sunday simplicity

To Wander and Seek via Floridian Social

"O’er many a heath, through many a woodland dun, 
Through buried paths, where sleepy twilight dreams

The summer time away.” ― John Keats, Endymion

DIY Elegant Woodland Wreath

After seeing how similar my Christmas trees and decor choices have been over the past several years (short version: lots of red), I decided to take my Christmas decorations in a new direction this year. First, I decided to challenge myself to decorate for Christmas without red this year. Then, I zeroed in on the idea that I wanted to guide my spirit this holiday season: world peace. Along the way, my vision of a peaceful, natural Christmas evolved into a glamorous woodland mishmash, and I'm happy with the final result.

Every year when we decorate our tree on the day after Thanksgiving, I decorate our wreath to match the same theme. I think it really gives our home a sense of continuity, and hopefully, the way our visitors are welcomed into our holiday home gives them an idea of the warmth and beauty that they will find inside. I'll be sharing our tree and other decorations in the days to come, but today I wanted to welcome you all to the country townhouse, Christmas style.

As always, I began with a simple wreath form from the craft store. This year I took out everything from last year and started from scratch! The first thing to go on was layered gold and burlap ribbon followed by white poinsettias (artificial, of course - I'm pretty sure I got these from the dollar store!). Three flowers in a triangle shape help to anchor the design. I just stick the poinsettia stems right into the wreath and wrap the wires around the faux pine branches for stability.

We loved adding a dollar-store garland and a simple strand of lights to our front porch decor last year, and I think the white lights look really awesome paired with this year's wreath. After adding the poinsettias to the wreath, I wired on some glittered pine cone ornaments (I found them at KMart) and some shatterproof gold and green mini ornaments found last year at Big Lots.

Linking Up:

Flaunt It Friday at Chic on a Shoestring

The Party Bunch at Whipperberry

Share It at The Winthrop Chronicles

year in review: favorite posts of 2014

Yesterday, I shared some of the most popular posts on Beyond the Aisle from 2014.  Today, I'm celebrating the end of a great year with a little hat-tip to my personal favorite posts.

My January in Entertainment - I really started the year strong with my media choices - I read Tina Fey and Mindy Kaling's books, my all-time favorite memoir about Christianity, and started a YA series that I loved.

Valentine's Day Party Ideas - Even though none of my party ideas were that innovative or fancy, I really had fun throwing a Valentine's Day party for my girlfriends.

If My Blog Was an Outfit - This was just fun.  I love ideas that circulate the blogosphere and help me be more creative.

Goal Setting: What Fires Me Up! - I come back to this list when I need a reminder.

On Wednesdays We Wear Pink - I love my weird posts, and my idea to create Polyvore outfits for each of the main characters in Mean Girls was definitely weird.

Photo an Hour - I think that when I've been teaching for 10, 15, or 20 years it will really be interesting to come back to this post to remember what a day of teaching eighth grade in 2014 was like.  Four 84-minute class periods of up to 30 kiddos each, interactive white boards, journals, and bulky metal laptop carts are all so normal to me now, but who knows what's to come in my teaching career.

My Early Summer in Entertainment - I can't believe I got to see Delta Rae, Willie Nelson, and Alison Krauss this summer.  Still not over it.

Our Williamsburg, Virginia Vacation Part 1 - A.K.A. the vacation I thought would be lame that ended up being totally fun.

My Late Summer in Instagram - Instagram round-up posts really remind me how special and beautiful my life really is.

Letting My Geek Flag Fly! [Geek Girl Tag] - Since no one chased me with a pitchfork after I posted this one, expect things to get even more geeky around here in the future.

My Fall in Instagram - In which I was a pony for Halloween.  NEVER FORGET.

DIY Cardinal Christmas Wreath - Probably my favorite craft project of the year; I really do love making wreaths.

Happy New Year's Eve!