My Favorite Part of Christmas

My favorite part of Christmas hands down is the Christmas tree.  I LOVE having a Christmas tree in the house so much that one year I continued to decorate a small one that I displayed behind our sink in the kitchen in the various holidays of the year.   In years past, we've put up multiple trees in our home, but this year in keeping with simple, we settled for just the main tree.

For most of our marriage we have had artificial trees.  We have probably gone through four of them and when it was time to toss the last one, we decided to buy live from then on which this year will be the fourth year of a live Frazier Fir.

I did buy a new tree topper this year that I found on clearance at Kirkland's this year.  A red velvet top hat.  I think our tree could have been a bit bigger for the hat, but I still adore it and even more surprising is that the husband and son LOVE it and never comment on this kind of stuff.  Win/Win!

I wanted to share a picture of our tree before there were any presents to show you the tree skirt that we use and can't imagine using anything else.  It's a quilted tree skirt that my mother made me years ago.  It's absolutely gorgeous and she had to have used 25 different Christmas fabrics in it.  It's easy to take care of and I have a special box it goes in for storage the rest of the year.

We've acquired a couple new ornaments this year.  Had lunch with one of my bffs a couple weeks ago and she gave me this darling ornament that coincidentally matches the new tree topper.  Thanks so much Laureen!

I also picked up a new ornament for our tree at Everts in Ames....a cat snowman!  Of course it had to come home with me!

This year I decided to display another one of my favorite Christmas things on the easel that normally displayed our son's senior picture.  It's another cross stitch gift from my mother that she did for me not long after I moved back to Iowa.  Not only is the cross stitch picture priceless, but the way she had it matted and framed makes it even more special and I love to display it during the holidays.

Here's our 2015 Christmas tree with it covered in presents...and actually, I think there are even more that the husband and son put there after I took the photo....it's whimsical, funky and chock full of memories with the ornaments we use.  There's a story behind 90% of them.

 

Bet you can guess what this ornament honors.......a family favorite and probably one of yours too.

With only a couple of days left before Christmas, I'm happy to say that other than preparing the food for both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, everything is else is done.....including the mandatory mani/pedi for myself.  :)

Christmas Eve we're doing lots of finger food - a couple favorite cheeseballs, artichoke spinach dip, bacon wrapped smokies, crab filled phyllo cups, brie & raspberry filled phyllo cups, chilled shrimp and a Spicy Italian Crescent Ring Sandwich.

Christmas Day is dinner with my sister's family and a family friend and I'm making the Hickory Smoked Honey Ham, homemade macaroni & cheese, cherry fluff and cheddar biscuits....along with a baked crescent wrapped round of brie and a cheese plate.  My sister is bring the mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, more chilled shrimp and the Swedish dessert Ostakaka.  Our family friend is responsible for the dessert which will probably be brownies because he's are awesome!

Spent some time the other night putting together the baked good packages that we give out as gifts.   Found the ribbon in the huge stash of Christmas ribbon that came home with me after my mom passed and it worked perfect for this.

Thanks for stopping by during the holidays and my family and I wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Check back sometime in the next week for my "best of 2014"......

The Spirit of Christmas - Part 2

It's the last few days before Christmas and I don't know about you, but I'm staying completely clear of any stores this except for a grocery store from here on out.

The husband and I went out last Friday for a couple of hours to pick up the last of the gifts we needed to purchase and last night I went out for a while with the kid to finish up.   All I have left is to shop for the food we'll need for our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day meals.  Even though I did do some wrapping earlier this week....today is the main event!  and the husband is here to help. 

This year when I decided to re-do some of our Christmas décor, I knew the staircase garland was going to be one of the things that needed to be redone.   I was tired of the staircase garland we have used since moving into this house 10 years ago.  I also wanted to change up the hallway table that sit just opposite the staircase.

Rather than using wire to tie the evergreen garland to the bannister (which btw, I'm looking to replace this spring), I used jute rope. 

I found some really cute burlap bows at Kirkland's that I tied on to the length of garland.  The only problem with the bows is that a certain female cat in our home also likes them and finds it fun to jump up and grab one and drag it off the garland.

