December Break





During Christmas break I go through a few phases,it starts
with a Decorating frenzy, then the cluttery
claustrophobia kicks in...
and then the...
where I am now...
 changing and rearranging
crazy lady. 


Does anyone else get that way? Don't get
me wrong, I love to pull  all our treasures
 out and we all enjoy them.


But there comes a point where I want a little
 less out. So instead of packing all the Christmas
decorations away, I like to remove the 
heavy greenery then I rearrange and
lighten the decorations. 





I am joining


Happy Decorating
Abby
:)


 

 

Playing

I am having so much
FUN!


Fun playing with our new Christmas present :)
Thank you to all of our family for this amazing new camera!!!
XOX




Hope everyone is having a super holiday!
Abby
:)


Is Everyone Ready?

I thought I was but as I sit here writing my list for the day I realize
... maybe not.
 So today I will be wrapping, doing some
more baking, some shopping...blah....
and hopefully some relaxing...yah!


As long as our tree is up...



check!


All my Santas are out...
I can work through my list with
satisfaction.


We have collected one Santa a year
for the last 20 something years. :)
2005 I started to date them underneath.
(Sure wish we had dated them from the start.)
They range in price from
$0.99 to $99.


Isn't he cute!  Our newest member.. :)
He was at Winners for
about $14.


So off to work I must go.
Here's hoping that everyone has a
wonderful Christmas, enjoying all that
this season brings!

Merry Christmas,
Abby
:)




Taking Some Time


Hope that you are able to take some time
and enjoy all of the special moments that
 this time of the year can bring.

Have a peaceful evening,
Abby
;)









More of our Christmas Kitchen


Hope you are having fun decorating your home.  I am
 finding decorations that I forgot that I
had....but having fun setting up our house. 



Our kitchen only looks this tidy when I am taking pictures!
Sure wish I could figure out how to keep it tidy all
the time.



I think it has something to do with my  'family'
and my disorganization!  :)









A tea set from my grandma :)
Love it all polished up and shiny.
I am linking up with


and


Happy decorating
Abby
:)

Christmas in the Kitchen

As you can see my kitchen is extremely
dark.  We have grown to love the dark
wood of the cupboards but I try to add as much light
and sparkle as I can just to lighten the feel of the space.





Haha here's my old yellow kitchen..  ;)



Its a fun kitchen to work in, and even more fun to decorate.



Greenery, bows, balls,  even the tinsel from last year..lol







Even this sweet bird doesn't get spared.  
;)
I am linking up with
at Between Naps

at
 The House In the Roses

Let it Snow

I think I start to decorate earlier and earlier
each year.  With all the gorgeous blogs out there I love
to linger over, I get so much inspiration!  By the
time the boxes come up from the basement I
am just about bursting with ideas of what I
would like to try.  







This is a terra cotta pot that I repainted
with chalkboard paint, it always get a seasonal message.



The heart on the mirror was in a package of 4 and
they were about $3.00 from V.V.s  !!!  Just a good clean
and a satin ribbon .






And more paper whites. :) ...I don't think that they will last
through Christmas, I might need some ideas to fill
there spots.  :/

I have linked up with
http://www.freckledlaundry.com/  for Air Your Laundry Friday


 Happy decorating
Abby
:)

Our Paper White Mantle

I think that this is the first time that I have actually been really happy
 with our mantle.  My husband ...ok me too..loves to watch
TV...so it sits center stage in our living room.
However I am happy now!



I seem to be using a lot more white this year, and yes I know I
am really last year with the paper whites but....I love them!  Super
easy and soooo pretty...and cheap!  Perfect.



I thought they would take about 4 weeks before they bloomed.
I planted them Nov. 11th  and they are starting to bloom already!  So
about 2 maybe 3 weeks! WOW!



They seem to work well with my large candle holders.




 Ok so maybe the TV is an eyesore still but this is our home and
we really live in it so out comes the ugly truth!  hahah!





A heart that is nestled in the greenery.




Happy decorating!
Abby
:)

I have linked up with
 and






Our Witches Cottage

Over the years, like every other season, I have slowly been
adding to my Halloween decorations and without even thinking
about it I usually buy or make something geared to the witch theme...:/
Not something ...until recently..that I have done deliberately.


I think she is trying too hard to be nice!  hahaha
  Sitting at the front entrance waiting for trick or treaters.






This was a frame I bought a long time ago and finally have a
use for it...holds a super good spell.



and a spider or two.




This is in our dining area, you know, the regular stuff..
spell book, spiders, eyeballs, rats ...






My daughter thought this should be the "sorting hat" 
I would have to agree. 




Our newest pet!  He's pretty tattered but he's cute.

I have found this beautiful source of inspiration!
and I am linking up for her Inspiration Friday
she has beautiful stuff and so do her guests!


Hope you enjoyed the pictures of our witches cottage,
and have a super day!
Abby
:)

Working on Our Backyard


We bought our house a year ago, and everyday ...everyday I
have missed our yard that we had in Summerland.  It was lush
and private..so private I could sit in my pjs blog surfing all day and no one
would ever be the wiser....maybe a little lazy but really inspirational I loved those
 days. There were large mature trees, fruit trees and a huge
hedge that went all across the back.  Well, our home here is a new
 build so there was no garden, no grass ,trees or anything...on the up
side we got to do whatever we wanted (with in a budget) and make it ours.


This summer my husband and I, our daughters, friends and willing victims
got busy with us...thank-you sooo much ...we couldn't have done
it with out everyones help.



We knew that we had to plant a large tree in front
of the deck off the back of the house.  Hopefully  in a few years
 it will give us shade and  privacy.











We actually had to build a gabien wall along that far fence you
see in this picture and raise the level of soil up about
3 feet. These fence panels were from Rona on sale and
my daughter and I stained them tudor.  Then we rolled
out a ton of sod and a few plants were planted. 

Here are a few fall pictures..














Have a super day
Abby 
:)