It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

Waiting for a repairman is a lot like watching paint dry so I figured maybe I could fit in a post to help wile away the time!

Let's move into the kitchen.

This part of the kitchen smells exceptionally good today. That little red vase has a few sprigs of tea olive branch. The smell from those blooms is simply intoxicating! Ever since I first encountered these bushes on a visit to the nearby home of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, I have been at their mercy. I literally tracked down a nursery that carried them back then and bought about 20. They are scattered around my entire back yard. They bloom about 3 times a year and when they are in bloom, just driving into the front driveway will fill your senses with their beautiful aroma. Those few little cuttings bring me so much joy. I usually cut way more, but right now I have out lots of fresh pine and I don't want the two fragrances fighting each other-pine says Christmas to me, so pine it is right now. Lol

I'm remembering back a few years ago when making Bingo cards embellished with ephemera was all the rage. I think I made one for every holiday. This guy seems to have stood the test of time.

Talk about receiving joy from little things-my heart is always happy when I decorate this space. I've shown you this before but that little pinecone man is from the Christmas trees I always had in my room when I was a little girl. I can distinctly remember buying it in a small 5 & 10 when I was probably 9 or 10. Can you ever believe that is how they used to mark prices let alone WHAT the price was! I feel old! I also bought a little angel and carved out her bottom so she could sit on the top of my tree. I still have the angel as well and she is on my "toy" wreath in the family room.

The little angel has pipe cleaner arms and was stuffed with saw dust. She brings back so many memories. I remember how much I loved decorating my "nest" for the holiday even way back then!

 
The small Santa salt & pepper shakers and the hand made sleigh were gifts from my mom. She was never one for "antiquing" but somehow stumbled across these somewhere and knowing how much I love chippy, old things, she bought them for me as my gift that year. And, she was right, they have become special treasures to me.

Every year I think I might join the crowd and change up my decor. This year I really thought I might like to go all farm "housy"-at least in one room-and stay with the whites, browns and grays. But, try as I might, I couldn't stop from adding pops of color with my old favorites and, before I knew it, I was back to my traditional red and green. Guess you really can't teach an old dog new tricks.

As I looked at this picture, I realized that I usually switch my pens to a Christmas holder-need to get on that. Lol

Here is this year's hot chocolate bar. Before I know it, the munchkins will be here to see how I did! I've got chocolate stir spoons, fancy marshmallows, cookies and lollipops. They love their hot chocolate. Wish I could say that I always whip it up from scratch but lately, they're lucky if I do more than brew it through the Keurig. Maybe I can do better this year.

So that's it for this year's kitchen. I did want to show you an update before I leave. Don't you think the mailbox looks better now that it has a letter to Santa and some greenery? Stay tuned.