(See.....she's eyeballing it in the photo above)

For the newel post at the bottom, I went to my craft room and found a roll of burlap ribbon and made a bow that I also used a pinecone and some fake berries to finish the bow off.  I also had a spool of some textured burlap ribbon that worked perfectly to weave in and around the greenery.

 

It's very simple and exactly the look I was going for.

The hallway table is always decorated for the holidays starting at Halloween and I have switched the décor up on that table over the years, from having some of my collection of Santas displayed there to a collection of funky Christmas trees.  This year I wanted something even more simple that would also tie in with the bannister décor.

I used an evergreen garland we already had and the middle lantern we use on our table on our deck and the other two I found at Gordman's and used a 20% coupon on them.  I bought a couple more flameless candles, dug out some red berry rings I had in our Christmas decoration stash and placed some pinecones in and around the lanterns.  I love how elegant it looks and completely different than what I've done before.

I filled my antique crock from some fake poinsettia and filled my Longaberger bushel basket with more pinecones.

Here's how it looks at night -

Here's how it looks after I added the lighted IKEA vase filled with evergreen and another flameless candle next to the basket of pinecones.

 

This year some of the trees that used to be displayed on the hallway have taken over the top of the computer desk/hutch we have in our den.

Another favorite thing that sits on the shelf of one of our bookcases in the den is my set of gourd snowmen.  Years ago when I sold Longaberger baskets, I earned both of them as an incentive during the holiday selling season and I just love them.

Every year Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without me bringing out one of the last things that my mom made for me just a couple of years before she passed.  Her cross stitch projects were amazing and this one was no exception and such a unique piece....a serving tray.  The detail is amazing!

 

 

I'm still working on my photos of this year's Christmas tree and I'll get those posted just in time for Christmas Eve.

I'll end this post with a picture of what I've been lovingly referring to as our "destroyer cat" Coco.  She's been very naughty this year with the tree and garland and presents and centerpiece, etc. etc. but we still love her.   Just look at this face of guilt and naughtiness.

Have a wonderful week of Christmas!

The Spirit of Christmas - Part 1

The Spirit of Christmas has certainly arrived at our home.  It's also the name of my favorite Christmas song by Ray Charles and for those of you that might not know it, here's a clip -

Most you should recognize it as the song that is being sung in the background of the Clark Griswold attic scene in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.  I've loved the song since the first time I heard it twenty five years ago.   

Outdoor illumination was first and we lucked out on a nice weekend and we're able to get what lights we wanted up in just a matter of a couple of hours.  All the houses in our cul-de-sac put alternating green and red light bulbs in our house light fixtures.  Our house is a very tall two story and it's rare we get up on the second story to hang lights.  We have put both lights and large evergreen wreaths up on the second story but I made my husband happy this year by saying we wouldn't do this year.  This is as good as it's going to get.  :)

 

Of course, as soon as I saw this door mat at Target for $10 bucks, I had to have it.

The Spirit of Christmas is also all through the main floor of our house this year.  Funny thing.....the year that I have the time to spend decorating to my heart's content, is the year I decided to scale back a bit and change things up.   Some years I put small trees up in our master suite and in the kid's room, but decided not to this year.  I think the short amount of time between Thanksgiving and Christmas (or at least it seems like it's shorter) is one of the reasons I made that decision.

When we moved into this house almost eleven years ago, I bought new Christmas décor to mix in with the heirloom/vintage stuff that I had and kept, but here I am eleven years later and I'm at a point where I'm tired of some of it and want to freshen things up.  Don't get me wrong, I still use the things that I hold dear, especially the things my mother either made for me or my family or things she bought me.  I also have a couple of different Christmas collections and decided that I was only going to display one of them this year and this year it's the Heartwood Creek Santa collection -

For the almost three decades I've been married and had my own home, my family knows how much I love all things Rudolf, snow globes and Jim Shore Heartwood Creek Santas, so I've been gifted with some beautiful things over the years, but this year I kept my Rudolf stuff and all but just a couple of the snow globes (I must have 25 of them) safely packed away to be brought out next year.

