Christmas at the Leonard's

You guys! I spent this week hard at work developing some Christmas spirit in our house. 

I think I succeeded, because Brian got home from work yesterday and immediately told me, "It looks like Christmas vomited in the front room." 

Yes! *fist pump* That was the goal!!

Well, the Christmas part. The vomit part - not so much. 

Our front room looked like some version of this for an unfortunately long time: 

What do you think of it now?

Much more homey, huh? Still a giant work in progress, but at least there's some place to sit, and a Christmas tree! 

Oh tanenbaum...the perfect accessory for any corner, don't you think? 

I was going for a brown, white, and silver theme with lots of natural products, very little glitter, and just a touch of whimsy. Brian calls it our "outdoor" tree, because I used so many organic ornaments. It's the first Christmas tree I've decorated that I would say is totally my style. 

It'll probably stay up through January, 1) because I love it so, and 2) because I don't have a good furniture replacement for that corner yet. 

Want a closer look at some of my favorites? 

One of several frosted blown glass ornaments.

Cute little acorns.

Beaded beauty. 

Pinecones - just the cinnamon scented cones that you can find anywhere with some twine to hang them. They make the tree smell amazing. 

Crimson feather picks - Hobby Lobby for 1/2 off. Wait to decorate your tree until just a week before Christmas, and I promise you'll get some excellent deals. 

Polka-dot flying "V" - a trimming from the tree topper. An impromtu ornament I ended up loving. 

Rudolph's cousin, Herringbone. 

Some other forest-y friends. 

A reading owlie. 

All whimsical stuffed ornaments I picked up at Target. Love. 

What a handsome reflection!

The topper - polka-dot burlap ribbon made into a bow using this super helpful video tutorial. 

I used the same tutorial for the bow at the base of the stairs. 

Wanna see the rest of the room? Real quick, I promise. 

Glitter pillow? A must. 

Rudoph! There you are!  

Owlie's less literate friend. 

The glitter pillows needed a friend too. Hence, glitter ball. 

Are you sensing that I like birds yet? 

Beloved antique piano - for always, not just for Christmas. 

Finally found the right flower arrangement for the large red vase I bought at Target 2 years ago. Took me long enough. 

Last, but never least, the tree is even prettier in the dark. 

I used f-stop 3.5, SS 1/15, ISO 3200 and propped the camera on a stool - since we don't have a tripod yet. I'm pretty proud of it, since I'm such a photography novice. 

Sadie couldn't resist photobombing. 

Google notified me they had an "auto-awesome" upgrade for my photo. I thought it was pretty awesome already.  

Which do you like best?