My "Creative" Oasis in the Desert: Christmas

Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts

12/4/18

Here There and Everywhere

Time to share a bit more Christmas around here! Please forgive me if I have not responded to some comments...having an issue with blogger. Those who are always so faithful about commenting, rest assured, I will get to you sooner or later. Today I am sharing our family room, breakfast area and kitchen. This is where we live, and I chose to have it be merry, bright and fun. If you missed my first Christmas post, you can find it HERE.

Our mantel decor got some updates this year. I found the flocked, pre-lit garland at At Home and combined it with the cotton stem garland from my Fall Mantel...love how it looks!

I use to collect snowmen, adding one each year, but haven't added any for quite some time. I adore the ones I have and find new ways each year to display them.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

We wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Wonderful New Year!

This is the photo that I included in our Christmas cards this year, and

This is the message I wrote for the inside of each card and lovingly pass it on to all of you:

Merry Christmas

Another year, almost gone, and many of us are left scratching our

heads and asking, “Where has the time gone?” I know for some,

maybe the year has not passed quickly enough. These past twelve months have been filled with so many challenges....natural disasters

of catastrophic magnitude and human meanness beyond our comprehension. Yet, as we are left reeling in disbelief, we carry on

and move forward. Human beings are resilient that way.

Whatever your feelings are for 2017, we can hope that the new year will be filled with authentic gratitude and humbleness for the many blessings that will surely come.

Love to all,

Rick and Carol

12/19/17

Coffee/Tea & My Happy Place

I hope you are all finished with shopping, wrapping & decorating, so you can "live in the moment" of the season. I've been doing just that, and thought I'd share a few last glimpses of Christmas merriment around our home. For me, I've saved the best for last. Let's take a look, shall we?

Whoever came up with the idea of creating a "station" for favorite beverages, truly deserves a blue ribbon! I have so much fun creating our beverage bar, but I don't limit it to Christmas. We are coffee and tea drinkers (mainly me) all year long, but it is so fun to add some special things this time of year.

I will switch out a few things, but this tray of goodies will remain here for another

couple of months.

Coffee, tea, cocoa and a sweet munchie, anyone?

The recipe for Crockpot Salty Sweet Candies can be found HERE. They are so delicious! I made them for our neighbors.

This is where you can find me about ninety percent of the time....my "Happy Place!"

I did more decorating in here than I have in the past, and I love it!

I even found the perfect spot for one of my 4' trees. Not for sure yet, but I may keep the in here for a few more months and decorate it for Valentines' Day & Easter. Shh....The Man doesn't know it yet, but this tree may become a permanent decor item in here and get decorated for all the seasons!

Some thoughtful words to reflect on every day!

I've so enjoyed the company of this sweet little "Shopper Snow-Woman."

Love my little cork tree!

The Man gave me this folding ruler, and I quickly shaped it into a star.

My sweet angel watches over me all the time.

I made these wood block ornaments a few years ago....my kiddos when they were little.

The rest of the little block ornies landed here in the laundry room.

My kiddos and the kidlets make me smile while I fluff and fold!

It's a very good thing my HAPPY PLACE is just a few steps away from the kitchen, because I've been rattling those pots and pans quite a bit lately!

Our neighborhood (about 10 families) has started having monthly Block Parties as a way of creating much more of an extended family community. This was part of the spread this past Sunday evening.

I made THIS Christmas Tree Spinach Dip Breadsticks....I know this isn't a good angle, but I was lucky to get this pic! This did not last long....so good!

I also made THESE Slow Cooker Baked Beans but substituted a pound of ground beef for most of the bacon...I chopped up about 6 slices of cooked bacon & added for extra flavor. This is a very good recipe and makes a lot!

So I've hung up my aprons now....at least for a few days! How about you? Are you in relaxing-mode and just enjoying these last few days before Christmas? I hope so!

Merry Christmas & Warm Hugs.

Carol

I hope to be joining some of these lovely ladies this week:

Kristi at Making it in the Mountains for The Creative Gallery

Cindy at Dwellings--The Heart of Your Home for Amaze Me Monday

Maria Elena at Our Home Away from Home for Tuesdays at Our Home

Marty at A Stroll Thru Life for Inspire Me Tuesday

Suzy at Worthing Court for The Scoop

Carol at The Red Painted Cottage for Share Your Style Party

Richella at Imparting Grace for Grace at Home

12/24/16

Merry Christmas!

The Joys of the Season

Christmas 2016

We hope this year has been a good one, bringing more happy days than sad ones.

At this time of year, amid the chaos and sometimes grandiosity of the season, it’s easy to find ourselves reflecting more on missed opportunities rather than simply enjoying “right now.”

Maybe it’s beyond our capability to recognize simple happiness when we see it....missing those authentic times in the hope of finding something better. Maybe we just need to make more of an effort to keep our eyes and hearts open.

Our Christmas wish for all of you, are days filled with more

mindful moments and joyous pleasures.

Warm hugs to all,

Carol and Rick

And a special "Merry Christmas" wish from the Grands!

12/22/16

Christmas Snippets, Pt.3 & 4

Where 'o where has December gone....in the blink of an eye, it is whizzing past, so I decided it was now or never going to be the time to share the rest of our Christmas house. I had planned to break this into Pt. 3 & Pt. 4, but now it will be two-parts "photo-overload!" Feel free to stop by the "hot chocolate/coffee station" for a cuppa and then help yourself to some sweet treats, as you will definitely need sustenance to get you through all of the photos! All set? Let's get started!

The kitchen and breakfast room are taking center-stage first.

I still love this snowman-snowball wreath that I made a couple of years ago.

It's always fun to put this little wooden tree together each year and remember the lovely shop where we found it in Switzerland.

This is a "coloring" page that I found on the internet, but I cannot remember the sweet person who made this lovely drawing. I apologize, but just know that I had a great time coloring it!

Why is it that a "hot chocolate station" is just so much fun to put together?

Be honest....doesn't this adorable little set just make you giggle? I found it at HomeGoods a couple of weeks ago, but it's not just for Christmas....this will be hanging in my kitchen forEVER!

A cute bow on the "everyday and ordinary" elevates them to "decorations!"

This guy (my favorite Nutcracker of all) pitched in and helped a couple of days ago when

Ms. Betty Crocker decided to pop in and whip up a few goodies....of course, a couple of naps were thrown in for good measure!

Plenty of goodies for some of our very sweet neighbors, and....

Enough for Santa & Mrs. Claus to munch on!

Banana bread, Christmas cookies, Lemonies & Toffee....can we all say "YUMMY!"

A bit of "holly jolly" in my craftroom!

Isn't she the cutest?

Guest Bath

On to the outside!

It's kind of difficult to see, but there is a wreath on each of the garage door lights. I love how they look at night.

Yes, "Tis the Season to be Jolly," and to survive this deluge of photos! If you are still with me and haven't nodded off, thank you so much for stopping by. It brings me such joy to share our home with all of you, but I truly wish it could be in-person. Thoughts of you and yours this holiday season, are on my mind and in my heart, and I wish you the merriest and happiest Christmas of all!

Warm hugs,

Carol

I often party with these lovely bloggers:

Monday