Kitchen China Cupboard for Christmas

I think most of us are pretty well into the decorating.

As I've mentioned, the bigger things are finished,

now it's time to "play".

One of the areas that's fun for me is in the Kitchen.

I can go a little crazy with the vintage Putz Houses and Churches.

Since I didn't put up a big tree,

I'm using a few vintage Shiny Brites here and there.

The Transferware misfits were begging for some "sprucing up".

(I guess that qualifies for a Christmas pun, tehe)

Tartan Plaid Lunchbox with a Little Christmas Kitch...

Hi Everyone, have you made a big dent in the Christmas Decorating,

or are you still recovering from Thanksgiving?

I've reached the place where the big things are done,

and now I get to "play" with the vignettes and details.

I've seen several fun boxes, lunchboxes, sewing drawers etc. 

filled with Christmas "kitch" and odds and ends on Pinterest.

Those pics got me excited to do a little project on my own.

If you're like me you have lots of small vintage minutia

that floats around at Christmas.

So I decided to put a few of them together for a little 

display on my Baker's Rack.

The light wasn't the best when I took these pics.

(Typical November here: gray and cloudy, and misty rain)

so I came into the Dining Room for a better photo op.

"Home For Christmas" Blogger's Link Party

Hi Everyone, 

so, raise your hand if you've been snacking on leftovers 

while simultaneously decorating for Christmas.

I just wanted to let you all know that Brenda and I will again be co-hosting

a Linky Get-Together to celebrate with all of you, our homes for the Christmas Season.

We'd love to have you join in by coming by our blogs December 13, early morning,

and link up your Christmas and Holiday decor, recipes, crafts, traditions...

anything that "says" Christmas!

Just a Little Christmas...

I'm working in the Kitchen China Cupboard this afternoon;

Changing out the Transferware from Brown to Red.

But I can't seem to finish that little project,

 because I keep seeing things that I want to add to another spot.

Nothing is finished around here,

so I thought I'd just share some snippets

of what and who are celebrating with us this year..

Gathered #3

Hi Friends, 

I mentioned a few weeks ago, that I was starting a new weekly (or so) post where I had a place to bring together random ideas, pics and inspiration from the Blogging World. I also want to have a place to share with you some things I'm doing and thinking about. I've said before, that I'll never turn into a fashion blogger, (for many reasons) but I like to share a new piece of clothing and how I'm wearing it. Sometimes I get stuck in a rut and I like to see how others are putting themselves together. That being said, I'm in the Over 55 Crowd, so I don't want to look inappropriate, but I do like trendy clothes. 

knock off J. Crew vest

A Mantel, a Living Room, and Whatever's Left for Thanksgiving...

Hey Everyone,

today I'm going to share the rest of the Thanksgiving decor. Yes, there are bits and pieces left that have not yet made it here on the blog. I hate it, but November 1st to the day after Thanksgiving is hard to navigate in the blogging sphere. I think most of us are coming to the conclusion that there just isn't enough time to relax, celebrate and enjoy Christmas unless we get a jump on decorating. We rush around and make ourselves (and our families) crazy the moment we clean off the table and put the Turkey leftovers in the fridge.

A Little Tweaking Makes it Thanksgiving...

Hi Friends, hope you're having a wonderful weekend. My sis and I hit a couple of Christmas Open Houses on Friday evening, and to be honest, I'm totally heading into Christmas Mode. After seeing all the great Christmas goodies and vintage decor, I came home ready to start dragging out the Christmas tubs and boxes. BUT...as I said my last post, I still have some "Thanksgiving" I haven't shared here on the blog. So if you're tired of Talkin' Turkey, I give you permission to skip this one.

NO WAIT!!!

You might find something fun to tuck away until next year. Do you have a Pin Board for Thanksgiving? OK, so Pin a few of these cute guys and I have the Christmas fun waiting till next week!

A Thanksgiving Entry

I'm about ready for Christmas and I know that you all are too, but because I consider this blog to be sort of a "virtual diary", I have a few more pics of Thanksgiving I'd like to share. Each year I go back through my photos to see what I did back then, and try to come up with something different. I don't want to be tempted to do the same thing each year just because it's easy.

Breadboards and Spode Transferware; Snacking in Style

Even though it's been awhile since I've hosted a big Holiday/Family dinner, I do like to have some snacks and drinks ready for the kids when they roll into town. They're usually ready to gnosh on something easy until we all get together to head out for dinner. Cheeses, sausages, breads, crackers, olives and some raw veggies; easy things that don't require seating. Actually we usually just grab a napkin or plate and stand around/and over the spread.

Thanksgiving Tablescapes with Transferware

There are photos of hundreds of lovely Thanksgiving Tablescapes, but today I wanted to share with you Fall and Harvest Tablescapes using Transferware. Brown is my favorite by far, I guess because it's so easily used with a Fall theme. If you have bits and pieces of it you're set, just stack them together; a mix is wonderful, or even used with white china or pottery. The key is keeping the color palette the same. Anything goes...

Instagram

Gathered #2

Last week I started a new blog post concept; well, it's just new for me. Many bloggers have a weekly post like this, and I really enjoyed taking a few minutes to share with all of you some of my weekly finds across Blogland and Pinterest. These are just a few of the pics and posts that caught my attention; Gathered here for you.

I ran into these elegant, but casual Thankful Plates from Crate and Barrel.

They have a whole line of glasses, napkins, etc.

I'm wondering if it would be possible to make these yourself,

or for that matter write any message or word using some sort of permanent gold marker.

It would have to be waterproof and non toxic, but oh so pretty!

Late Fall Lookback...

Last day of October, so I start thinking about tweaking my Fall things to head toward Thanksgiving. I got to looking back at my pics from last year at this time and I realized I didn't have everything "Thanksgiving" together in one blog post. So, to get things rolling and before I let all the turkeys out of the gate, I thought I'd share a post with the highlights from last year.

Gathered #1

When I was involved in a weekly party, the thing I enjoyed most was getting to feature different people and their blogs. Sometimes I now feel like I'm out of the loop because I don't have access to meeting so many creative people and showcasing their talent. I'm sure you're like me and run across a great post or pic and you just want to share it with others, but it's awkward to work it into something of your own. There are so many unique and timely posts that speak to who you are and turn your head, but you just don't have a way to share with everyone. So I'm going to start a new (hopefully) weekly post where I can randomly share those topics, pics, and inspiration that I've picked up that week in the blogging world. Okay, here are a few I've gathered this week...

Out and About for some Fall Fun

This is my favorite time of the year to be out and about.

The leaves, the cooler temps, the smells wafting from a yummy cafe;

the Autumn Colors,

...and of course browsing the fun stores here in Springfield.

A Haute Halloween Encore

These photos are several years old, but provide so much fun Inspiration I wanted to share them with you again. The Blog Post was intitled "A Haute Halloween" and they were taken at a friend's amazing home here in Springfield, Robin Gilmore. She has since moved and opened a Tea Room and wonderful store in Springfield on Commercial Street. So enjoy once more, and if you live close to the Springfield Area, be sure and make this a destination spot for lunch and shopping.

Lighted Twig Pumpkin

Each year I see the wonderful twig pumpkins all lit up with fairy lights and I think, "I'm going to get one of those next year!!", and each year it escapes me until we're already into the season. So I thought of this idea, not near as much "wow factor", but still pretty. It would work for a Thanksgiving or any Harvest Tablescape, since it wouldn't interfere with conversation across the table.