2013 Home Tour, Part 1, The Outside of our Home

 Linking up to these Christmas 2014 Parties!!

Christmas in July Party

Welcome to our 2013 Home Tour!!!

Once again this year, I would like to take you on a Tour of the Front of our home and through each room of our home that is decorated for Christmas......

Last year, I had a total of 19 trees in all sizes and shapes in the house for Christmas. If it had lights or ornaments on it, I counted it!

This year, I was not able to live up to my own high expectations and because of the Remodel of our downstairs in September, being a hostess for our Church's Harvest Tea, Co-Chairing our church's Craft Fair and being a vendor at it and working full time, I will not be showing you all those trees because I simply ran out of time and did not get the entire house decorated like I usually have done in the past.

The upstairs is not decorated nor did I get to the Den this year but the newly remodeled rooms downstairs ( the Living Room, the Dining Room , the Kitchen and the Powder Room ) are decorated so I will be sharing those with you this year.

Today we will start with the outside of our home !!!

For the first time in 4 years of Blogging, I get to share with you, this early in the season,  how our outside Christmas decorations look with SNOW!!

Right after I finished the outside, we had a dusting of snow.

Joe knew that I would want to take pictures so he had the lights on when I came home from work the morning that it snowed......

This is what the front of our townhouse looks like from our parking lot.......

Joe had to get in the act!!

This was taken as I walked up the 13 steps to our front sidewalk and front porch.......

Looking down at our front porch from the steps......

Everything looks wonderfully festive with a dusting of snow.....

Let's stop here and let me show you some of the details......

.Every year, I wrap the garland around the front door......

2 years ago, I added Shatter proof balls to the wreaths on the front door and the windows......

This year, I bought Burlap like Deco Mesh and made bows and then placed those bows under the red velvet bows that have been on the wreaths and in other places for many years, updating the look a bit!

I was going to add some of the Burlap like Deco Mesh to the garland but we are on top of quite a hill and we get a lot of wind.

The garland is attached around the door by wrapping branches of it around screws that were drilled into the brick. That is why it does not lay straight and I was afraid by adding the weight of the Burlap Deco Mesh, it would blow off those screws!!

So I opted not to add it.....

See the Burlap like Deco Mesh behind the red velvet bows??????

This year, since we remodeled the whole downstairs except for one room by putting down Pergo Max Wood Laminate Floors, I did not want to haul all the pots for my Summer Flowers through the house out to the back yard.

So I decided to fill them with a mixture of real greenery and some faux greenery......

I also moved some of my garden angels out to the Front Porch and added this terra cotta one to this large pot.......

I cut off some branches from the shrubs in my flower bed under the Living Room window......

I added some pine cones and some greenery from the Dollar Tree.....

Here is what it looks like without the snow......

 Can you tell what is real greenery and what is not????

This is the left side of our front porch which you can see we share with our next door neighbor......

I left out this black garden chair plant stand and placed this garden angel on top of it......

I have had this metal  stocking for years and added a Burlap like deco mesh bow to the stand.......

And this was a clearance purchase at Target many years ago.....

It looks so much better on my milk can that I painted with gold trim in the Summer......

Last year, we replaced most of our lights with Warm White LED lights...........

 Looking at the rest of the Front Porch.......

 This year, I left a chair out on the porch because since the Remodel, Joe is not smoking in the house......

I picked up some birch branch pieces in Michael's on Clearance after Halloween........

I placed them in this metal basket......

And this, as many of you have seen before, is my childhood sled..........
.
I have placed it on display, all decked out , each Winter for over 25 years now.........

 One more of my cherished possessions is this wooden reindeer that my son, Joey, made for me in Cub Scouts many years ago........

 Now in the first pictures taken with the snow, I did not have any of my Christmas flags out.

That is because Joe looked for them in the bag with all the other flags and could not find them.....

When I got around to looking for them, I found them in the bag where they were , apparently right along!!!

LOL!!

SOOOOOOO..........

Here is Joe , asking, " So this is a Christmas flag??????" 

We did have a good laugh over it!!

Please ignore the ash tray in his hand!!!!!

So here it is with the Flag......

Another one of my most cherished possessions that I display outside at Christmas time is this wooden Sled that my son, Jimmy, made for me, also, in Cub Scouts!!

It was knocked down by some high winds and I had to fix it.......

LED Warm White lights were added last year to this wreath that I hang in the middle of the house.....

You can see the wreaths on all the windows......

I like the updated look with the burlap added to the bows.....

New this year is the Bird House Stands that I made in the Summer and moved them from the back yard to the front.......

One of them is on the Front Porch......

 I need to get a flameless votive candle for my little Lantern on the table yet......

 Again, I added real and faux greenery to my flower planters instead of hauling them out to the back yard through the house.......

 Looking out from the Front Porch.......

 You can see that I also kept these pots out.......

 Again, real and faux greenery mixed together......

I cut branches off trees on the side of our road but I felt like Chevy Chase in "Christmas Vacation" when the pages of the book he was reading stuck to his fingers after bringing the Christmas tree home!!!

Sappy little buggers!!!

 The bells that I hung from the garland are from Dollar Tree!!

I hung 3 together......

And Joe picked up these cute Warm White LED Lantern lights at Target this year......

The lights in them look like stars when lit up......

These are the shrubs that I cut branches off of.....

Again, pictures are minus my flags!!

LOL!!

The trees in the pots are artificial.........

Here are the Flags!!!

Much better!!

In the flower bed across from the Front Porch is my rusty bird bath......

Along with some Christmas Solar Lights.....

And my here is my Park Bench that I bought this past Summer......

