Decking the Halls

Hello Friends!

I finally completed decorating the front porch at Southard House and I wanted to share the photos with you.  Here is the final product!  This is my first time to decorate for Christmas at Southard House and I think it is so beautiful!  I have never decorated a porch this big before and I think I did a pretty good job!  

I love the silver and white decorations this year!  They shimmer in the sunlight and look magical - just like Christmas ought to be!

I put together this topiary with James' help.  I think the gusty Oklahoma wind has gotten the best of it though.  This beautiful urn belongs to the previous homeowner and she is graciously loaning it to us for the time being.  I have put it to good use and will continue to do so until it has to leave.

Here is the sleigh all decked out for the holidays.  You might have seen pictures of her before at Enid Lights up the Plains.  We gave her some fresh coats of black paint (the original color) and now she looks so classy!  Now all we need is a horse and some snow!  The cherub statue you see sitting next to the sleigh belongs to the previous homeowner.  She is also letting us borrow her.  The cherub got a pretty silver bow around her neck to decorate her up for the holidays.  I absolutely LOVE this statue and I know I will cry when she has to leave.

I put together two small wreaths to greet guests at the front doors.  I love painted jingle bells so I painted some white, sprinkled them with crystal glitter, and attached them to the wreath.  The wreaths make a gentle jingling sound when you open the front door and I love to hear that sound at Christmastime.  I also added those beautiful angel ornaments.  They are also covered in crystal glitter and they really sparkle in the light.

My very favorite part of the porch decorations is the beautiful angel wings centered over the front doors.  I used to be the coordinator for a teen drama troupe in the community and I purchased these angel wings several years ago as a prop for one of their skits. 

One night when I was laying in bed thinking about how I would like to decorate the porch (which is more often than not these days) I remembered that I had these wings and I knew I wanted to use them somehow. I want Southard House to represent peace, love, and serenity and I think I can best do that through the use of angels and cherubs in my decorating.  You will see them all throughout Southard House when we open.  I have never seen the use of the angel wings over the door like this before so I think this is an original design application!  I really love it and I will probably leave them up for other holiday decorating in the future!

James will be adding some icicle lights to the porch and we may add some to a few of the bushes in the front yard as well.  This will give Southard House the perfect glow it needs for the holidays!  Now I just need to talk James in to buying me this pair of beautiful illuminated angels for the front lawn that I have picked out in a catalog and it will be perfect!

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If you live in Enid you are welcome to drive by 518 W. Pine in the evening to see the decorations lit up.  Hopefully the lights will be on for you!  It is very magical and romantic on the front porch at night.

I guess the front porch of Southard House is all I am going to get to decorate this year for Christmas.  We are still in negotiations with contractors, plumbers, electricians, and fire suppression crews to begin work on the house so we can open soon.  You have no idea how anxious I am to decorate this house, so I have been taking my frustration out on my little cottage in North Enid.  I wanted to show you a sneak peak of what is to come next year for Southard House.

 I have a beautiful antique ivory china hutch that will be moved into the dining room of Southard House and I always decorate it to the hilt for each holiday and season.  I love the ivory, white, and silver color theme this year.  I will be using a lot of these decorations next year at Southard House.

This is a sweet snowflake tea set I plan to use during the winter months at Southard House.  I hope we get some snow this winter, it makes the tea and cocoa that much sweeter!

 Here is my fireplace mantle adorned with angels and cherubs.  You will see them at Southard House all year long.  The cherubs will become part of the decoration in the parlor and the beautiful angel in the middle will find a home in Suite Blessings.  The fireplace will also be moved to Suite Blessings in the bedroom area.

Here is my Christmas tree all dressed up in silver, ivory, and white.  The mannequin on the other side of the fireplace will be in the parlor at Southard House and she will be dressed up for each holiday or season.  I have lots of big plans for making Southard House a truly amazing showplace!  I hope you will come visit us and stay the night if you can!

I have a great blog post about breakfast at Southard House in the works so I hope you will come back and check it out!  Until then . . .

May You Be Blessed!

Tammy