2015 YEAR IN REVIEW PART 2

The New Year is moving at warp speed.  I'm hoping that by the months end I might truly say, "Ahhhhh..time to relax and just do what I want to do...sleep really late, read a lot of books, catch up on magazines, and write at least two blog posts a week.  Maybe organize and clean up a lot of cluttered spaces in my home as well"(okay, scratch that, this is supposed to be about fun).  But you know, just stuff I want to do, not 'have' to do.  But as per usual, I'm filling in spaces on the calendar with appointments and social gatherings.  I have to get tests done that were ordered at my yearly physical in December, new audiology testing, the mammogram...I should just pack a bag and spend a few days in the hospital.  We have friends to meet up with as we were all too busy the past few weeks.  Our Elsie has  her first birthday coming up and a great celebration planned.  I have a birthday coming up, too, but we won't talk about that.  ;-)  So the coming weeks look busy but I have high hopes for some down time after. 

So here is Part 2 of 2015 in review.  I know I do this more for me but I hope you enjoy.  I left you off in June, 2015 in my last post with a broken arm and weeks of miserable physical therapy.  But still, we planned and had a wonderful 4th of July party because in the past we always had one at the lakehouse.  Those celebrations were huge, so many friends and family members that many stayed in a motel nearby.  Great days of boating, swimming, eating grilled foods, homemade salads and appetizers, playing in the sand and a new-found activity---racing kayaks.  We upped the ante by pairing young and old, and guys and girls as teams.  You must use your imagination here, I don't want to hurt feelings.  Yay young and older gals won two years straight!!

So many good times but our backyard 4th party here in the city was fabulous, too.  

Milo is poking thirteen years old with a short stick so I made a Bucket List for him.  It mostly consists of spending a minimum of three hours per day outdoors with me.  A win/win.  If I let him and Layla outside alone, they do their number and then sit on the porch forlornly looking for me to let them in.  When I'm out with them they are happy and frolicking and looking for squirrels.  So we did that a lot this past summer.  My puttering in the garden and reading on the patio makes for some great 'Me' time.  They trot along behind me looking for sticks and sniffing for buried walnuts.  We can learn a lot from dogs.  All they want is to eat, sleep, play and be loved.  Sounds good to me.  

Watching little Elsie grow like a bean sprout was fun in itself.  I had heard the saying, "If I had known grandchildren were so much fun I would have had them first."  So true.  She's a delight.  I am looking pretty ratty here, it was the 4th and I was a crazed woman dealing with thirty guests and a broken arm I didn't realize I had.  And humidity does a number on the hair.  Ouch :)

August was an absolutely perfect time to get away and off we went to my niece's wedding in Louisville.  My brother has lived down there forever and it's always fun to visit.  We took advantage of it this year by staying a few extra days but you might just want to read the post.  Jaime and Garrett live in Brooklyn.  Jaime is a writer and very successful.  Garrett is just so fun, I think he and Jaime are a perfect match.  One of these days we'll get to NYC and visit them.  They said their vows on a hotel rooftop overlooking the Ohio River.  The reception was wonderful and The Husband and I met up with so many relatives we normally don't see.  It was a fabulous night.  

My brother, John and me.  He retired from teaching a few years ago and then went back to administration a few days a week...I guess golf year round is pretty much non-existent in their parts!  lol! He was also a baseball and football coach for many years and inducted into the Indiana Hall of Fame.  May I brag a little?  And I know you won't believe it, but this handsome guy just turned 68.  

A bit blurry but The Husband and I had breakfast with the family the next morning and then went off to explore the different  parts of Louisville.  It was so fun.  A full day of browsing shops and bookstores, stopping here and there for coffee and later some craft beers.  We really had a great time and plan to head back soon.

This was also the year that my baby, Abigail Jane, left home and The Husband and I became empty nesters.  I didn't like it one bit and still don't.  I would gladly welcome all four of our children back home again.  Abby moved to the Northside of Chicago and rents a coach house with three girlfriends.  Thankfully, she comes home a few times month.  We turned her room into a guest room and I joke, she's our only guest!  We're very proud of her, she teaches high school English in a predominately Hispanic school, that's difficult, I'm sure.  And it's hard to believe sometimes that she's just a few years out of college herself and preparing her students for the same.  She does however, mentor so many young kids who identify with her and this fall she started coaching girls basketball.  Where she gets her energy, well, it's not from me! lol!

