THANKSGIVING WORRIES, CHRISTMAS DECORATING AND A GIVEAWAY WINNER

Thanksgiving 2014

We all have our minds on Thanksgiving, right?  Or maybe that nagging little notion in our head that we should pull out a notepad and make a grocery list.  Or just continue to watch Hallmark movies and pretend it's December 1.  As I write I'm watching Christmas With Holly (which I give up a big thumbs up to), and not having a whole lot of focus on Thanksgiving plans.  Whether I do or not, I will stress out no matter.  It's a given and nothing's going to change, so why not just watch a little mindless happy TV while the world turns?

I've taken some of the craziness out of this holiday by just sticking with the pretty little table I did last year.  And I think I'll have a very simple centerpiece although from this photo it's hard to see what I had then.  A mystery for all of us I guess! lol!  I have some ideas I've Pinned and you can find them on my boards (click the Pinterest icon on my sidebar) under Fall.  I'm looking for simple and small, I do not have a huge long harvest table that seats 18.  So if you're in my boat, look at some of these innovative and inspiring  ideas.  

Time has a way of slowing down on cold afternoons when the wind is howling outside and you have that lull after lunch and before you need to start dinner.  Friday I made a fire about 4 p.m.  I made a cup of my favorite tea, an organic green blend with lemon and spices such as cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon. Wow, so good!  And then the news about what happened in Paris came on.  I no longer felt warm and cozy--how fast our world can change.  I trust we are all praying.  

I mentioned in my last post that I was actually going to try to be crafty (and crafty to me is getting up at 10:00 a.m., making the bed as soon as my feet hit the floor so that anyone who pops in doesn't think I just rolled out of it).  So the real deal is, it's a very, very difficult sort of thing for me.  I'm all thumbs and since I'm a perfectionist at heart, I give up easily with my high expectations.  So I made this little shadow box thingy for my son and his new wife, a Christmas present.  The box itself was so terribly ugly I painted it with leftover chalk paint, distressed it a bit and lined it with vintage sheet music.  I was flipping through a book of piano tunes from the good 'ol days that I had, trying to find something romantic and appropriate should anyone decide to scrutinize the background.  I became a bit discouraged and then just started to laugh hysterically over what I was seeing.  For example:  Cheatin' On Me, Hard Hearted Hannah, How Many Hearts Have You Broken, I Wish I had My Old Girl Back Again.  Yikes!!!  This is for a newlywed couple!  I ended up using a page from Someone's Rocking My Dreamboat.  The best I could do.  The roses are dried and from the wedding bouquets.  What do you think?  Is it too foo foo?  I don't expect them to hang it above their fireplace mantel or anything but I hope it's special.  :)

I did a little bit of shopping last week with Emily at Marshall's for Christmas decor for my home.  I was really really pleased with how focused and controlled I was about what I purchased.  Many of you must know by now how obsessed I am when it comes to shopping but I'm not nuts and I am actually quite savvy.  I have an abundance of holiday treasures but I wanted to add to an idea I had brewing in my head of a sort of 'Winter Wonderland" theme for the mantel.  And I have been spreading Christmas throughout the house in the past few years so I can use everything I've accumulated in the past thirty years, and that's so a long time so you know what I mean.  Each and every room gets a touch of holiday cheer now, even the bathrooms and office.  Who doesn't love a soft cushy pillow or bright throw to curl up with?  I try to be sensible and get my run for my money.   I'm in love with these two cute pillows I found---$16 dollars?  This is simply not something you can pass up.  

And one cannot live on holiday decorations alone.  The shoe aisles will always call my name.  These were a real necessity.  Truly.  I wore them the other day and they are really comfy and looked quite good with long skinny jeans and a big sweater.  Nothing makes you feel better than when you imagine yourself looking good.  And I stress the 'imagine' part.  

I dropped in on Emily the other morning for coffee.  She and Mike bought their house with a leap of faith a month before they were married just over 2 years ago.  An old home in the city with a lot of redoing just before they bought.  She has made her signature mark in every bit of it.  Call me partial but she has been able to make each and every room beautiful, cozy and a reflection of her taste.  Sometimes I do want to kill her though...I've wanted this ladder of hers for such a long time.  It's in a corner of her kitchen near the door that leads downstairs to the laundry and storage.  It's a great use of this space, who needs an open door and stairwell to look at?  Love the tea towels and well, someday when she's not home I'm going to sneak in and steal it.  By the way, she found it at a great shop that Kris from Junk Chic Cottage took us to when we visited a few years ago.  Kris lives about an hour from us in the northwestern suburbs of Illinois.  Do you know her?  What a great lady and she has a wonderful blog.  Emily and I had a such a good time that day.  And she scored that ladder, darn her!

I'm going to end with a recent picture of Elsie.  A classic.  Mary Clare keeps an album that goes out text-wise to all of our family.  Everyone can see the latest photos and add.  This is such a cool idea and we appreciate the updates so much--babies grow so fast.  This is an unbelievable shot I think, yet every time I see a picture of this precious little girl I want to frame it.  Thank you, MC. :)

Finally, the winner of the book, The Inspired Room by Melissa Michaels is June from Laughing With Angels.  I'll be sending an email off to her.  I wish I had a copy for everyone, that's the sort of part I don't like about giveaways.  Everyone deserves that little bit of excitement and a gift in the mail.  It's like Christmas...but don't get me started on that!

See you next week!

Jane x