FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!

 

WELCOME

As you enter my home, this couple greets you with smiles of happiness!

The wreath is hung on a pillar in the entry way.

The dining room light is decorated for Christmas!

An empty Victorian terrarium awaits festive Christmas decor!

Some dolls have been placed in the terrarium~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A photo of the completed terrarium with dolls, Santas and a gift.

Apple Cheeks dolls

The dining room hutch

A luncheon place setting with a spatula favor and "Welcome" card that reads, "Old friends are treasured gifts."

A Christmas glass on a gold snowflake

The manger that I remember as a child.  It is old and the lambs have seen better days.

A kitchen table place setting with a luncheon favor

A peppermint centerpiece for the kitchen

Our family room Christmas tree in red and gold

Trees, angels, Santas, and a clothesline with St. Nick's laundry

Stockings hanging over the fireplace

A very untidy couch with pillows and Christmas decor...my mom made Mr. and Mrs. Claus and the small snowman

Floor decor

Jim Shore angels and snowman

A gingerbread tree that my friend, CeeKay, really liked.

The entrance to the master bedroom

The pink and white tree in the bedroom

A tree for the bathroom

Another bathroom...another tree

A small tree with my mom and dad's vintage ornaments

Another tree in the spare room

Vintage decor and a tree on a 1930's dresser

Mom and dad's 1943 wedding picture with Christmas pieces that my mom made many years ago

Iced tea, Sangria, and apple juice wassail for a recent luncheon at my house

Some high school friends at a recent gathering at my house

Oh, what fun and memories!

I forgot to take pictures BEFORE the luncheon so the full impact of the place settings is missing.  

Christmas decor 101

I had my wonderful husband bring in all of the Christmas boxes the second week in November so I could start decorating early.  Since we went to Tucson and had Thanksgiving with my daughter, I knew no one would be at the house to witness my insanity first-hand!  I puttered around with the smaller decorations...the trees just recently went up...because I'm having a high school alum luncheon this Sat. and I didn't want to wait until the last minute to complete the decorating. 

The light in the dining room needed something but I didn't know what!  I found an anemic-looking piece of greenery (entwined Christmas tree branches) and twisted it around the light.  It looked sad and awful so I started to embellish with things that I packed away from yard sales and after-Christmas sales at Michael's, etc.  First came the big colorful ornaments that captured my eye at a yard sale.  Next came the white and gold-looking ornies from another yard sale.  Next came the picks and beaded garland from Michael's and a yard sale respectively.  Finally I found the crystal-like hanging ornaments mixed with other stuff in a box that I forgot I even had!  All of this was done with mostly yard sale finds!

Last year I went to a workshop at Meri Wiley's house, and I liked the the name tags that she made for each participant.  Therefore, I decided to duplicate them (with Meri's help) for my luncheon.  Actually the only thing that I copied was the white part of the name tag.  Meri programmed some sort of machine to produce the cute edges on the name tags, and I used stuff that I had on hand to embellish each tag.  Meri also sewed the little red netting things from material left over from my daughter's wedding 7 years ago. 

Like I said, I only started with the smaller decor like my dolls and miscellaneous things.  The trees were just finished this past weekend. 

One of my Jim Shore angels with a Jim Shore sleigh in the background used as a centerpiece.

More standing ballerinas in something (I wish I knew what to call it) that I recently bought at an estate sale.  I think it is some sort of display case.

I'll post more photos from before, during and after the luncheon.  I'm still busy with last minute preparations!

Putzin' Around

Today I again had the privilege of working with Meri Wiley at her "Putzin' Around" workshop.  As usual, Meri was the hostess with the mostest and provided humor and guidance to our cozy gathering.  

As soon as I entered Meri's house, I felt like I was at the North Pole with Santa and his elves! Meri had an abundance of Christmas things available to us to make our Putz houses.  She even had some Easter things in case we wanted to make an Easter house.

This cart holds a very small sample of some stuff that Meri has collected over the years for Christmas crafting.

                The bottom of the cart held many treasures as well.

This photo shows a small portion of crafting supplies that we could use for our houses.

More and more goodies...it was hard to make a decision because of all that was available.

                                              Here are Joanne's completed houses.

My houses included a Mr. and Mrs. Santa house/cottage and another house that Santa has decided to visit.

CeeKay always does such amazing work!  Her colors are cream and black and she, again, outdid herself with this beauty.  Love this woman!!!!!!!!!!!!

Laura did a wonderful job with this church.  When I took this photo, she still hadn't finished with the final touches.

This is also the unfinished house that Laura was still working on.  This is such a cute scene.

This is one of Gail's houses.  I always enjoy visiting with Gail and seeing her pretty creations.

Here is Sharon's beautiful house.  I always admire anything that Sharon works on...she is precise and very creative.  I've been to several of Meri's gatherings and I can't believe some of the wonderful things Sharon has produced.

 This is Alyssa's beauty...Alyssa is Laura's daughter.  Alyssa recently graduated from ASU and she was so enjoyable to talk to.

Meri also had a room set aside in her house where we could shop.  She was selling some of her crafts and miscellaneous items.  Meri also had some "free" stuff.  How enjoyable!  I still have my eye on her 1948 fully furnished dollhouse.

I really enjoyed my time at Meri's house and it was so much fun visiting with the other ladies.  We had a delicious lunch and then picked out gifts from under the Christmas tree.  I was lucky enough to get a church front (designed, painted and crafted by Meri) that lights up!  I forgot to take a picture of it and I don't know how to add it to this post.  I'll add the photo to another Christmas post. 

