Switching Wreaths!

This wreath is one that was on my front door for the past couple of years.
I hung it on the door this year to begin with, but it is so big and seems to always be in the way when we are going in and out the front door. So, I placed it on top of the piano. Behind it is the frame I bought at the thrift shop several months ago. I still haven't done anything with this frame!
And here's the front door now...with a simple wreath with lights added. It shows up much prettier at night than the other one even though it is very plain. I hung a red berry ball in the center to dress it up a little. The wreath seems to 'fit' the cottage look of our house! I have enough wreaths to go across the four windows too...just haven't gotten that done yet. Riding around and looking at Christmas decorations gave me another idea-one house that had an oval glass like ours had the glass outlined with garland with lights. It won't happen this year I don't think, but I may try it out next year!
Thanks for stopping by!

Santa Pics!

Deborah of Pictures Pots and Pens is hosting Family Fotos on Friday. Be sure to visit her and visit other blogs with posts. This was a picture made 10 years ago with a Santa in a pet store. Jonathan, Kelli and Lucy all had their picture made with Santa. That same day Kelli bought a dachshund just like Lucy! She was black and she and Chad named her Dixie.


We haven't taken Cooper to see Santa yet-but I have a feeling he is not going to like him. LOL Maybe we'll get a chance to take him this weekend. I'm anxious to see his reaction!

Here's one when Connor was Cooper's age. You can see he didn't like Santa too much back then!


Thanks for coming by and looking at my old Christmas pics!

A New Spot for some Angels

These 3 angels were bought at an after Christmas sale several years ago. I have used them on my mantel, on top of the piano and now in front of the window above my kitchen sink.

I have enjoyed pulling out my decorations this year and finding new places for them-all of you blogging ladies have inspired me to try some different things.
For more holiday posts, check out Melissa's blog at The Inspired Room.

For Show and Tell on Friday visit Kelli at There's No Place like Home.

Christmas activities and awards!

Edited this morning to add: We have a snow day today...they are predicting 5 inches. Connor will be with me! :)

First, I just want to thank all of you who visit my blog and leave me comments. I know I haven't been visiting some of you as much as I would like to and I would like to apologize for that!

I only have 5 more days to work, and after the holidays, I'll have much more time to be a good blogging buddy!

You may wonder what I've been up to (besides working).

Here are a few Christmas events that I've been to just in the past week.

First, last Thursday I went with my friend Karen to see 'A Christmas Carol' at our local community theater. It was a great performance starring our mayor as Scrooge. Here is a picture of the Crachit family from our local newspaper.

Friday night, I volunteered at the Riley Center for the Symphony Orchestra's Peppermint Pops concert. It was an awesome concert! I felt like I was in a big city! This photo is also 'borrowed' from the newspaper.
Saturday we all went to my Aunt Gloria's house in Mt. Sterling, Alabama for a belated Thanksgiving. This is my husband and I along with Kelli's family. Jonathan was in New Orleans and not able to come. The food was delicious as always and I always love getting together with my family! This photo was taken by Amber.
And Sunday, it was back to the Riley Center for two Mel Tillis family Christmas shows. The first show was at 4 in the afternoon, and my mother went with me. The second show was at 8, and I volunteered to work that show while my husband came as a patron. Both shows were wonderful. Here is the front of the new Mel Tillis album with his dog Snowflake. He did several songs from this album-my favorite was 'God's Presents.' I highly recommend this if you're looking for a new Christmas CD.

He performed with three of his children including daughter Pam. Here's her new Christmas CD. My favorite song from her album is 'Beautiful Night.' I wanted to buy the cd's but didn't have enough cash with me that night, so guess I'll have to order them.

Then Monday night, I went to a Christmas party with my friend Karen at our renovated train station-Union Station.

So....is it any wonder that I'm TIRED??? LOL I know I've overextended myself because I've been really tired, but there is not one of the things I've done that I would have left off!
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Here are three awards from some of the best blogging friends anyone could have. This first one is from Sally at Smiling Sally. Sally's blog is one of my favorites...she hosts Blue Monday and frequently posts cute cartoons that are sure to make you smile! Thanks so much Sally for this beautiful award!

And this one is from Dawn of Dawn's Daybreak. Dawn is a kindergarten teacher and was one of the first blogging friends I made. I love keeping up with her and seeing all the wonderful things she does with her class and family. I wish she lived close by so she could teach me to knit! Thank you so much Dawn.
And from Connie at Connie's Turning 50!
Thanks so much Connie! I'm so glad you posted a comment so I can visit your blog too!

I'm going to beg off once again in passing these on to specific blogs. I'm not sure who has one and who doesn't-so if you don't have one of these PLEASE take it...really!
Thanks for dropping by and have a great day!

The Mantel Garland

The Nester is having a Show and Tell for garland! Please visit her for a peek at lots of wonderful garlands in blogland!