I missed decorating it for Halloween and Fall but I did enjoy decorating it for Christmas!!

I love the look of it with the Snow!!!!

 I later changed the light bulb to a red CFL Bulb......

 Here is the other Bird House Stand......

And a Christmas Elf.....

Another terra cotta angel from the back yard.....

 Joe bought this Lantern on clearance at Wegman's in the early Fall......

 And another pot filled with real and faux greenery and birch branches......

 Here is what everything look like with out the snow......

Greenery and a metal Bird plaque on the lantern.......

 One Magic Hat waiting for Frosty......

The garland on the Bird House Stand.....

 And the greenery in the pot next to the Bench....

 And my other Flag.....

And of course, I have to show you how everything lit at night looks!!

Every year, on Thanksgiving night, we light the Christmas lights outside for the first time of the Season!!

Remember this is looking up from the parking lot......

Taken as I walk up the steps.......

  From the front sidewalk......

I used a green CFL light in the porch light......

I have a CFL spotlight shining on the house too......

The Front Door......

 The left side of the porch.....

The right side of the porch.....

See the lanterns lit???

Looking down toward the Flower Bed......

Looking up from the flower bed......

From the parking lot....

Joy is my word for 2013!!

I used 2 sets of Warm White LED Net lights from Target......

My Chippy Garden Angel....

 And my Park Bench.......

 I apologize for the light from the spotlight under the bench.....

 Joe was supposed to put the spotlight off to the side .....

 So I had to wait until it was warm enough that I was able to pry the spotlight out of the frozen ground and move it so this is how it looks now.....

 You not blinded by the spotlight now!!

   I have a flameless battery operated candle in the Lantern that has a timer.....

 And that completes Part One of Our 2013 Home Tour.

To continue the Tour and see  Part Two, The Living Room ,please click HERE

I will add a link to that post here in this post and will do the same with each subsequent Part of our Home Tour so you will be able to take the whole Tour by clicking on the link to the next part at the end of the previous one.

 I will be linking up to these great parties this week:

TUESDAY
 Show Me What You Got Tuesdays

 Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

Inspire Me Tuesdays

Tweak It Tuesdays

Tuesday's Treasures

The Scoop

Knick of Time Tuesday

You're Gonna Love It Tuesdays 
 The Gathering Spot

Brag About It Tuesday Linky Party here at VMG206 and also HERE at Be Betsy!

 Twirl and Take a Bow Party

 A-Zebra Linky party Tuesdays 

Cottage Style Linky Party

Tuesdays with a Twist

Tuesdays At Our Home 
  We Call It "Olde" Link Up Party

WEDNESDAY 

Wednesdays Make, Bake and Create party
 Fluster's Creative Muster Wednesday's
Wow Us Wednesday
Sizzle into Summer Party
 Lovely Ladies Linky Party
What's It Wednesday
Wonderful Wednesdays
 HOME Party on Wednesdays
Creative Wednesdays 
Rednesday 
 Wednesdays Adorned From Above Linky Party
Ducks in a Row Wonderful Wednesdays Blog Hop

THURSDAY
Treasure Hunt Thursdays

Home and Garden Party Thursday
  Homemaking Weekend Link Up Party
Time Travel Thursday
 Open House Party
Share Your Cup Thursday
Vintage Thingie Thursday
Inspired Creations Linky Party
Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop 
Grace at Home Party
 All Things Pretty Thursdays
Create it Thursday 
 Catch a Glimpse Thursday


FRIDAY

Home Sweet Home Friday
Be Inspired Fridays
Thrifty Things Friday
Simple and Sweet Fridays
 Show and Tell Friday
Tickled Pink Party
 Flaunt It Fridays
 Fabulously Creative Friday Linky Party at Jennifer Rizzo's
 What To Do Weekends
 TGIF Link Party
Inspire Me Please Weekend Blog Hop
 Inspire Me Fridays 
 Anything Goes Linky Party 
Ladies Only Blog Share Linky Party
Anything Blue and Pink Fridays
 Weekend Blog Linky Party
The Party Bunch
Friday's Five Features Party
Friday Favorites
 Let's Get Real Friday Party

SATURDAY
From the Farm Blog Hop
 Pink Saturday
Party Junk
 Strut Your Stuff Saturdays
One Great Idea Saturday Party
 Finding the Pretty and Delicious Party
Saturday Show and Tell 
  Serenity  Saturday
 Saturday SHO W-licious Craft Showcase
 Check Me Out Saturdays

SUNDAY
Seasonal Sunday

 The Creative Home and Garden Blog Hop

Bouquet of Talent Linky Party
That DIY Party
Inspired Sunday( Formerly Vintage View Sunday)
Submarine Sunday
Share It One More Time Sundays
DIY SHowcase 
 Clever Chicks Blog Hop 
Sunday Showcase 
 

MONDAY
Inspiration Mondays

  Amaze Me Mondays 

Mod Vintage Mix Monday

Metamorphosis Monday

Make It Pretty Monday

What'd You Do This Weekend? 
The DIY'ers 
Monday Link Party 
Making Monday Link Party


 CHRISTMAS PARTIES 2013
 All Things Christmas - Mondays
The Merriest Blog Hop - Thusdays

Holiday Open House - Thursdays
 Holiday House Walk Linky Party- December 9 
 Creating Christmas- A Vintage Christmas 
Christmas Extravaganza Party Time 
 Christmas Tour of Homes
The 12 Days of Christmas Share Your Home Linky Party! 

Please take some time to visit these terrific hosts and all those joining in on the fun!

Thanks so much for stopping by today and every day that you take the time to visit with me!

Hugs,
Debbie