Every time a bell rings, I burn myself with a glue gun.

I don't know what my deal is, but this year, I have been ALL ABOUT Christmas. It's like my holiday spirit had been quashed in previous years by a 70-hour work week and crippling anxiety over the billable quotient of those 70 hours. Now that that particular stress has been lifted, it's like I have been infected with Christmas cheer. (What? I just like to smile. Smiling's my favorite!) Believe me, it's as painful as it sounds. Anyway, poor Mark has had to bear the brunt of my "cheer." The poor thing has been force fed Christmas carols and made to participate in decorating the crap out of the house. He mostly finds me amusing (thank GOD), but I fear he is reaching his limit. Luckily the rest of my plans are of the baking variety. Whew!

Just so you can feel bad for my poor, sweet husband, though, here's a peek at what we've been up to:

I saw this on Suburban Bliss years ago and have been shamelessly copying ever since. So cute, right?

I actually stuffed clear glass ornaments with fake snow and then strung them up with ribbons. This was when Mark began seriously questioning my sanity, in case you were wondering.

Hey, you know what's a BAD idea? Covering your entire house in pine garland about an hour before company is due.

God bless the Dyson.

This is the main tree. I love the look of all of the fancy themed trees I've been seeing online, but am staunchly opposed to them in my own home. This one is covered in old, mismatched, keepsake ornaments, and I wouldn't have it any other way. My mom even made that tree skirt when I was little. LOVE IT.

I hot glued bead garland to a candle. Back away from the Pinterest, woman.

I cannot begin to describe how annoyed I am by that votive on the left that is not equally spaced. I'm too lazy to go take another picture, but don't worry, I fixed it.

I even bought sparkly crap to shove into the pine garland. WHO AM I?

I take no credit -- this one is all Mark.

It's a Red Sox themed village. See Fenway in the back there?

See that circle-y thing on the red ribbon? I hot glued tiny clothespins to an embroidery hoop, then spray painted it all silver and hung it up there to display Christmas cards. To date, we have received exactly ONE CARD. What the hell, people?

This is my favorite. I have been lobbying hard for a real tree for years, and Mark (rightly) refuses, because we travel for the holidays and it would be a pain to de-tree before leaving. However, when he spotted this little guy at the garden center, he snagged it for me. How cute is that?

I hosted a holiday brunch for a few friends last weekend, and we're having a bunch of Mark's college friends for dinner on Sunday. Because it is Christmas season, I am totally using it as an excuse to bust out the fancy china and crystal. Ordinarily I fear making people feel uncomfortable with fussy dishes, but whatever. It's the HOLIDAYS. I am ALLOWED.

Ok, on tap for next week:

• Recap of the weekend entertaining festivities
• The beginning of the kitchen mini-makeover

Have a good weekend!