Target Finds

I was looking in the Christmas dept of Target this week and found this wonderful partridge with real feathers. I love him! There is also a smaller one with blue tail feathers.

I think they are wonderful! I nestled the larger one on the mantle with the garland and hung the smaller one on the tree.

Then I found this wonderful bird under glass. It has sparkles on the base and the little white bird is perched on the tree limb. Snuggled safe under the glass dome.

And then I found some really cute glass birds with inserts for candles! I know it looks like I have been bird hunting, I didn't really mean to bring home the whole flock, but I love the mercury glass look and thought it might add something new to my tree this year!

I can use these during the winter months and it will add some sparkle and joy to my day. The Winter months are not my favorite time of the year. In Texas, we seldom get snow, so our days are rather dull and dreary. Now with my new bling I wont have to wait for Spring to have a little splash of joy and sunshine in my home. Enjoy!

Happy Birthday Jane!

Today is my beloved author's 233rd birthday! I did not discover her works until I was grown, but they have brought so much joy to my life. I just can't choose a favorite, they are all so wonderful. The witty Elizabeth, beautiful Jane, mischievous Emma, the list goes on and on. Not to mention Mr Darcy!!! Oh if there were only such a dashing man as that.



A few weeks ago, I was adding my husbands family to my Ancestry.com link and lo and behold one of his distant relatives was Jane Austin! I knew I loved that man! Maybe that is why I fell for his wit and charm. His stories, and enthusiasm for life. LOL. And believe it or not, HE loves Jane Austin too! WOO HOO what a man.



Have a wonderful day today. I am off to work.

Christmas Postcards

Here are a few vintage postcard images I found and thought I would share with you. Enjoy!

I love old postcards and found these on photobucket. They make feel good to look at them. Brings back childhood memories of Christmas that I have. Cant you just imagine how those children must feel with Santa there? I remember seeing Santa Claus when I was little and my excitement was tremendous! I would get so excited thinking about his visit on Christmas Eve, that I could hardly sleep. I must have dozed off, because when I woke, there were tons of wrapped gifts under the tree to open. My sister and I always received a new doll from Santa, games and tea sets. Christmas was a magical time of the year for us. It was always so much fun. We would visit my grandparents and have dinner with them. My two cousins would be there and we would compare dolls. Everyone ate too much and when we went back home there were new toys to play with for days to come. I hope that you have wonderful memories of this magical time of the year!

Christmas Decorations and Sunday Blessings

Welcome Home Harry Bailey! I have a Christmas village of Bedford Falls that I set up every year. This year I found a few extra pieces on Ebay to add too it. It's A Wonderful Life is my favorite holiday movie . Many years ago Target had a village set for sale so I purchased several items and have never added to it. That was before Ebay I think. I am going to finish out the set over the next few years. Here are a few pictures of what I have.

Here is the Christmas tree in the living room. Sorry the lighting is not very good. This is a much smaller tree than I usually decorate, so it is full of ornaments. I have downsized quite a bit this year and went with a much smaller tree in the living area.

I love mercury glass and found some candlesticks at Target , so I added them to my winter wonderland theme on the mantle.

I love the shiny ornament tree , and I bought a new silver garland this year. I am trying out new color schemes, since I usually only use red and gold in my holiday decor. I am planning on experimenting with new ideas and colors. Hopefully next year I will be able to go all out with my decorating. I need to sit down and reorganize my Christmas stuff. It is time to simplify and get rid of so much of the older things. I donated many things this year to Goodwill to make room for the newer items I brought in. Donnie had a tree and ornaments also, but we gave them to his children to use in their homes. This will be our first married Christmas together so I hope to bring in some new traditions and make some wonderful memories. I am so thankful for the many blessings I have received this year. God is truly amazing!


Today will be a quiet day for us. The kids are not coming for lunch , so I am just cooking for two. Donnie has gone on a motorcycle run for Toys for Tots and will be back later today. Hope you have a wonderful day and remember on this Sunday all that you are thankful for in your life. Have a blessed day!

Christmas in the Kitchen

I put up a new tree today in my kitchen. I went to Walmart this morning and purchased a small 4ft pre-lit tree. I wanted a red one, but they were all gone, so I settled for the white instead. Strung red beading on it and decorated it with my cookie cutters, red handled kitchen tools and candy canes.

