Taking Some Time Off

I am taking this week off from blogging.

I will see all of you in the new year.

May you have a safe and wonderful

New Year!

Merry Christmas!

Love,

Kathe (with an e)

Christmas Table

This is my final table setting of the Christmas season.

We will enjoy our Christmas dinner at this table.

Mr. B's mother and father will join us for the day.

With the exception of the gold chargers nothing on this table was purchased new.  

I had it all.

I started with an embossed red tablecloth that I have had for years.

I pulled some of the salad plates from my kitchen china cabinet for this table.

The salad plate is a thrift store find from last year. 

They are marked Reed & Barton Holly Berry.

.50 each and I snagged 8 of them!

Perfect for Christmas!

The dinner plates are another thrift store find.

I instantly fell in love with the open weave, unusual shape and design of them.

It is marked simply, Czechoslovakia.

I only paid $4.00 for four of them.

I folded a simple red napkin and placed it over a gold charger from Michael's.

I purchased the chargers with a gift card that was an early Christmas present from my youngest son.

The gold plated flatware was a Christmas gift, 

given to me many years ago when I was a young girl, from my parents. 

I wonder if they knew then my future hobby of tablescaping?

The centerpiece is a gold paper mache deer that was a thrift find from several years ago that I paid $1.00 for.

I made up a bow and strung ribbon to the sleigh and then to Santa.

I have had the sleigh for many years but have never used it. 

Just last year I filled it with seasonal picks 

and it is now a much used display piece at the holidays.

The old world Santa was gift from Mr. B's mother.  

She knows how much I love Santa.

Can you call Santa beautiful? 

I hope so, because I think he is!

From the bell on his hat to his wise face and flowing suit, he is my favorite

Christmas decoration.

 The red and gold tall votive candle holders were, yet another 
after Christmas sale find.

I am very thankful for my family and my friends.

I am also thankful for you.

All of your visits and sweet comments 

make my day!

I wish you a very Merry Christmas 

and I look forward to spending time with you in the new year!

Our Christmas Decor 2011

Christmas is less than a week away!  

I am sooooo excited!

 I love Christmas so much!

The sights! 

The sounds.

The smells!

Every single bit of it!

I think we are ready.
All of the decorating we wanted to do this year has been completed.

 I've shown you our two Christmas trees here.

Now I will show you some of the other decor. 

As you enter our home you are greeted by Mr. B's Christmas village.
The pieces are Lemax and St. Nicholas Square.
The sweet stuffed caroling snowman family was purchased from Rite-Aid some years ago at 75% off.

Here is the buffet area in the dining room.
I purchased the round framed Santa at Kirkland's back in October while shopping with Mr. B's mother.
She loves snowmen, I love Santa!

I am sure he is double checking his list to make sure I have been extra nice this year!
I have been Santa.  I really have been a good girl!

I love the carved holly on the frame.  Of course, it was on sale.

I don't decorate much in the kitchen.  I leave the counters clear for all of my holiday baking.
I seem to be starting a cookie jar collection.
Luckily, my small collection (so far) fits on top of the fridge.

I always change the decor each season of my china cabinet that sits near our eat-in kitchen.

The dinner plates on the top shelf are an after Christmas purchase last year from Kohl's.
I was only able to find 3 of them. 
I had hoped to find at least one more but have been denied in my search.
The smaller dessert/ salad plates were a thrift store find at only .50 each.  I found eight of them.  They are marked Reed & Barton in the Holly Berry pattern.

The small old world Santas were a gift from Mr. B's mother.

On the top of the cabinet sit two angels that look over Mr. B and me.  I have also placed a large platter from Pier 1, a gift from Mr. B and a beautiful red and gold Italian glass charger from Home Goods. 

The last room of our tour is the family room. 
We don't have a traditional mantel.
We have many shelves.
This makes it fun to decorate!

Mr. B's mother and father will be joining us on Christmas day so we have stocking for them
and one for Max
(his is the blingy one in the center)

That concludes this short tour of our home. 
I hope it gives you a glimpse of who we are and what we love.
Warmth and tradition with a wee bit of glitz.
Yes, I would say that our home describes us very well!

We wish you and your loved ones a very Merry Christmas!

