Christmas at the Iveys

We kicked off the Christmas season with a little party thrown at our house Saturday night. Ever since I was little, I've been obsessed with the 1940s, '50s and '60s. Talk about a child born in the wrong decade. I even had a huge crush on Elvis when I was 12. I have no idea where this love came from, but I always have loved the glamour and the air of formality that followed in those decades. Women took time to dress up, parties were top notch and the music during that time was fabulous. So I tell you all this because we decided to have a theme with our party - "Festive and '40s." We asked everyone to dress up in their best 1940s Christmas attire, and we had Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Louis Prima and the like serenade us into the night. Our friends really got into it, and the last person left around 1 am! Sadly I didn't take a ton of photos as I was having too much fun, but here are a few:

(me and Meriwether)

(Laura and Amanda)

(the dapper Gatewoods and Meriwether)

(Rita Hayworth, Grace Kelly, and Katherine Hepburn)

(Collins, Cassidy, and Austin)

The weekend before we spent getting the house decorated. We got our Christmas tree from a great farm out in Round Hill, VA called Snickers Gap. It's a beautiful ride out to the countryside, and the farm provides you with a saw and rope. Then you can either take a hay ride out to the trees or just walk to find your perfect tree to chop. I went with a Blue Spruce this year because I loved the color of it. However, I don't think I'll go this route again as the needles are extra sharp. We had to wear gloves when decorating the tree!

I decided to go simple with our decorations this year, as the renovations took it out of me. I did a simple garland going up the stairs, garland on the front door along with a wreath on the front door and wreath over the fireplace. We weren't able to get our fireplace and mantel fixed in time, so next year I look forward to hanging stockings. It's amazing how just a little Christmas greenery makes a house light up. I wish I could keep it all year round!