Happy New Year!

Do you guys have any big plans for New Year's Eve? I will not be wearing red high heels like in this picture, that's for sure. LOL! We will probably go out to eat and come home and watch the celebrations on T.V. That's just about all we do every year. I can't believe Christmas is over! I'm always a little bummed afterwards. When I was little, I used to cry. Now I want to cry thinking of all the "stuff" I have to lug back up in the attic. lol! It's just not as much fun taking everything down. You all have a Happy New Year!!!!!

A Wonderful Christmas!

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas! We sure did! My family came over and we ate, listened to Christmas music, and opened presents it was alot of fun!

Santa brought Chase just what he wanted, Guitar Hero world tour, or should I have said just what DAD wanted... ;) It looks like Santa liked Melissa's peanut butter balls, yum yum. For you dish ladies, I know the spring plate does not go with the Christmas plate, just grabbed something... lol!

Chase had a few questions for Santa, you can click to enlarge it to read what he wrote. It was so funny!

Here he is EARY Christmas morning. I think I was still asleep when I took this picture. He was so excited and hardly slept at all on Christmas eve. Neither did I! lol.

We are just about ready to open presents! Dad is on the left, then mom, and hubby Kevin. Chase is anxiously waiting! We are just about ready to start the frenzy........

THE AFTERMATH!!
That took a while to clean up!


This is my brother Daniel, and his wife Liberty after we ate a late lunch and were stuffed!



Liberty made this for my mom out of cardstock. Mom is really into butterflies because they symbolize that we are a new creation in Christ. Wow! Look how good it looks with my curtains. LOL! Hmmm......


In the midst of the Christmas frenzy we all remembered what Christmas is all about. I hope you all did too.

I have family coming in from Kentucky next week so we get to celebrate again. Oh, and I did get a new digital camera, so maybe I will have clearer pictures. Happy New Year!!

~Tablescape Tuesday~ A Traditional Christmas

Thank you Susan at http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/ for hosting Tablescape Tuesday. Check out her blog for all of the participants.

I have to admit, I really don't have alot of dinners at my house. We usually go to my parent's since there is more room. This year, however, we are eating here, so the table will stay just like it is for Christmas dinner.

The plates you see on my table are from.......The Dollar Store! Yep, I got them when I moved into this house about 4 yrs. ago. So many of you have such gorgeous china, I need to invest in some, but for now, these will have to do. The napkins came from T.J. Maxx, I picked them up a few days ago. The tablecloth came from J.C. Pennies last year. The centerpiece is made out of a thin garland that I shaped to fit around the candleholders. I added ornaments, apples, and ribbons. You can now click on the pictures to enlarge them.

I made the napkin rings out of beaded and bell garlands.

After I took these pictures, I tugged on the tablecloth and streched out these wrinkles! lol!




See the crystal snowman? He's one of my favorite Christmas pieces.

I spy a crystal mouse!

I've been meaning to show you my front door and snowmen, there's Sassy peeking out!

I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!! Thanks for your visits!

Mom and Dad's house at Christmas

I just did some decorating at my parent's house today. My mom had already set some Christmas things around. I just decorated the tree and put up some garlands. They have lived in this house for about 8 yrs. It is really pretty and has a great view.

In case you are wondering, those are horns in the arrangement.

The tree has a spirtual theme with angels, nativities, fruit, butterflies etc. No Santas or snowmen like in my house. LOL! I think she would rather me have this theme. Remember my gold tree mom?

Mom, hurry and wrap all of my presents!! he he he! The tree is bare!

Only 5 more days! Merry Christmas!

A Contemporary Christmas!

Hey Guys! I decorated this house last week. This couple just moved in about a month ago. The front doors still need to be stained, but we put the wreaths up anyway. The house is gorgeous! She had a decorator help her, but wants me to help finish it up. Yeah! I will be showing you more of the inside hopefully in later posts, but for now we are doing Christmas. She had picked out the ribbon and some of the ornaments. I met her one night at pier 1 and helped her pick out a few more things. She wanted more of a contemporary fun look. I think it turned out really neat and she was very pleased (thank goodness!)

This tree was a 12 footer! It took a good 4 hours or more to decorate it. The top was really hard to get to, but did the best I could. it's a little crooked in this picture, but they straighted it up I'm sure.

Here are the stairs. Rather than doing bows, I just cut the ribbons to make it a little more contemporary. I barely had enough ribbon! Next year I might put the same stuff in the top of the tree throughout the garland.

Some of you asked about the piece in the middle of the lamps....it's a sculpture made out of wood. It's very interesting and unique!

I really love this light fixture by itself, but the garland, ornaments and ribbon just added to it!

This house was a lot of fun to decorate. Maybe not the tree, LOL! It was huge! Hope you enjoyed seeing something a little different. I think all the homes I have done have been different from each other. That's what makes each one unique! Oh my goodness, I just realized Christmas is in 9 days! I've still got a lot of shopping to do! Hope you all are enjoying the season!

