Holiday Home Tour {Dining & Kitchen}

Welcome to the start of our holiday home tour!  Today I'm joining a lovely bunch of bloggers for a holiday home tour blog hop.  The Blogger Stylin' Home Tour organized by Lindsay {The White Buffalo Styling Co.} to be exact.  Be sure to stop by Craftberry Bush to see Lucy's beautiful home!

I'm going to share our holiday house tour in two parts.  I put so much time into decorating that it seems like a lot for only one post. (I also have focus issues and there were just way too many photos for one post.)  Today you can check out our dining room and kitchen.   You can then rest up and check out our living room tomorrow!

Our dining room is sporting some red and plaid this holiday season.  I've been embracing the world of color since adding the yellow chairs to our farmhouse table.  I have to keep telling myself, "Color good."  It's been an adjustment but I love how the dining room is looking lately.

We have two trees that we put up each year.  We were worried there wouldn't be enough room for the tree we usually place in the dining room beings our new table is much larger than our old table.  The tree still fits in here snugly! 

Our dining cart is sporting a little hot cocoa station up top along with my vintage Christmas tree.  The lower shelves hold my darling Pyrex and our wedding china.  The "antiques" sign is a recent addition.  More on that soon!

You may remember my VW van with bottle brush tree place cards.  And the time I hosted a fake dinner party.  I mean, our Christmas tablescape.

Moving onto the kitchen.  I like to keep things simple in the kitchen.  I'm a tidy person.  Our kitchen gets abused during the holidays and I don't need a bunch of extra junk in my way. 

I always add a poinsettia in the kitchen.  It's one of the few items that remains consistent in our holiday decor.  This year I slapped it into a metal bucket.  Classed the joint right up.

There are a few other pops of Christmas cheer.  My Santa cookie jar makes me happy. He's so jolly.   I make him guard my Kitchen Aid.  Like Santa isn't busy enough this time of year.  I have a berry tree hidden in the corner.  Color good.

I love the view of our dining room from the kitchen.  My farmhouse-but-not-cheesy-farmhouse dreams are coming to life!

***Update: Finish our home tour here!***

Head on over to The Curtis Casa to continue the blog hop!  I also recommend stopping by the whole big ol' list of fabulous homes!  Tons of great holiday inspiration!

Monday:

Lindsay - The White Buffalo Styling Co.

Roeshel - DIY Showoff

Jess and Monica - East Coast Creative

Laura - Finding Home

Jesse - Scout and Nimble

Sarah - Sarah M. Dorsey Designs

Angela - Number Fifty-three

Gwen - The Makerista

Brittany - Brittany Makes

Tuesday:

Ashley - The Handmade Home

Anneke - This, That, & Life

Gina - Shabby Creek Cottage

Cassie - Primitive & Proper

Caitlin - Desert Domicile

Jenna - Rain on a Tin Roof

Sarah - The Thriftress

Carolyn - Sweet Chaos Home

Jamie - So Much Better with Age

Shavonda - A Home Full of Color

Wednesday: 

Emily - Jones Design Company

Jamie - C.R.A.F.T.

Lucy - Craftberry Bush

Michelle - Decor and the Dog

Whitney - The Curtis Casa

Kristin - Bliss at Home

Summer - Simple Stylings

Sarah - Lacquer and Linen

Kelly - View Along the Way

Thursday:

Kennesha – Restoration House Interiors

Jenna - SAS Interiors

Chris - Just a Girl

Kelly - Eclectically Vintage

Michelle - Iron and Twine

Amanda - Our Humble Abode

Julia - Cuckoo 4 Design

Bethany - Dwellings by Devore

Lindsay - Makely Home

Jennifer - Dimples & Tangles

Friday:

Shauna - Perfectly Imperfect

Traci - Beneath My Heart

Jen - The Chronicles of Home

Jennifer - Tatertots and Jello

Kristin - Hunted Interior

Eileen - A Creative Day

Gabbi - Retro Ranch Reno

Shannon - Shannon Berry Design

Lakeitha - Lakeitha Duncan

Kristen - KFD Designs

Jessica - Dear Emmeline

Sarah - Royal Marigold

Carmel - Our Fifth House

Also, don't forget to link up your handmade gift idea in the Dare to Give Handmade link up!

Simple Sangria Recipe

It's that time of year again.  The time where you have to find a way to deal with your family so you turn to booze.

I kid.  I kid.

I do, however, love to celebrate the holidays with a tasty sangria.  I love sangria because it's usually sweet and doesn't taste like alcohol. There aren't a lot of ingredients for sangria.   I also like sangria because it's pretty.  Always important.  Today I thought I'd share with you one of my holiday favorites.

