Saying Goodbye to 2013

 It was a good year in so many ways. The Holiday season was filled with joy and happiness. We were fortunate enough to get some early snow to get the kids in that magical winter spirit.

 There were gingerbread houses to be made with plenty of sweet leftovers.

 There were beautiful Christmas trees and tree decorating parties.

 There were warm fires to sit by and hat cider with cinnamon sticks to drink, along with eggnog and Christmas cookies.

 There were delightful tables decorated in the spirit of winter.

 And many opportunities to check out friends ornament collections and hear the stories that went along with them.

 There was a lot of humor and some bittersweet reflection of those gone on to the great beyond.

There was so much expectation and everything worked to pretty great. Feeling blessed and wishing you a Very Happy New Year!!!!!!!

Saint Nick Day

 It has come to be a yearly tradition that on the feast of Saint Nicholas, I have a special childrens party. The perfect activity is usually some sort of cookie decorating. This year The children did little gingerbread trains. There was a ton of colorful candy and I was surprised to see  the children really decorated more than snacked.

 The kitchen was incredibly quiet. It was pretty serious business. I also had some little houses to decorate but the girls seemed to be more interested in those. I think they realized that you could use more candy by creating a little yard around the house than if you had a free standing train.

 Saint Nick usually puts little bags of treats into the shoes of the children left by the door but this year he cut a few corners. You can see the little treat bags in the box above. Then I posted a little free standing train cookie....it was the only one that wasn't picked clean of candy only a few hours later. I had hoped to post at least four little cars  in a row..wishful thinking.

 I thought this little angel ornament with googly eyes was cute and homemade.

 Here is a warm inviting fire to add the festive atmosphere of the season. I really enjoy stretching the holiday through the entire month of December. Such a wonderful time of family and memories.

Finally, here is a cute little snapshot of my youngest telling Santa what he wants. He climbed right up onto the sleigh and need to tell him face to face. So cute.

Getting Christmas-y!

I have just started dragging out the Christmas decor.  I have an assortment of items both vintage and antique that I hope to share with you later. This video shows some cute items but surprisingly, there were not many impressive holiday collections on youtube.
 Concerning, some of my favorite decorations, the blow mold plastic yard ornaments are always a great find. They are the definition of "kitsch". I would love to get my hands on some plastic choir boys or Frosty the Snowman style from the early sixties. Boxes of vintage tree ornaments are becoming really hard to find because so many people craft wreaths with them and sell online. (Guilty as charged). The bloke on this video has the right idea. It is always best to buy Christmas items from thrift boutiques or antique fairs, after the holidays. I am so excited to jump into this festive season. Hopefully, I will have time to add a few interesting  posts. Feeling optimistic!