A Tale of Two Christmas Trees

Happy Friday!

WhooHoo!

We made it through the week!

I am feeling much more in control of the holiday season now.  

All of the shopping, wrapping and shipping is done for another year.

We can now sit back and enjoy all that this wonderful time, my favorite time, of the year has to offer.

One of my favorite parts of the season is the decorating!

It is a serious obsession with me.

I have bins upon bins upon bins

of all kinds of Christmas stuffs!

I am really trying to only use what I have on hand from now on and 

donating what I no longer use.  

I am also trying to not go to any after Christmas sales...I can't promise I won't but, I am gonna try...

For the past couple of years we have put up two Christmas trees in our home.  

One I decorate and the other Mr. B decorates.

Here's something you might not know about Mr. B and me.

We are kinda like Donny and Marie Osmond.

No really! 

Mr. B is a little bit country

and I am a little bit rock 'n roll!

 You can tell by how we each decorated our trees.

Mr. B's tree

My Tree

The tree Mr. B decorates resides in the family room by the fireplace. His tree is covered in all kinds of homey ornaments.  Things like birds nests, pinecones, gingerbread men.  Ornaments that look homemade but are really purchased after Christmas in years past from Hobby Lobby, Target etc..

My tree? The white slim design is by nature contemporary, which I love about it.

If you remember my copycat table post from a few weeks ago you know that, if I see something I like, I file it away in my inspiration folders in hopes of someday duplicating it.

My tree this year is another example.

I had come across this photo from Apartment Therapy  a year ago or so and loved the purple and brown on white.

 

I went with the same color scheme and shape of the ornaments they used.  I didn't use any pinecones on my tree, yet.  I still might.  Imagine if you will, the cutest Jack Russel Terrier laying calmly under my tree. Yeah, Max was having none of that!!

While Mr. B's Tree is full of decoration, mine, in keeping with contemporary style, is sparser. 

The funnest part about our two very different tress?  We both love them both.  

Mr.B's tree in the family room is perfect for the warm style and cozy feeling we like in that room.  

While mine, in the dining room, conveys the simple elegance of that room.

I hope to get a post up this weekend showing you some of my favorite decor around the house so check back m'kay?

I leave you now with the photo of Mr. B & I that we used for our Christmas cards this year.

Have a great day!

♥ ♥ ♥

Save Room For Dessert!

Can you believe how fast the days are just whizzing by??  

I feel out of breath just thinking of all I still need to do to be ready for Christmas! 

That's my excuse for this post being late.  

I spent the weekend finishing up shopping and wrapping gifts.  

Next weekend will be all about baking!  

Cookies, pies, tarts!

I can hardly wait as it makes the whole house smell like Christmas! 

Which must be why I felt the need to set up this table for this week. 

I had purchased the dessert plates and the matching mugs some years ago from an after Christmas sale at Target. 

Each plate has a different pattern as does the mug. 

(excuse the photo quality this week.  I didn't get around to taking pictures until the evening. Bad blogger!)

I used the disco ball ornaments from my copycat table here as place card holders.  I didn't get around to it ran out of time was too tired to make up the name cards to put on them.

I started with a plain white tablecloth.  Nicely pressed (NOT! I did my best but I am not the greatest with power tools (yes, an iron is a power tool!)).
The red chargers are from WalMart after Christmas clearance.
The flatware is from Family Dollar.  4 settings for $3.50!
At that price, I also got a set in while and in blue.
I think the napkins were from Mr. B and the napkin rings are from my set of Gibson everyday.

I have a red mercury glass tree placed on a little snowflake cutout plate on top of
a small candle stick.
The shiny red candle sticks are on slightly larger snowflake plates.
The snowflake plates are from Pier 1 and were a gift from Mr. B.  The other red candles are also from Pier 1 after Christmas clearance last year.
They smell DIVINE I might add!
I sprinkled some small red ornaments around the table for more color.

I am loving the simple red and white of this table.

After I get done baking all the Christmas goodies
we can sit and enjoy them with a cup of coffee or hot cocoa.
Did you see?
I left a place just for you so that you may join me and Mr. B.
No RSVP needed!
You are always welcome at our table.