Christmas Home Tour 2014

I've shown you some small sprinkles of holiday decorating from around my home already, 

but today I want to share the full tour.

I'm sure you must be getting tired of seeing all the Christmas decorating out there, 

but I'm hoping you can handle just one more!

I gave you this sneak peek yesterday on Facebook of our teal and red tree!

These are the ornaments that I found last week at the thrift store.  I LOVED the colour so much I decided to run with that as a theme for the tree in our living room.

 I'm loving the contrast between the two colours.  We have a slim tree that I purchased at Target a

couple of years ago.  I'm loving the fact that it doesn't take up too much space now that we have a much smaller living room. 

 In the past I had set the tree up inside an antique trunk, but here, in this house, I propped it up on a large basket and covered the stand with a red tablecloth that I've had for ages.

It is framed perfectly by my aqua curtains in the living room.

As we travel through to the kitchen, I've added a swag to the window and found a place for the lamp

that McG gave to his Mom for Christmas forty years ago.

 I have put up a small tree in the family room that I decorated with red and olive green.

I added some faux greenery and LED lights to the mantle in the family room.  

My camera can't seem to focus on them...

The swag above the mirror was made from a $1 basket of Christmas greens I found at the thrift store.

I came home and took it apart and re-worked into something wonderful!

Here's a closer look...

I've kept things simpler this year in our home. 

 Just small touches of holiday decor to add to the season!

Best wishes for a wonderful holiday season!!

Cheryl
Linking up @:
A Stroll Thru Life
Evolution of Style

Starting My Christmas Decorating...

We spent the last weekend moving our daughter into her new home.  

As I showed you last week, our house had been taken over by boxes and a myriad of

items that needed to be moved.

When we downsized back in August, she took all the furniture
that we weren't going to be using here, and rented a storage unit,
 knowing that she would be buying her own home in the near future.

None us thought that it would be so soon though, and

 although we miss her terribly, we are so proud of the woman that she has become.

To get my mind off her moving, my BFF and I met up on Monday for a afternoon of

thrifting and lunch.

I picked up three poinsettias to fill my metal planter and placed it on the kitchen table.

The plants were $2.99 each at a local greenhouse.

They have some glitter on the leaves for that extra festive feeling!

I found some teal ornaments at the first thrift store we went to...15 of them for just $2.

I also purchased this lovely glass dish.  It has an iridescent finish.  

Both made it into this vignette on the sofa table in the living room.

I've managed to keep this little Norway Pine alive since last Christmas, so it got added as well.

The rest of the teal ornaments got sprinkled throughout the living room.

I added a photo of the kids with Santa from years gone by, and a FREE printable I found

over @ Craftberry Bush.

I framed it in a thrifted frame to add a nostalgic look.

I will doing the bulk of my Christmas decorating after the first of December, however, we did get

our outdoor lights up a couple of weeks ago.

I'd like to take this opportunity to wish all my American friends a Happy Thanksgiving!

Cheryl

Linking Up @:

Flower Patch Farm Girl

News and Some Housekeeping

Life has been busy here...

Our daughter is getting ready to move into her first home...so our home is again filled with boxes.

Some empty and waiting to be filled.......others filled to brim.  

Our spare room is looking more like we just moved in.

This is even harder for me than our move two months ago. 

  I know she's ready and it's the natural progression...

and as much as her messy room drives me crazy - 

I am missing her already!

(but shhhh don't tell her!!)

We've been busy shopping and buying things that she will need.

There have been some small projects going on here as well.

We've painted the entry doors and the door handles.

Rustoleum Black paint and Hammered Metal for the handles - updated them wonderfully!

They were sad and neglected with worn brass handles.

This door will be replaced in the spring, but this quick project cleaned it up and gives it a few

more months of life.

We also, changed out the lights on the front porch.

(The house will be painted in the spring as well)

To these lovelies!

We had these sconces in the entryway and the hallway - most likely original to the house.

 Brass and smoked glass...yummy - NOT!!!  

They all got switched out to these oil rubbed bronze fixtures.

They come in single, double, and triple light options.  

We bought one of each - the double went into the entryway,

 the triple in the middle of the hallway and the single at the end of the hall.

We are using LED bulbs in them all and we LOVE them!! 

 They provide so much more light than

the old ones did and they fit well into our decor.

There seems to always be some small project going on here.