I have a toy Little Chef oven that I set under the tree with some small red mixing bowls and cookie cutters.

I found one of the red and white bowl sets left at walmart, so I jumped on it. Used it to store peppermint tea bags and ribbons.

Don't ya just love sock monkeys! I have had this one for such a long time. I think I bought it from Gooseberry Patch.

I placed all of my Christmas cookbooks under the tree. They will be handy to get too when I start my baking and fills in for presents in the meantime.

I love my little Kitchen Christmas tree. Hope you do too!

Christmas Stocking

I have been making Christmas stockings for my new home. I had several old ones, but none of them matched and I wanted something that was more me!

I found this great fabric at my local quilt shop and just fell in love with it. I am sure it will be showing up in other crafted items throughout the year.

I sewed the crocheted lace on it and will be sewing some antique cream buttons around the edges of the lace.

I plan to take it and have it monogrammed with my name just as soon as the holidays are over. Gina, does the monograms and she is swamped until after Christmas, so it can wait until then.

I found some coordinating fabric with dots on it to make one for my sweetie. I am thinking of using the damask for the girls and dots for the guys. Each one will be a little different, so that all of the kids can have one that is unique. I have 8 more stockings to make this week!

I have purchased several more stocking holders, so that I can line them across the mantle. I have been searching out ideas for inexpensive stocking stuffers that will please the grown kids. Gift cards, lotto tickets, gum, emery boards, hand sanitizer, lotion, Burts Bee's and candy. I buy things all year to add to my stash for Christmas.

Have a Happy Saturday and find time to enjoy holiday season!

Frugal Friday Finds

Today, I spent the day shopping for flea market finds. My first stop was Goodwill, where I purchased 3 plates for $1 each. I am going to buy plate hangers and hang them in my bathroom.
I drove to a small town about 30 miles away and found this cross stitch framed verse. I love cross stitch and cant resist buying them. This was only $4!

On my way home I stopped at a junk store that is really a place people buy bedding plants. She had an assortment of items inside the store and I bought this blue hamper for $6. It was pretty dirty, but bought it anyway and stuck it in the tub for a quick scrub. I think it will be wonderful in my bathroom.

My favorite find today was also at the plant store. She had some vintage Christmas items she was unpacking and I scored this great tablecloth. It is in mint condition. I brought it home and washed , starched, ironed it and placed it under the glass top of my Duncan Phyfe tabletop. It is too small for the kitchen table so I thought it would add a little color in the living room. It was also $4.

I think I did very well today with my frugal Friday shopping. I only spent $17.00 for all that I purchased! Tomorrow, I am planning to drive to Gladewater and do some antique shopping. I am looking for a china cabinet for my dining room. I have all of my china packed up right now and really want to display it. My sweetie is giving me money for Christmas so I plan to use it towards a cabinet. So, tomorrow I am off on another shopping adventure. If I cant find one this weekend, I am going back to Canton on first Monday.

On my Wish List

WOW! Would love to have this hot little number under my tree. I love the pink! I love the convertible, I love the dress ! Maybe Santa will read this blog and deliver it just in time for Christmas!! Whatcha think??? Have I been THAT good?? Probably not. But hey, a girl can dream.

Sunday Blessings

We spent the day with the kids today. I made chicken spaghetti, salad and garlic bread and put together a banana pudding for dessert. Most of the kids came for lunch and then we spent the afternoon putting up the Christmas tree. I am very fortunate that all of our children live within 25 miles of us and they love to come over for Sunday dinner! We enjoy having them over and catching up on the weeks events, then of course we get to love on the grand babies that are growing up way too fast!

For many years, it was a tradition in our family to spend Sunday lunch together. After I divorced, that kind of fell by the wayside for a few years. After Donnie and I married, that was one thing the kids were so excited about continuing . And he really enjoys having them all over for the day. So it works out well for all of us. The girls help out in the kitchen and the guys watch football and keep the fire going. I get to play with the grandsons and spoil them. I am so blessed to have my children close by and thank God for the fact they are all doing well.

On a decorating note, I found this cute pink metal card holder at Canton last weekend, I had some vintage postcards that I stuck in it and it is now in my bathroom. I know that seems like a crazy place for it, but I like to read inspirational quotes each day and thought I could do this while I am getting ready in the morning.

