Scottie Christmas Mug Shots

Me:  Ok, Duhgall, look at Mommy…

Duhgall:  Ok. 

Me:  Now look over here.

Duhgall:  Okie Dokie.

Me:  Now turn to the right.

Duhgall:  I am already!

Me:  Do you have any scars, marks or tattoos?

Duhgall:  Say WHAT !?  Geesh, do I have to tell you about the freckles on by tummy?  That is a wee bit personal….don’t you think?

Me:  Ok, we are nearly done.  I need a shot to the left now. 

Duhgall:  Maw, you are really pushing it.  You have my best side and that is good enough.  I am done.  D.O.N.E. Do I get a treat for this torture?

Me:  Ok, now I know the only people who really smile for mug shots are the happy drunks.

Duhgall:  I’ll give you a smile, but I promise I wasn’t drinking.  Promise.

Me:  Yea, that’s what they all say. 

Duhgall:  Are we done yet?

Me:  Yes,  and thank you.  I love you , Mr. Dog.

Duhgall:  I love you back.

Duhgall:  I am FREE!  Santa bailed me out and off we go! 

Me:  Santa’s got your back….he really does!

Duhgall:  Paw, get me out of here.  She has gone mad I say!  And please take off this sweater!

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Hoping everyone had a fun and Merry Christmas! 

Happy Birthday, Jesus, and thank you for all that you have done for us.  We love you!

Winter Whites

It is a quiet morning here and I am watching the sun come up and melt the blanket of fog that eerily looms over our part of the world.  Soon the birds will appear outside and pick and choose from the winter bounty available in our yard.  A fat Blue Jay is a new visitor and he seems to fancy the bird bath that is filled with fresh rain water.  My Scottie, Duhgall, is nestled up next to me and a steaming cup of Major Dickenson’s French Roast has been poured in my mega white coffee mug and waits for me to savor.  I love quiet mornings.  Hubby and I are catching up on a Madam Secretary show that we missed.  Soon I will be heading over to help a friend make her home beautiful with her Christmas collections.

The house feels cozy with the Christmas lights twinkling and a Christmas candle fills the air with a beautiful scent of orange and cloves.  Low lights shine in the dining room that plays host to the white Belsnickle Santas, vintage deer and some of my round faced old clocks. The painting behind the deer adds for a backdrop for the Winter land scene.  I like using paintings as a backdrop for a vignette.  An old loving cup, with beautiful details of flowers on the base, holds a small little Charlie Brown tree.  Toping the dining table is a carved Swan that is nesting in a stack of wood dough bowls.  The room feels very serene and it is one of my favorite rooms in our little home.

I spied the first bird just now.  Looks like a few more are showing up now.  Time for breakfast!

Hope your day is beautiful and full of wonder!

A Little Vintage Whimsy Pleases The Heart

A few posts ago I shared some very plain and simple holiday touches on the laundry room shelf.  Well, as it goes, I decided to embellish the vignette up a bit by adding some of my favorite little vintage collectibles.  They not only add a pop of color to the mostly black, white and mustard yellow accents in the room – they add a sense of whimsy and playful fun.  Their faces and expressions could be perfect inspiration to develop a story.  For example….

….”Weeeeeeee…….don’t tell Santa that we found his stash of Egg Nog in the “Pure Milk” truck!  Sure Santa….your secret is out now!”

A question came to me from Lorri about this farmhouse print.  The print is titled “Birthplace of Ulysses S. Grant, Point Pleasant, Ohio.”  I love the elements in the photo…a little cottage, a river boat, cows and trees.  I really don’t know too much about the lithograph of Appalachian life, but I did find an old etching on eBay that is of the old homestead.  Just click here for the link.

Cottage Christmas Touches

1.  Christmas pulled out of storage.  Check.

2.  Christmas items removed from boxes to use this year.  A whole lot of other stuff not pulled out this year.  Check.

3.  Decorate the family room.  Check.

4.  Decorate the laundry room.  Check.

5.  Add a wee bit of Christmas to dining room.  Check.

6.  Scottie Dog tree and Kitchen tree up and decorated.  Check

7.  Dust, vacuum.  Check.

8.  Sit in the comfy chair and put my feet up, camera in hand.  Enjoy the rain we are blessed with.  Check.

Our little cottage is pretty much done being decked with holiday fluff.  Being as my son is borrowing one of my trees this year – his first Christmas in his own apartment (smile) – I have one less tree to put up.  Though I will miss all of my vintage glass ornaments this year, it’s all g- double o – d good.  I did peak in the boxes where they are stored and gave them a little wink and a nod.  See ya next year….

Home Goods has been good to me this year.  I have had a ball finding some fun linens there, like this red stripe French grain sack inspired runner and holly pillow on the chair.  I love, love, love plaids and stripes!  A little French chair is draped with a wool plaid blanket and one of my favorite pillows, a jolly Santa. 

Stacks of books await me on the coffee table.  One of my “go to” holiday books is The Farm Chicks Christmas.  I totally adore this book that is filled with my style of decorating.  Fun, whimsical, colorful and just plain cuteness fill each page of Serena’s book.  And I love her style, too.  **sigh**  I want a house like hers when I grow up!

