Happy New Year

May All Your DREAMS Come True! ~ ~ Wishing you a Happy New Year.

Afternoon Coffee & Knitting & A Great Find

Yesterday afternoon the house was quiet and I had time for a cup of coffee and some knitting. I started a new knitting project. No, I am not finished with the silk scarf yet, don't ask. I needed something with lots of stockinette stitch. A project I could do mindlessly without looking at a chart to knit and this is it. . .till I get to the front, where there is a lace panel that will take some attention. The yarn was in my stash, yeah! Love shopping my stash it's free. I purchased the yarn some time ago for a different pattern but decided against that one in favor of this one. Looks very nice so far.

The yarn is Valley Yarns, Sugarloaf from WEBS. All you knitters out there know WEBS, right? Merino wool and microfiber, whatever that is, it's positively soft. The pattern is in the new KNITS magazine.

To help me to relax and better enjoy the process I applied some of my Young Living Essential Oil Peace & Calming. This blend of therapeutic grade essential oils is amazing for calming and relaxing people and animals. I have also used it on horses, dogs and cats. I have been marketing these essential oils for many years and am proud to be involved with a company that products oils of the highest quality. If you would like more information about essential oils drop me a line. Last night Mom found yet another box that had not been unpacked from the move. This is a box of china she collected over the years. It was like Christmas morning. She had been wondering where the rest of her GrandMothers china was. The first picture is of the family pieces. I just love the small pitchers with the violets on them.This picture is just assorted pieces from Mom's china cabinet. Looks like it's time to remove and rearrange the china in the cabinets.

Last nights sunset looking out the back door. The first shot was lovely for about 60 seconds then this happened. I am always amazed how quickly the colors change. Enjoy.

Christmas Fun

Hope all of you had a wonderful day yesterday. We had a family meal together sharing stories and lots of fun. Mom and I did the cooking and we also made some cute name card (cones?) for each person at the table. I used old sheet music and wrapped it into a cone. Then we stuffed them with grass and tied a ribbon on each one so they could be hung on the tree. We also tied a charm or a silver glitter bell on each cone. The I put a name card on each cone and hid a fortune from a chinese fortune cookie down inside each one. The girly cones have pearls strung across each one. I was so happy with the way they turned out. Some of them are now decorating Mom's Christmas tree.

I also wanted to share with you my glittery trees on the livingroom buffet. They are nothing more then wood covered with glitter but I just love the look. Something about them just screamed~ ~Take me home. They look great sitting on a bed of greens.

Oh no, How did these cute guys get in this Christmas post? Just had to share, are we planning ahead or what ? Yes we are, always. Gotta love TJ Maxx. I'm considering leaving the white tree in the living room up and decorating it for Easter. No wait, Valentines day is next. I have always had a real tree before this year and by the end of January the needles were all gone so the tree had to go. This fake tree could be the start of a new love affair I can leave this baby up all year. Is there anyone out there who does this? I need someone to brain storm with.

Christmas House Tour

The best time of the year, isn't it? Throw caution to the wind and decorate till you drop, I have had so much fun this year. Once I got my mind around the first little vignette, set it up, changed it around once or twice, added things, moved things just a little bit this way or that. Do you do this too or am I nuts?! Following is a tour of my home. This is the view as you come in the front door looking up the steps. Yes the kitty is real and you can bet that if someone is at the door he will be there to greet. That's his job you know. Please meet Spirit.

I love the wreath at the top of the steps. I made the wreath but the "Bon Jour" is a Wendy Addison in her wonderful glitter. Later above the living room buffet you will see her "Paris" in Glitter. The more sparkle the better for me. I purchased these at Debbie's shop Bayberry Cove. I would recommend her highly. Her service is quick, friendly and unwrapping the package was like Christmas day. Lots of pretty tissue paper.

At the top of the stairs is a china cabinet. To the left is the living room, small and cozy just the way I like it. It seems more spacious because of the half wall on the stair wall which opens the room up to the entry way. Also in the living room is a buffet and mirror beside the tree.

Then you enter the diningroom. I love my table but pictures of it will come later. Right now it is drapped for our Christmas dinner. Here is another buffet & china dressed for the holiday. This china & buffet was a gift from a friend who offered it to me when I told them I was moving and needed to get some furniture.