Here's a couple of my favorite snow globes I couldn't keep packed away -

The snow globe on the left was a gift from my husband and son years ago and not only is it musical but it also has a elf/train scene that goes around at the bottom of the globe.

This year is also the first year in at least a decade that I've had a poinsettia.  I had always believed that they were poisonous to cats, but recently found out that it's not true, so I had a gift card to use at one of our local greenhouses, so I went and bought this beautiful cream poinsettia.  It sits on the small console table in our den.

 

This is our bar area.....which can be one of the most important areas of the house this time of year.  I bought a lemon cypress plant on the left that I tied a woven red bow on and I dressed a bottle of wine in a reindeer costume :)  I have the "Merry Kris Moose" cross stitch that my mother made for me for me almost 40 years ago on the wine rack shelf and the red subway graphic canvas below was a Christmas craft I made last year.

I also like to use things in unexpected places, like his glittery present stake and a cinnamon stick Santa.  They dress up a house plant perfectly for the holiday.

A couple of things I use in the kitchen during the holidays are my Fitz & Floyd cookie plate and mug that I bought for our son's first Christmas.

Last year I fell in love with a serving plate I saw at Pier1 last year, so I waited until after the holiday and got it for 75% off...SCORE!

I think I'll use it for a cheese platter this year....

I've got some other holiday things to share with you, but I'm afraid it will have to wait for another post.  I have to finish up my wrapping and I have a couple more baked goodies to make.

I'll post more later......

Christmastime is here. Happiness and cheer........2014

Christmas is such a bittersweet time for me.  As much as I love the holiday, I look at it with a bit of sadness because I really miss my mom this time of the year.....so, I try and focus on the good memories of her and how much fun we had during the holidays.   Our family is small and most of us are spread from North Carolina and Georgia to Nevada and California so it rare that we spend the holidays together, so our Christmases are usually small and intimate.

Our plans are simple this year......Christmas Eve with my brother and my aunt and uncle and then Christmas Day with my sister and her family and with a couple of friends too.   Christmas night, I'm going to go see the movie Unbroken even if I have to go by myself, but I'm pretty sure I can find someone to go with me.

I bought myself an early Christmas present this year.  I was browsing a local craft fair with my sister a couple of Sundays ago and came across this unique wine bottle rack.  If you look hard enough you'll see that the bottle of wine is from the band Train's winery and it's called "Drops of Jupiter".  I bought it over a year ago and can't bring myself to drink it.....yet    :)

This year is also the 50th anniversary of my favorite Christmas television program; "Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer".

I remember like it was yesterday when it first premiered on television.  I was seven years old, my brother was two and I remember my mom having us ready in front of the television to watch.    For years, until the age of video tape came about we anxiously waited for it to be on television sometime during the holiday season and it was one of the first I bought on video, then DVD for myself.

Here's my list of favorite holidays movies or programs - 

1. It's A Wonderful Life
2. Rudolf The Red Nosed Reindeer
3. Christmas Vacation
4. A Christmas Story
5. The Holiday
6. Love Actually
7. Elf
8. Scrooged
9. The Santa Clause

There are a other Christmas programs and movies that my family watches, but the ones listed are the ones we make a point of seeing every year.   What's your favorites?

I've also decided to go slow and steady with holiday baking this year and am trying a few new things.  Since I have the time, I'm making a couple of batches of the cookies I'm trying every couple of nights.   I decided to start with a recipe I found on Better Homes & Gardens -

Christmas Sandies

 

 

In years past, I've made the traditional pecan sandies which were also one of my mother's favorites so they were always around at Christmas time, so this take on that cookie intrigued me with cranberries and lemon.  I'm happy to report that they are AMAZING!

 



Thanks for stopping by.....I'll have a post about this year's decoration up later this coming week.

Seattle

It's been a just over a month since we've been home from Seattle.   We both had a good time on our trip.  The husband really enjoyed his conference and the networking opportunities it gave him and I enjoyed visiting a city I had never been and for an opportunity to meet up with some online friends.

