Bethlehem Christmas Dining

For the past several years I have used my Bethlehem Christmas Dinnerware in the dining room. I am partial since I designed this pattern several years ago and have a lot of blood, sweat, and equity invested in it! I still get excited when I pull if out each year. I’ll let the pictures do the talking but if you would like to see the complete line of dinnerware you can click here.

Don’t forget to take time to Savor the Season! I certainly am!

I’ll be linking to Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch. I’m also linking to the Homespun Christmas Recipes and Tablescapes at Stone Gable. Click over to see some beautiful tablescapes!

It’s My Birthday!

I guess you could say this is my birthday of the century! 12-12-12! How exciting! I am delighted to be another year older as several women in my family never made it to 50 so I’ve got 3 years on them! I wanted to share a gift from my daughter. It can see it on her blog here.

I will be doing a follow up to her post with my own post on our tour of the White House! It was super exciting!

At the end of her post, she gives information on my birthday gift. It was a gift of education to Pakistani girls!

You can read more about it here. For a woman who has way too much stuff, this was a wonderful gift idea! Perhaps you would like to honor someone with this thoughtful gift too.

Don’t forget to Savor the Season!

 

I’ll be linking to Tips, Tidbits, and Tutorials at Stone Gable. Click on over for some great inspiration!

Christmas in the Den

Our Christmas décor is very eclectic to say the least. It’s the one time of year when I just mix everything together, no matchy matchy themes here!

Our den is probably the most eclectic.

 

You can read about the nativity mantel by clicking here.

Our snow village is displayed on a table in the corner.

The skiers and sledders at the top of the hill are my favorites.

Living in the south, this is all of the snow we will see during the holidays!

The tree in the den does have a nutcracker theme. It is decorated with nutcrackers, ballerinas, and red and white ornaments. Our “memory” tree with our collection of hundreds of sentimental ornaments stands in our foyer.  Our collection of nutcrackers is displayed on the built-in shelves of the den.

Most of the nutcrackers are inexpensive and have been collected over several years.

Several years ago, I added the foam core wrapped in blue wrapping paper to make the nutcrackers stand out a little more. Because we have mostly books on our built-in shelves, the nutcrackers get lost in the visual clutter without a solid background.

My favorite nutcracker was not inexpensive but part of the cost went to a good cause.

Can you guess which one it is?

My Salvation Army bell ringer is by far my favorite! The Salvation Army does great work for those who are down and out. A couple of years ago I issued a challenge to my children who are now young adults. I challenged them to drop something in every red bucket that they walk by. I also included myself in the challenge. My challenge is multi-fold. Number one, the money that I put in goes to a good cause. Number two, by dropping money into the bucket, it encourages others around me to give too. I live in a very rural area. We don’t see homeless people out here in the middle of nowhere. But when we visit big cities, I often see the Salvation Army food truck in the evening. I have seen many homeless people lined up to get a sandwich and a cup of coffee. There is something to be said for a ministry with no forms to fill out and no questions asked that is supported completely by donations. I encourage you to drop something into the buckets as you pass them.

Don’t forget to take time to savor the season!

 

I’ll be linking to Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style and to the Holiday Vignettes Party at Southern Hospitality. Click over to see lots of fun stuff!

The Sunroom Mantle

I usually decorate with all traditional Christmas décor and I still do but took a slight variation with the mantle in the sunroom this year. I am not a neutral kind of girl. I love color. However, I did throw in a neutral vintage chalkboard this year.

I purchased the faux greenery this year at Hobby Lobby because it is so real looking.I have had everything else for many years.

The chalkboard also covers an oil painting of my great grandparents house. The painting stays on this mantle all of the time. I usually drape a piece of red toile fabric over the painting and then I just sat the chalkboard in front of it.

The pair of cherubs on each end also stay here year round. They were gifts from a dear family friend who has gifted us with wonderful accessories for the past 30 years! One of the cherubs got broken but I glued it back together and I still love it!

The gold glass ornaments were purchased at the Pottery Barn Outlet many years ago.

The gold cherub ornaments came from Michael’s many years ago.

