Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Surprise Gift!

Greetings, friends!
 
I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas with your family and friends and are able to take a deep breath and relax a bit now that it's all over! 
 
As for my gang, we're still cleaning up bits of wrapping paper here and there, as well as starting the daunting task of Christmas "take down." (ugh)
 
But, before I forge ahead, I simply had to give a "shout out" to my sweet husband for surprising me with this beauty for Christmas:

 
I had *noooo* idea that he was going to do that and can't wait to get to know it better (although, admittedly, I'm a bit intimidated by its fancy lenses and *grown up* features)!  If you're a Nikon D3100 owner and have any tips and tricks you'd like to share, I'm all ears!
 
Until then, you can find me in an OCD panic, as I deal with boxes, glitter and *mess* everywhere!
 
Happy New Year!
 
Becca


Saturday, December 22, 2012

Oh, Christmas TreeS!

Yup, it's me ... again!
 
Just when you thought you were done seeing my Christmas  posts, I thought I'd spring one more on ya' before the big day!
 
I'll make this easy though ... not many words ... just pictures of a few things that I had yet to share.
 
First up, the tree in my husband's office ...


dressed in deep reds, dark greens, golds and browns and another crazy tree topper ...


full of our "12 days of Christmas" ornaments,
 
 

along with a vintage golfing Santa or two.


Moving on over to little man's playroom ... you never know who you'll find on his tree ...

 
There's Frosty flying around,


and even a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle ready to attack anyone who dares to mess with any of the ornaments.


In Jax's bedroom, I added a small table-top tree:


dressed in all things sports.


And, sp*eaking* of sports ... step on out to my husband's man cave, where I treated him to a NY Yankees tree (my apologies if you're not a fan).


For fun, I added a few things you'd find on a day at the ballpark, such as popcorn,

 
boxes of cracker jacks and an ice cold Budweiser.
 
 
Lastly, we'll cruise on over to our bedroom.  This tree is dressed in colors of blues, creams and golds to match our room's color palette:
 
 
Fleur-de-lis ornaments (from Dillard's) sparkle in the light,
 
 
as do words of "Joy,"
 
 
and a wild and crazy tree topper.
 
 
I'm a bit sad that, not only will our trees be coming down next week, but our festive Christmas cards will, too (idea from Pinterest),
 
 
as well as allll of this.
 
 
Are you a bit sad, like me, at how fast this holiday season has gone by, or, are you ready to start the New Year with a fresh, clean slate?
 
Merry Christmas!
 
Becca
 
 
 
 
 


Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Christmas Whimsy in the Kitchen

When I was a chubby, little girl, I would've loved to have had a Christmas kitchen, full of whimsy, complete with a tree on the island,
 
 
 
and tiny elves climbing a ladder to help "decorate,"

 
by covering the tree with ornaments made of faux candies, miniature cookie sheets and lots of yummy treats ...


and, where Mrs. Claus was waiting to offer you a gingerbread cookie.


When I was a chubby, little girl, I would've loved to have had a chalkboard on the pantry door, wishing everyone a happy *holly*day:

 
and, a yummy candy bar to sneak sweets ...


unless, this little gal tried to stop me.


When I was chubby, little girl, I would've loved to have had a Christmas kitchen with canisters full of a couple of the things you'd need to make holiday cookies ...


and little vignettes splashed everywhere to make me smile ...





I would've loved to have had a soffit covered with snow-filled garland, revealing another sign of the season ...



and, other signs and sayings splashed around, too:



As I decorate my kitchen every Christmas, I dedicate it to that pudgy, little girl who wanted a colorful and festive kitchen, dressed for the holidays.  And, what fun it is that I can now attempt to create that for my sweet baby boy, who isn't so little anymore:


I just hope he enjoys it!

 
Thanks so much for stopping by,
 
I'm joining:
 
Savvy Southern Style/WUW
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia/Tuesday's Treasures
Coastal Charm/Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
 


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Sunday, December 16, 2012

Snow in the Dining Room

Happy Sunday, friends.  Are you feeling the rush of the holidays close in on you?  I sure am and have lots of catching up to do this week!
Do you live in an area where you get snow?  Growing up in Virginia, we got our fair share of it.  I truly miss it ... especially how beautiful it made everything look, especially the trees.  Because we hardly ever get snow here in SC, I simply had to bring it into our holiday decor *some*how again this year:


And, even if my version of snow consists of store bought *faux* bags of it (from Michael's), I'll take it!  It's good to improvise, right?


A long mirror from Wal-Mart serves as the perfect runner and "base" to hold the snow:


Pretty *snow*flake plates (from Target) also make a return appearance this year.  I was excited to see that, not only did they bring back the collection this year, but that they added bowls, too:


Snowy pinecone "sprays" add a bit of fun to the backs of the dining chairs:


The sparkle and snow continues over on the buffet:



Annnd, tucked in a corner sits one of my favorite trees ... a flocked one!




Don't you just love how the branches are dripping with snow?


And, how it really makes everything glow at night:


Glittery branches top it all off:



Of course, I love the nighttime ambiance:




I wonder how many bags it would take to cover our house and yard with it for Christmas?!  Hmmmm.  I will truly be envious of those of you who get to enjoy a *real* White Christmas!

Thanks so much for stopping by,

Come and join the fun,

A Stroll Thru Life/Tabletop Tuesday
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia/Tuesday's Treasures
Savvy Southern Style/WUW
Coastal Charm/Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

Becca