December to Remember: Day 1 - The Exterior of CDLV

Remember when I told the story of my childhood home? Well, CdlV couldn't be more different. I grew up in a single story ranch style home, with a large front porch and no real landscaping to speak of. The interior was small, but had an open floor plan which made for easier entertaining when my mother had the time, and at Christmas the whole house was lit - inside and out - with multi-colored lights.

I think back on those windows lined in lights and sprayed with canned snow, the paper cutouts that read: "Merry Christmas" and "Ho Ho Ho", that lopsided tree that took an entire day to put up, and all of the handmade, sometimes less than perfect, and certainly less than chic ornaments my younger brother and I were allowed to decorate that leaning tree with, and smile. It's not a thing like what I do today - but I thank my mother for letting her children have their moment ... I'm sure it's helped to define my taste today. And what is that, you ask?

Firstly, a much more natural approach. Live greens make a 5" wide garland. A few extra pieces of greens I got from a logged pine tree make a beautiful crown.

Then I pulled the final colorful stems from our front bushes. I think their coral/orange color is really beautiful ... and though they won't last through the winter, for now, they give great texture and color to the arrangement.

My friend Dorothy was kind enough to fashion this beautiful ribbon bow for the whole shebang, which gives it a second, third, maybe fourth layer of texture ... depending on where you start counting.

Then of course, the urn. Filled with twigs cut down by the power authority at the gorge edge, greens from a logged pine tree, berry branches, unteachable vines from our grape vine, sugar pine cones, and hydrangeas.

I love the beautiful mahogany color of the branches against the greenery. And the color of the hydrangea compliments the color of the ribbon at the front door.

Of course, the urn is special in and of itself, but I think that this natural and more masculine winter display certainly suits it well.

So there you have it, in a nut shell. From multi-colored twinkle lights and spray snow from a can, to a live, natural, and masculine approach to Christmas.

Come on in! :) Tomorrow we'll take a that tree with all the feathers ... and Thursday - a Christmas Party tablescape. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the exterior decor of CdlV this Christmas. Happy December!