You can see my den mantle here.

I’ll be linking to the mantle party at the Lettered Cottage. Click over to see the party!

Also, there’s still time to order Bethlehem Christmas Dinnerware by clicking here.

Don’t forget to savor the season!

Merry Christmas!

 

Christmas Mantle in the Den

I ended my last post by stating that the next post would be a home tour that you don’t want to miss. However, I’m having to interrupt the schedule to join the mantle party. I will get the home tour up soon, and it is one that you don’t want to miss. (Hint, hint, it was in DC!) Now on to the mantle in our den. Several years ago while on another home tour, I saw a lovely nativity set that was made of porcelain and fabric in the Italian style. I set out to find a similar one and made a purchase. This is truly one of my favorite Christmas collectibles. Because I don’t have a sofa table and I only have a small chest in our foyer, I chose to display this set on the mantle of our den. That way, I do get to enjoy it more. The purpose of the dark fabric backdrop is to cover up a portrait of my children. If I don’t cover it up, their little heads peep out over the top of Bethlehem! The portrait is too big to move and store so I just cover it with fabric at Christmas! I’ll let the photos do the rest of the talking.

Don’t you just love a slightly crooked picture? Funny, that scarf across the bottom that covers some decorative painting on the mantle doesn’t look nearly that wrinkled in real life! Let’s take a closer look.

I love the animals too.

I love the nativity!

There’s still plenty of time to order Bethlehem Christmas dinnerware by clicking here. Most orders go out within 24 hours and shipping is affordable and fast!

I hope that you, too, are savoring the season!

Merry Christmas!

I’ll be linking to the mantle party at the Lettered Cottage.Click over to enjoy lots of mantle inspiration.

This fireplace backs up to the fireplace in our sunroom and you can see that mantle by clicking here.

I’m linking to Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style.

Savoring the Season–Day One

The Middleburg Hunt Review

I love Christmas! I have promised myself to savor the season this year and I intend to enjoy every moment of it! Since, Thanksgiving came early this year, I was able to get most of my decorating done before December 1 and I chose to take a weekend jaunt to enjoy some Christmas festivities. On December 1, I traveled to Middleburg, Va to see the Hunt Review and the Christmas Parade. Both were delightful.

Horses and hounds were everywhere!

It was a wonderful treat for spectators and riders both young and old!

I hope that you are enjoying the season too!

I’ll be linking to Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch.

Next post: A CHRISTMAS HOME TOUR THAT YOU WILL NOT WANT TO MISS!!!!

DIY Sunburst Mirror

In my last post, I shared about my recent update to our guestroom. Previously, I had a collection of vintage hand painted plates hanging above the headboards but decided that I needed something fresh for the re-do.

Since I was in a hurry and had a goal of finishing the room before Thanksgiving, I decided to make my own sunburst mirrors to go above the headboards.

I purchased a wooden charger at Pier 1 to use for the base.I believe that the cost for each one was $14.99. I did put a quick coat of fresh white paint on it before starting since it had a yellowish tint against my freshly painted walls.

Next, I trekked down to my local Dollar General store and purchased these cute bird clocks with  glass fronts for $4 each!!! It’s a really cute clock but I actually just needed the glass.

Next, I flipped it over and removed the screws from around the outside edge. The front popped right off and the glass came right out. Then I used my Looking Glass spray paint and a light spray of water to paint the glass. Next, I glued the mirror back to the original gold frame and then glued the gold frame to the white charger. I did not use the clock mechanism.

The spots on the glass were intentional since I was going for a vintage look.

 

I considered going around the carved edges with a little Rub N Buff in gold or silver but decided to leave well enough alone.

Pretty results for about $20 each!

I have finally finished cleaning the kitchen from Thanksgiving and am scurrying around getting the halls decked for Christmas all the while promising myself to take time to enjoy the season!

 

I am also packing orders of Bethlehem Christmas Dinnerware. Visit the website here to see the current specials.

Have a great week!

I’ll be sharing with Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style and to Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps On the Porch. Click on the links to get lots of inspiration!