August was another huge time in our lives when our oldest son married the love of his life, Deirdre.  It was a beautiful wedding(you can read about it here), and they are truly perfect for each other.  Deirdre is so very sweet and fun.  She has a fantastic career and travels quite a bit.  And she's so great for Jeff.  He's a ball of energy and has a very successful business of his own. He recently started hiking big time as well as mountain climbing.  He has goals for some large expeditions in various places next summer.  I'm very proud but a mother worries, of course. 

Near the end of September The Husband and I planned a little trip winding down to our place in Asheville, NC.  We love the South and rather than just flying into Asheville, we like to come in from another area and then do a road trip to see various cities and towns along the way.  This year we flew into Nashville.  We loved it.  The best part was staying in a little log cabin in Franklin, TN., just outside Nashville.  The town is known for its great downtown shopping area filled with various shops and restaurants.  Our little cabin was on a huge acreage of land once owned by Wynona Judd and then Sheryl Crow.  We were really star-struck!! And it was a really cute place.  You can read more in my September 2015 post.

Driving through Tennessee was a beautiful experience.  The Husband must have exclaimed every five minutes, "Look at all of these fences!"  For some reason he thought that was unbelievable.  For me, I never really saw anything inside of the fences but maybe for a few horses.  No cattle or sheep or goats or chickens...can someone explain (this is the Midwestern girl in me talking)?   But the fences were beautiful as was the landscape.  We stayed in Nashville, Franklin and Gatlinburg.  I refrain from talking about Gatlinburg only because of my never ending fear of bears which was always at the forefront of my mind.  And I was so excited to find a rustic cabin in the woods to stay at and then never ventured outside of it once I saw how remote and wild it was.  Well...wild to me.   Ha!

Fall is always welcome here.  I did my share of decorating, much of which I posted.  We love autumn here in the upper Midwest and always hope for an Indian Summer.  I think we got it.  That and a very rainy and mild winter so far.  

Granddaughter Elsie grows like a weed, she's at such a fun stage now.  She's almost walking.  I can't take enough pics.   When I'm with her memories of holding my own young daughters come flooding back.  Things come full circle and I'm constantly amazed how life has so many twists and turns...just when you think the best of times are in the past, your heart awakens to new joys. 

We had a full house for Thanksgiving dinner and an even more full house for dessert.  That's how our  family works.  Yes, I get stressed out but I think most of us would with 15 to 20 guests. Still, it's such a great time.  This is a small part of out table.  As it turned out, we did a sort of buffet and everyone sat where they wanted.  Much more informal and perfect for our large group.  

And finally, Christmas.  I can't believe that we ultimately bought our tree and decorated the fireplace just five days before the 25th.  I've never been this late in the game.  I simply can't point my finger at any one thing but I do know that for once, I wasn't racing against time, I was looking for the right time.  That made it okay.  I kept things at a minimum although I don't necessarily call that a victory cry.  Sometimes I think we have to stop the over-glorification of 'simple', 'uncluttered', 'frugal'.  We  set the bar too high sometimes and make those who actually don't have issues with those things feel inferior.  Let's be fair and good friends and just do what we love to do.  :)

Another picture of Elsie.  I was reading the new issue of The Dr. Oz magazine and he was writing about welcoming his second grandchild.  How it was a blank slate; millions of paths, choices and opportunities for this grandson of his.  And that led to his thoughts on what we adults do.  We have goals and plans to be our best, to reach our potential, yet we mistakenly feel defeated by worrying about the hard work...the actual 'doing'.  And worry we do!   So sometimes we never get past that desire or goal because we fear defeat and that's sad.  We have to start somewhere and I think the pain of regretting we didn't try is beyond and worse than the pain we feel when we push ourselves out of our comfort zones.  Hey---Dr. Oz and and I are old pals! lol!

