Valentines Day almost here!

 It was very cold here in Boston this morning but the sun was out and the birds were chirping. There is a belief that many of the winter birds pick their mates mid February around St. Valentines Day. The birds are making such a commotion out there I would not be surprised. I have a really optimistic feeling that spring will be here in no time. However, the foot of freshly fallen snow tells another story.

 With the season comes sentiments of love. Boxes of chocolates, cookies, cupcakes and of course conversation hearts....which are manufactured right here in Massachusetts. They are made at the Necco factory. The company name might have changed. Necco wafers, Smarties and Marshmallow Peeps all made their debut here in beantown. However, to me , they are the "hot dogs" of the candy world. I appreciate them for nostalgic novelty reasons and not necessarily for taste. They have come to be a Valentines Day staple. Little cinnamon hearts were once a staple as well but I haven't seen them sold in little kid sized boxes for Valentines Day for years. I think peoples tastes just change. I know horehound or clove candies and Good and Plenty licorice bits could be put in the "old fashioned favorites that noone really likes" category.

 These beautiful roses are from Chick!!! We had a business meeting and she came bearing gifts. Thanks Chick, these preppy pink and green roses really classed up the joint. You may also see the very large heart shaped candy box. I drag it out every year. My husband game it to me when we were dating. It had five pounds of Fanny Farmer Chocolates. It was amazing. I asked him why he doesn't shower me with gifts anymore..he said, "I already got you, so why waste the money." Those are the words of a real Romeo, really warmed my heart.

 Here is a very cute little mechanical doll from the 1940's. She is actually a roller skating doll but she doesn't work anymore. I just love her cute expression!

 A view from my window. It is really a lovely winter wonderland out there. I'm not up for shovelling though. I am suppose to have guests over tonight so that requires digging out a parking spot as well. I will wait and see if the sun melts it a little. I don't want to over exert myself unnecessarily.

 There are beautiful but deadly, heavy icicles hanging off windows and roofs in the neighborhood...another reason to not shovel.

 No one does Valentines like the eighties. Here is one of my vintage paper cut outs. There are a lot of bears with lace collars and patchwork pillows. Disgustingly sweet stuff.

 Wrapping up this rant with a picture of some comfort food for my sons and their friends. Nothing satisfies a bunch of teenagers like superbowl fare. Last night we had a after sports event, full house.  Chili and sausage subs with red sauce and provolone cheese was just the thing on a cold night, everyone left  full and satisfied. I always forget that I love this time of year. Keeping away the cold winter blues.

Dribs and Drabs

Here is a darling vintage planter I found in a drawer at my mothers summer cottage. She bought the cottage with all things included. There are quite a few little vintage gems kicking around.

Here is a little set up in the kitchen.I love the 50's decorated plates. The little figurines are calender girls holding a flower for each month. Very sweet. And of course a Virgin Mary statue.

I really would love to take one of these barbeque platters, but I think it would be noticeable if one went missing. I suppose I could just use them when visiting.

Here is a love latticework apple pie from Boston's Humble Pie company. It was so good and I threw in a totally gluttonous picture of our Chinese food lunch. Talk about MSG headache.

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!

Colorful, Festive Fall!

It has been a few weeks since I have blogged but life got in the way I guess. Here is a beautiful fall tree out my bedroom window. Below I have a box of yummy fall cupcakes.

Here we see a beautiful red burning bush. The colors of fall are so beautiful here in Massachusetts. 

Below, I hosted another Bridge luncheon for my lady friends. There is always a lot more talking than card playing. We talked a lot about our plans for Thanksgiving and what we will be cooking. Can't believe it is happening this week. Such a busy time of the year!

Thanksgiving week :)