REALLY happy.

    You are cool. :)

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  83. So not related, but I was watching Castle on ABC and they had an episode involving Steampunk! I thought of you when I saw it.

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  84. Your decorations are lovely! So clean and streamlined. I wish I had that level of restraint (since I lose my mind over the holidays), but I'm pretty sure I'd need a lot of meds to make my decorations look as great as yours. I just did a photo post with lots of pictures if you want to check it out! www.datingmyhubby.blogspot.com

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  85. I used to wrap our picture hanging on the walls! They looked so pretty. Now, I am practicing minimalist decorating. I will try to post some old and new photos over to FB. :)

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  86. Where does one find twinkle lights? The hippie in me wanted to switch to LEDs this year, but MAN, they are so ghastly and harsh.

    Love the swizzles and such coming out the top of your trees. They're like Christmas jazz hands. Ta-da!

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  87. Shuttlecraft to Enterprise, shuttlecraft to Enterprise. Spock here. Happy Holidays. Live long, and prosper.

    In other words, my father was a Trekkie, and I grew up with that ornament on our tree (along with most of the others of that series). And every year, once the tree was decorated, the first thing I did was find that ornament, flash the Vulcan hand sign, press the button, and lip synch the words. Ahh, memories.

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  88. I have that same shuttlecraft ornament. It is one of my cherished Christmas ornaments. I was able to plug it in and hear Spock's voice this year for the first time in a long, long time. I used to play it for my answering machine message every December.
    Love your trees, Jen! Where can I get a male model like that, huh??

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  89. I want your house.





    That is all.

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  90. Well now, that's awesome :D

    I have honestly never seen anything cooler than your house

    also, inspired by you, i have set up my own blog (i know it only has one post, but im working on it, ok?)

    http://youshallgo2theball.blogspot.com/

    :D

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  91. I'm moving into your house. That isn't a question.
    Second, John has moved up a space on my awesome list because he's from Maine, my fave place ever.

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  92. I just wanted to add my own Ooh and Aahs over your beautiful home / decorating. Also I have EVERY ONE of the Star Trek series of ornaments my parents have been getting them for me since the first Enterprise came out around 1990? About 2 years ago we had them all on our tree and the tree on a timer, and my sister in law happened to be at the house when it went on. Spock, Worf and assorted other voices scared the snot out of her. We still laugh about it every time we set one off.
    I would also love to know where you get twinkle lights! Come on Jen, you need to spill for your fellow geeks.

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  93. I LOVE LOVE LOVE your house. We have too many bare walls and sparsely decorated spaces. And two Christmas trees? Fabulous.
    Though, I'm sure mine is bigger. It touches the 13.5' peaked ceiling in our main room. Also, it took two weeks to decorate and I'm not a fan of heights.

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  94. Your house looks awesome and so festive. Can you come decorate my house too? :) Our tree is up, but I love your other decorative touches, and I love idea of the wrapped empty boxes. I might have to try that next year (I have pretty much given up on anymore decorating this year).

    Also, congrats on your 1000th Cake Wrecks post. SO many laughs thanks to your blog! :)

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  95. I don't really go all out for holiday decorations, but I was quite pleased with my table centerpiece (last pic of the post). As I mentioned, the cake dome was mostly to cat-proof the ornaments, but I think it looks cute too!
    http://gimmeakisss.blogspot.com/2010/12/christmas-time-is-here-again.html

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  96. I like your little table top arrangements. I do that also. AND I wrap boxes for fun. My favorite part of gift giving is the wrapping.

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  97. Wow, I love your peacock tree! The peacock feather is one of my belly dance teacher's fave studio decorations. So wish I had a Big Lots up her in the north, I don't what kind of store it is, but I would definately buy one of those peacock glass ornaments!

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  98. Very fancy stuff, love it :)

    I don't have pictures of my decorations, which are mighty tame in comparison, but I do have pictures of some of the steampunk touches I noticed in Holiday Windows this year!

    5th Avenue Windows

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  99. I love to live vicariously through you, Jen. That way I can enjoy your decorations online, but don't have to put all the things away for next year! I should send you a photo of our creche scene, though. All kinds of visitors come to the manger . . . I'll try to remember to do that later this week. Thanks for the tour!

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  100. Ok, I've gotta know- what's your secret to keeping your house so clutter-free? My husband and I CONSTANTLY struggle to keep junk from accumulating, but it's just an uphill struggle (haha, we finally acknowledged that midcentury modern decor just won't work with our packrat tendancies, so we're now going more steampunk thanks to its welcoming nature towards many oddities)

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  101. Dear Jen--your home is absolutely lovely. So is your heart. Thank you for sharing and inspiring.

    Terrell

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  102. Jen & Jon,

    The house looks wonderful (both decoration and decor)! Thank you for sharing! It makes me feel all dreamy about the prospect of owning my own home someday!

    Happy Holidays!

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  103. "Shuttlecraft to Enterprise. Shuttlecraft to Enterprise. Spock here. Happy Holidays. Live long and Prosper." :D (We have that ornament, too. <3 it!)

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  104. In the photo of the Magic Kingdom sign (fellow Dizgeek), I can see a smidge of a print with a fox in it. We have a huge fox collection, as that is our last name, and I love finding unusual foxes (this year I got an ornament off Etsy that looks like a snowflake, but upon closer inspection has foxes running around it)-any way I can see a pic of the whole thing, and maybe know where it came from?

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  105. Hi, Jen! I've been reading your blogs for years - love them. I used to be a professional Christmas decorator (I worked in a year-round Christmas store for 11 years), and your decorations are top notch!

    If you liked the Shuttle Galileo, you'll like my Star Wars/Star Trek tree. And for something REALLY different, I think you might enjoy my village. It's...erm...not your ordinary village (it has vampires).

    Cheers, and thanks for all the enjoyment you provide!

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  106. I adore Christmas but am on a working holiday in Canada and am away from all my pretties. :-( It makes me cry. Especially since I can't get away from where I am to go buy more pretties. So I bought one teeny tiny tree and pretend it's awesome.

    Love you're stuff though. I have massive geek love for you Jen. I adore than there is someone else in the world like me and it makes me that bit more proud to be me.

    Merry Christmas!!!!!!

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  107. Holy wow! You have amazing design skills, your home is just beautiful. I have to say, my fav thing is the cabinet with the diver's helmet and goggles. I think that is so fun to have a touch of geek in such a classy way!

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  108. So late, but OMG "shuttlecraft to Enterprise, shuttlecraft to Enterprise. Spock here, Happy Holidays. Live long, and prosper."


    p.s. it looks beautiful.

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  109. I don't ever comment on your blog (I read it all ... I just don't comment) but I couldn't resist this time. Your house is absolutely STUNNING, and I am the most crabby, jealous person *IN THE WORLD* right now for seeing that.

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  110. Awesome job on your decorations. You have a very lovely home. :)

    Another big Disney fan here. The family and I went Disney-themed with our Christmas decor this year. I was so happy to realize that with their purchase of Marvel, I could put my Iron Man ornaments on the tree and still be in theme. LOL

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  111. A little late here, but I just wanted to say how impressed I am with how clean and uncluttered your home is. I love it!

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  112. disgustingly jealous of the disney sign. how on earth did you find that?!

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  113. Anonymous said...

    The "pass through window" is called the "puka." ... That's the official word for random decorative holes in walls.

    Um, it's just the Hawaiian word for hole..but I guess it sounds fancier if you use another language. :p

    Jen, your house looks gorgeous, all of it.

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  114. Your place is gorgeous and that print is breathtaking.

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