Holiday Decorating

I was never one to go all out for any holidays before, but for Halloween this year, I made an exception. This was mostly because I was having a party and wanted everything to look really festive. But I unfortunately didn't make the decision to decorate the way I did until a few days before, and I really underestimated how much work it would take! My friend and former roommate Liz has always loved Halloween and had a lot of decorations on hand that I borrowed, and she came over early in the afternoon of my party to help set everything up. Like I had said previously, my kitchen was finished just before I had the party. Here are some pictures of how the house was decorated:

 

I spent a few nights cutting out all the bats for the walls. It wasn't actually that bad. I got the idea for the cutouts here:

http://www.laurenconrad.com/post/tuesday-ten-eat-drink-and-be-scary-halloween-fall-party-ideas
and that will link to the site where the pattern is. They were my favorite decorations!

Here's some pictures of the living room:

 

I would've loved to decorate my patio, but if you remember, this was the day we got that crazy snowstorm!

 

Not so Halloween-y!!

I was really excited to put up my Christmas tree this year! For me, I need to wait until December to do so. I hate how it's Halloween and straight to Christmas in the stores. I like to wait until Thanksgiving is done and I'm mentally ready to start thinking Christmas. 

When I first moved out of my parent's house a few years ago, I didn't have a tree in my first apartment. I strung some lights and came home to my parent's house to decorate their tree. At my next place, my roommates and I put up a small tree and lights on our back porch. Then, when I moved out on my own again, I needed my own tree. I found one last year at Lowe's for $15! I grew up always having a fake tree, so it never crossed my mind to get a real one. I moved that one with me to my first house, and it's made me feel like it's really Christmas. 

 

My mom gave me some Christmas bears

  

This wreath is real and it smells great!

 

I got stockings for my cat (shut up!) and I at CVS - they were $3.99 and came with a glitter pen to write on them. Much better than the $15 I spent at the mall a few years ago to get personalized stockings for my dogs.

 

The biggest challenge of decorating is storing everything when it's not in use. Sometimes it gets overwhelming - I have a whole house and not enough space for everything. Once I have everything a bit more organized, this will be a lesser worry.