Keeping It Real!!!!

Yes, it may be "beginning to look a lot like Christmas" in parts of the house, but in others, this is what you will see-or worse!

And, this is just what is left of autumn that is still in the house. The rest is all over the floor of the garage along with most of the Christmas containers still waiting to be put away! I wish I could come up with a better system but so far I haven't. But, as we speak, the livingroom is pretty much done-maybe a little tweaking here and there but come along for a peek.

Trying to keep things simple and not use everything I have in my collection but, since this will be the first year without my mom, I am finding it hard to pare down on so many things that hold so many fond memories. I seem to be particularly focused on using everything she has made or that I have made out of things that were once hers. I started right here in the foyer with one of her doillies that I glittered. I made these as gifts last year and I can find a place for mine in almost every holiday for which I decorate.

 This was really more the look I wanted to go for this year. Simply propped the mercury glass orbs from PB (last year) into a PB basket and filled it with greenery. That really was my intention but as you move through my house you will see that I was only successful in that intent in a few places. Somehow, those ubiquitous Santas just had to make their way in-just not Christmas without Santa!!

 I wanted a place for the current year's Santa pictures on this couch table, but I also wanted the wooden box here. Finally dawned on me to nestle the photos in the box and I could have my cake and eat it too-which I seem to be doing a lot of these days but that is another story!

So that is the livingroom. Once again, I have stuck to red, green and gold glitter. I guess I really am a traditionalist. As much as I adore some of the new color combinations I am seeing for Christmas-particularly the copper and moss green combo- I can't seem to bring it into my home. Perhaps it is just the thought of the cost and time to track down all of that new stuff not to mention the need for MORE storage space.

I wish I could take pictures to show you how this room looks lit at night. Presley spent the afternoon here yesterday and as it got dark, she and I lit all of the lights and candles and just sat and took it all in. It really was beautiful and such a special moment to share with such a special little one-truly a gift to see the holiday through a child's eyes!

Stay tuned. If I ever get out from under autumn, I will be back. Heading to Tampa for a few days as well, so I'll fill you in on that soon too. 

Oy Vey!!!!

More on that later in the post. For now, let's just catch the last of the Thanksgiving decor in the kitchen, sun room and dining room. Look fast, because it will be coming down soon!

O.K. So that is all pretty self explanatory. Where I have been, not so much. I think I have mentioned more than once that I am not very computer savvy. When I was getting ready to post last week, I had a message that I had reached the limit for my free picture memory and would now have to sign up to keep posting. I had no problem with that but, since my husband's business runs through the same system, I always want to check things with our "computer guy" before I go forward. We had a full blown crash once and don't want to ever go through that again. In any case, he just left and gave me his blessings so I am up and running again.

And now to the title of this post.....

My youngest daughter called the other night to tell me they had just gotten 2 of the most beautiful Christmas trees at Lowes and she said they had some of the biggest trees she had seen. So, bright and early on Friday morning, hubby and I head out. We only have 8' ceilings but we always buy a 9-10' tree because we like trees with lots of girth.

Boy did we pick a winner this year! Never mind the fact that 3 guys could barely carry it and there was no way it was going through their baling machine. I had them take 18" off of the bottom and we still had to cut a bit more. "We" meaning my son-in-law as my husband and I were lucky we even got it out of the car and into a bucket of water. Elton came over and with the help of a chain saw, lawn cart and the bed of his truck, we managed to get it in the house and upright in the stand. This tree is so big around that it is pushing up the walls on both sides of the only place it will fit. I love it but we probably went a bit beyond more is more!!!

Here is what the tree looks like leaning into the corner of the garage and here are the 2 buckets of greenery they cut off of the bottom at Lowes. I now have 2 more buckets full from what we had to trim here at the house.

And here is what my kitchen counter currently looks like. I wasn't going to start decorating until tomorrow but since I was homebound with a sick grandson today, I thought I would at least get the lights on. Now mind you, I only put away the lights that were working on the tree last year. I am so careful and roll them up and tie them off just so. And still, every year half of them DO NOT LIGHT! What is that all about? This year, I have to throw away 7 sets-and I think some of them are sets we just bought last year...and we only buy name brand lights so there is no excuse. But, I would so much rather just buy new ones than sit there and wiggle and twist to get them back on only to have them go out again once the tree is loaded with ornaments as well.. I must remember-this is the season of peace and joy. All of the words that were on the tip of my tongue must be put aside.

Tomorrow the heavy duty decorating starts. I will be back when there is more to show you. Stay tuned.

Thankful...

Even though October is over and November is supposed to be a bit more low key in our family, we have stayed super busy. Lots of time with grand chldren either at a school function or at my house spending some time.

We are now busy planning a Polar Express birthday party for Hudson who will be 5 next week (well, actually, his mom has done most everything but put me in charge of a golden ticket invitation. Since Hud has his own opinion of what this should look like, I take my job very seriously).

We are also heading up to Gainesville for a few days next week to help my daughter's class make and bottle homemade apple sauce as gifts for their parents and school employees. I have been doing this for a good many years and I so enjoy it. Guess I've talked about it so much that hubby wants to tag along this year. Thought we'd spend an extra day just visiting and catching up on their super busy lives! Looking forward to a lovely leisurely meal out and then time sitting around a beautiful fire hearing everyone's news.

Also had the privilege of attending one more award ceremony for Harrison where he once again received an award for the All E honor roll. It is always so wonderful to see all of those little people up on stage and hear about all of their accomplishments-makes me feel like our future is in good hands.

I guess I tell you all of that so you understand where my time goes and forgive my pitiful attempt at a post today. Only had time for a few pictures but I will have more soon.

 

 So that is pretty much the family room for Thanksgiving. Of course, the shelves on the entertainment unit as well as in other areas are once again full of old, seasonal pictures in autumn frames but I spared you that this time. Only a few change ups in last year's decorations but as long as it has the soothing feel of autumn to me, I am good with it. For some reason, I don't tire of my autumn vignettes as quickly as I do for other holidays. It's either that, or I am still exhausted from all of the Halloween to really care-ha-ha.

Here's my proud boy. Smart but "all boy"" because if you look carefully you will see the folds of a paper airplane on his lovely certificate. We caught him folding it as we were coming out to congratulate him-yikes! He really keeps us on our toes but is really the coolest kid! Next year, he will be in 3rd grade and his brother will be here in kindergarten so we will be doing back to back award assemblies-well, that is, if Hud follows in his brothers footsteps-we shall see. Stay tuned.

Turkey Time

So Halloween is put away and Thanksgiving is ready. Since we don't have the family celebration at our house any more, my decorations stay pretty mild and at a minimum. I do still love to have all of the colors, sights and scents of autumn and Thanksgiving around me this month though. Since it took so long to put Halloween away, I haven't gone out actively seeking new decor, so most of what you see will be pretty much as it was last year but with a bit of the usual tweaking.

Let's start in the living room.

I'm loving having this new area to decorate, but as I look at it in photos, I am thinking that mirror is a bit too large. I like it here because it has a bit of a verdi gris finish on the inside edges of the frame and that match the slate floor just perfectly. But, I am also thinking that I might move it into the familyroom after the new year, so we shall see what happens. I am becoming a bit reluctant to moving things as that usually sets off a chain reaction for me and I end up spending a LOT of money before I am done!

The living room is pretty simple and self explanatory. Most of the candles are pumpkin scented, so when they are lit, the room not only takes on a beautiful soft glow, but the welcoming scent of autumn as well. Maybe that's why I am constantly perusing Pinterest for another new pumpkin recipe-guess I need to add the FLAVORS of autumn to my "love list". We will move on soon. Stay tuned.