When I first saw the beautiful garland that Nester and Kimba created, I thought I would try to copy them and do my antique oak mantel. It looked okay...but I just don't think I have the touch like they do! And when we turned on the gas logs, the garland in front got so hot-I was worried about it being dangerous.

Here is what my first effort looked like.......

And here it is after I tweaked it. I removed the garland and used a swag of greenery and ribbon. I used some battery operated candles behind it.

I kept the garland around the outside-this is some prelit garland that is VERY long. It came from a 90% off sale at a store we have here called "Dirt Cheap" which is a salvage store. I think it originally was from Target.
What do you think? Which way do you like it? Be honest...it won't hurt my feelings. LOL Here's a couple of closeups.....

I think one thing I'll change for the future is the size lights in the first picture. The large bulbs were all I had, but the garland would have looked better with smaller lights. And I need more 'stuff' to put in the garland!

If you are new to my blog, scroll down to yesterday's post and look at my garland on the banister.

Thanks for coming by and I'm looking forward to visiting all the pretty garland on Mr. Linky!

Trash to Treasure: Thrifty Garland

Welcome to Trash to Treasure on Tuesday. If you have something that has become a 'treasure' to you that someone else didn't want, please link your post below with Mr. Linky. You can do this by posting your post, then clicking on the title. Right click on the web address of your title and copy, then paste into Mr. Linky at the bottom.

Throughout the years I have been an on and off garage sale person. Several years ago, I found this garland at a bed and breakfast here in town at a yard sale, and have used it each Christmas since then.

The garland was very long, and I bought it to go around a mantle in another house we lived in. When I got home I realized that it was two pieces that had been wired together. For the house we are in now, I unwired the garland and used it to wrap around the banisters going up our stairs. This first picture shows how it looked last year-decorated mostly with red berries.

In this picture you can see the additions I've made this year with the lime green ribbon and other ornaments.
Here's a closeup of one side.
I think it looks so much more festive. With the exception of the ribbon, all the ornaments have been bought on sale with the price reduced from 50 to 75%!

Thanks for peeking at my 'new' to me garland that was once someone else's trash!

Blue Christmas

Sally at Smiling Sally is hosting Blue Monday. Please visit her and you'll meet some nice bloggers and see lots of pretty blue!

This week I'd like to show you another one of the trees in the Trees of Christmas tour at Merrehope. I wrote about Merrehope on pink Saturday a week or so ago, and if you would like to visit that post, click here.

This blue tree was decorated by Alpha Delta Kappa, my teacher sorority. The tree is to remember the visit Elvis made to our town as a young teenager.

We used lots of blue because his song 'Blue Christmas' was his most popular Christmas song.

We used small cd's to stand for his albums. At first we painted some of them black to look more like records, but the silver looked so much better on the tree we decided everyone would know what the cd's stood for.
We used poster board to make the silver guitars. They were spray painted and sprinkled with glitter. Most of the decorations on the trees at Merrehope are handmade.
The tour will run until the first week of January and is the major fundraiser for the home. I will be volunteering there on Sunday the 21st to give tours. This has been a fun project to be involved in and one that I've really enjoyed!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Christmas Cards and Being Stressed!

Do any of you send Christmas Cards? Some years I do, and some years I don't, but I have to admit I love to get them. I have my cards ready to address, and hope to get it done this week and get them in the mail.

The ones that I get this year will be displayed on my new Southern Living at Home door hanger. I've been using it for photos, but have it ready for the Christmas cards. The little long legged Santas are from Dept. 56 and used to be on the tree. The ornament in the center of the wreath is a Santa made from a crushed coke can, and was given to me by a former student.
Speaking of Christmas cards, I received the nicest surprise yesterday - a beautiful Christmas card from Jan and her husband Tom at Jan and Tom's Place! Thanks Jan...it was such a lovely surprise. Inside was tucked this little tag with this verse: Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. ~Heb. 13:2.

That is some food for thought isn't it?

Sometimes I get too caught up in the 'business' of the season, and feel a little stressed with everything there is to do. I found a blog post that really spoke to me on this. I hope she won't mind if I post her link to share with all of you. I have gone back a time or two to reread this-it's worth your time.

Click here to read 'An Encounter' by Gina on Not So Random Stuff.

Thanks for stopping by!

Jazzing up the Tree

For more Christmas Trees visit Tip Junkie!

Have you ever wanted to change your Christmas tree decor but knew that starting over was out of the question? I started by changing the location of our tree. It has always been in front of one of the windows, now it is between the living and dining areas and is out from the wall.