Thanks again, Meri.  You are the BEST!

More community and yard sale finds

I spent another busy weekend at an estate sale and at a community yard sale.  I almost didn't go to the estate sale because it was late and I knew that they shut down at 1 PM.  I'm glad that I forced myself to go in spite of the time crunch!

I found this tall glass vase (?) at a yard sale last week but forgot to post it.  At an rate, I like the color combination of flowers and I plan to buy more to fill out the shape.  This ended up in my powder room.

This towel holder also ended up in the powder room.  I'll probably get another black towel to balance out the one that is already in this picture.

I saw this piece in the photo gallery of the estate sale that I wanted to go to.  Like I said, I'm glad that I forced myself to go so late in the day because this was still at the sale!  I was very surprised but happy to see this...whatever it is called...because I can put some of my dolls in it.  I'll decorate it for Christmas with some ballerinas or whatever!

Diana, a good friend of mine, lives in Sun Lakes which is a 40+ community not too far from where I live.  She called and asked if I wanted to go to the community sale on Saturday and, of course, I said "yes".  I found this Little Mermaid puzzle, the books, and the Monopoly Junior game for a grand total of $5.25!  The Monopoly game is still in its wrapper and has never been opened!  I actually was surprised to find these children's things as this community doesn't allow anyone under 18 to be a full-time resident.  Apparently some grandparents were selling things for their grandchildren. 

This little bunny is from the estate sale.  I think it is cute and I'll put her out for Easter.

This talking Cinderella vanity set was at the Sun Lakes sale.  Again, I was surprised to find it due to the age restrictions.  However, a grandmother was selling it as her granddaughters had outgrown it.  It is clean and in great condition except for the missing drawer on the right side of the vanity.  I'm sure that my 4 year-old granddaughter won't mind the missing drawer!  Actually Diana and I had pulled up to another sale when I saw this vanity set across the street.  I was in a trance and I blocked out everything around me except for this set.  Diana called out my name and wanted to know where I going but I didn't hear her.  I could have been hit by a car and not noticed because I had zoned in on this set.  

When I opened the little armoire, I found two princess dresses, two crowns and a princess scepter. 

I just couldn't resist all of this for $35.00!!!  My granddaughter already has several princess dresses and a crown so she can add these to her collection!  I really like the yellow dress and I'm sure Lily will like it too.

This gaudy night light was at the estate sale and I was drawn to it.  I like things out of the ordinary so this appealed to me.

This Galway Longford crystal pillar hurricane was $4.00 at the Sun Lakes sale.  I just saw it listed on ebay for $121.49 and at Sears for $213.84 on sale!  I'm shocked!  

Overall I'm happy with what I bought at the sales, but I'm really glad that I went with Diana.  She drove her golf cart and we had a ball.  At times I felt like I was on "My Toad's Wild Ride" without a seat belt!  I can't wait for the next Sun Lakes Community Sale!

Community sale and Estate sale finds

Well our community had a huge sale so I had to see what my neighbors were selling!  I should have put out the stuff I've been meaning to sell, but I wasn't motivated I guess.  At any rate, here are some treasures from today and last week.

Here are two of the four chairs that I purchased at an estate sale last week for $75.00.  All four for $75.00!!!!  They are in perfect condition, they are all lined and they don't wobble.  I couldn't buy the material for $75!  You really should click on the picture to fully see the detail!

This pillow was purchased at the community sale today.  This photo doesn't do it justice.  It is shiny and full of bling.  I really like it.

Here is a better photo of the pillow along with a vanity bench that will go into a spare room for guests.  The "pink" pillow on the bench is reversible to a pretty green velvet.  Very nice.

I thought that this hat would be cute for my granddaughter so I bought it along with the puzzle (all pieces accounted for).....everything for $1.25!

A German-made tea set for my granddaughter........

Between last week and this week, I think that I found some nice things...especially those kitchen chairs!

Pure Enjoyment

Today I experienced pure enjoyment just by watching my grandchildren play in their back yard. My grandson, Brandt, told me that he and Lily were "geologists digging for rocks." I watched them dig in the dirt, gather rocks, wash them and bring them to me to look at. Eventually the whole water thing took over and they decided to fill the hole that they dug with water to make a small pond. Eventually the pond became a "pot of soup" and they added ingredients like more dirt, rocks, twigs and grass. When the stirring of the soup began, the mud literally began to fly...all over the block fence, Lily, Brandt and their swing set. For some reason it didn't bother me. They stirred and stirred and became dirtier and dirtier and muddier and muddier! I let them. They squirted water. I let them. They trampled mud onto the patio with their shoes. I let them. They walked into the house and marched to the bath tub. I made them. They cleaned up and changed their clothes. I redid Lily's hair and they were ready for the rest of the day. This whole scenario is quite ironic! When my daughter (Brandt and Lily's mother) was about 4, we went to a beach in Mexico with some friends and I changed Karen 5 times because she and her new friend (Jorge) played in the sand and dirt for hours. My obsessive behavior was noticed by everyone but I didn't care. If Brandt and Lily weren't going somewhere later in the afternoon, I would have left them alone...dirty, muddy and a total mess. As it is, they left pieces of mud on the kitchen tile and in the bathroom. I didn't clean it up. Funny thing...my daughter called and asked me if I noticed her clean grout and tile...I didn't say anything as she hasn't seen the muddy pieces yet. My priorities have definitely changed!!!!!!!!!!!!!