I was so surprised and I'm not sure why except for maybe some sort of brain fog from the holiday happenings, that I never made up a 'word' for 2016, nor a resolution.  So many of us say we don't make resolutions, and that's okay.  I simply do it because I'm the sort who likes to look forward, not back.  My future is a clean slate and I can flow along like I'm on my kayak or I can make out a plan.  Either way, I'm moving forward and that's just perfect for me.  I guess right now I'm just floating...I usually have goals and I make concrete, old fashioned written down plans to achieve them.  But I only had a vague idea this year, again, no word or well thought out plan.  I'd love to wrap this up by saying I do know why it's been difficult,  that it's 'this' or 'that', but I'm just feeling right now that the clouds are going to part soon and I'll have some clarity.  Can I just say that I'm going to chip away at it as I go along?  That goals are a beautiful thing but right now my goal is to give myself a break from goals?  

In a few months I'll be at the lake in Michigan in the warm sun, paddling around the anchored boat with Milo on a floatie while The Husband fishes for bass.  We'll grill hamburgers and steaks and drink Blue Moon under the stars.  We'll bring the gardens back to life (and I'll wrestle with the wisteria!).  Here in the city we will finally redo the wretched chipped  porch and driveway.  I'll add to my perennial garden beds and we may get around to cleaning up 30 years of junk in the basement.  And that glorious home in Asheville?  A trip or two and hopefully visits with the lovely people I've met through blogging that live there....amazing, the best and in a place we never thought we'd return to.  Let it be learned...anything is possible.

I hope you enjoyed Part 1 and that Part 2 hasn't bored you to tears!  I do it for myself so very  much...I love to see at a glance what the year was like.  

Now I feel very behind because we are well into the first week of January and I'm reminiscing, but I'll give all of you time to read and fully comment and then I'll bring you up to date on what's happening around here now.

Love and Happy New Year!!!

Jane x

2015 YEAR IN REVIEW (PART 1)

New Years Eve 2014/2015

I love doing A Year In Review, I think I've done a few over the past few years and they're always fun to reread.  Whether you use your blog to document moments or crafts or projects, how nice is it to have a little wrap up of what you accomplished in a year?  If you are a treasured friend to my blog or just visiting for the first time to listen to my normal drivel, this is a post for you.  In any event, I love writing and I hope you enjoy seeing something new or just having your memory jogged.  

The Husband and I usually have a really quiet New Year's Eve.  We've been known to go to bed before midnight only to wake up to neighborhood fireworks and even the clanging of pots and pans from porches (yes, we also did that when our kids were young, too---they loved their part in the celebrations!).  

For a bit of fun, I make a little spread, usually the standard cheese and crackers left over from Christmas and a few dips and spreads.  Last year I embellished our cheese board with cookie cutter cut cheese slices.  Sort of festive, don't you think?  Just today I invited the kids to pop over early if they were or weren't going out on the town, perhaps to get together early.  Today I made a wonderful Asiago and White Bean Dip that you can find later in this post, lobster cakes, and I have various cheeses and fruit along with some extra bubbly from Christmas.  Happy, Happy New Year from all of us here!

January--A Baby Shower

January marked the first of many  celebrations with a baby shower for daughter in law, Mary Clare. Emily and I did our best to make it an occasion for her to remember.  We do have catering for so many of our parties especially with restaurants on every corner.  For this we worked our little bums off making homemade sandwiches, spreads, various trays of savory bites and delicious sweet treats.  Some family members contributed to the menu as well.  Here is a photo of some of our spread.  I made a variety of small finger sandwiches, it was time consuming but fun and I learned a lot, especially about presentation.  We saved tons of money by purchasing items from The Dollar Store of all places, like these faux silver trays, which I washed up and saved, as well as cute little signs we picked up at Michael's to write the names of the different foods on.  I think we pulled off a successful party.  

Katie, Mary Clare, Nora and Mother Peggy...a beautiful family!

A much awaited birth

And then Elsie Jane arrived February 10, 2015.  Is she not the most beautiful baby?  Love, love, love.

February, Downtown Chicago

My own birthday is February 3.  Figures I'd be born in the most miserable month of the year.  Want to hear something crazy?  There are six girls (siblings) in my family. Two of us were born in February, two in August and two in October.  My parents couldn't have planned that if they wanted!