Was able to capture a few cool shots out the airplane window

We got in on a rainy Sunday (which of course was the norm for the week) and got checked into our hotel.  They gave us a really nice corner room that had tons of light....which was a good thing since most of the days were dreary, dreary, dreary.

 

Once we got settled in our room, we were both hungry and wanted to take a walk, so we heading toward Pike's Place Market which was only about 6 blocks away, an easy walk.

We had SO much fun exploring the market and no way could we see everything with only one visit, so we did come back several times to both eat and shop.

One of the fish counters

 

My husband pointing to a ginormous lobster tail

 

Baked goods and pastries to die for.........

 

Fabulous looking fruits and vegetables

 

More fish and seafood........

Our first meal was at a restaurant tucked into one of the buildings of the market called Place Pigalle and I ordered the daily special which was Halibut over Yukon gold potatoes with crimini mushrooms and broccolini.  It was heavely!  my husband who likes fish but not as much as I do also loved it.

 

The husband ordered their crab cakes and when they arrived, he was surprised how large the cakes were and they also were wonderful.  Our food experience was off to a good start on this trip!

After lunch we walked all around Pike's Place Market and the general downtown area where our hotel was and where my husband's conference was going to held.   I was anxious to check out Nordstrom department store....their flagship store, but was going to have to wait until the next day.

 

An urban garden outside on one of the patios of Pike's Place Market.

This live sculpture was so cool to watch....she was really good!

Tuesday was our day of doing some sightseeing.  I had purchased tickets in advance for the Space Needle and Chihuly Garden and Glass so all we had to do was hop on the monorail system from the Westlake Center straight to the Seattle Center.  I had my reservations about going that high due to my fear of heights, but I'm proud to say I made it and it wasn't too bad once we were at the top.

As you can see, it was a grey, cloudy day but I'm glad I could at least see the city and water around me.

Those spiders are painted on the roof of one of the buildings below....an very unique trompe l'oeil.

 

My sweetie checking out one of the telescopes at the top.

 

Downtown Seattle

 

Chiluly Garden and Glass from above

 

I'm going to save our visit to Chiluly Garden and Glass for a blog post of it's own because it was so fabulous and deserves it's own post.  It was some of the most beautiful exhibits I've ever seen and it's been on my bucket list since I heard of it's existence.   My visit there alone made the trip worth it.

 

After visiting the Needle and Chiluly, we walked around to look at the Experience Music Project Museum.   I needed to find a rest room and their gift shop looked cool, so we went inside to look around and I got some awesome photos of some of the interior.  We didn't go inside the paid part of the museum because husband was going to be coming back to the museum for a social function associated with the conference he's attending.

We had the opportunity to eat at some really good restaurants while in town.  I was trying to stay focused on the fish and seafood but one night we has some really good Italian at il Fornaio at the Pacific Place.  We also had a good meals at both the Athenian Restaurant and Lowell's.

On Friday I had the opportunity to meet up with some long time online friends for lunch at Pike Place Chowder at the same Pacific Place.   It was so wonderful to finally meet them.  Kris and Michelle both live in Washington and came into the city to meet up with me.  We had a nice lunch and then walked around, got some coffee and ended up at Barnes & Noble (not surprising) and talked about books while checking out everything at the store.

Unfortunately our time together went very fast before Michelle had to leave for another commitment, so Kris and I said our goodbyes to her and then she and I decided to walk over to the Olympic Sculpture Park down by the water.  It was quite the walk, but it felt good because the sun finally decided to grace us with it's presence.   I love sculpture parks as my family can attest to as we have a good one in Des Moines and I'm always wanting to pay it a visit, so I was game to see what the Seattle park had to share.

My favorite symbol  :)

 

I could finally see Mount Rainier peeking through the clouds for a bit of a glimpse.

All in all, it was a great visit to a city that neither one of us have never been to and both of us were glad we had the opportunity.

Hope you enjoyed my little tour of Seattle.......later....