Did you know there is a Santa Claus, California?  Well, that is what the mug says!  The vintage Santa in the jar is a little snow globe.  He was a purchase from last year and he just makes me smile.

I found this antique red and white quilt at a fun sale last month.  It is so soft, so lovingly worn and makes a nice little tree skirt.

My Belsnickle Santas soldier up on my mantel.  If someone would ask me what my favorite Christmas collections are, these would be on my top three of favorites.  For some interesting facts about Belsnickle Santas, you can just click on this link HERE.  These wonderful figures reflect the 19th Century Version of Santa Claus and then in the 1930’s Santa became a jolly round Santa. 

A farmhouse print co-mingles with a few Christmas touches.

And like I shared in my last post, the little gnomes hang out with Santa in their Craftsman Style bungalow. 

Today is a rainy day and I feel like staying in my PJ’s all day.  But then there are things to do and I just have to shake off the lazy feeling and conquer the day.  My little Scottie is all snuggled up to me…precious moments that I enjoy…my little buddy.  A little cozy going on right now.  Maybe I’ll just take today slow.

Till next time, enjoy the season!

Some Fun With A Metal Dollhouse and Seven Dwarfs!

A few years ago I found this wonderful primitive metal Craftsman Doll House at a flea market with my friend, Cheryl.  The shopping day was intended to scout out new items for our spaces at the antique store we sell at.  HOWEVER….when I find something really extra special and unique, then, well, you know how it goes.  A little splurge for moi. And this one was a no brainer…a red roof cottage, chippy paint, a wonderful wood base with green paint…it was a must have.  I have not used it as a doll house but more of a statement piece on top of a bookcase.  I do collect different kinds of cottages – from door stops, cottage pictures, incense burners and the metal dollhouse.  

Over the summer I went to a wonderful sale and found four more of the seven dwarf figurines.  Till then I had three.  They are really sweet and are marked W. Germany on the bottom.  I thought they would be cute for a little Christmas vignette.  Baby deer, bottle brush trees and a cool Santa complete the gathering.  I tucked tiny little pinecones in the window box and added a few trees to the inside. 

Now to finish up the decorating and clean up my mess! 

And as a side note, I have been trying to center my NAVBAR with the header and am not having any success in doing so.  Because of my inexperience in HTML lango, the blog layout has been changed until I can figure out....... Soooo….all of the good stuff like Pinterest, Blog Roll, etc is now at the bottom of my blog.  Patience is a virtue and I am not feeling so virtuous right now....

Our Day Of Thanks

Our Thanksgiving was sweet and very special and we are so grateful for the blessings in our life.  A few chairs were unoccupied this year and we miss our loved ones who would fill those chairs and also fill the room with laughter and chit chat. This year’s sides were all new recipes that I found in the November 2014 Country Living Magazine.  Even though I love the simplicity of recipes tried and true, venturing out and trying new recipes is fun and challenging at the same time.   I have to be honest, I am intimidated and lacking in confidence when it comes to making pies.  Costco is an easy pie fix – they make the best pumpkin pie.   For this Thanksgiving I chose to make an attempt at some homemade pumpkin pies and a chocolate cream pie with homemade pie crust.  My Nanny Hazel made the very best chocolate pie from scratch.  There was always the promise of one of her decadent chocolate pies – or even two – on the holiday dessert table.  I grew up loving and anticipating her wonderful dessert and after my boys experienced their first taste, they were enamored as well.  I wish I had HER recipe, but I don’t.  I went through my mother’s recipe book thinking she may have it written down somewhere.  No luck there, however I did find my Grandma Katy’s homemade pie crust recipe.  On it she had written “fool proof”.  Well, okie dokie!  If she says so and she was a great cook as well.  Hers called for half butter and half shortening and a teaspoon of vinegar.  I also found a recipe for a chocolate cream meringue pie in a Hershey’s chocolate cookbook.  I see why “instant pudding” is a go to for those who like a quick pudding.  Pudding from scratch takes so long, but it is so worth the time and effort.  Just stir, stir, stir!  I think my favorite side that I made was the cornmeal Jalapeno Green Chili Cornbread which was an alternative for a stuffing.  My son informed me that he always looks forward to the stuffing….so I guess I will have to make him a special batch now.  

My favorite moment was when I asked my family to stand over by the cow so I could snap a picture.  My son’s girlfriend, Miss M, was standing over there and she had a good laugh implying that they should go stand by her.  (She is by no means a cow!)  See the cow on the wall?  I am thankful I captured the moment with my camera.  They bring me such joy and crack me up!

Mr. Duhgall kept me company in the kitchen for most of the day.  He was hoping for a crumb of something to fall to the ground...

Other sides I made from Country Living Magazine were:

Roasted Acorn Squash With Bacon Maple Drizzle

Buttermilk-Boursin Mashed Potatoes

Green Bean Casserole With Fried Shallots

And the pies were delicious!  Not quite the same chocolate that I remember Nanny’s being like, but it still conjured up precious memories.