It is Christmas Around the House

 

     You may remember the wreath I made for Halloween using ribbon. I wanted to see how it translated into a Christmas wreath and it was a fun project. A girlfriend came over and we had a craft day. She used burgundy and gold ribbons and it was really interesting to see how mine turned out whimsical and fun, while hers was elegant and classy. You can find the tutorial to make a ribbon wreath here. Use a variety of ribbon colors and textures for whatever holiday you are doing. I added two of my Annalee dolls for a little more fun.

 

Around the rest of the house...

 

 

A snowman tucked into my

twig wreath in the kitchen.

 

This year red is the color in my house,

 along with several snowmen and

quite a bit of "sparkle"!

 

 

 

Little hints of color to brighten the kitchen.

 

     One of my few new purchases, this sweet little wooden plaque with glittered stockings. I found this in St. Charles, MO for only $7.99 and it had to come home with me.

 

Snowballs in a bread bowl?

 

 

 

 

I think this is my favorite spot in the house this year.

 

 

     You can't have a Disney daughter without adding a bit of Disney Magic to the house. How many other women my age got Sven from the movie Frozen for their birthday?

 

Are you seeing a pattern?

Snow people, wildlife, red, silver and green.

 

     This sweet little snowman was another St. Charles purchase. I got him in a gallery, he is made of recycled products and this one is called Snowman Praying. Love.

 

     The hallway and guest bath have a bit of snow and also kept some seashells. The ornaments on the candlesticks are made of shells and if you look closely, you will see the starfish in the picture above. I love mixing all sorts of things around my house. There are no rules, just love the things you use!

 

 

     What I really wanted was a gorgeous holiday quilt set from Pottery Barn, what I got was my grandmother's Christmas quilt across the bottom of a plain white quilt. Much more practical and yet it still adds just a hint of Christmas to our bedroom. Just a little hint of holiday color can really make your house festive.

 

 

I hope you enjoyed your tour.

Come back soon!

 

 

     I was asked yesterday if I would review what looks to me to be a great gadget. I turn down a lot of requests to try merchandise, but this was something I would buy for myself if I had known it existed. I wanted to mention it here before I even get mine because I know many of you are still Christmas shopping and this looks like a great gift idea for almost everyone. The Powerocks Magicstick is a portable battery that keeps your cell phone powered on-the-go. You charge this colorful gadget with the included USB cable and then it fits in your purse (or pocket), and you can re-charge your phone while you are walking around the mall, or any other event. I can't wait for mine to get here so I can try it. I can't tell you how many times I am shopping for the day and my phone is down to almost no charge. I will be doing a review as soon as I get mine and try it out.

 

 

Bits and Pieces-Halloween Edition

 

     Halloween is my favorite time of the year to host parties. Having a birthday very close to Halloween, I grew up having parties this time of year and old habits are hard to break. I have gotten so lazy about committing to company, but I was so glad that I decided to have a few friends over Saturday night for a casual evening. I didn't do a tablescape, I simply covered the table with black fabric, put my current centerpiece back on it and lit a couple candles. The dishes were stacked, the food was self-serve and simple, it was a no-stress evening for everyone. You don't always have to prepare a sit down feast for your guests. I made a pot of chili, the grilled cheese/tomato soup casserole I recently posted and two kinds of cookies (recipes soon). One friend brought a pie and another brought apple slices and dip. I had s'mores to make over the fire pit, but we were all too full to eat them! I had a great time and it reminded me just how much I really do love to entertain.

 

 

     While I'm showing you the little touches of Halloween that I added to my fall decorations, I want to show you my dining room table. We bought the table at a furniture store tent sale and have used it the past two years with a few scratches on it. It seemed to be getting more and more scratches and chips and my husband just refinished it. I think he did a beautiful job. We put a glossy, waterproof coating on it so I can just wipe it off.

 

This year I didn't really take down my fall things,

I just added a few Halloween items here and there.

     We are actually having a chilly week. I even turned on the fireplace this morning after taking Zoe out in the rain. We were cold. I haven't turned on the heat, or needed to...but the air finally went off yesterday, although I am certain I will have it back on again. This is the kind of day that I'd like to bake (and then eat it all).

 

     I've been asked to keep updating the progress in our family healthy eating/living plan. My daughter recently ran her first 5k since high school (10 years). She is wearing a size 6 and feels great. She would like to lose another 10 pounds or so, but her attitude is that it will happen when it happens. Keeping her calories around 1200 a day and exercising most days is still the norm for her. She said that she started crying about half way through the race because it dawned on her how far she had come in 10 months. I'm very proud of her. She also just started another new project at Disney, which meant that her trip home that was cancelled because of work in August and moved to November, has also been cancelled. I will go 8 months without seeing her, the longest we have ever gone. Her job is so exciting, but very hard on her mother!!

