Our farmhouse at Christmas

Welcome to our little farmhouse. It is our first Christmas in this home, as we moved in March from the suburbs of Altanta to a farm in rural Alabama to fulfill my husband's dream of owning a working, organic farm. We have enjoyed this Christmas season so much! We are trying to embrace the peace and beauty of our farm, but also the bustling activities of a big city just an hour away. It has been wonderful this season!

Our friends enter the back door at the farm. They land in our kitchen. We tore out most of the kitchen cabinets and replaced them with open shelves. For Christmas, I removed most of my white china and added pops of greens and reds on the shelves. There is a lot of natural decor in the kitchen. Lentils for a splash of green, cuts of evergreen branches from our Christmas tree, and cranberries for a splash of red. I am certainly are not opposed to color! Here is our Christmas tassel (inspired by the Nester a few Christmases ago) hanging on our turquoise china cabinet. (Old farmhouses do not come with pantries!) Our family room is where we hang out most nights. Almost all of our decor was given to us or made. Like this paper garland from a decorating class I taught a few years ago. Simple and cheap!The Christmas village that my husband started for me when we were engaged and has added to over the years. It is a treasure and I love putting it out every year!

We hang a few simple berry wreaths on the front windows.

This little painting I bought last year is a favorite. My best friend gave me a gift card to an antique store. LOVED that gift and I appreciated how well she knows me. One of my favorite things to do on an afternoon alone is roam an antique store! We still buy a real Christmas tree each year. It has no "theme", just ornaments from the children, friends, and students from over the years. I just can't give in to a "themed" tree. There's artwork in little corners everywhere from years past. I especially love these paintings we made last year. The children each have simple little trees in their rooms, along with a strand of lights around their windows. Very simple and inexpensive. And dining room (current school room) has a big fireplace with the our stockings. My best friend from high school and her Mom started the tradition of having needlepoint stockings when they gave me these at a wedding shower. I can hardly remember the days of only two stockings on the mantle. Lots of reminders of who we are celebrating all around the house, too. I let the kids play with all of these nativities. Crazy, I know. But I hold these things loosely (literally). Over the years we have only broken one piece- a shepherd's head. It glued back nicely and all is well. Merry Christmas!
Hope you are enjoying this beautiful season!