I like to spend my birthday in downtown (Chicago).  I love the Knickerbocker Hotel, we've been longtime guests, in fact my 40th birthday party was a surprise there.  Last year we had my birthday lunch at Ralph Lauren's restaurant, 4:00 tea at the Drake Hotel and a light dinner at our hotel.  We took a walk across the street at the start of a huge snowstorm (another perk of a February birthday) for cocktails, again at the Drake Hotel.  My kind of celebration!

Disaster at the lakehouse

Havoc ensued the first week of March.  A neighbor who keeps an eye on our lakehouse in Michigan called us one morning to tell us to get there quickly, a major disaster had occurred. We arrived to 

find out that a pipe in the wall of the upstairs bathroom had broken and that water had gushed for approximately three weeks.  You can only imagine the devastation we found.  The above pictures are of the hardwood floors we had just laid a few years ago.

The cabinets in the laundry/mud room completely fell off the walls.  Floors buckled and drywall was soaked.  Within days of the insurance company stepping in, walls were stripped down to studs as the house was dried out by industrial size fans and mold treatments were applied.  Every piece of furniture and decorative piece in our house was taken away in a moving van---not sure where. 

So here we are in late December.  After a lot of negotiating with the insurance company, demolition has started.  We missed a whole year at our place and the work is not expected to be finished for 6 months.  Very sad but I have to keep a perspective.  We were never without a place to live as some people are after a major flood or fire.  We were quite happy to find that spending a summer here in the city after 25 years at the lake wasn't so bad after all.  We kept quite busy.  No boating or kayaking, no long days daydreaming on the dock or bonfires in the evening.  But heck, we had a roof over our heads and in the long run, our lakehouse will be complete in a few months with nothing left to repair or redo for a very long time.  :)

Finally Spring

Spring arrived in April and my daffodil and tulip beds always makes me smile and think of new beginnings.  Each year I add a few more bulbs...I love to get out into the fresh air but truth be told, April in Chicago can still be in the 40's.  But we are a tough bunch!

By mid-May we are adding flowers here and there, I love my planter boxes.  This year I went for a bit of the blowzy feel.  So pretty.

I added a trellis to a brick wall along the back of my house and in spite of it being westward facing, my clematis grew beautifully.  I was so happy to see it bloom from June until September.  What a beauty!

It was a very sad and scary time when our Milo had a huge lump on his thigh diagnosed as a cancerous tumor.  The surgery was 'iffy' and very expensive but we love him so.  He made it through with flying colors and our veterinarian was very sure he got all of the tumor.  Once thought to be a fatty tumor by another vet, please consider getting another opinion.  Milo is doing fine but we keep a close eye on him.  As far as the cone he wore for two weeks, my heart ached but he survived !  :)

Oh---and how can we forget klutzy old me.  The last week of June I made the bad choice of climbing on a chair to turn off a ceiling fan.  The chair was on a hardwood floor and it totally slipped out from under me.  I tried to break the fall with my left arm.  The next day The Husband took me to a small random clinic where after X-rays I was told I had a sprain.  10 days later and after cleaning, shopping and preparing for a 4th of July celebration for 30, I was still in miserable pain.  I made an appointment with a specialist only to find I had fractured my arm in 3 places.  Could you hear me cursing?  This wrap came off and a cast went on.  After three weeks I started physical therapy.  6 months later I still have a lot of pain, especially with movement around the wrist area.  Once things calm down in a few weeks I may have it looked at again...just not sure it healed properly.

This is a gorgeous, healthy and delicious tomato salad.  Below you can find some of my concocted recipes and links.  It was a great year of making and sharing recipes.  These are some of my best loved and Pinned dishes.

Roasted Veggies and a Dry Rub For Meats

Strawberry Tart

Chicken Marsala & Tomato Salad

White Bean, Asiago and Onion Spread

Grilled Steak Tacos with Fire Roasted Salsa & Veggies

Strawberry TartWhite Bean, Asiago and Onion Spread

Last but not least was Elsie's christening.  Her gown was made with a piece of Mary Clare's wedding dress.  Isn't it precious?  It's hard to believe that little girl is now 10 months old.  We had a wonderful Christmas with her and all of our family.  I will share that in Part 2.

