Holiday Round-Up

Well, seems like a lot happened in the last few weeks before Christmas. We had a couple of more family gatherings in the days leading up to Christmas Eve and Christmas.

Christmas Eve we hosted lunch for my husband's brother and his family that live in the same town we live in. This year we had sick grandparents that couldn't make it for the holidays :(

In the late afternoon on Christmas Eve we went to our church's candlelight service.

Keeping with Christmas Eve tradition, E.T. and Baby Girl put on their coordinating Christmas pajamas as usual. My Mom and her husband came over for dinner that night too and then we opened our non-Santa gifts after dinner.

We also made our annual gingerbread baby cookies for Santa. My kids love the Jan Brett book Gingerbread Baby!

We had to decorate them too. . .

Yummy! Don't these just make you want to eat them, especially since two five year olds decorated them and had been licking the icing off their fingers the entire time they decorated them. . . poor Santa!

How did your Christmas holidays go? What are some traditions you have? Did you maybe start some new ones this year or revive some old ones? Whatever you did, I hope you were able to take this time and reflect on why we really celebrate Christmas. If it were not for Jesus' birth, we would have no reason to celebrate and because of his birth we can really celebrate the gift of Christmas in our lives every single day if we chose too. I hope you chose to celebrate the gift of Christmas and what it means to Christians every day of the year. That is my challenge to me and to you too. . .

Shallow But Classy

I know this post has to be quite shallow. However, I just have to pay tribute and say goodbye to a classy store that I often enjoyed over the years. . .

With the recent economic crisis in America, we have had to say goodbye to many stores we have loved over the years. I am very sad to say, Harold's is one of those stores that is going out of business. This has been one of my favorite clothing stores over the years. For those of you that may not know, Harold's began in 1948 with only men's clothing and expanded over the years to offer women's clothing. It offered stylish updated classic clothing, for men and woman, that I enjoyed over the years (Only off the sale rack though!) I am sad to see it go, but over the weekend while I was out of town, I was able to visit a Harold's for one last time and grab a few bargains for myself to enjoy over the next several years! Farewell, Harold's! Are there any stores you have been sad to see go?

I Love This Fabric!

Remember this room. It's my Dad's room I showed you back in October. Well, this weekend I added some treatments to the windows in the sitting area off the bedroom.

In this photo you can see three of the four windows we needed to treat this weekend.

This weekend was the scheduled weekend to go to my Dad's to celebrate Christmas. So, knowing this was coming up, the seamstress and I worked really hard to get this job ready, so we could install this weekend.

So, here you have it. There were a total of four windows in this area. Two on either side of the fireplace and then two butted together. So, had four roman shades made and pleated valances to use as toppers to finish the roman shades off.

I think it turned out nice and my work there is done for a while. I will have to post the rest of the work I did in the house earlier this year, after the first of the year.

Christmas Pajama Party & Shots

Wednesday night the Bunko girls all got together to enjoy each others company, good food, and celebrate the season. We used to all gather once a month to play Bunko. However, about 18 months ago we quit officially playing Bunko and we now just get together to catch up and hang out. (Shhh. . . don't tell our spouses that there is not really any Bunko going on!)

Forgive me for this small picture. I got it e-mailed to me on my iphone and sent the picture to my regular e-mail and this is the size it ended up. . .I stink at computer stuff! Anyway, let me introduce the gang from left to right going around the table. . .Miss Priss (me), Church Lady, Number Cruncher, Aggie Momma, Baby Momma, & Lady Raider. There were a few girls who couldn't make it, but were there in spirit! By the way the this was a pajama Christmas party, that's why we are all in our pajamas :)

If you noticed in the title of this post it mentioned "shots". I hate to disappoint you, but it wasn't those kind of "shots" at our party! The shot at the party was just as fun though because it was the mark of a day of celebration for our dear friend, Baby Momma. You see, Baby Momma has been trying for several years to become pregnant and just hours before our Christmas Pajama Party, she found out she was pregnant!!! We were all so excited. In the early stages of her pregnancy she has to have a nightly shot, and she needed a volunteer at the party to do it! I was the first one to volunteer! I have never given a shot before and it was an honor to do this for Baby Momma!