Sangria is also ridiculously easy to make. It's one of those drinks that looks fancy/hard to make but totally isn't.

Here are the ingredients for sangria:

• Glass Pitcher

• Cutting board

• 1 bottle white wine (cheap is always good for sangria)

• 1/2-1 bottle sparkling apple cider or apple juice (both work. amount depends on how bubbly you like your sangria)

• 2 clementines

• 1 Granny Smith apple

• 1 Gala apple

• 1-2 cups cranberries

You will need to chop up your fruit.

Once you have your fruit all clean and chopped and sliced and diced, you will add it to a pitcher with the wine and cider.

Look how pretty it is!  Look who finally learned how to use the DSLR!  *pats self on back*

Chill in the fridge until you're read to serve.  You could mix this up over night.  I would probably wait to add the sparkling cider until just before serving if you are waiting that long.  (Make sure it's chilled!)

Here's a handy dandy recipe for printing if you're into that sort of thing.

Click on the photos below for more holiday fun!

Christmas Wreath Trio

Andes Mint Cookies

Bottle Brush Tree Place Cards

Holiday Home Tour

Make a Gnome

How to Make a Marquee

Holiday Home Tour

Holiday Home Tour

Peppermint Oreo Truffles

Are you a sangria fan?  What's your holiday drink of choice?

DIY Dog Treat Jar {Dare to DIY}

Happy Monday!  It's a party today here at Decor and the Dog.  I'm hosting the Dare to DIY Give Handmade party today.  Don't worry, there's Sangria.  You can do this.  

I was talking out loud again.  Sorry.

Handmade gifts can get a bad rap.  Thanks for the 100th fleece tie blanket, Grandma.  Ike and I, however, love a handmade gift that is thoughtful and well executed.  Handmade gifts don't need to be expensive or difficult.  As is the case with my Dare to Give Handmade gift, a DIY Good Dog Treat Jar.

Ike loves Christmas so very much.  He loves spending time with family and opening presents.  He totally approved of my treat jar.  And then he kept begging for treats.

Here's how to make your own for those special pups in our life. This could totally work for your feline friends as well.  Shove that jar full of those tiny cat toys that Ike loves so much.  Or how about a "Good Kid" treat jar?

Supplies

• 1 glass jar with lid (I purchased one guy from Hobby Lobby.)
• Glass Etching Cream (I purchased mine at Hobby Lobby.  Bring your coupon!)
• Painter's tape
• Stickers (or some form of lettering that is sticky)
• Paint brush

Apply your stickers to your jar.  You could also use some form of fancy cutting machine (Silhouette, etc).  I don't own anything fancy like that so I bought some stickers.  Press those stickers on well.  You don't want the etching cream to sneak under the letters.

Apply your painter's tape as close to the lettering as possible.  The etching cream doesn't work the best in large areas so keep it close.  Press the tape down well also.

Apply the etching cream according to the package instructions.  Mine said 5 minutes. I did almost 10 because I'm a rebel.  Or get distracted easily.  

Run the jar under water to remove the etching cream.  It takes a little bit of time. Dry the jar. Remove the tape and stickers and marvel at your superior glass etching skills.

Now it's time to fill the jar with your favorite treats.  I made some of Ike's favorite treats to fill the jar.  I figure if they are Ike approved, any dog will love them!  I used a scrap of fabric to tie around the top to add a little festive flare!

Be sure to stop by my lovely co-hosts and check out their handmade gift ideas.  I can't wait for all of them to arrive at my doorstep.

Cassie {Primitive and Proper} assembled some beautifully quirky vintage mug planters.  Kim {Newlywoodwards} whipped up a cozy knit infinity scarf.  Rachel {Maybe Matilda} made the cutest kid pants I have ever seen.

Now it's time to see your handmade gift creations! One of the links from the link party will be randomly chosen to win this week’s giveaway— A $50 stencil shopping spree from Royal Design Studio Stencils.  (I'm a BIG fan.  Check out their stencils in use in my powder room and craft room!) 

Be sure to "like" Royal Design Studio on facebook for more stencil inspiration! 

Now there ain't no party like a Decor and the Dog party and a Decor and the Dog party has rules.

1. Up to two links per person.
2. Your post must be ‘give handmade’ related.
3. Please link back to at least one of the hosts of Dare to DIY.  I'll make it easy.  Copy and paste this:

Linking up with: Decor and the Dog, Maybe Matilda, Newlywoodwards and Primitive and Proper!

4. Hop around and visit other links and leave some comment love.

I can't wait to see what you all are making me for Christmas.