I want to wish everyone a wonderful, healthy and prosperous New Year.  I simply love and appreciate  all of you.  There are times when I feel that my time and energy for blogging is waning and then I remind myself that writing is my true love and that knowing great souls like yourselves make it all worth it.  

I'll be back next week with more from July to December.  I hope you've enjoyed this post, especially so many new friends-and you know who you are.  So many adventures ahead...so many great memories behind.  And every day a new beginning.

Love to all and Happy New Year!

Jane x

CHRISTMAS HERE, LOVE ALL AROUND

Merry 'Day After' Christmas, everyone!  Is it a relief or a bit of wanting the magic to last?  I'm enjoying my tree and the beautiful glow in the living room.  I was so crazy for the last three weeks, we popped that tree up last week and I did the mantel last Sunday knowing the clock was winding down.  I'm going to enjoy the ambiance of it all for the next few weeks (or as long as I can take all the happy, happy, happy in the room).  Space is very tight so I know I'll get tired of maneuvering around things at some point.

You can't see much but I managed to do my own ribbon on the tree and The Husband helped decorate  with the ornaments.  That was a first.  He also bought a beautiful new manger for under the tree and he positioned a light over it...magical.  

I wanted to do a Winter Wonderland on my mantel, I think I mentioned that in a previous post.  I had most of everything I needed from past mantel endeavors.  I've always loved something that reflects the outdoors as well.  I found the large wood tree in the center at Marshall's a few weeks ago but everything else was in my storage.  Thank goodness for Emily last Sunday.  I was at a loss.  For some reason I felt so little creativity this year.  I guess I left you hanging in my last post but I lost a cousin to cancer the week before.  That and a few other things were hanging a dark cloud over my head.  But we have to solider on and I did.  Em came over and grabbed few things out of my bins and helped me put up my little white 'forest'.  I try to keep it simple but the fireplace and mantel are so big.  Still, I think this is great and I'm still basking in the glow.

I so love pulling out the ornaments, especially when I find a few from the after Christmas sales and a some I picked up on trips.  Can you see the bear ornament on the bottom in the center?  I bought that in Gatlinburg this past September when we (or I) was positive we were surrounded by black bears everywhere we stayed and went.  I shudder to think of it!  I have a really obsessive fear of bears and that's pretty weird for a city girl.  lol!

We had days of crazy fun and celebrations.  Emily had the first get-together December 23rd with a full house of-gosh, who knows how many?  We had grab bags and played a crazy trivia game with our cell phones that I couldn't begin to explain.  I think I nearly peed my pants several times.  SO fun!  We started at 6:00 and ended at 2:00 a.m.  I was up at 8:00 to do the rest of my baking, wrapping and preparing food for Christmas morning.  I was determined and just a wee bit tired.  

Christmas Eve was spent at son Jeff and Deirdre's home.  He had Chicken Scaloppini catered and another outrageous gift grab bag.  This one involved a few rolls of the dice and passing your gift to the left and right--I decided to be in the audience this year.  Ha!  We were home a little earlier that night but since I'm a procrastinator and fly by the seat of my pants, I was up until 4 a.m. making a breakfast casserole and wrapping the last of the gifts.  I shouldn't have bothered going to bed as we were all up at 9 getting ready for our brunch.  Abby was a big help with last minute fluffing, lighting candles and a lot of fussiness.  That helped.  ;-)

I wish I had taken pictures of all of the sweets I made.  Boxes of goodies for many family members and friends;  chocolate pretzels, sugar cookies, almond bark and sugared pecans.  

I found these little boxes at Michael's and they make the most simple little cookies and candies look like something from a fancy bakery.  How good can it get?  But I had so many baking mishaps.  I meticulously cut out sugar cookie snowflakes and then I had a whole baking sheet of them flip right into the oven as I went to place them on the rack...just like whoops, the whole sheet of dough fell on to the bottom of my oven and started to burn and smoke.  And I had just cleaned the oven before Thanksgiving!  I also made cheesecake squares that stuck to the bottom of  the pan and then if that was not enough, two whole pans of white cake were baked a little too long and cracked like earthquakes before I could frost them.  No desserts as promised at two parties.  And lastly, an appetizer I promised for Em's party-I forgot to buy the cheese.  The swearwords coming out of my kitchen were not meant for the faint of heart.  But we survived. ;-)