As our celebrating of the season and Baby Momma's news went on that night, several of us had brought small gifts for Baby Mama to congratulate her! Lady Raider bought this ornament for Baby Momma about two years ago and has been saving it for this day ever since. . .

I purchased this book in late January of this year when we thought that we were going to get the news that Baby Momma was pregnant then. However everything is in God's timing and not our own so, I didn't get to give it to her then! Yet, in God's perfect timing and plan, on Wednesday night, I was finally able to gift this book to her. . .

Aggie Momma brought her first package of diapers and froggy bath toys (One momma frog and two baby frogs. . . you never know, there could be two buns in the oven!) So, there you have it! This quite possibly could be the least fussy party I have been to all season and yet it turned out to be the most fun and memorable! Congratulations Baby Momma, we love you!

Let The Holiday Parties Begin!

Well, it's that time of year where you have more parties to host or attend in a two week period than you will the entire year. This past Saturday night we went to one of my favorite restaurants in town to have my husband's office party. We live in a small town, and for a small town, I think this restaurant is one of the best you will find without having to drive to the Metroplex. You can get a great food, enjoy a nice upscale setting, and have your car valet, and still only be 10 minutes from home! Also, if you are in the mood, latter in the evening, you can move out to the patio and enjoy local bands performing!

I have to admit, this time of year I like to EAT! I just gear myself up at Thanksgiving and keep on going until January 1st! Why fight it? After all if I work out all year long and can't enjoy one month out of the year (and vacations) then what's the point in working out 3-5 days a week? So, I knew when I went out this particular night to par-tay, I was going to put away my 8oz medium fillet! It was yummy. . .

See. . . told you I would put it away! I might be a frail looking woman, but I can eat like a grown man when I want to. (By the way, this wasn't really my plate, my plate had some yucky mushrooms :)-left on it so I just photographed my husbands!) Do you have a busy few weeks planned with parties and such?

Holiday Open House

This is my first time to link up with Kimba! This open house stuff is fun! Here are some images of some stuff I haven't posted yet this year. Feel free to check out my other post on all of my Christmas decorating! Enjoy!

This my Lenox nativity! I just love cleaning of the buffet every year to put this out!

I line my china cabinet with some of my Lenox Holiday plates.

I wrap all of my presents in gold every year. It has been a tradition since 1996.

This is my favorite antique scale out of the many I have. During the year it holds many different things. Check back during other holidays to see what it might hold next.

Small arrangement and bowl of holiday balls on coffee table.

Arrangement on dining room table. This is an old one. It might be retired by next year.

Annual gingerbread house kit that the kids and I put together.

Twelve Tees Of Christmas: Day 12

On the 12th day of Christmas the Tree Fairy gave to me, an eclectic tartan plaid tree. . .

This tree is in the kid's game room. This tree has tartan plaid ribbon, red berry garland, and the base ornaments are red and green. . .

This tree has all the above listed as the base of the decorating, however this is the tree that all oddball and homemade ornaments go on. Since all of my other trees are themed, I had to provide some place for all of E.T. and Baby Girl's sweet ornaments to go. We also put vacation ornaments on this tree. Basically anything goes in here. . .

Well, there you have it. You have seen at least twelve trees I had the privilege of decorating this year. Hope you enjoyed them!

Twelve Trees Of Christmas: Day 11

On the 11th day of Christmas the Tree Fairy gave to me, a precious little silverware tree. . .

This is a new tree to my tree family this year. I had some silverware pieces from my Maw's Maw's silverware she used for many years and I decided to build a tree just for them.


