A Most Merry Christmas!

 and may 

you sparkle

in the 

New Year!

 The view out my front door onto my porch.

A little of inside on Christmas Eve.

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I hope your Christmas is full of laughter and love.

I spent Christmas Eve with my friend David.

It was a bumpy night!

An odd Christmas Eve but one day we'll look back on it 

and remember and think it wasn't so bad.

You see I was delivering food to make extra money.

My plan was to stay out as late as possible to make 

the most money but my last order was at midnight 

at Jack in the Box and the line was 30 cars deep!

That's when I decided it was time to go home. 

I've been doing this here and there to make ends meet...

sometimes I'm out till 2am.

Oh...I have a glamorous life.

Two pizza places were open till 4am and 

I fully intended on working till 4am.

David came along for the ride. 

His boyfriend was out of town and he had nothing better to do.

We also drove around and looked at Christmas lights inbetween. 

I only got in 10 deliveries. I was hoping for twice that. 

I always do it alone. I listen to podcasts during and between.

I'm learning lots of things from that.

I'm currently listening to every episode of Alec Baldwin's podcast -

"Here's the Thing"

I love Alec Baldwin and it's quite enjoyable listening to him

 interviewing artists, actors, musicians, scientists and politicians.

But last night David and I just rode around 

and sat and talked and laughed.

We like to do that.

An odd Christmas Eve.

We used to have big family Christmas Eve's 

and then they got smaller and then it was just me.

Mom goes to my sister's. 

I can't do my sister's. 

(I love her...I just can't do her married family)

I'd rather deliver pizzas which is what I did!

Merry Merry!

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A Few of My Favorite Things

for Christmas

 

 

I love vintage Shiny Brite ornaments 

and have collected them for years. 

My tree is literally drooping under the weight of all of them. 

Even though they are very light, 

I have so many it weighs down the branches.

Almost everything on my tree is vintage. 

Well that one that says Noel is not. 

It is new from a few years ago but it has a very vintage look.

 When I was a kid, I hated Shiny Brite ornaments, 

especially the ones that had writing on them.

I liked fancier Victorian ornaments or 

Hallmark ornaments when I was a child.

But now I love the simplicity of the round bulbs 

or the ones with atomic shapes. 

And I especially love the ones with messages 

on them like the one above.

If the ornament is faded and a little tarnished - even better!

That pink one? 

We had one just like it on our tree when I was a child.

It was always a favorite of mine.

Our tree when I was growing up had many 

Victorian ornaments on it. They came from my Mother's family.

 

 This year I tucked all my elves and snowmen into the tree too.

Little Shiny Brite houses sit upon the branches as well.

 

 I love these simple little elves.

They sold for 10 cents each in the 1960's.

Now they are quite expensive. 

I bought most of mine 20 or even 

30 years ago 

when I could pick them up for 2 to 3 dollars.

 The newly painted cabinet got all decked out too.

 I put this wreath together out of things I had lying around. 

I added tiny pom poms to it and the Christmas tree.

 That little deer is a Montgomery Ward Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.

Did you know that Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer was originally written by a man who

worked for Montgomery Ward? My Mother has the original book that was published and given 

out as a promotional item from the store. 

My maternal Grandmother worked for 

Montgomery Ward for many years as an accountant. 

We as a family have several of these ornaments.

I used to pick them up every time I ran across one at flea markets.

Read about the history of Rudolph here.

This version of Rudolph is the real one for my Mom.

But for me. I adore the 1960's TV special.

I listen to the soundtrack to this over and over during the holidays.

This show inspires my decorating choices for Christmas.

 Picked up this sweet deer this year at Hobby Lobby. 

She could fit right in at the North Pole with Rudolph.

Ok, so she's pink. 

The other reindeer might call her names.

 I filled the iron plant stand with tinsel trees. It's usually full of a variety of faux ferns and plants.

But that wouldn't do for Christmas.

 I have cute Christmas pillows that should be out but I'm not sure where they are.

This will just have to do for this year.

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Oh I Need A Little Christmas

 Just this very minute

 

 I need a little Christmas....right now!

I didn't think it was going to happen. 