I wanted to add a little more 'pop' to my tree, but still hang on to my red and white. Here is a picture of some of the red, white, and clear decorations that I've bought in recent years.
And here is the tree after I added my shimmery lime green ribbon and new ornaments to the tree. I also used red and alternated it with the green ribbon throughout the tree. Please excuse the boxes....I make a big mess when I decorate!
It is hard to get a picture of a Christmas tree that does it justice...so here is one without the flash.
I also added these feathery looking things I bought on sale after Christmas at Pier 1. They have little tiny mirrors on them and you just poke them in the branches. I think they really dressed up my tree and reflect lots of light.
Here's an close up view of one of the crystal prism ornaments I bought a few years ago...halfprice of course!
And another close up showing the ribbon and new green ornaments.

I have several of the little pear shaped ornaments with the white swirls. They came from Dollar Tree a few years ago!
I am a self confessed tree tweaker! I have been known to buy tree decorations on sale after Christmas and come home and hang them on the tree before I take the tree down!

So far this year I'm happy with the tree....it's in a new location-and has some added pizazz with the lime green ornaments and ribbon.

What do you do to change up the look of your tree?

Please visit We are that Family for more Christmas trees.

Christmas Sayings & Memories

In my comments, Pat from Brooklyn mentioned digging out old decorations and how they have memories attached to them. Her comment gave me the idea to show you some Christmas sayings I have displayed and tell you about the memories attached with them.

This first ornament used to hang on my tree a few years ago with lots of other bear ornaments. The tree featured a lot of red plaid and cross stitch ornaments. I still have them, but this one usually gets pulled out and displayed-this year on my desk. Someone posted an acronym for the meaning of JOY: Jesus, Others, and You. (Sorry I can't remember who's blog it was) I really liked that!

This is another cross stitch that I did years ago when I was completing cross stitch projects coming and going! This one is above the barrister book case. I know I've had it quite a few years, and can't remember where it was hung in my other house. I thought about putting it somewhere else this year just to change things around, but couldn't find anywhere else that I liked it!
This one is a ceramic ornament that I usually display either in a wreath or in front of greenery. I've always loved this saying. On the back, the student who gave this to me signed his name along with 'Merry Christmas.' This decoration and so many others I have remind me of the students that gave them to me. I taught this little boy, and years earlier I taught his dad!
What is your favorite Christmas saying?

Have a great day, and thanks for coming by.

Trash to Treasure: Christmas Finds

Welcome to Trash to Treasure on Tuesday. Please link your treasures at the bottom with Mr. Linky. I look forward to visiting you!

A few days ago I went to the Hope Village Thrift Store and spent $2.50. I really don't need any more Christmas decorations, but I came away with three little Christmas treasures. If you get them so cheap that makes it okay-right???

I really like Christmas sayings, and found this little plaque. I have it hanging inside a wreath that I've had for awhile-I'm not sure if the faux leaves are bay leaves or olive branches. It is hanging on a doorway in the kitchen and will be surrounded with Christmas cards. I think this would also be cute to decorate a package.
I also bought this gold star basket. At first I wasn't sure what I would do with it, but I think it would make a great container for a small Christmas gift, or maybe Christmas candy. For now it is displayed standing up to serve as a backdrop for one of my small nativity scenes.
And last but not least, this cute little shirt for Cooper! It says "I've been good all year...mostly!"
So, think about what you've bought, found or had given to you that no one wanted and has become a treasure to you. And add to Mr. Linky if he is here....there have been issues with him today on lots of blogs! If he is MIA, check back later...he has been popping in and out today. LOL
Thanks for stopping by!

A Few of My Favorite Things

I have lots of favorite Christmas decorations as evidenced by the boxes I have been dragging in the house the past few days!

One of my favorite decorations is my North Pole Village from Department 56. I began collecting these several years ago, and at first I was buying 3 or 4 of them each year. I've slowed way down on that, and haven't added to the collection in a while. In fact last year, the houses didn't even get unpacked!

This is the first year that I've put them on my sideboard. The ones along the top spell out the letters NORTH POLE.
The Beard Barber shop was a gift from my daughter Kelli, and the Popcorn and Cranberry House is one of her favorites.
The Peanut Brittle Factory is one of the last ones I bought-from EBAY. If you're interested in buying any of them you can get them for great prices off EBAY. Guess lots of people like me got carried away and no longer want to go to the trouble to put them out!

Santa's Woodworks is one of my husband's favorites.
The North Pole Express Depot was the very first house I bought.
The worse part about decorating with the houses is getting them inside and out of their boxes. Once you get past that part, setting them up is fun! I used lots of crystal pine cones and garland. To cover up cords I used batting behind the houses and garland on top to hang down the sides.

I mentioned to my daughter the other day that I might donate them to Merrehope (see Saturday's post) or to Hope Village for children. She said emphatically NO!

This year I sent quite a few of the ones I didn't use to her house to help decorate Connor and Cooper's room. Maybe one day soon she will do a post on them.

Do any of you display a village? Please share your tips on display with a comment.

Please visit Sarah at Thrifty Decor Chick for other Favorite Things!