A Look at Winter Neutrals

Hi Friends, I'll be sharing how I do Neutral Winter Decor along with a great group of bloggers in a Hop next week. (my post is on Wednesday) But today I'm going to give you a little taste of what's going on here, with a few ideas and details.

Wooden Crate Refresh and an Ironstone "Candleholder"

Before I say anything else, I want to say thank you to everyone who read my previous post on my health update and family "goings on". Those are hard posts to write, but I feel like I need to be open and honest in my blogging, just as I try to be in my everyday life. It's difficult for me to share a minor little DIY or decor update when there are things going on in life that are important. Having said that, I also don't want to be burdening you all with personal stuff constantly. So thank you for your comments and prayers, and for sending good thoughts my way. I want to share things with you all in case something I'm dealing with can maybe help one of you or someone you know.

It's Personal...

All the Christmas decor is pretty much put away by today. I packed things up in temporary plastic tubs because it's just too cold to go out and rummage around in the garage (my seasonal decor boxes are in one area) I replaced the Christmas things with "winter" things, because, well, it's winter, and I like winter when it's not 0 degrees outside. We're having an early burst of super cold, and I'm wandering around the house with multiple layers of long underwear and thermal/fleece things. Warmth and comfort, I'm all about that right now.

My Year in Pictures...

Hi Friends, I hope you had a Wonderful Christmas and are looking forward to a Happy New Year. Last year I started what I think will be a new tradition. Instead of having multiple posts about the most viewed posts or whatever, from the last year of blogging, I just decided to share some of my favorite pics and ideas from the year. Some may seem random, but they have stuck in my memory. There are links to the particular post, but you can see much more by just following my journey in my Archives which are on the sidebar.

Christmas By Candlelight

To Each and All, 

Have a Lovely Christmas,

full of friends, family, and Good Cheer. 

We thank our Heavenly Father,

for the most Wonderful Gift of All,

His Son.

"All Together Now" Christmas Home Tour 2017

Welcome Friends...

It's become a little of a tradition to put together a post of all our rooms decorated for the Holidays. I've shared bits and pieces of our 2017 Christmas Home over these last several weeks, and I know this is a little late, but I realized I hadn't shown pictures of the Living Room. So this is the "Official Tour" that includes it all...  yes, even the Kitchen Sink.

Merry Christmas to Each and Everyone;

all my friends and readers here at Common Ground.

A Mixed-Up Christmas Brunch

Last year I put together a fun little Christmas Brunch Tablescape here in the kitchen. Of course, it featured Plaid and my Red Transferware, but this year I thought I'd mix it up a bit. I have a few place settings of Green Transferware that I usually keep in the cupboard that only come out in Spring or at Easter.

Christmas Kitchen: and Yes, it's Plaid!

Hi Friends, well, we're down to the last week of the Christmas countdown and I'm finally getting around to posting the Kitchen Sitting Area. It's always the most fun to decorate because this is where the whimsy usually is. Santas, Reindeer, Elves, (and sheep)

Christmas Mantel and Home for Christmas Features

Hard to believe we're counting down the days to Christmas now, and I still have several posts to share. Today I'm combining a little look at my Christmas Mantel and also sharing a few feature pics from the Home For Christmas Link Party, that's still Open.

Home For Christmas Blog Link Party

Hi Everyone, and Welcome to the Home For Christmas Link Party! This is the place to come link-up your favorite Christmas Posts from this year or the past. I'm hoping everyone will take the time to join in to share all the fun and inspiration. I'll be doing a feature's post later on in the week, of some of your wonderful Christmas Party links. After you're finished linking up, if you have a minute, run by and say Hi to Amber my co-host at  Follow the Yellow Brick Home. I have a feeling she has something fun going on!

Come to a Christmas Party!

Save the Date!  Hi Everyone, I wanted to send out an invitation to all of you Blogger Friends to come join in with Amber (Follow the Yellow Brick Home) and I for the Christmas at Home Blogger's Link-up Party where we can all share our Christmas decor and inspiration posts from this year and year's past.

I love hosting a Christmas Link Party, since we can all get together in one place and celebrate the fun and traditions of Christmas. If you've been part of a Home Tour for the Holidays, or you've published your own Christmas Home Tour or posts, we would love to have you join in. If you've only decorated a little, then please share that with all of us too. It doesn't have to be a "tour", just any post about Christmas.

You can link up to 4 of your favorite Christmas posts from this year or the past, please be sure you  have a link to either Amber or I and the party within your blogpost. If you'd like to share the Party Graphic (at the top of this post) on your blog, that would be so nice to let others know and share the invitation.

