Christmas Eve

Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand, and for a talk beside the fire:  It is the time for home. 

~ Edith Sitwell, poet and critic

My table is set for dinner.  It will just be our little four-some tonight.  Tomorrow, we'd hope to visit my family but with unusually sick little ones our trip is in jeopardy.  It's okay though.  There's no place like home and I'm blessed to have a happy family this holiday if we don't make it out.

Wishing you a safe and peaceful Christmas Eve.

Time to cook!

P.S.  I was lucky enough to have my Christmas tree chosen to be in an album on Country Living's Facebook Page.  Check out all the beautiful trees here.

Feliz Navidad!

Greetings! 

Holiday Greetings!

I've been my usual MIA self in the blog world, but I thought I'd pop in and post a few pics of my house.  It's been hectic as usual, but I've managed to do a bit of decorating.

My white tree is back. This year I though, self, what color would you be the least likely to try. Purple. So, that's what I chose for the tree. Not sure it's a color I'd use on a regular basis but it was fun to try and I'm happy with how it turned out.

I had some other art on either side of my armoir that wasn't exactly holiday-friendly so I put a doily in a frame.  I've always thought they were snowflake-ish.  I realized after I put it up that it's off-center but I've decided to consider it charming imperfection rather than fix it at this point.

A few things I had and a couple of things I acquired recently like the owls.  The alabaster owls on the right came from a little antique store in DE (under $10 for both).  

I wanted a couple of throw pillows to go with the purple on the tree.  Imagine my surprise when they arrived and fabric was unexpectedly pleathery.  Since it's just for the holidays and I got a good deal, I decided to live with it. 

Entry ...  The girls have been pretty eager to put milk and cookies on that dish.

 

In the dining room ... This large doily (maybe around $7) came from another small shop in Delaware that I stumbled on over the summer.  I hadn't used it until now and I really love it. 

My life has been pretty busy between work, shuttling kids between schools, in addition to my own activities (bellydancing and training for a half-marathon currently) so decorating has shifted a bit to something that I squeeze in now rather than the main hobby it used to be.  There are only so many hours in the day!

This week, I'll be wrapping a mountain of gifts and baking dozens of cookies but I wanted to take a minute to say ...

Happy Holidays to all!

The Greenbrier

Friends of mine recently went to The Greenbrier in West Sulphur Springs, West Virginia for a weekend and came back with quite a lot of photos and I wanted to share just a few here.  The Greenbrier has been hosting guests since 1778.

I've heard about the Greenbrier, but haver never visited myself.  After seeing these photos, I hope to change that.

Here's the impressive exterior ...

Chandeliers everywhere!  I love how you can see a hint of color in each successive room but the chandeliers are the common element.

Another beautiful light ...

Here's one with green crystals ...

And yet another with the band of blue.

This makes me want blue stripes in my house (maybe with the chandelier above?).

I don't typically care for florals like this, but how beautiful ...

There's such an interesting contrast with the black and white tile floor.

Bolder space, same floor.

Nisha knows how much I love rhinestone pins.  How much to I adore this?

I'm going to need a lot more pins!

Love the gold mirror and the white mantel.

Nisha looking right at home.

The exterior also does not disappoint.  A peek from inside ...

And another with a view of the WV mountains.

A serene spot.

Gorgeous grounds and gazebo.

The happy couple.  Thank you to Bryan for sharing the great photos!

Creepy Cottage

Ah, Autumn ... Halloween is approaching and I thought I'd take a minute to share a bit of seasonal decorating I've done and a few things I picked up at Luckett's.

I got the two wall hangings on either side of my armoir at Luckett's when they had their September Design House.  I first spotted these on my visit a few months ago in one of the rooms with a steampunk design, but it wasn't until my next visit that I thought they might work in my house.  My husband and I spent our first anniversary in Paris and London so I found them meaningful.  Plus, they roll up so I can change and store them easily.  I'd been looking for art since I moved the botanical prints a while back.  I'm so happy with how they look.

Loved the pillow as well and couldn't leave it behind.

Speaking of the botanical prints, here they are above my desk ...

... with an added basket of fall goodies.  I got the owl pendant at a flea market and never planned to wear him, but he's quite cute and I plan to sport him on a long chain.

My console ... Two more Luckett's finds - the skeleton in the apothecary jar and the crown.  Luckett's has the greatest match boxes that are fun all on their own and are inexpensive.  I have several with different designs.

My entry ...  Feathers and grass I had in a vase acorns from my driveway.

I added a few owls and pumpkins to the sideboard in my dining room and a fall-ish apron for Grace.

I don't have a large collection of postcards, but I am displaying a few that I have here.  My one lonely Halloween card (they're rare and expensive) along with one of a funeral in the center and the beheading of Lady Jane Grey on the left.

That's it for now, but I hope to share more including the past 2 months visiting the Design House at Luckett's and a trip some friends of mine took to West Virginia where they stayed at an incredible hotel.  Me = jealous.

More to come!

Back to School

My oldest girl starts kindergarten today. 



Where have the past 5 years gone?

Summer Recap

Someone recently told me the sad truth - that I hadn't posted since April. Has it been that long? 

Sadly, yes.

As always, I hope for unlimited time for numerous projects and plans but there are only 24 hours in a day. There have been little things here and there when I have a few minutes, but those precious few minutes are few and far between and with Fall nearly here I'm taking a couple of those minutes to give a quick summer run-down of where life has taken me the past few months.

In June, we added, a 3-year-old Snowshoe cat named Delilah to our family. It's been 4 years since our beloved dog Sally went to the Rainbow Bridge and my heartbreak had healed enough to consider another pet, but not a dog. With 2 active little girls keeping me busy, a dog seemed like too much to take on, so now we have Delilah and she's the sweetest critter we could have asked for.

In June, we also went on a family trip and rented an old country house in Vermont on a long winding dirt road with beautiful views of the mountains. The slow pace was the perfect start to the summer with our girls out of school and the warm weather just starting to heat up in Virginia. I don't think I'll ever stop dreaming of moving there, but I think experiencing the vicious bugs will keep me from actually doing it.

Along with homemade jam in the kitchen, the owners left us wildflowers picked from the property to welcome us.

For my anniversary in May, my husband got me a mom-daugther getaway to Montreal to use while he stayed behind with the kids in Vermont.  The hotel was an old historic building with a little bistro on the first floor.  I loved Paris when I visited so this was a sweet little reminder.

The beautiful room Mom and I shared.

So many beautiful gardens ...

... churches ...

and food!  But, oh, so little time.  A day later, it was back to Vermont, then home-bound a few days after that.

On July 10th, I ran (and walked) a 5k.  I ran my first one in April but an injury held me back from running this one completely.  I hope to run another in September.

My girls had plenty of summer fun ...

I have spent time with friends and done quite a bit of dancing as well ...

And, now summer is coming to an end ... or is it a new beginning?  My oldest daughter starts kindergarten in a matter of days.  She was diagnosed with ADHD this summer and while it's not a surprise to us and we have done as much planning for her as we can, my first priority is helping her adjust. 

I still love my house.

I still hope for those precious minutes when I can play with a project.

Will I blog more?  Maybe.  Maybe not.  Both girls will be in school this fall.  I will actually have a little time without children.  What I will do with that time remains to be seen.  As for now, we are alive and well and living life to the fullest. 

I can hear my girls squealing with delight outside playing with their dad.  I think I'll join them.