A little Elsie time.  She was the highlight of Christmas morning in our home.  We always have a wonderful and somewhat wild time with a big brunch and plenty of mimosa's.  But truly, having a baby in the house made it beyond magical.  Wow, it brought me back to the days when our son Kevin, Elsie's dad, was in his sleeper PJ's with the padded feet, opening his presents on Christmas morning. I have to say, Elsie is quite the pro at opening her gifts...she loves the paper but definitely knows there is something under it!  We found this set of 'old time' blocks in a wagon on our trip to Cedarburg, WI., in November.  

I think all of the kids were happy with the gifts from Mrs. Claus, or whom I'm referred to as.  I really love 'dressing' the guys, I know most of them could use a few new shirts and a nice sweater or two.  I love giving the girls jewelry and candles and scarves.  The biggest and best surprise The Husband and I received from the kids was tickets to The Carole King Musical as well as a generous gift card for a hotel or restaurant of our choice.  I am so excited.  Jeff saw it in New York a few weeks ago, I was happy to hear he really liked in spite of not really knowing who she is!  My gift from the Husband was my favorite perfume with my name etched on the bottle.  This year I gave him a new watch, very thin and stylish with a black leather strap.  

Finally, Christmas dinner was hosted by daughter in law, Mary Clare's mother, Peggy.  They are all so gracious.  A nice sit down dinner of Chateaubriand, mashed potatoes, asparagus and rolls.  And homemade bread pudding for dessert.  Heaven!  A wonderful Christmas gift for their family was the birth of little Cecelia five days prior.  You remember Katie, MC'S sister?  She and Kevin are proud parents and Margot has a new little sister.  

I could have brought her home with me.  Welcome to our world CeCe!

So that was Christmas here in Blondieville.  I have the house somewhat back in order and in spite of all the time spent in the kitchen the past few days, we haven't had a normal home cooked meal here in a long time so maybe I'll do that today.   

Thanks for the Christmas wishes!  I will be posting a 'Year In Review" this coming week.  I love doing those-at least for myself.  lol!  Helps to keep my life a little more straight!

See ya soon!

Jane x

A LITTLE CHRISTMAS DECORATING

Ho Ho Ho.  How does it go?  I am so, so behind the eight ball and I'm not kidding.  I joke about not being able to do a home tour but I'm very serious.  And yet, while I really love to see every decorated home and porch and vignette on blogs and IG, I no longer feel I have to speed things up to post pictures.  This year I'm slower than usual.  I've been in a sort of slump.   Not feeling very creative and also in the dumps for many personal reasons.  I mentioned that we brought the bins of Christmas decorations up, we even bought our tree last Friday.  Hmmmm...is it already Thursday?  lol!  The other day I was at the grocery store and I saw this precious Lemon Cypress and it jumped into my cart.  I know without a doubt it will most likely succumb to my brown thumb with houseplants in a few weeks.  For now it makes me happy.  And I picked up a little crate of orange 'cuties'.  I love to stud them with cloves.  Limes, too.  I no longer have time for fancy designs, I just poke them in for the  lovely scent.  So that was that for my dining table.  Beyond simple but so happy.  Yet there are years when I like to pull out all of the cute decorations and treasures I've accumulated over 30 years.  My home is small but I sometimes make huge vignettes of snowmen, angels, sparkly anything...a fever dream of It's A Wonderful Life and The Grinch Who Stole Christmas.  Seriously.  But not too often and not this year.  

Lesson learned, we can surround ourselves with 'happy' by surrounding ourselves with what we love, no matter what season or holiday, no matter how big or small.  Sometimes the less elaborate, the better.  I see so many simplistic ideas for Christmas homes, small trees barely decorated.  Clean uncluttered counters and islands with a few natural touches.  Mantels and tables with real greenery, pinecones and fruit.  I love it all.  Over 20 years ago I would cut branches from the evergreens in our backyard.  The scent of them on my mantel and window sills was intoxicating.  I had simple battery operated candles in every window and I added fruit; apples, pears, pomegranates and limes on top of the greenery on the mantel.  The old is new again.  

