Living room at Christmas time!

Here are a few shots of my

formal living room at Christmas time.

It is a long post, with loads of picts.

So, sit back and grab a cup of something warm

as you look through.

I don't have much to say about them.

I guess they kind of speak for themselves!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Cheer...

Christmas Cheer...

A few photos of my Christmas Season mantle...

I went with a ton of mercury glass.

I feel like it is such a classic.

You can mix it with just about any style,

which makes it very practical

if you are like me and like to switch things

up a bit every year.

I love my glittered trees in front of an old mirror

that I used on top of my mantle for the Thanksgiving season.

You can view the mirror in an older post.

My chalk deer means so much to me.

I actually found it in a junk store this summer for a song.

I knew I had to have it as soon as I saw it.

My grandmother had one EXACTLY like it,

and I remember it so clearly from when we would go for visits.

had these stockings made this year

with words that represent the family member that they belong to.

These are new this year,

but somehow already have sentimental value to me.

Snow is scattered through out the mercury glass.

Silver garland draping the mantle.

I used this garland on my tree as well to tie the room together.

A little Christmas cheer being spread through out our home...

and sending some cheer your way as well.

Dishing it out...

Well, I am dishing it out,

now let's see if I can take it!

I have got my Holiday dishes out.

I use them for Thanksgiving

and Christmas.

Actually I will use them way into January.

They are Johnson Bros.

"Friendly Village"

I love how cozy and welcoming they look.

Now if I can just make the food that I prepare

for them look welcoming, I will be all set.

That may very well be an impossible task for me!

Make the house look festive...check

Make the food tasty...uuummm,

I prefer to say, "check please."

Ready or not Thanksgiving dinner,

here I come!

So much to be thankful for...

So much to be thankful for...

My mantle for Thanksgiving is done...

I like to use nature's bounty for my Thanksgiving decor.

mantle is loaded with

pumpkins,

gourds,

sunflower seeds,

almonds,

in-shell mixed nuts,

sheaths of wheat

and peasants.

with some mirrors,

candles,

a chalk board,

and some topiaries

thrown in for good measure...

Let' s not forget the all important cloche!

Halloween up,

Thanksgiving out,

menu planned,

grocery list made,

So many little things to be thankful for everyday!

a new home for an old piece...

A new home for a few things...

I brought this old display case

from my shop to be the new home for my TV

in our family room off of the kitchen.

It is so old.

It has been used as a store display case

for decades in the same location

until the other day when I brought it home.

There is actually a mate to this one that still lives in my shop at LuLu's.

Can you imagine how incredible

it would be to have room to house two of these?

I can just picture them on either side of a fireplace.

Or side by side in a large living room.

Or on two opposing walls in a dining room loaded with white ironstone dishes.

Yum-my!

I am loving all the storage it provides.

I am trying to pace myself on filling them all up.

Believe me, I could have done that the day I got it home.

I was so excited for days

when we finally made the determination

that at long last it would be part of our home.

It was not easy getting it out of my full shop

and into our small stone cottage,

but now it looks like it belongs here.

As much as it belonged in my shop all those years.

I look at it, and I still can not believe it is finally home!

In MY home.

Such a lucky girl am I!

Floaties...

Floaties...

{not the ones found in your drink after your 3 year old takes a sip}

These are old flotation balls

that were supposed to be taken

to the Atlanta Country Living show and sold,

but I decided to hold on to.

I am so glad I did!

Now they make a lovely everyday arrangement

in my European dough bowl on my dining room table.

They supported a bag of bones and a skull for Halloween

placed just so on top of them to look like a skeleton.

Now they will be replaced for the dough bowl to hold

nuts in the shell, some pine needles and candles for Thanksgiving.

Who know what for Christmas, and then they will be back.

I almost named this post "blue balls",

but thought better of it after typing it

and then reading it back to myself.

Thank goodness for self-editing,

but I had to share it with you anyway!

a wee little desk...

Thought I would share some picts

of a little area that I have turned into a desk...

There is a large group of four old ceiling tins

that work double duty as beauty and functionality.

Some old printer blocks

in mine and hubby's initials.

My life anthem on a canvas...

"Nothing splendid has ever been achieved

except by those who dared believe

that something inside them

was superior to circumstances."

{You better believe that I believe that with all my heart!}

Some old flashlight bulbs and old printer block letters

thrown together in an ironstone bowl...

The plan is to turn the old flashlight bulbs into magnets.

Some to keep and some to peddle...

The chair in the first photo has no seat.

I am wrestling with what to re-do it in.

Any suggestions?

Right now I am on muslin, ticking, burlap, or bleached cotton,

but unable to commit to any.

The clippings attached to the tins charge from day to day.

The spooky clippings are down,

and now we are on to Thankful thoughts and ideas.