I made this tree all silver. I found the cutest little antique molds in Canton to put on the tree too. I even found a tree shape mold :) I have to say I love how this tree turned out. One week the idea was born in my head and a week later I had found the tree, brass bucket to paint silver, ribbon, picks, molds, mercury glass ornaments, and some old chandelier crystals, to hang with my 6 pieces of silverware! It's my favorite one this year :)

Twelve Trees of Christmas: Days 9 & 10

On the 9th & 10th days of Christmas the Tree Fairy gave to me, twin front door trees. . .

Maybe this is cheating, but there are two of them. . . they happen to be identical trees!

On each side of my front door I have my 9th & 10th trees. I bought these trees prelit at Big Lots last year and purchased the ribbon and ornaments at Hobby Lobby. The ribbon and ornaments are wired on and the bases of the trees are filled with rock so they wouldn't fall over. That didn't work so we now wire them to a small screw my husband screwed into the house! Now, they are blowing nowhere!

Garland Galore

I have been working my way through posting my Twelve Trees of Christmas I have decorated this year and I think I am on tree 8. So, a few more to go. Let me take a break from the trees and share my garland with you.

All of my garlands you will see, I made myself 2 years ago. The garland on the front door has woodsy garland with berries on it mixed in it with red ribbon wired on.

The mantle garland has red berry garland mixed into it and gold berry picks wired in.

This garland on top of the entertainment center has the same stuff the mantle garland has, but I added red ribbon from the front door mixed with a gold mesh ribbon like I put on my Lenox tree.

This garland in the dining room on top of the hutch is identical to the one on the entertainment center. I think after looking at the Nester's garlands and some others, I might try adding some things to these next year. I think maybe they are missing something or maybe I am just better at decorating trees and should stick to that.

North Pole Express & Gaylord Texan "ICE"

So, last Friday we took the kids to Grapevine, Texas to ride the North Pole Express. It was the cutest thing. They had all the train cars decorated for Christmas and played "Polar Express" music pretty much the entire time. They even had Santa show up on our train ride to the North Pole!

Our tickets were even punched by the conductor just like in the movie!

E.T. and Baby Girl loved every minute of our 30 minute North Pole Express ride!

After the North Pole Express we went on over to the Gaylord Texan Resort with some friends to see "ICE" .

Everything you see in this exhibit is made out of ice and the temperature in 9 degrees below zero. We had to wear parkas that they provided over our regular jackets. Baby Girl got lost from us for a few minutes and when we found her, she was crying and her tears were almost frozen :(

Twelve Trees Of Christmas: Day 8

On the 8th day of Christmas the Tree Fairy gave to me, a tiny little gingerbread tree. . .

This tree is in the utility room. This little tree and its trimmings all came from Hobby Lobby.

I have litter gingerbread people ornaments and old fashioned candy ornaments on this tree. I put things like our gingerbread house we make and crafty things the kids make in here during the holidays.

Twelve Trees Of Christmas: Day 7

On the 7th day of Christmas the Tree Fairy gave to me, a solid red office tree. . .


So, here we have a new tree this year. My husband asked me to do a new tree for the dental office. I had never done one for them before. This tree had a budget. :(

This is all from Hobby Lobby, even the tree! It was all either 50% off or 40% off and it came in about 60 cents under budget. My budget was $300. This tree is all red. Red garland, red ribbon, & red ornaments. It's not like any other tree I have done, so it was fun! I have to disclose to those of you that may be wondering. . . the mauve chairs, mauve mini blinds, and blue wall were not of my doing . . . so, don't hold it against me. I think those were the in colors 13 or so years ago. Hopefully an update will be in the future of this office. If so, I will for sure blog about it. Until then. . . .

Twelve Trees Of Christmas: Day 6

On the 6th day of Christmas the Tree Fairy gave to me, a small gold and burgundy tree. . .

This is a table top tree in my room. We bought this tree the first year the twins were mobile and used it for our main tree instead of my Lenox tree. It was nice to have a small tree that year that was up high and that I didn't have to worry about the kids messing it up during the year of exploration.

This tree and most of the ornaments came from Target several years ago. It is not really one of my favorites, but it works in our room. Would really love a big tree done in in brown and gold someday for this room.