In order to fit our tree, which by the way looked so small at the garden center, into our living room, we have to rearrange furniture and a piece  usually goes into our bedroom.  Space is tight there as well, but The Husband loves a cozy little space to read.  I find him here early in the morning with the sun coming up.  He's an early riser and well, I could sleep until noon if I didn't have an alarm clock (cell phone setting).  I don't spend a lot of time adding anything to our room, it's really tough to keep it uncluttered as it is with all of our books, magazines, framed pictures and personal stuff.  Nope, if a room is on the small size you have to keep things minimal.  More on that further down.

We have two full baths which is a luxury in an old and small house in the city.  I love this particular bathroom especially since Abby is no longer here to turn it into a disaster zone.  Truth be told, I'd rather have her here than a tidy little bath.   But its fun to decorate with the white wood planks and light gray walls.  I keep things neutral and simple, it's just the way I like the room no matter what the season. That little grapevine wreath on the right spells out 'Merry Christmas' on little tags.  I made that last year...me and all my thumbs. ;-D

The bathroom we use the most and the one off the hall near the living room and kitchen (as in guests use it, too), gets a little more attention and personality.  Right now I have a yellow floral shower curtain and yellow accents.  Very spring-like so I'm going to switch that out with a blue ticking stripe curtain and pale blue towels.  I'm going to use what I have and I think this will be nice for the winter. In the meantime, I have a homemade mason jar candle holder filled with faux snow and a whimsical little piggy with a Santa hat.  I think this confirms that I'm somewhat weird.  

The only holiday-ish thing I have in our master bedroom is a wreath with berries in the window and I love how our neighbors lit up stars shine through as a back light.  I also have a poinsettia 

plant and that's it.  Restraint is usually hard for me but for now I just keep rummaging through the bins and containers, picking and choosing a few things here and there for each room.  My favorites are pillows and throws I've accumulated over the years.  They are fun and serve a purpose.  I almost hate to pack them away in January but it makes it a little more exciting to pull them out in December.  :)

I've been so, so slow!  It's very typical of me and I have no idea why, but the more behind I am on something, the slower I move.  Go figure.  I'm so  determined to enjoy the process, of anything and everything.  When we are getting ready for a night out on the town, I spend way too much time on my makeup and hair, picking out my clothes and jewelry no matter how late it's getting.  I come home with groceries and while the the milk gets warm and the ice cream melts, I clean out the refrigerator and organize the cabinets.  I'm just nuts.  So I have all this stuff to do and here I am everyday spending hours not just wrapping gifts but precisely arranging the tissue paper, making every folded corner perfect and then embellishing each present with all sorts of string and ribbon and tags...little jingle bells and snowflakes.  It never ends.  I love the motto, "Anything worth doing is worth doing right."  When my kids were young I was like a factory worker getting the gifts wrapped in record time.  Christmas Eve I would slap bows on them.  Of course their tiny little fingers didn't care about any of this.  Now I love to put time and creativity into it.  Still...I have so many other things to do and I'm wondering if I should give myself some slack.

Emily was telling me she knew a gal who wrapped her gifts in a different paper for each recipient.  And I've seen where people use wrapping paper and ribbon to coordinate with their holiday color scheme.  I couldn't do this if I tried.  I pick out paper according to my mood, what appeals to me at the time.  I was sort of proud of myself for sort of sticking to some paper and tags in the same color scheme but otherwise I'm all over the place.  Great idea but I'm just me.  My tree is filled with a myriad of ornaments going back to the little handcrafted treasures my kids made to my periods of loving nature one year and bling the next.  What a hodge podge I have and my gift wrap is the same.  I will tell you, the Target dollar spot had the most insane tags, I found everything from tiny chalkboard wood rounds to little birch squares.  And I can't tie a bow for the life of me so I used a lot of jute twine which didn't require anything fancy.  I had tons of wrap and ribbon and tags from last year as well so this was quite an inexpensive endeavor.  I wish time was so aplenty as well.  

