Tour Of Homes: The Stressed-Out, Iced-In Edition

My friend Sophie is hosting her annual Christmas Tour Of Homes carnival, the best party in blogland.  As of this writing, there are over 600 participants.

That's a lot of tinsel.

I have participated in previous years (here and here, should you desire to see), and I had every intention of pulling it together again this year.  And I was even going to try a new twist, getting out the video camera to video-blog our favorite Christmas decoration. 

But do you know what happens when you give a ten-year-old boy a camera, some candles and a lighter? 

You get showing off, that's what you get.  And you almost get a torched coffee table. 

We nixed the video, but that was okay, because I was planning to play a little catch-up today.  I could whip the house into shape, and surely I could still manage a few pretty pictures. 

Then we got an ice storm last night.  No school.  Lots of togetherness.  And already there is word of no school again tomorrow.  Hence, no pretty pictures.  But here are some very accurate ones.

Here's my front door on a snow day.  Don't you like the coats and gloves and boots we store cleverly in the middle of the floor?  And can you see the back side of that wreath through the front door window?  That's my fall wreath.  It's covered in pumpkins and orange leaves.  Merry Christmas!

First up is my kitchen table.  On one end are the teacher gifts I finished this weekend, although I can't seem to get them delivered, because there is no school.  Ah, irony. 

Here's the movie marathon that took place in my living room today: 

This is what my laundry room looks like when momma spends too much time on a movie marathon:

And this is what my kitchen counters look like after a couple of hours of a snow day:

This was our sophisticated holiday lunch:

Thanks for stopping by. For a list of home tours that don't involve pizza boxes, get your mouse-clicky fingers ready and head over to BooMama's!

Comments

[pam at beyondjustmom]

Hilarious. I threw out my back yesterday, so our decorating has come to a screeching halt. Thanks for the validation!

[Rebecca]

I appreciate SO MUCH the real-ness of this post. It's refreshing to see that other people have messes, too, sometimes. Especially after looking at all the holiday goodness on the tour of homes. (Which is fun but guilt inducing at the same time). My favorite part was the fall wreath on the front door. I will not tell you about the small pumpkins sitting next to my front stoop, no one will ever know they are they because they are covered with snow!

[Adventures In Babywearing]

I love so much that you keep it real. Who needs a coat rack or closet when we have all this floor space? That's how we do it in our house.

Steph

[Adventures In Babywearing]

I love so much that you keep it real. Who needs a coat rack or closet when we have all this floor space? That's how we do it in our house.

Steph

[Amy from Texas]

Ha!!! Love your home tour!! That's what mine looks like if I were to back up from my close up shots. Too funny:-)

[Carol]

I feel so much better now.

[Lisa @ Stop and Smell the Chocolates]

Love it - Thank You!! Looks very similar to my house right now!

[Amy @ Cheeky Cocoa Beans]

Your home looks a lot like mine! Well, except for the pizza boxes...haven't seen those except once in 6 months. (Waaaahh!) I agree with the others--yours is the best I've visited so far! Merry Christmas!

[Katherine]

Oh, Shannon -- I LOVE you! I found myself needing a little transparency today.
Hope you enjoyed the snow day, even without much snow. :)
And I LOVED that candle holder when I was little --- maybe I should get one for my kids to, um, enjoy.

[Margot]

I like your version of the Christmas Tour - much better than contrived, so-off photos. Your home looks happy and loved.

[Heather]

Thank you Thank you Thank you! I really loved seeing your "home" ... your real home ... in it's lived in state. It really made me feel OK with how my home looks too - when my two little boys and one big boy are here. The only time it looks like a magazine is when we are all not here living in it. Enjoy you're "lived-in" moments!
Blessings,
Heather