Merry and Bright

It's that time of year again, when...

Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas...

all hit like a whirlwind and then it's the 

New Year before we know it.

Here's a Halloween shot...

Take note of our decorations...

They might look familiar to you, if you frequent Pinterest.

I pinned and digested all of my favorite diy decorations,

then regurgitated the parts I liked onto my mantel;

Complete with a harvest moon I painted and
the pumpkins they painted...

The boys and I had a lot of fun

making these spooky decorations.

The orange, yellow and brown decor lasted through Thanksgiving

and then it was onto the red, green and gold.

We got our first real tree the day after Thanksgiving,

cause we were so excited.

We picked out a good one and headed home to decorate.

I liked the boys' method of trimming the tree...

[Putting ornaments only where you can reach]

So the middle to lower part of our tree was well stocked 

with red and gold bulbs :)

We added a few more decorations around the house.

Again with the Pinterest Inspirations.

In preparation for Christmas decorating,

Oni and I had been collecting pine cones 

that had  conveniently fallen off the trees near Kainoa's bus stop.

Hey, why pay for the decoration,

when you can get the pine cone for FREE?!

Add a few tree trimmings and some dollar store accoutrements

and there you have it... a cheap, easy, yet festive display.

I like the cheap part the best, just like this idea I found

of sticking dollar store ornaments inside of my existing lanterns.

But my favorite decoration has to be these smiles...

and these silly faces...

and whatever kind looks you call these...

Merry Christmas

&

Happy Holidays!!!