Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

I have been quite lucky lately...

I have been a lucky gal the last few weeks.  I was the winner of numerous giveaways on some lovely blogs.

This is a great gift package I won from Whisper Woods Cottage .  I haven't made anything with it yet, but look forward to playing with all this burlap and paper in January when we are snowed in!

I also won this slipcover from Ugly Sofa at the DIY by Design blog.  I haven't rec'd the slipcover yet because I am waiting for this specific style to come in:

And I also won this sweet 3 tiered server from Creating Wonderful Spaces!

I would say that I was quite lucky lately, so I bought a few Mega Millions lottery tickets - but no luck there!!

Thanks ladies for these fabulous gifts - I was thrilled to be the recipient of each of these generous gifts!

Please visit these blogs and tell them I sent you!

They are still kids....

All of the "cousins" found my old Patty Play Pal doll in the basement on Christmas day and this is what they did:

Some kids never grow up, but

they always keep us laughing!

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you a Happy Holiday!

Last minute snacks for coworkers...

These ideas are all over Blogland and Pinterest, but I wanted to remind you of how easy they are to prepare:

Hot cocoa mix, a marshmallow pop with crushed peppermint in a mug:

So quick and easy to prepare!

Chocolate Covered Oreos - simply dip an Oreo in melted chocolate, add some sprinkles and wrap individually:

OR turn them into pops by adding popsicle sticks:

OR Brownie Covered Oreos, simply dipping an oreo into brownie batter and baking in a muffin pan:

and all these can be served on cute little plates and delivered to friends - or served to yourself!

Wow Us Wednesday @ Savvy Southern Style

Quick and easy marshmallow pops...

I found these huge, oval, flattened, peppermint marshmallows at Walmart:

I dipped them in chocolate, sprinkled some pretty sugars on them, pushed in a wooden stick, and wrapped them up:

A quick and easy snack to have on hand:

Sharing with Hope Studios

The Dickens Characters in Skaneateles

During the month of December the Dickens characters roam Main St in Skaneateles, NY. They

put on skits, made my husband sing Jingle Bells, and Scrooge is mumbling "Bah Humbug"!

But it was this sign that made me laugh out loud:

"Where there is drink, there is always danger" Haha

And Father Christmas was even bringing joy to the day!

Holiday Parties with my Girlfriends

This was a week of "girlfriend parties" for me. Thursday night was our Bunco Party with a Yankee Swap of gifts.

There were handmade scarves...

Girls hiding their gifts....

...girls "stealing" gifts from others...

...and lots of wine......and too much food...

And Friday was my "girlfriend happy hour" that I host yearly. Above is my dear friend Joni.

Friends from all walks of life....

and again, lots of food and wine (so much that I never took photos when everyone else arrived!)

There's nothing like a gathering of girls - lots of great stories, laughs and giggles!

I am happy to say that I am finished shopping, wrapping, baking, entertaining (until Christmas day, when there will be 12 for dinner) and I get to enjoy the week before the holiday by just relaxing!

Are you all ready?

The guest room tree

This wall tree is about 25 years old and I haven't used it in a few years. This year I decided to decorate it for the red, black and white room:

I gathered some mesh ribbon with wire to tuck into the branches:

and I used some dollar store red glass balls:

and some sparkly dollar store ornaments with red and white bows:

The lights twinkle down the hallway and brighten the end of the house that is rarely used!

Sharing with:

thrifty thursday

The Living Room Mantle

I always struggle with decorating my mantle. This year I have my Swarovski crystal snowflake ornaments on a Pier 1 tree along with a garland of twinkle lights, some gold reindeer, silver trees and the knockoff MacKenzie-Childs stockings I made:

The Swarovski snowflakes twinkle in the afternoon sun and leave rainbows on my wall!

The gold accent pieces are so pretty at night:

Just a little winter wonderland on my mantle!

North Pole PIllow

I needed a gift for our Bunco gift exchange and I have been thinking about making this pillow for a while:

I saw this somewhere in Blogland, I printed it in Word, and then printed it out on fabric:

I adhered it to the front of a piece of polka dot fabric and then pleated and pinned blanket binding around the edge:

I stitched over the pleats and backed it with green and white striped fabric:

Hope my Bunco friend likes it:

Sharing with Met Monday,

Make It For Monday @ Cottage Instincts and

Motivate Me Monday @ Keeping It Simple