Don’t you love taking walks through the village streets at night! It gets dark so early this time of year, but each little house shares glimpses of their decorations through well lit windows. Twinkling lights, beautiful wreaths, creative garlands, and wonderfully decorated Christmas trees all speak of the joy of those who dwell inside during this wonderful season!

I thought I’d let you peek in our windows & share just a few of our Christmas decorations with you

Here are some of my vintage Christmas ornaments up close

For my dining room table I decided to re-purpose a wreath that I usually hang on the front door! I used a quilt with matching colors, the wreath, a large jar that I picked up on sale last year, and the wreath.

Some new snowmen for our collection

I love these little boxes that our friends bought for our anniversary. The santa was my first try at wood carving.

Here is some vintage ephemera that I found in a local shop, buried under some old books.

Here is the poem up close so you can read it!

For my tree skirt, I just placed some $2 pr yard black & white toile around the base of the tree.

Some new pieces picked up at the local discount store for $5 each!

My “Prim” Christmas Tree

I heard the bells on Christmas day.
Their old familiar carols play
And wild & sweet the words repeat, of peace on earth good will towards man.

Here are some Christmas Pictures from last year.

Sometimes the best ideas for decorating our home comes from the natural world around us.

When you’re hard pressed for ideas on how to bring your home to life, perhaps taking a peek outside at the “living world” around you will give you just the decorating tip that you’re looking for

There’s something very comforting about walking into a home that has a “bit” of nature there to greet you. I like to call it “feathering my nest” When you think about it, you are actually bringing life into your home when you bring in items from the outside.

So many times, people automatically reach for what they already know (such as a bouquet of flowers) and their creativity seems to stop there. The next time you’re looking for a new little touch around your home, try to look past the things that automatically come to your mind & look for the unexpected.

This cabinet needed a little something on top, but I wasn’t sure what to use. I already had a nice basket that I was using to display some of my magazines, so I decided to fill it up with some dried hydrangea stems. I really like the way it turned out.

Here are a few other articles that you might like as well.

Grapevines for the in the Sitting Area

Lots of Creative (cheap Fall Decorating Ideas!

[tags]home decorating, home decor, country living, cottage style, hydrangeas, how to[/tags]

[tags]christmas, ornaments, home decorating, cottage style, vintage, country living[/tags]

Because I already feel SO blessed, when my husband asked me what I wanted for Christmas, it took me a while to come up with something.

Some of you may remember my post back in October about one of my favorite antique pine cupboards that I picked up years ago for $2? Well, when I told him I’d like to have my cupboard painted as my Christmas gift, he painted it right away!

I really love the deep red, because it compliments everything in our home. Many readers wanted to see the finished result, so I thought I’d post it for you all to enjoy!

What a wonderful husband I have – and as I told him… he is my gift

Here’s a picture of the cupboard before

* From Pearl

Thank you all for the kind words!

Just goes to show you – one person’s trash really is another person’s treasure!

I picked this piece up at a yard sale. When I asked to gal if she had anything else inside
for sale, she took me downstairs to show me a few things – however, nothing really caught my eye. But when I turned around to come back up the stairs, I spied this cabinet standing up behind the door. When I asked her if she wanted to sell that piece, she said – “oh that thing, I don’t think you could even get it off the wall, because it’s been sitting down here in the basement for so many years!” When I assured her that my husband could indeed remove the piece from her basement (I was thinking piece by piece if we had to , she said – well, you could have it for $2. No thinking on my part – a quick “SOLD” came out of my mouth!

It has provided a lot of joy over the years, and now with it’s new coat of color, it is ready for many more ahead!

Ok – for those of you who might be saying… well, that was many years ago, those things don’t happen today! I want to tell you – the same thing happened just a couple of years ago to me! I picked up a VERY large vintage pine cabinet for $17 at a local estate auction. Everyone was pretty much finished with the “good stuff” inside when they moved out to the garage. Most of the gals wandered on home, but from my past experiences, I knew that great treasures lay waiting for me out there! Sure enough, when everything was pretty much said & done in the garage, everyone started home. I went up to the auctioneer & said, I’d like to bid on that old cupboard against the wall. He said… who will give me $50, who will give me $20? But no one was really paying attention. I said, I’ll give you $17! Once, twice, sold to the lady. Now… how to get this huge beauty home? Well, because it had tiny wheels on it, my friend Kelly & I simply pushed it down the street

The moral of the story?
#1 Keep your eyes open, because most people don’t look through the same eyes of vision the way that you will!
#2 Don’t buy a huge cabinet unless you have a friend to help you push it down the street

[tags]vintage, pine cupboard, cottage style, country living, home decorating, antique cabinet[/tags]

About today’s picture:

A dear friend of mine makes wonderful stained glass Christmas ornaments. We have her make a new ornament for each family in our church every year. This was last year’s edition. It sparkles so nicely with the tiny lights shining on the Austrian crystals!

