KARLA'S HOLIDAY PARTY

Welcome to "What do you like best about your holiday home" party sponsored by Karla's Cottage. I am a latecomer to this party so don't have as many pictures as I would like, but figured "what the heck", may as well participate. Perhaps I am loosening up and being less paranoid about what people will think about my decor. That would be a miracle in and of itself since I am such a people pleaser LOL!!

Not the greatest picture, but I love this kitchen window. When we had the windows replaced last year I had a casement window put in to replace the old double hung sash window. Now I can just crank it open instead of standing in the sink to open it. I hung this garland and I will leave it up all winter. Looks winterish and not just Christmasy to me. I hung the wreath to get some balsam smell, but it dissipated almost immediately..now it just sheds needles.

I just bought this little tree at Joannes the other day. I found some small ornaments in my unused stash and tied a bow to the top. Originally I thought I might put it in my guest room for my son when he comes home for Christmas, but I rather like in the kitchen.

I found these at Joannes too and they were half price. They remind me of Jen at the Cottage Nest. Not sure why, but I think she would like them. In my house you can never have too many tins for cookies and fudge at Christmas.


I've never had a good home for this container before, but I like it here between the windows in my kitchen and it goes with the rest of my blue decor. This reminds me of Susie Q at Rabbit Run Cottage. I love that I have so many new friends from blogging!!


These tins are what my family likes best about our holiday home. They live on the top shelf at the far end of the kitchen for 50 weeks of the year, but when they come down it is a symbol that the baking has begun. The smaller one usually has peanut butter kisses in it and the big one sometimes has Mama Janet's homemade doughnuts in it. Not for long though!! Other times it is filled wih chocolate chip meringues.

An example of embellishing what you have for the holidays. This is supposed to be a bird bath, but it often gets called to decorating duty. I have pinecones of all sizes and shapes in it along with some pine and it just says Christmas. There is a pinecone garland over the mirror too, but when I tried to take a picture of the mirror all I got was me in my bathrobe in the mirror. Not the look I was going for, for sure.


This is the cloche I got at HomeGoods and decided to put some of my cards in it. The front one is from Clarice @ Storybook Woods.


I always have paperwhites blossoming at Christmas. I just love them and their strange smell. It just reminds me of the holidays. They are usually the only flowers I have, because it is often too cold to bring poinsettias home this time of year or I put them too close to a draft or water them too much and they look dreadful and very non-celebratory LOL.


This is the nativity scene that my parents had when I was growing up. I asked my Mom for it about 20 years ago and I have had it ever since. My grandparents had one just like it. It came from Woolworths in the 1940s and I remember going with my mother to Woolworths to replace one of the pieces when I was a little girl.

Writing about these decorations reminds me of some items that I haven't come across this year. Does that ever happen to you? After the holidays you find some things that didn't get put away and instead of taking the time to put them where they belong, you just put them somewhere where you are sure you will remember. It doesn't happen to you? Well, well, well... it will when you get to be a certain age, like maybe when that AARP letter arrives in the mail.

Perhaps tomorrow after I finally get new kitty to the vet, and my mercury glass acorns for the chandelier and pinecone garland for the fireplace arrive from Wisteria I will take some more pictures. Then I should be done and ready to start on the food, glorious food!!

Later,
Janet