The party which will officially be Wednesday December 13, will have an early link-up start time of Tuesday Evening at 7:00 pm Central. Hope you'll come by to share your posts and visit! It will stay live until December 26.

Hope to see you Tuesday evening!

If you missed my Home Tour from Friday,

you can catch it HERE.

xoxo,

Our Home for Christmas 2017 Tour

Welcome, everyone! Yes, we've made it to Day 5 of Marty's wonderful Christmas Home Tour Week. A big round of applause needs to go to our friend and hostess, Marty from A Stroll Thru Life. She does an amazing job of gathering a diverse and talented group of bloggers and decorators who all share a love for celebrating Christmas.

Woodland Santa in the French Wagon

Do you have a favorite piece to decorate? ... a bookshelf, your coffee table, an Entry chest? Do you have something that just begs to be kept changed up for the Season or Holiday? While I enjoy decorating all those different pieces, I think the one element I love to decorate most, might be my little table top "Frenchy" wagon. (whoops, Santa looks a little tipsy here)

A Nature Themed Kitchen Cupboard

Smaller house equals less spaces to decorate, and that goes for Christmas decorating too. So I have to think "inside the box". This box would be inside the Kitchen China Cupboard, which at the old house never was decorated for anything. But here, it does double duty as the home of my Brown and Red Transferware and a stand in for my "Holiday Cupboard" which used to be in the basement family room at our previous home.

Paperwhites in the Christmas Entry

I have a few decorating "staples" when it comes to faux flowers; tried and true floral elements that I know I can use no matter what the Season or Holiday. Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter I can always count on slightly wild and natural grapevine twiggy wreaths, lifelike Hydrangeas, and my favorite for this time of year... Paperwhites.

...On to Christmas

I imagine there are a lot of us that woke up this morning with plans to get busy on Christmas decor. We had a great Thanksgiving Dinner with my sis and her husband, boys (and friends), our youngest daughter, and my mom. We always keep it pretty laid back with a big buffet in the kitchen and since my sis has my grandparents antique oak table, we can seat 10 at the table in the Dining Room without problem.

Christmas Lite

Hi friends, I hope you all are having a good week before Thanksgiving. Last week I was on a roll getting out the basics for Christmas. Of course bringing out Christmas decor requires putting away all the Fall decor, first. That's not near as much fun as getting it all out, so I'm doing a little at a time. I found a mid size white-washed olive bucket and the perfect size faux tabletop tree last week at the Christmas Open houses. So today, I just wanted to share the little spot in the kitchen sitting area where they landed.

Grateful Gatherings Blog Hop

Hi Everyone! Can you actually believe it's November and we're counting down the days to Thanksgiving then Christmas? The Holidays will be here before we know it! Today, I'm so excited to join in with a fun group of bloggers put together by Amber from Follow the Yellow Brick Home as we share our homes and decor with Thanksgiving in mind.

Wreath Makeover for Thanksgiving to Christmas

One of the great things about living in this area is that there are a ton of great shops, antique malls, and vintage markets. Fall and Christmas Open Houses are the highlight of the year as the shops go all out with great seasonal displays and merchandise. My sis and I made it to several shops yesterday for the annual event, and I have to admit, when I got home I had a case of Christmas decorating fever.

Layering Table Linens for a Thanksgiving Vignette

November is here; what I call, "Late Fall" and time to bring in some of the deeper colors and textures in decorating. It's hard to get into Fall when the temps are in the 80's, but now that it's cooler and we're past Halloween, Thanksgiving will be coming up before we know it.

Little Black Cat

Happy Last Weekend of October, Friends! I've been meaning to do this for awhile and I thought that this would be the perfect opportunity to introduce you to our newest member of the family. We've had her for a few months, but she had to have surgery (for a tumor on her leg) and then she was a little embarrassed about her looks because of it. So I'm just now getting around to introductions.

Dressing up a Metal Basket for Thanksgiving

When you are in the biz of having a space at a Vintage or Flea Market it's just inevitable that you will end up with a few pieces that are a big head scratcher. Why did I spend real money on this? (even if it's just a few dollars) Will anyone else see any potential for this item? Do I just chuck it, or hang on to it until inspiration grabs me by the collar and forces me to make a little effort?

Fanciful and Fun Fall Fotos, er (Photos)

Hi Friends, one of my favorite ways to find a little fun vintage inspiration is to visit all the Fall Open Houses of our amazing shopping spots here in the area. I was going back through some of my photos from the last at least 7 years and found a few of my faves. No words, just pics of a few of the many fun outings I've had during Fall. You know you can double click on the photo to biggify. Hope you enjoy...