I will post the whole collection – including the newest edition very soon. You can feel free to contact me if you’d like to pick any of them up for family – friends – or yourself

[tags]christmas, ornaments, decorating, stained glass, cottage style, country living[/tags]

My perfect cup of tea…

- Place a tea bag in your cup – add hot water.
- Allow to sit for a few minutes – squeeze & remove.
- Add a spoon of splenda, a bit of milk, and a dash of vanilla – stir.
- ENJOY!

Pictured here is a pair of vintage tea bag holders that I picked up for a dollar at a local shop. I loved the colors! I’ve pictured them in front of a piece of vintage pottery.

[tags]tea, teapot, vanilla, pottery, recipes, cottage style, country living[/tags]

Run – do not walk – to your nearest “Big Lots”! I found these Levolor rods for only $7.95! They are black wrought iron with a very nice weight to them. A very nice change to the ordinary plastic rods that you see at most places! Because we need to hang curtains on all of the windows in our home, I know how costly curtain rods can be! I was so happy to find these, as they are cheaper than the smallest rods at the nearest “big mart”! I took the picture with the rod ends in front of a darker fabric (the front of my organizer) so that you could see how beautiful they are close up.

Here is what they look like in the package.

I am getting ready to make new curtains to hang on these lovely rods & I will post the progress of those very soon!

[tags]wrought iron, curtains, curtain rods, home decor, cottage style, country living[/tags]

Home Decor – Vintage, Shabby Chic, Primitive Wall Hanging

I really enjoy this new wall hanging, and although I use it with my cottage style, it could also be used in primitive, shabby chic, or country home decor. I especially love the black iron hanger, as well as the vintage crackle finish of the swan.

Recently, while visiting one of my favorite shops, I picked up this piece for a very nice “sale” price Needless to say, it was my find of the day!

Not only do I really enjoy the color and the lines just the way it is, but, should you decide to find (or make) something like this it could be used in many different ways.

I’ve chosen to hang this piece right up against a wall in my family room, because I like the way the deep reds of the wallpaper in the background make the black & off white vintage crackle finish really stand out. In your home, you could use this type of piece in many different ways.

- In the opening of a doorway
- On the side of a cabinet
- In the top of a hallway
- At your front door
- On your mailbox

If you look closely at the picture, you can see that the swan is connected by a chain & hooks. You could have several different pieces to hang from these hooks. A few ideas could be; snowman, scarecrow, Christmas tree, flag, flower, etc. You could have something different for every season, or something as simple as your favorite sign text.

Here are a few examples;

- Home is Where the Heart is
- It’s a wonderful Life
- Welcome
- Believe
- Merry Christmas
- Laundry
- Always Kiss me Goodnight
- Come Gather at our Table

[tags]home decor, country living, vintage, shabby chic, wall hanging, cottage[/tags]

Pink Flowers to brighten your day!

When all the leaves have fallen, and you know that snow is around the corner, there’s nothing better than beautiful blooms to give you a quick pick-me-up!

I have several different cactuses (or cacti) around my home, and even though most of the year they just sit there with their normal looking green leaves, there are those special times when they put on their best & give us a spectacular show that lasts for several weeks!

Here is a picture of one of the flowers from a Thanksgiving cactus that sits on my kitchen window sill.

It still amazes me to know that these little “plain jane” house plants have this big beautiful show inside – just waiting to burst forth at just the right time

This reminds me of many people that I know. So many are full of so much potential, but need the right conditions before they can release the best that’s still waiting on the inside to come out. This plant will only bloom under particular conditions;
* Sunshine – I think this represents the joy in your life, are you lacking this essential element? When was the last time that you felt joy – just by the fact that you have been given another day to live?
* Water – Water represents life – refreshment for our soul
* Food – Just the right kind & not to much or the plant will die – what are you feeding yourself? What are you allowing to “fill” your time, thoughts, and energy?

Maybe today you could take moment to evaluate what you allow to fill your life, maybe you need some different conditions, so that you can burst forth into beauty, not only for yourself, but for all of those around you to enjoy!

I have 3 different colors of Thanksgiving cactus sitting on my window sill. Here you can see the pink flowers, as well as the yellow flowers of the cactus.

Pottery Barn had a great sale recently, and I picked up several of these beautiful glass jars. Hopefully you can see how “vintage” they look – with the thick bubbled glass. When I saw the jars, I knew I’d find lots of great uses for them! Here is my first use

This is a seasonal display that I put together on our harvest table. (I love the table! Even though it’s brand new, it looks like a vintage piece taken right from the family farm!)

The pumpkins were .50 cents, the candle is from “W-Mart” – they have several nice scents & colors for $5.50 & they are huge 4 wick candles! The glass jars, as I already mentioned, are from Pottery Barn. They were on sale for $7. I also added some rose hips & orange peel fixins.

We so enjoy the sight & scents from this display as we enjoy our family dinners!

Fall displays don’t have to be expensive! Check your local Pottery Barn for sales they may be having!

[tags]pottery barn, candle, harvest table, vintage, country living, home decor, howto[/tags]