 I questioned if all this would get up.

But it did.

 Christmas Mantel 2019.

I'll share other photos of it at night.

 My sister gave me this tree a few years ago. 

It has yellowed over the years.

Just makes it look more vintage. I think.

I hope.

 

I could not bring myself to take the frames down off my mantel. 

I have had them up for a couple of years and just decorate around them. 

I just like the way they fill out the wall. 

I did manage to finally gold leaf this small vintage frame. 

It's been up here for two years in a dingy brown.

Now it's finally a crusty gold leaf. Much better.

Now it fits right in with the other vintage frames.

I love bottle brush trees. Can you tell?

The tree. 

This little tree I've had for several years and sadly this is 

the first year it's gotten fully decorated. 

I've just done lights for the past three or four years. 

A shame cause I have many beautiful vintage ornaments.

I'll share more tomorrow.

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Open House Sunday

Oh My!!!!! A pink Spanish Bungalow!!!

 built 1928   1,524 square feet

I ran across this home the other day on Zillow and just fell in love.

This house might tempt me to sell mine and move in to this one.

This house has been totally redone and is staged to sell. 

They bought it last year for $85,000 and are now asking $329,000.

 An earlier photo on google maps shows it used to be white and very very run down.

 It's in the Lincoln Terrace neighborhood which is east of me - over by the medical community and the state capitol. This area of town has many beautiful homes, many many of them still to be fixed up.

 I just love that they chose to paint it pink. And just the perfect shade of pink too.

I'm going to have to do a drive by to see in person.

 I'm rather amazed that this house is staged all in shades of pink on the inside as well. 

The placement of furniture is not good in this room but I'm sure it was placed in a way to show off how much room there is. I love everything about this room except the unfortunate vent in the ceiling. I would have found a way to avoid that.

That's a new mantel. I wonder what the original looked like.

All the finishes in this house are very modern but feminine. 
So of course I like them even if they are more modern than I usually like.

 Odd placement of furniture...but we'll let it slide. 

Of course room needs a rug. But lets just focus on the house.

 I am not fond of the dining room light and it's hung too high but that's an easy fix. 

The dining room furniture is all wrong but I'm sure they were doing the best they could with what they had available.

 But imagine this room with a white tulip table or even this table but with white modern chairs.

 Looking at these photos made me remember when I first move into my own vintage cottage and I had so much open space. I truly need to get rid of things. I need more open space.

 Pretty little office.

 Always love when there are big french doors to another room.

Gosh! I'd love to decorate this house!

 Hall is same as mine but mine does not have all that storage. 

This house is only about 100 square feet bigger than mine.

 Ok, let's see what you think about the kitchen. I

 love the choices made but I don't know that I could live with them.

 That backsplash! Ok, it's pretty wonderful but I could not live with it. 
Nope...I'd need a white tile backsplash. 
Although I love how this mimics the Spanish vibe of the house.

 A young woman would love this though I think. 
I do like the appliances chosen.

 So fun..So pretty..but I just couldn't. 
Well, I could for a while but then I'd want it more neutral.

 Bedrooms do not have furniture in them.

 But this!!!! Oh...my I love this sooooo much. Except that toilet. That is the kind of toilet my bathrooms have and I hate them. I keep thinking they will get changed but so far it has not happened but it will...it will. 

But that tile!!!! Oh...my goodness that tile!!! It's looks like a birthday cake!

I'm in love. I had to look it up after I saw this and it's an

Annie Selke tile

Just scrumptious.

 Oh...how I love this tile.

 Yes all of it. Around the windows too. I want to redo my bathroom and when I do...

its going to have lots of tile.

little side porch - so sweet. I can imagine the weenies running out there to see what I am doing.

 A cedar pergola on back. Just right for this house.

 It's pretty on the backside. If I had this house I'd have fun planting cacti around it.

There is a house in my neighborhood that's yard is all cactus. 
I hate it.

It does not go with the house. 
The house is an English Tudor and it simply does not go. 
But this house would look nice with an arid landscape.

Looks like the house next door is Spanish in style too.

Good thing I can't afford to move...this one would be tempting. 

See full listing here.

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