Think Different; Think Rachel!: My Apartment's First Christmas!

As soon as I got my apartment looking how I wanted to look, it was time to move everything around to make room for my Christmas decor. My family's Christmas tradition is to put up the tree and decorate on my dad's birthday (December 12th) and we've gotten real Christmas trees almost as long as I can remember! This year, I was so excited to be able to start my own tradition. I didn't really pick a specific date to decorate, but my mom and I were going tho see the Nutcracker on the 6th and I kind of wanted to have my place decorated before then so that it would really feel like Christmas! I ended up choosing a rainy Sunday evening. After church, I decided that this was the day! So I pulled out all of my stuff and went for it. I had a fake tree, which I wasn't really used to, so putting it together was a new adventure, but I did it!

While decorating, the plan was to have some Turkish Delight and hot cocoa while watching The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I know it's not actually a Christmas movie, but it makes me feel Christmasy, so I went with it. Everything was going as planned until I decided to make so cocoa and realized that I had no mugs! How did this happen?!? I was a little bummed, but decided that I could drink my cocoa out of a regular cup. Anyways, as I took my decorations out of the box, I came across a little box, still sealed, which I recognized immediately as the box that held the most perfect Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer MUG ever! I had completely forgotten about it until it was rediscovered! Now I could go forward with my decorating plans and I even even had a mug for my cocoa! Without further ado, here's my finished Christmas-ed apartment!

Welcome!

I fell in love with this Jim Shore snow globe many years ago when I saw it at Disneyland! I bought it and put in away to use in first apartment! I was SO excited to finally get to use it!

I love Nativities! Sadly, I have way too many to put out! I have about 7 more really pretty ones that I didn't use this year, but maybe next year! I was very excited to have these out, though!

This Nativity belonged to my Grandma Merrell. I love it and was so happy to finally be able to put it out in my own place! It reminds me of her and how I used to look at it on display in her china closet year-round when I was a little girl!

These two Nativities (the one above and the one below) came from the Christmas Store, Jule Hus, in Solvang! I saw them and fell in love, so I've had them for a while, just waiting to be put out in my own place!