We Have a Winner and I received 2 awards!!

We have a winner!!! Thank you all for entering for the Christmas tree frame. I wish you all could have won, but then I would have had to make ALOT of frames and I would be broke!! LOL. I will have more drawings on down the road. I put all of your names in a bag and gave it a good shake, then Chase drew the winner!

It's Miss Janice from Etiquette with Miss Janice.



The drawing was done fair and square..... one draw, one time. Congratulations Miss Janice! E-mail me your address and I will ship it right out.


I know I said my text would be underneath, but I'm still trying to figure all of this out, please bear with me. LOL! Also, I listed a few more Christmas frames in my Etsy store if you would like to take a look.


Now for my awards.......


I received this Christmas spirit award today from Melissa at http://melissasheartandhome.blogspot.com/

Thank You Melissa!!

~~~~~
Here are the rules for the Christmas award.
~~~~~
You must be a true Christmas lover to receive this award. The person to whom you give the award must also be in love with Christmas. You must link back to the person who gave you the award. You must list 5 things that you love about Christmas. If you can't limit it to 5 things, then keep going till you run out of space! Pass the award along to as many people as you like. That can be 1 or 50. It's up to you! But, you must pass it on to at least one person in order to keep the Christmas cheer going! Let your recipients know that you have tagged them by leaving them a comment.
~~~~~
~~Here are my Five Things.~~

1. Decorating
2. The hustle and bustle.... yes, I love going shopping with all the crowds
3. Spending time with friends and family
4. Listening to Christmas music
5.And of course....giving and receiving presents

Laurie at http://bargainhuntingwithlaurie.blogspot.com/
Lynette at http://lynetteslam.blogspot.com/
Terrie at http://terriedj.blogspot.com/
Diane at http://fourpawsco.blogspot.com/
Sarah at http://thriftydecorchick.blogspot.com/




I received this award from Diane at http://fourpawsco.blogspot.com/

Thank you Diane!!


The rules for this award are: 1. Put the logo on your blog 2. Add a link to the person who awarded you 3. Nominate 10 other blogs 4. Add links to those blogs on yours 5. Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs


I really was going to nominate 10 of you, but I think most of you have recieved this..... but if you haven't, please take it, because you deserve it!

Back to Decorating!

'
My pictures are now clickable!! My husband finally figured it out! You can't drag the picture like I was doing. From now on my text will be underneath. I'm sure most of you who have blogs already knew this, but I just got it! This will take a little getting used to......

Here are a few more pictures of my friend's house (Bo's momma) that I showed you a few weeks ago. I used bright red and gold ribbon and big ornaments around the door.

The kitchen is really pretty! The baking santa is a Mark Roberts piece.


This is the fun tree in the family room. It has a little bit of everything on it. I tied the ribbon on the branches for something a little bit different.

This is the formal living room. I showed you a similar picture in the earlier post.

Doesn't she have a beautiful home?

Since I know how to make the pics clickable now..... I will post a few more pics of my house soon. Stay tuned.......

Funny Dog pictures!

I thought I would take a quick break from decorating pictures and show you my best friend's dog, Bo. He's a Portuguese Water dog and boy does he have a funny personality! The first picture of him was in an online pet contest and got a lot of response, people couldn't believe he was a real dog. He posed just perfectly!

In this picture, my friend's daughter dressed him up as a cheerleader, doesn't he look soooo happy? LOL! I think he's happier dressed as a boy!

I know this isn't as funny, but Sassy was having a really bad hair day yesterday (lots of static and she needed a bath) and I snapped this right after she had a good head shake! Besides, I couldn't leave her out. LOL! Piggly Wiggly is not far behind, that's her baby.

If you haven't registered for the Christmas tree frame, just leave me a comment on the last post. I will have the winner posted Sunday evening. I will also be posting more of BO's momma's house tomorrow night. I will be showing you her kitchen, outside, and livingroom. Also, I just finished decorating the last house today, it's totally different from the rest, it's more contemporary and turned out really neat! Stay tuned......

Blog Givaway!!!!!

It's time for a givaway!! I chose this Christmas tree frame with "JOY" because I figured it could be used in any Christmas decor. I have sold many of this particular one, so I figured you would all like it! If you would like to be entered in for the drawing, just leave me a comment. I will draw a name next Sunday and ship it to the winner on Monday. Good luck to all of you, I wish I could give you all one!! If you would like to see more of my work, visit my Etsy store. I will be updating it regularly. The link is on the left hand side under "My Links."

I will have more decorating pictures and a picture of my best friend's dog for you animal lovers......you will just have to wait and see, it's really funny!! Stay tuned......

The real meaning of Christmas

Hi Guys! I just wanted you to know how much I appreciate each of you and your sweet comments. I've been really busy lately making things for a christmas show I'm doing Friday and Saturday with a group of ladies. I have over 60 items! Next week I can get my house cleaned and back to some serious blogging. LOL! I just wanted to show you my gold tree in the computer/t.v. room where I'm at most of the time. It is done in angels, crosses, stars and nativity scenes. The rest of my house is fun, but this tree represents the real meaning of Christmas.

It's kind of in a tight corner and I'm not sure the elephant fits in.LOL!

Also, I'll be taking my Etsy store down for a few days. I'm taking all of my inventory to the show. I should have it back up soon. I'll be talking to you guys later!

I've been Tagged!! Also... pictures of my Peppermint and Gingerbread Kitchen!

First for the tag.....

4 of you guys got me!

These ladies are all very talented, go pay them a visit!

Melissa from http://melissasheartandhome.blogspot.com/

Kristen fromhttp://something-about-nothin.blogspot.com/

Tam fromhttp://yakiddyyakyak.blogspot.com/

Laurie at http://decoratingfanatic.blogspot.com/

~~ 6 Random Things About Myself.~~
Here are the rules.
1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog (copy and paste 1-6)
3. Write 6 random things about yourself.
4. Tag 6 people at the end of your post and link to them.
5. Let each person know they been tagged and leave them a comment.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.
~~~~~~Here are my 6 random things: ~~~~~~

1.I hate getting up in the mornings. I barely get Chase to school on time (and sometimes I don't) I have always been that way. My mom gets up at 5:oo a.m. every morning, I think she's crazy! If you guys get up that early, you are too. LOL!! (just kidding) ;)

2. I love turtles! Yes turtles. As soon as it gets warm enough in the spring, Chase and I go down to the pond and hunt for them. This spring I caught one. I had to wait very patiently, but I got him. The pet store owner knows how much I like turtles and gave one to me , his name is Dan. The other one is Little Guy,we still have both of them, they are in tanks in Chase's room. Don't get me wrong, I love Sassy and Coco too!

3. I hate finding something to wear in the mornings. My closet is full of cheap clothes that I hate.

4. I was a really bad teen. I used to sneak out at night, the window was to difficult, so I would just go out the front door! I eventually did get caught, and the fun was over.

5. I was married at 19, I'm now 35. We will celebrate our 16 year anniversary this summer. My mom prayed for someone to come and calm me down. I don't think she thought I would get married so young though. It was true love!

6. I can play the piano. I took for 7 years, but just recently started playing again. I'm no Mozart, most of my music is labeled EASY. Chase has been taking lessons for 4 years, he's 9. He has a recital on Monday.(still needs a little practice)

Wow! I really had to think on those!

The 6 ladies I pass this on to are.......

Terrie at http://terriedj.blogspot.com/

Donna at http://designson47thstreet.blogspot.com/

Laurie at http://bargainhuntingwithlaurie.blogspot.com/

Diane at http://fourpawsco.blogspot.com/

Gloria at http://wwwhappytobe.blogspot.com/

Tardevil at http://confessionsofa40-somethingmamaqueen.blogspot.com/

Now for some kitchen pictures.......

This is easy to make, but you will need to unwrap lots of peppermints!

See, I told you!

I made the arrangement and got the gingerbread candle holder at Khol's.

The plate came from Dillard's

I made the frame.

The gingerbread girl in the teacup is my favorite ornament!

I hope you enjoyed this post. You definitely learned a little bit about me and maybe you got a few ideas. Thanks for stopping by!!

More Christmas Decorating Pictures!

Hi everyone! I have lots of pictures to show you. I love hearing from all of you!! This is our dining room . The table runner is sprinkled with little fabric stars.

I've collected all kinds of ornaments over the years, some were gifts and some I bought.

Sherry found these Spode plates for me at TJ Maxx for 6.99 each!

I took this picture from outside.

My niche all decked out!

Here are my bookcases with some Christmas touches.

This santa in the hot air balloon is one of my favorite christmas pieces.

I sell these frames on Etsy. I'm going to be giving one away soon, look for that next week!

I found the snowmen at TJ Maxx and made this arrangement.

I decorated the tops of the presents with poinsettias, ribbon and stars. I didn't realize I liked stars so much. LOL!

Another favorite Christmas piece!

I have been seeing tassels like these around town and on Etsy, so I thought I would try and make myself a few. Nancy at http://southernlady-nancy.blogspot.com/ makes beautiful handmade tassels and sells them in her Etsy store. She has a great blog, her home is beautiful, if you haven't visited her you should!

I found this cute reindeer pick at a Christmas show this past weekend and decided to put it in this plant.

Even Sassy is decorated, look at her Christmas bow!

I hope you enjoyed this long post and maybe you got a few ideas?! After Thanksgiving I'll show you my kitchen and I will also have a blog giveaway. I still have some pics of my friend's (big) home and I will be decorating my parent's house soon. Stay tuned......... Thanks so much for your visits, I'm enjoying getting to know all of you! Have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving.