Christmas at our place

I thought I'd share a few pictures of the way I've been able to 'do up' the place.  We're on a tight budget, as usual, so there isn't anything fancy going on, but it does feel like Christmas, none-the-less.  At least, it does in one room...

We don't have a fireplace or a mantle, but we do have book shelves!  One got the stockings - don't ask me why we have 5 stockings for 2 people and a dog.  We got the NOEL blocks last year on a post-holiday clearance.

Behind the E is an old-fashioned Hershey's candy jar.  I don't know if it itself is an antique, though.  It came from my grandpa's house, in Hershey, PA - I think he gave it to me because he was tired of looking at it.

Next door to the stocking bookcase is the rest of the Christmas stuff that most people put on doors or on top of their mantles or somewhere else.  For us, these include Christmas cards, a tree topper that doesn't top very well but is still awesome, my "Dr. Seuss" Christmas tree hailing back to my single-gal post-grad days that I did up with neon pink disco balls, and our new Advent calendar.  Next year we hope to add an Advent wreath.

We are North Carolina people, which means we are Real Tree people.  There is a family-operated garden/lawn shop in our neighborhood that sells North Carolina fraser firs every year.  We splurged on a real tree as broke newlyweds last year, and this year we returned, less broke but just as enthusiastic.

These are some of our favorite ornaments.  I got the idea for the 'zooming' toaster photo from this blog.  It felt good to do something new for a change, and get to know the camera a little bit better.