Merry (early) Christmas To Us! (And some Christmas decorations!)

 I started whining mentioning to my husband how I'd love to do a DIY faux fireplace.
In the 21 years we've been married, we've never had a fireplace in any of the homes we've lived in.  I was telling him about all of the cool faux fireplaces on Pinterest that I had seen and how we could create something really unique and fun.  I've always wanted a mantel to decorate for all of the seasons and holidays.  I knew a "real" fireplace was out of the question, as it would cost a lot to install a gas one, so I thought "faux" was the next best thing.  We could light lots of candles and make it lots of fun.  Well...dear hubby says, "Why don't we look for an electric one instead?"  Well I never even considered that!  We looked around...and although electric fireplaces HAVE come a long way...we were still really wanting that "real flame".  Soooo...
We got a "gel fuel" fireplace!  It uses small cans of gel fuel and you get that real flame!
Yay!

 It is so awesome.  I love the ambiance it gives the room.  So cozy!
We already decorated for Christmas and I'm loving the warmth the fireplace adds to the room!

 I FINALLY got my mantel to decorate!
I set out a crystal bowl and put some marbleized glass Christmas bulbs in it.  Then I set out my "HOPE" plaque that my momma made for me.  A little reindeer votive holder.  My "JOY" milk bottles.  A glass vase of candy canes.  And I also added my brand new cashmere winter mittens that I got last year for my birthday!

 We decorated for Christmas early this year.
Normally, I say, "The tree does NOT go up before Thanksgiving!  We have to give Thanksgiving its do time!"
Well, with Thanksgiving falling so late this year, and as much work as it is to put out all of the decor, I caved and we decorated early so we could enjoy it for longer.

I put up two trees again this year.  One in the living room and one in the family room.
The one above is the living room tree. 

Knick-knacks on our end tables...

 My momma made me the JOY bottles and the HOPE plaque.

 My snowmen...

 The tree in the family room...

 Momma made me the JOY plaque too...

 Mom and dad made the "For unto us a child is born" tree...they're such DIYers!

 More table decor...

 Coffee table...

 Living room...

 Kitchen...

 Patio...

 Entryway...

Half wall between upper and lower levels...

That's just "a little" taste of it all.  I have stuff everywhere...every room of the house.

Even the bathrooms get decorated.

Do you decorate every room of your house?
Do you set up more than one tree?
What are your favorite decorating traditions?
I hope you all have a wonderful time preparing for the upcoming holiday season!

Will try to post more during this joyous season!

Merry Christmas!

SNOWvember...

I  know I already shared our snowy SNOWvember (November) picture with you.

Here's a fun little video I took out our window early in the month.

Enjoy!

Oh the weather outside is frightful...

 This isn't the way it's supposed to be.
It's November for goodness sake.
"I don't remember having this much snow and these bitter temperatures before Thanksgiving in...FOREVER!" my husband cries!
This "IS" typical Michigan winter weather...
But not "NOVEMBER" weather.

These pictures don't really do justice to the "damage"...as this was pretty early on.

We first got about 8 inches, then another 6 or 7...

They say another "dumping" is coming tonight or tomorrow.

Possibly 4-7 inches more.

I have to say, I do enjoy it when I don't have to go anywhere (I work from home)...

But when I "have" to go out...to the store, to church, to the boys' schools, events...

It's pretty uninviting.

I don't see well at night to drive, much less in whiteout conditions.

I guess my only complaint is that when the snow starts so early, we don't get to enjoy fall, my favorite season, near long enough.  It makes our already long winters, even longer.
But it is what it is, right?
We are healthy, stocked up on supplies, and our snowblower is working hard!
We're all in this together, right?  Bring it!