Finally Finished! Did I just say that?

Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who has become a "Follower" on my blog.  I just got my 50th nice person & I'm so thrilled and excited.  You guys are all so awesome.  I never, in my wildest dreams, would have expected to have so many terrific people actually be interested in what I had to share.  Thank you so much.

I'm happy to be linking to:
Hooked on Houses
Seasonal Sundays
Vignettes of Christmas Cheer
Deck the Halls
Amaze Me Monday
Poppies at Play



Actually, I did the final tweaking & cleaned up the messes this past Friday.  But you know how it is here in blogland, the "freakin tweakin" will go on -- it's never ending, right?  At least now I can stroll from one room to another & not see gaping holes in the decor, and I can really enjoy it.

I thought I'd start this week off by sharing photos of the dining room.  This is one of my favorite rooms to decorate, because it's visible from so many places -- the kitchen (of course), the sunroom, & my craft room.  It's also extremely difficult to get good photos because of the lighting, but here goes.  First up is our tree.  It's never been in the dining room before, but this is the best place it's ever been.  I can see it so well from my craft room & kitchen (the rooms I seem to spend most of my time in), and it's not in the way of anything.  The presents are all purchased, just not wrapped yet.  I'll probably be doing that later today.

I added the feathers (Michael's on sale) & a few silver/red balls ($Store) this year, but everything else are what's been collected or made over the years.

I love this little ornament (a gift from a very dear friend this year).

I decided to keep the table very simple because there is so much other stuff going on in this room.  The crystal bowl was presented to me by a club I belong to in recognition of some things I had done for the club's membership.  It's engraved on the inside & is very, very special to me.  I love how it looks with the balls & the glitzy fruit.  The tablerunner is one I've had for many years (Pier 1).  It blends with almost anything.

Now for the china cabinet.  I like merging old & new here.  Here is where you will see some of my "thrifting" items.  I really like the pop of color the Christmas balls add.

This is the little Santa that I found at GW.  I was having trouble finding a good home for him, but I think he's pretty comfy right here.

The Christmas plate is handpainted and I've probably had it for 30 years or more.  Same time frame for the Santa teapot.  I bought that from Lillian Vernon.  It's getting kind of chippy & looking pretty worn, but it just adds to the charm for me.  The pretty Anniversary clock had belonged to my inlaws & The Man and I both cherish it.

I've had this crystal angel for a long, long time.  I placed her inside my GW hurricane & perched her on top of the small silver pedestal dish, also from GW.  Just added a short string of gold beads.

I like adding a few things to the inside, too.  Some very old gold balls in a crystal bowl just brightens the shelf.  I made the little round crewel piece many years ago.  The small crystal bell had belonged to my sweet MIL.

This little buffet is such a great place to decorate.  I never use it as a buffet so I can load it up!  This is the same lamp I always have here.  I moved it from the center & switched out the brown shade for this soft gold, along with a tassel.

This is one of those very old bowls (you may remember from Thanksgiving) that had belonged to my great, great grandmother.  I love the simplicity of the pinecones & berries.  The cute little boy in the raccoon-skin cap is The Man when he was about five.

You may remember, I found this taper holder at GW for $2.99 (then got a senior discount).  The Santas are tealite holders that I've had for quite a long time, probably twelve years or so.  They came from Big Lots -- you just never know what you are going to find there.

And, of course, you remember my "Plain Jane" redo of the light/fan fixture in this room.

Well, that wraps up the tour of the dining room.  More rooms to come over the next few days.  Right now I'm off to finish putting our Christmas cards together.  I'm working from a kit this year that I bought from Creating Keepsakes in January in their clearance section.  I usually make our cards from scratch, but this kit has been a lot of fun.  This is just a glimpse of what it looks like.  Yes, that is a Christmas letter that you see.  I'm a good story teller, so my letter is very much a fun read.  I always add a photo of our grandchildren each year.

This year it is a collage of the following cutie patooties (just in case you cannot see them well enough in the above pic).   These little people (along with their parents, of course) are the ones who bring meaning to everything. 

Flynn 2

Phoebe 7

Parker 9

Riley 11

Taylor 11

Hope you enjoyed the tour around my dining room and the glimpse into what makes this "Nanna" happy.  Thank you for stopping by and come again soon.
CAS