I feel the need to say that all of the furniture in my house is secondhand furniture. Not one piece is new. Most of it was purchased over the years at yard sales and flea markets. When we moved into this house it was decorated in dark victorian, notice the dark woodwork all around. I really needed to lighten it up, a lot, so I painted all the furniture a creamy white and hung off white lace curtains. I knew I couldn't re-do the whole house, paint & paper and such so I did the next best thing, I got creative. I think a few of my friends thought I was nuts when I announced that I was going to paint all my furniture white but hey, life is an adventure so I jumped right in. I am so happy with the results. It makes the wall paper and borders (which I am embarrased to even photograph here) easier to live with.

Here are a few shots of my precious things in the china. Flea market finds and just things I love to look at and use. It makes me laugh that I say precious because nothing here is expensive just loved by me. Oh, I do have a few little cut glass dishes that belonged to my Great Grand Mother but they don't sit in the china collecting dust. When I have a dinner I use them as serving pieces. You will see the largest bowl of the cut glass pieces on the dining room buffet filled with gold balls. The bowl is rimmed in gold and is very pretty.

Hope you liked the tour. I want to wish all my old friends who visit here as well as my new blog friends a very Merry Christmas and a Joyous New Year. I appreciate all of you and am looking forward to more sharing in the new year.

Is This A Shabby Chic Quilt or What?

Isn't this quilt amazing? It's made with antique ladies hankies and not just any hankies, they belonged to the Grandmother of a friend of mine.

My friend Janice stopped by yesterday to show Mom and I the quilt she just finished before she drove to her Moms to gift her for her birthday. The backing is a white on white print and she sewed the hankies on the backing. Janices husband Joe did the all over floral quilting pattern with a computerized quilting machine he owns. If I remember correctly the quilting thread is a pastel colored varigated and the result is stunning! It looks like daisys and swirls all over. I am so sorry that the pictures do not do this quilt justice.

This hankie is embroidered and centered on the back with this birthday wish and the history of the hankies. What a wonderful heirloom they both created. The quilt was made as a table cloth. Just imagine it in your shabby chic diningroom! I so want to make one of these but I will have to use new hankies for mine. Opps, another project. . .after the holidays.

What Do Your Cookie Recipes Look Like?

Sad to say mine are a little greasy, torn and worn. Used hard over the years and loved but I believe it's time to re-copy them to some really nice paper or index cards. How do you keep your recipes? Are they in nice condition?

Mom and I baked Christmas cookies today. We had so much fun and have lots of cookies to show for our work. One more batch of cookies in the fridge. These are roll out sugar cookies. Tomorrow should be another day filled with baking. One of my favorite pleasures at Christmas time is to bake and give away cookies. What is your favorite part of the holidays?

New Knitting Project

Started working on the gold scarf/shawl in the new Vogue magazine. The one made with Tilli Tomas Rock Star yarn which I happened to have in my stash. I love when that happens. Shopping my stash is so fullfilling! It's a simple pattern and still I had to start 3 times till I was happy with the results. First I just plain goofed the pattern up. Then I decided to use needles one size larger, bad idea.On the third try I went back to the size 9 needles and love it. The yarn is 100% silk with beads which is a little tricky to knit with depending on where the bead falls in the stitch. Oh my, the drape with this yarn is amazing. I'm in love. This is a pic of my progress so far.

Christmas Close Up

For some years now I have collected Snow Babies. These are some of my favorites. Enjoy.

White Christmas

Christmas decorating has been a bit overwhelming this year. New house, old decorations. No clue of where to begin. My dear friend Joy was getting rid of her old trees so I offered to take them off her hands. I was so excited to learn that one of the trees was a white tree. I have always wanted a white Christmas tree and the decor in this house screams for white. As Johnny Mathis sang "It's Beginning to Look a Lot like Christmas" and "Christmas Spirit" essential oil diffused filling the house with a lovely spicy smell this is what happened. . .

Greetings Everyone~ ~ ~

Thanks for visiting my new blog. I am so excited about sharing with you the passions of my life.
We recently moved into a new house and I have been a bit out of touch. Translates into Very Busy. I want to make it up to you and this blog will enable me to keep in touch with you in a more efficient manner. Visit here often for news and up dates. Pictures to follow. . .soon.