I don't always feel that everything is blog-worthy but I wanted to share

with you what's been happening around here.

There have been small Christmas decorating projects going on as well,

and I hope to share those with you next week after we help get our daughter and her

boyfriend settled into their new home.

Are any of you becoming empty-nesters of dealing with a child moving out?

I'd love to hear how you are coping!!

Cheryl

Thrifty Find...

I LOVE shopping at thrift stores, as I know many of you do!

Last week I found this pillow at a local Goodwill store.

It was a steal at only $3.00 and it really brightens up the corner in the family room.

I am always hesitant with stuff like this when buying secondhand.

  I brought it home and sprayed it with sanitizer and popped it in the dryer for a little bit.

I am enjoying the pattern and brightness it brings to the room.

Have you found any thrifty items lately?

  I'd LOVE to hear from you!

Cheryl

Adding Some Small Fall Touches

I thought I should share some small FALL touches I've added to the house, 

before it's time to break out the Christmas decorations...

I'm not really one to go overboard inside my home for Fall.

 I'm not into the scary Halloween type of decorations.  

In fact, truth be told, I don't like to be scared and I shied away from homes
that were decorated that way when I was younger and out trick or treating.

Pumpkins and Mums are my go-to Fall decorations.

I purchased this "lovely" a few weeks ago on a trip to Target. 

He was $7.00 and more than I would have typically spent on something like this,
 but I had a giftcard, so that justified it for me.  

I added him to the vignette on the sofa table in the livingroom.

This copper mercury glass pumpkin I picked up at Home Sense last year on clearance after Halloween. 

 He's been in storage every since and I was happy to find him in one of my boxes.

This beauty I also purchased last year.

This guy is a permanent fixture on my kitchen counter.

I found this little velvet beauty on clearance at a small gift shop in our area.

And added to the vignette with the Target jute pumpkin.

I love the texture they bring to this area of my home.

A few more glass pumpkins found their way into vignettes on the end tables in the living room.

I hope your enjoying great Fall weather in your area,

and decorating your home for the season!

Cheryl

Linking up @:

From My Front Porch to Yours
Living Well Spending Less
Texas Crafty Kitchen
Three Little Greenwoods
The DIY Showoff
It's Overflowing
Dimples and Tangles

Happy Thanksgiving and Fall Decorating on the Porch

It's Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada.

We are celebrating today with McG's family here at our home.

I have two turkeys cooking in electric ovens in the garage

...twice the stuffing and twice the dark meat!

I thought I'd show you today the Fall decor on our front porch.

I'm excited to have a porch at this house,

it's  like having another room to decorate!

I don't do "scary" for Fall and Halloween, mostly because

I'm a "scare-dy cat"!

This wreath I brought with me from the other house.

As well as this metal box filled with flowers that I used on my front door last fall.

I've added some pillows to the table and chairs and a few "faux" pumpkins and gourds.

Wishing you a great weekend 

and 

Happy Thanksgiving from here in Ontario Canada!

Cheryl

GET INTO THE PICTURE...

I posted this picture of myself yesterday on my personal Facebook page...

It was taken this past summer at a family wedding.

And it garnered many LIKES and comments.

  Someone even said I was STUNNING...I don't think anyone has ever told me that before.  :)

I have to say that I LIKE the picture too...and that's why it got posted. 

 Not so that I would get praise, although, that was kind of nice.

I'm not sure if you are like me, but there was a time, not so long ago, that I wouldn't allow my picture to be taken. 

 I preferred to be behind the camera taking the pictures, than being a part of them.

Then in November of 2009 I was diagnosed with Leukemia. 

 The next day I sat down and planned my funeral. 

 I sorted through boxes and boxes of pictures trying to put together a few "good ones",

 that could be made into a slide show for the service.  

YEP - that's how much of a control freak I was...

BUT

There weren't hardly any to be found. 

So I am posting this today, because I want to give you some advice. 

 If you are the one that shies away from being in the pictures, fading into the background, 

because you don't think you are pretty enough, or skinny enough to be photographed

 - STOP -

 You need to know that 

YOU ARE ENOUGH...

YOU ARE AMAZING AND BEAUTIFUL

- even if you have a few pounds to lose or are having a bad hair day.

Get into the picture! 

 So that your family has a record of you in their lives.

Don't wait until it's too late.

Cheryl