Merry Christmas (from our rental house)

Dec 17, 2014

By Meg Harrington

With one little birdie already out of the nest and another birdie not to far from flying away, we’ve decided it’s time to downsize. After years of living large (and admittedly loving it), we’ve made the decision to go small, smart and stylish.

The Cast:
Meg and Scott: the homeowners
Molly and Lily: college and high school-aged daughters
Linda MacArthur: the architect
Michael Ladisic: the builder
(…and a delightful cast of characters who make it all happen with sledgehammers, wheelbarrows, screwdrivers, sheetrock and shovels.)

Update: We think we’re going to have good news in the permit department soon, but until we get the A-OK, I continue to dream about The Nest and how fun it will be to decorate for Christmas next year.

For now, this is as far as we’ve gotten: a beautifully decorated mailbox by the lovely volunteers of Brookhaven Friends. These great gals festoon the neighborhood mailboxes while your donation goes to the most worthwhile non-profit organization: Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. We’re so lucky to have this amazing institution in our city and around Brookhaven, it’s a holiday tradition to have your mailbox tastefully decorated with greens, berries and bows.
In the meantime, we’ve gussied up the rental with a tree loaded with all our fave ornaments (most of which are the funny ones that the girls made in nursery school. Who can resist gold spray-painted macaroni and a glue stick?)

(I just hope my daughters don’t find out that I’ve posted these….they arevery favorite ornaments)

We’ve slapped up a couple wreaths on the rental’s front door (adorned with gorgeous chartreuse ribbons that I’ve used for the last couple years) and we’re good to go. There’s no fireplace in the rental, so just for fun, we’ve downloaded an app on Apple TV that shows the cozy progression of a newly-lit fire all the way down to its embers. With all the crackling noises, too!

And my imagination’s been going crazy with all the possibilities of a charming cottage Christmas next year! (And for tips for holiday decorating, check out some sassy little decorating tips here.)

Okay, there’s probably not a snowball’s chance that we’ll have snow, but this looks so pretty.
Remember all my porch talk? Can’t wait to have a tree just to put by the porch fire…next year.

Chic cottage Christmas: keep it simple and organic.