GOODBYE CHRISTMAS

I'm feeling a lot better, not 100%, but better than last week. Thank you for all the get well wishes, they mean so much. The days start off slow with a lot of coughing but if I keep plugging along, I get my energy back. Today I treated my self to a nice breakfast of this and this:
I'm not too big on presentation when I am hungry. But nothing beats warm cinnamon rolls and coffee on a cold morning. It was 13 degrees when I woke up and reached a high of 17. We had a little snow on Sunday but nothing to make angels in. Winter has been a little wonky here in the Midwest.
Layla and Milo had the right idea this morning. I, in fact, took a long nap, too.
Saturday had me feeling a bit better and I desperately wanted some fresh air. We had no plans for New Years Eve, so we headed out in the early afternoon and ended up at one of our favorite restaurants, Mimi's, for a late lunch/early dinner. I love the decor here, sort of like a New Orleans jazz club and the food is outstanding.
I love the upper balcony, and the atmosphere is so fun.
I started with baked French onion soup and then moved on to...
chicken crepes with mushrooms and a wonderful sauce.
Before your meal, a bread basket comes with French rolls and their own freshly baked carrot cake. You can also buy it by the loaf, which we did and we had a great evening snack with coffee.

Our afternoon wasn't just spent noshing. We stopped at the store where Emily is a designer and she had a proposal all ready for me on the family room furniture. I have been wanting to redo this room for over a year now, but had to wait for son Jeff to move out and take the existing furniture. I decided on a white slip covered cotton canvas sofa, loveseat, and chair with an ottoman. It really is a pretty set and will look so good in this sun filled room that leads out into the backyard. Now we are working on some tables and accessories and I will include some downloads in my next post...this was a little overloaded with pictures. Lest you think I have no plans to add a stamp of my own in this room, I have a huge old mirror with a gold frame that I am going to paint and I found this at Wisteria:
Isn't it wonderful? It's made out of real branches and I got it for a steal. I'm not sure what I am going to do with it, decorate it for the seasons would be one idea. Anyway, this is a fun way to star the new year and I am enjoying the process of doing the room.

Have you De~Christmasized your home yet? Last night my sweet little girl went to town taking down all the decorations and packing away bin after bin. Then she and The Husband took the lights off the tree and put it at the curb where the big chipper truck had at it this morning. Goodbye Christmas. It feels different to have the house back to normal. It looks a lot less cluttered but I do miss those colored lights. On a good note though, my paperwhites bloomed! They look so pretty, I should have included a picture.

I hope everyone had a great New Years Eve and Day. The year is in full swing now and it sounds like we are all getting our projects and organizing in line. It's fun to read all the varied posts on what everyone is up to. What are you working on? :-)

I'm joining Honey at 2805 for Potpourri Friday!!