Thursday, December 20, 2018

Our holiday home.....

Our purple front door is decorated with a simple wreath, flanked by two artificial trees and a snowman!  All the windows have swags with matching bows:


These 3 Wisemen are almost 2' high and sit atop the china cabinet.  The flower pot is hand painted by Angie Strauss, a favorite artist of mine from Canada:


The dining area in our home is changed occasionally....


....and saw a few changes over the last month...


...the tree is decorated in champagne and gold...


...and santa sits by the tree!


The table is perfect for lunch for two:


The vintage glass cabinet displays one of my favorite collections of Possible Dreams carolers and Santas....


Some of them are over 35 years old!




A Mark Roberts Santa sits on top!


The black and white tree sits on the kitchen counter....


...and another favorite decoration, my Christmas Crate:


My kitchen table opens up to be about 10' long and is perfect for a crowd:


The great room has our traditional tree trimmed with ornaments that bring back memories of many, many years!



The mantle is filled with lots of mercury glass, silver, lights and a tree filled with over 20 years of Swarovski crystal snowflakes and stars....


....and our stockings I made years ago hang on the mantle, waiting to be filled!


A side chest holds red battery operated candles, with candle rings from Grandin Road and star picks from MacKenzie-Childs, that come on each night with a timer...


The coffee table holds a MacKenzie-Childs centerpiece:


Another side table holds an old MacKenzie-Childs snowman and a few coordinating trees


 The guest bathroom has a few simple decorations matching the room's decor....


....as well as one of the guest rooms....


Our home is a ranch that we have lived in for 9 years.  After our girls "flew the coop" we decided to start brand new again after living in our "starter home" for 30 years.  It was a great move for us, only 2 miles away from our first home.  It's cozy, comfortable and is a fun home to decorate for the holidays!

I hope you have a joyous and healthy holiday and that the New Year brings you happiness and many new adventures!



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Sunday, December 16, 2018

Festival of the Trees, Everson Museum....



Each year I participate in the Everson Museum's Festival of the Trees by donating a tree.  This year some of the donations were so unique!

Here are some of my favorites form this year:



This bicycle tire tree had "chain garland" and handlebars as a tree stand!  The red bow is an inner tube!



Do you have a similar event in your town?




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Friday, December 14, 2018

My Black and White Kitchen Tree....

My kitchen tree is sitting on the counter at the end of my cupboards....


...it is loaded with many of my hand painted balls as well as ornaments from...


....Patience Brewster....


...Mackenzie-Childs...


....Wegmans....


...Melrose...


...Christopher Radko...


...Lenox...and special gifted ones...


...it is topped with a M-C pick of stars!


The tree is loaded with white lights and brightens up this area of my kitchen.  The best part is that I cover it with a tree bag and store it in the basement - the next year I just carry it upstairs and put it back on the counter!!  Easy decorating!




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Thursday, December 13, 2018

Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix for National Cocoa Day....


Make your own cocoa mix for those cold snowy days ahead!:

Hot Cocoa Mix
10 cups non fat dry milk powder
3 3/4 c instant choc drink mix
1 1/3 c powdered non dairy creamer
2 c conf sugar

DIR: dissolve 4-5 T in a cup of hot water

Today is National Cocoa Day!  

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Tuesday, December 11, 2018

Holiday cocktails....

Here are some ideas for some holiday cheer....



"Rimming" a glass for a holiday cocktail makes it so special.  There are a variety of ways to do this; you can use caramel sauce, chocolate sauce and even melted frosting!

I used melted vanilla frosting, tinted pink for a "Vanilla-Peppermint Berry".


Just spread some melted frosting on a plate and dip your glass into it:


Then dip glass into sprinkles:


It's a potent drink, so beware!

Vanilla-Peppermint Berry
1 oz vanilla vodka
1 oz peppermint vodka
1 oz lite cranberry juice
Shake over ice and strain into rimmed glass:


OR

you can try a :
Cranberry Martini
1 oz Cranberry Lite juice
1 oz vodka
Garnish with cranberries!


Grinch Punch is delish - not sweet at all!


OR just enjoy a good 'ol fashioned cup of hot cocoa


CHEERS!




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