Lingering Holidays, Home and More Ornament Craftiness

Let it be known that I am really sad the holidays are over. They come and go so quickly that I never get to enjoy them as fully as I want to. After New Year's Day, everyone's decorations come down and everything is just plain cold and dull. (I spotted one of our neighbors taking down his twinkle lights the morning after Christmas, that scrooge.) Which is why I'm posting these photos my parents sent me of their dining room, decked out for Christmas a few weeks ago -- because I just need ONE more dose of holiday spirit before I'm set for the winter.

The main reasons you might care to see them are 1) my parents are the inspiration behind my love of scrounging for cool old things, and 2) these photos feature the first ornament/glue gun project I attemped several years ago: the legendary "Ball of Balls." I love that I am 26 years old and my mom still puts my "artwork" on display.

I also love that I never know what fun items are going to be swapped out and switched around when I visit their house -- which they've been working on renovating and restoring for about 20 years now. It's still a work in progress, but it has come a long, long way since I was a kid, when the heat was questionable and the kitchen nonexistent. It makes S and me realize that our own house probably won't (and doesn't have to) be an overnight project. Home is home, whether it's decorated for Christmas or scattered with construction debris.