I am going through some old photos of my sister and I and plan to put a few of those in it as well. It will remind me to pray for those I love on a daily basis, while I am putting on my makeup. Ours lives are so hectic at times and I have found that if I pray in the mornings, my day just goes smoother and it gives me strength to handle the issues I face as a nurse everyday. I pray for my team that I work with, pray for my patients, my family and my wonderful husband. God has truly blessed me this year with so many precious answers to my prayers. I cant thank him enough for all he has done for me. My prayer for you is that God will be a reality in your lives and that He will direct your paths. Have a blessed day!

Decorating and Wrapping

I have been decorating the house and wrapping presents the past two days. I have taken the mantle decorations down three times and am still not satisfied with the results. Plan to work on it again in the morning. Not quite sure what the problem is, but I am pouring over magazines feverishly to get new ideas. I have bought some new mercury candlesticks and a silver ball tree to use. I also have a lighted garland across the mantle. There is a mantle clock in the middle and I think that is what is throwing me off. I plan to completely remove everything and start over in the morning. I will post some pictures of the results. Wish me luck!!

Christmas greenery

I picked up a few pots of Rosemary this week and will re pot them in some decorative pots. I love rosemary for its wonderful scent and use it frequently in my cooking. I found these at Canton for only $10 a pot and was so excited to get them. Lowe's always carries them, but the same size is about $15. Even though I was loaded down with purchases and had to walk uphill, somehow we found a way to hold two pots. My home that I just moved out of has rosemary in the front flower beds and it has grown to an enormous size. I had thought about trying to dig it up, but was afraid it would die if I transplanted it. Then, of course I would have to plant something else in it's place . So will hang on to these and plant them in the ground after the front beds are ready. My sweet husband has promised me that he will hire someone to clean the flower beds out and cut out the tree roots that are in it, so that I can start over. It was a mess when I moved over here and really needs to just go away and replant. I love herbs in the garden and have always planted several to fill in with the flowers.

I found this Christmas cactus at Walmart for $7. I have never had one and hope that I can keep it alive. My mother has one that belonged to my grandmother, I believe it is about 30 years old. Granny had it for many years and would keep it on her front porch in the summer and move it indoors when it turned cold outside. Mother rescued it after Granny went to heaven and has had it ever since. Mine has loads of fuchsia buds on it and I have read everything I can about the care of it. So far it is doing well. I mist it occasionally and have not watered it yet. So, will try to keep this one alive for many seasons to come. I love it in the house, I am not a green thumb, so a little fresh pop of green is nice to have .

Well, I am going shopping today to buy some extra trimmings for the house. My son will be picking up my trees and ornaments at the old house and bringing them to me today. The plan is to put the tree up tomorrow night. I hope to have the living room decorated by Saturday morning. I will post pictures of the house for you to see the transformation of this bachelor pad to a cheery Christmas home.

Have a wonderful Thursday!

Flea Market Finds

The Holidays are right around the corner and I wanted to share with you some of my finds this past weekend at Canton.
I love this snowman and he will greet my family home this year for the holidays!

Its a Wonderful life is my favorite Holiday movie and I love this little plaque I am placing it in the bedroom,so I can remind myself every morning what a wonderful life I really have!

Love this laundry sign. My laundry room is a mess right now. I am not fond of the wall color and have plans to paint it right after the first of the year. My son hung it for me so I could enjoy it until time to change the paint colors.

Found these wonderful coasters in a great little shop at Canton. I love, love, love the one with the bird on it. I have claimed it as mine.

Discovered this Santa shopping online from Coldwater Creek. It was on clearance last year and I stole this little man for a mere $12.00

I am hanging this Merry Christmas sign on my fireplace! Love the reds and greens at this time of year. My fave color has always been red!

And finally, here is the cutest and handiest clipboard I have found. Love the cheerful colors and have used this everyday to jot notes, clip coupons, and pay the bills. I can use it while I am in the car and my papers will not fly everywhere. Isn't it the cutest thing! My daughter (O so talented one) has made some for herself and I will share some pictures of them later.

Have a Happy Day and enjoy the blessings you encounter today!