 

     I have dropped my exercising from 6 days a week to 4 or 5, I am still eating healthy 90% of the time and we both still live by the "is it worth it" rule for eating fattening foods. Some things are worth it! Some simply aren't. I am right where I want to be and maintaining it so far, but I know that I can never get lazy about it or I will gain it all back very quickly. We just live it now, we don't really think about it much like we did in the beginning.

 

     Speaking of foods that are "worth it"...coming soon, Trick or Treat Cookies.

 

 

I am joining Marty @ A Stroll Thru Life

for Inspire Me Tuesdays

and

Kim @ Savvy Southern Style

for Wow Us Wednesdays

  

Scattering Spring Around the House

 

Little touches of Spring show up in the kitchen...

 

And on the spool cabinet...

 

And on the dining room table...

 

 

I hope everyone had a Happy Easter!

I guess it is time to put the eggs away.

 

I want to thank you all for your comments

and private messages on my last post.

 

I am joining Susan @ Between Naps on the Porch

for Met Monday

 

I am joining Marty @ A Stroll Thru Life

for Table Top Tuesday

 

 

A Touch of Spring

 

     Spring has arrived at Chez Sue, even if the weather outside doesn't feel like spring at all as I'm typing this. You know for many years, I didn't change my "knick-knacks" for the seasons. I had certain things that set out in my house, on the tables, mantels or kitchen cabinets and other than when I put out Christmas decorations...they just stayed there. On occasion I would get something new and put something I had in a garage sale or donate it...but, my house had its decorations and they rarely changed.

 

     When my children were young, I would put out Valentine, Easter, Halloween decorations...along with my "normal" things. After they left, I only decorated for Christmas. Then came blogging. I was inspired by things I was seeing on other blogs. I was bored with seeing the same old, same old on a daily basis. I started putting away Christmas and leaving out winter. Winter would be put away and spring/Easter would show up...until some of that was switched around for summer. When the beachy things of summer were tucked away...the pumpkins came out...you get the picture.

 

     Some of you may be thinking that you don't have the time, money or "stuff" to make these changes. It really isn't true. What you don't have, what I didn't have, was the energy or inspiration to do it. What I want to share with you today is that it requires very little time to make small changes in your home and the payoff is worth it. You don't have to have lots of new things. You can pick up a few things at GoodWill or the Dollar Store. If you don't want to spend any money at all...move things around. Grab a box or a tub and put some things away for a while. Move bedroom things into the living room and vice-versa. Swap the lamps around, stack some books and sit something on them. For spring, a simple DIY project is to take some of those plastic eggs we all have and Mod Podge some pretty tissue paper on them. Put them in a basket or a glass vase or jar (click here for easy instructions). You may remember that last year I put colored sugar and sprinkles in Dollar Tree jars for spring...easy and cute!

 

     I don't suggest these changes because you want to impress others or even write blog posts. I suggest this because it will make you feel better. Small changes in our environment can truly change our mood. When I put out spring things a few days ago, it was in the 20's, snowing and gray. When I looked outside, I got the blues. When I looked around my house, the brighter colors and changed table tops made me feel good. It was worth the time and effort. I am glad that I no longer let myself be stuck in the same old stuff rut. You should try it!



 

The small tables (above photo) and this birdhouse are new.

I fell in love with them.

 

You can read about where I got them further in the post.

 

 

A vintage bird that was found in my in-law's things.

 

I stuck a flowered egg that I had in

a small pot and "instant topiary"!

 

 

     We have a new shop in our small town. The husband of the woman who owns it is from England and they advertise it as an English Antique shop. All of their items come from their trips to England. The first time I went to Union Jack Antiques it was because my husband made me. I had no interest in adding any antiques to my home. We have way too many, most of which are stored and not being used. He loves antiques and wanted to see the English imports. Imagine my surprise (and pleasure) at finding that the store carries more than antiques! Jessica has a great eye for decorating and for purchasing wonderful items. It takes alot to impress me and I was very impressed! I was going to write about the store before Christmas, but I decided to wait until they had a place I could link to the post. Below are a few pictures I took before the holidays. Isn't that chest just perfect? It was still in the shop when I was there last weekend. Love it! They also carry delicious imported teas and food items. Click the link above to their Facebook page...you can see more of their spring items.

 

 

I am joining Marty @ A Stroll Thru Life for The Scoop

(instead of Table Top Tuesday this week)

 

and

Kim @ Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesdays