Starting the New Year Right!

The calendar has turned over and I'm doing my best to turn over with it!  Some recent doc appointments have brought about some medication changes and I'm feeling much improved! What a relief! And nothing like a pretty fruit arrangement to really make your day!

 

I've been spending a lot of time at the computer lately, looking at old photos. No, not for blogging. Not even to delete the bad ones (of which there are plenty.) It is to add my own photos to the Aura photo frame that Kevin and Molly gave me for Christmas which is high on my "best gift ever" list. (Left: Covid days/egg hunt; Right: Good times in England)

At Home: Winter Cozies

We'll take another little break from England to check up on some real-life at home, books and more! (If you want to catch up on England posts, click on the England 2024 tab above.)

I'd like to think we've survived the polar vortex. So far, so good, but who knows? We still have a few months of winter. Meanwhile, Lizzie and I are hunkering down and doing some bird watching!

Time to Bring Out the Bunnies!

It's hard to believe Easter is almost here and I still don't have all the bunnies in place yet! (But I'm close!) I'd better get on it because we're expecting the family for Easter dinner and an egg hunt that day so I want it to look right! 

Early Spring at Home

Since it's almost spring (and friends tell me it already is meteorological spring -- I wish they'd tell that to the weather here -- we bounce from high to low) I figured it was time to spring up the house.

A Little Love in the House

I'm not quite sure how we got to February. I'm not complaining -- but the year seems to be flying by! It was time to deck the halls for Valentine's Day.

I don't do a lot for Valentine's Day. It seems to pop up so fast and then boom! It's gone. But it is a time where we celebrate love, so I thought I'd better bring a little love into the home, starting with the front door!

Winter in the House

I have an awkward relationship with January. It's fresh, a clean slate, time to get on the stick and do something! It's also cold, there's stuff to clean up and put away, and I just want to chill out -- without being chilled!

Truth is, my friend Kate captured my mood exactly in her January calendar offering. For that matter, she captured Lizzie's mood perfectly too!

November: The Unpredictable Month

Apart from Thanksgiving in the U.S., can anyone really pin much reliability on November? To me, it is a busy month and it's over before I know it, leaving me even more harried before the December holiday season. It could be sunny and 60. It could be snowy. Mostly it is just drab.

Pumpkins on the china cabinet

I haven't shared much home dec these days because for the most part, I haven't had a lot of clear surfaces to photograph! But some of the photos here are from this year's decor, most of which got up late! 

Decking the Halls, Three More Rooms

The Christmas music is blaring as I go between computer and kitchen! Lizzie will be your guide!

You've seen the living room. Check out "Christmas" in the family room, kitchen and office.

My family room is one of the main reasons I chose this house. The pine walls remind me of the cottage and while the fireplace isn't currently functional, it still adds a warm feeling to the room. It's one reason why my mantel is a bottlebrush forest -- it just seems to fit here!

This tree I call the "Mom" tree, because it has ornaments that either she collected or made or things I know she would choose if she was doing that tree herself. My dad made the gingerbread tree topper, back in our days of having a contest to wrap a gift in the most original way!

Lizzie's feeding station is at the window, where she can watch the birds, so of course she needed a cat tree!

And beside that on the window seat, a selection of faux greens with little lights within to brighten things up at night.

Opposite the fireplace is the little dry sink I found for a ridiculous price at a garage sale one year. It matches some of my other Hitchcock furniture and makes me smile! On the top is a swag made at Southern Exposure with one of my favorite Santas and a tree that has some of my felties.

 I wish I had hanging tags on the rest of the felties! Or a few I'd sent away this Christmas.

Here's another look at my feltie friends.

Here's that Super Santa. Isn't he rustic and fun? This room feels like my "up north" room.

 The family room bumps up to the very tiny kitchen. Rick just rehung my rack above the sink. The silver bells at the top come from a friend who has sent one each year for decades. 

And the creamer and sugar was a hostess gift for a Cork Poppers party once. I had to stick in a few of my many bottlebrush trees here!

It's fun doing holiday vignettes! 

On the other side of the room is the baking rack safe and the shelf-that-should-be-hung-but-sits-atop-the-microwave. Hey, real life.

A few of my Santas have found their homes on the rack above the micro. 

There's a small hot cocoa/tea/sweets spot. (I replenish the M&Ms often!)

The face on this fellow reminds me of one of my friends!

And my friend Kate's bird calendar is flanked by more tiny trees.

  More of my favorite holiday friends are on the baking rack.

I was thrilled the day I found the teapot for my Spode Christmas dishes!

And this fellow was a craft show find about 30 years ago.

 

Ready for baking!

 

Finally, a quick look at my little office. Again, very bad lighting!

  Another Vintage by Crystal figure, under glass!

Two small trees are in this room. The small blue one was a steal at Home Goods.

This has been around a little longer!

Your guide, Lizzie, is hunkered down by her bowl, waiting to be served.

Till next time, Be Merry.

Decking the Halls 2020

The halls are finally decked! Welcome to my happy Christmas house!

I thought (for about 30 seconds) about phasing back this year for many reasons, mostly medical. Then I said, aloud, to myself: "What are you thinking? If this was to be your last Christmas on Earth, would you have wanted to spend it in a house where you didn't do the thing you loved?" 

Coming into the hall we meet the greeting angel and the arrangement I made through the virtual Southern Exposure. I've never had a tree in the hall before. It was time to reimagine my decorating!

This tree usually has all silver, white and glass decorations. That box didn't come up. I toyed with the idea of leaving it with just the lights.

Then I realized that I had a bunch of decorations that didn't fit on the big tree so I pulled the red ones and voila!

 

This is the living room. My house is very small -- right now it looks more like a Christmas store than a living room!

And here's another view. That poor red chair cover has been a favorite of Lizzie's! Hence enough throws on it to prevent more scratching! 

The pillow was made by my friend Suzanne years ago. It's one of my favorites.

 

The small white tree with red balls next to the chair was a Southern Exposure project and one of my all-time favorites.

 The photo above was before I moved it. Here it sits now.

Santa gets his due in a flocked white wreath (bought at a ridiculously low price on sale a few years ago and enhanced with some red and white). 

Above, on the bookcase, is yet another swag with one of my favorite Santas.

The Woodland Tree stays up long after Christmas to give light during the winter. Its ornaments are wintry -- snowflakes, birds, snow people. 

 

It's one of my favorites.

And here is the happy tree, now decorated!  

Some of these are my felties and some gifts, others purchased. Pretty much everything on this tree is cloth or felt, either stitched or needle felted. It's a "safe" tree for little ones of enthusiastic pets. 

This is my "Happy Tree." I just get happy looking at it. (The mouse above was purchased; the French-style bear below is one of my felties.)

Heading toward the dining part of the room, some garland, lights and a favorite wreath. (The little white tree used to be there before I moved it!)

I love the cottage feel of grapevine wreaths and rustic things.

I hadn't brought up the snowman tree for a few years because I didn't have outlets in the right places! This year I decided to take some art off the wall and bring it back. This one will stay up a little longer, too!

Atop the china cabinet a few cheery things. I showed these in more detail here.

And in the hutch, behind the doors, a few of the Santas from my collection. 

For a very long time I would try to get a Santa when I traveled, along with a tree ornament. This fellow was purchased in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, in 1994.

This one, in Arizona.

And this was a craft show find. I adore him!

All together now!

And one quick look up! Because I didn't put up the small wall tree with the Radko ornaments, I decided they needed to have a new spot! 

The chandelier was a perfect spot!

The creche my friend Jacqie gave me last year moved from the bedroom to the living room. I like it here -- a perfect spot.

The faces on these china figures are so very sweet.

And finally, the big tree. It looks pretty much as it does every year, crammed with ornaments that tell my life story.

There are ornaments made in grade school, memories of our travels together, photos of family and dear friends. 

I'm lucky to have some that were on my parents' and grandparents trees.

Many gifts are on the tree, like this sweet ornament made by Laura from Decor to Adore with vintage hangers.

I've had the winter wonderland ball as long as I can remember. It is first on the tree...

...along with some glass ornaments and a Victoria from England (and yes, Rick has Albert. And yes, that was a turkey on the top of the tree. 

I'll share the family room and kitchen in another post. But today I will leave you in the bedroom with dad's tree -- a tree with things he would have loved...

...like ornaments related to fishing.

And we'll say farewell with the unofficial queen of the household. 

Meowy Christmas.

Happy Christmas!