Friday The Husband and I went to the nursery we've always gone to for our tree.  I think I've posted pictures and stories of it many times over the last 6 years I've blogged.  It looks so beautiful at night and the shop has beautiful plants, wreaths and decorations---you name it.  So when we got there late Friday afternoon I mentioned how deserted everything looked.  And then once inside there were probably a total of 15 trees.  I know the owners and employees quite well, I get my flowers and plants here in the spring and summer.  I was told that their tree supplier failed to come through and this (the remaing 15 trees) was all they would have.  I almost cried.  This has always been a Christmas tree wonderland.  I thought about the barrenness of it all, the loss of business in the shop, the employees out of work, the huge loss of profit.  My brain was scrambling for ideas...could they possibly hook up with a Wisconsin Christmas tree farm with a bumper crop?  Buy out a corner parking lot just to bring people into the shop for business?  I felt like we needed a Hallmark movie intervention.  Well, it is what it is.    

The tree in the forefront of this photo is the one we chose.

Our little Elsie's first Christmas and Kevin and Mary Clare's holiday card.  Is she not beautiful?  Our kids do make perfect little ones!  We love all of them so much.  

My tree is still sitting naked as a jaybird.  The Husband and I keep planning to put the lights on each evening and then after dinner we look at each other and say, "Nah..."  Tomorrow definitely.  I have dough frozen for cookies, recipes for candies and all sorts of holiday baking to give as gifts to extended family.  I have more shopping to do online and a brunch menu to plan for Christmas morning (and to shop for).  Emily is having a pre-Christmas Eve party for one side of the family, son Jeff is having the other side over for Christmas Eve. We will have Christmas dinner at Kevin and Mary Clare's home.   I want to help with appetizers and desserts.  We have a dinner with friends on Saturday.  I know all of you think I'm busy as heck but this time you are right.  I'm ready for a nervous breakdown!! lol!  Next year I vow not to have such lofty ideas or I will start doing all of my holiday stuff in August. 

I probably won't get back here until after Christmas, not sure why.  Ha!  And in spite of all of my lamenting and complaining, I really do rejoice in the true meaning of Christmas.   That and the love we feel for family, friends and mankind is reason enough to push ourselves to do and be our best.    So I'm wishing all of you and yours a very happy and blessed Christmas.  Many thanks for your support and love each and every year.  I hope I've returned that, all of you ladies are so incredibly wonderful and I'm so proud to call you friends.  That said, love, peace and joy to all !

Jane xxx 

  

CHRISTMAS DECORATING & FINDING TREASURES EVERYWHERE

I hope all of your holiday plans are underway and going well.  I know so many of us are shopping, wrapping gifts, decorating and baking.  And well, if you aren't, call me over and give me a hot drink and a few cookies so we can relax and chat and feel the real spirit of Christmas.  I need the diversion!  Actually, I've been slacking off.  I get  few things done here and there and then I get immersed in a book or movie or making an involved dinner for The Husband and that is totally unnecessary.  I guess it's all about playing the relaxation thing by ear.  And procrastination, which is my middle name.   ;-)

I think I showed you the hot mess of Christmas stuff my guy and I brought up from storage last Saturday.  I've barely touched it.  When I packed everything away last January I thought I was so clever storing decorations from each room in separate bins.  That's just not working for me now.  It's just not in me to overload each and every room right now for so many reasons.  So I'm picking and choosing a few things for rooms as I peek into the bins.  It's going to be a minimal year, that's just how I'm rolling right now.

I received a text from Abigail on Tuesday that she was coming home for a few days.  Since the guest room is still sort of her room (she's been our only guest by the way), I decided to add a few little holiday touches here and there in her, errr...guest room.  I kept it a little whimsical with a bright red throw, a simple wreath above the bed, a reindeer pillow and greenery around the window with candy canes hanging off it.  She was always my 'candy cane kid".  To this day, as fast as I can get them on our Christmas tree, they simply disappear.  And we know who the sweet tooth culprit is.  So she has her own supply in her window.   

The dresser has a little bowl of colorful ornaments and a mini Charlie Brown Tree. It has a lone red ornament and that little blue blanket wrapped around the bottom, just like in the classic, A Charlie Brown Christmas.  I found this at Kohl's years ago and I love it.  I also found some weird little green sticks at Michael's that smell so much like a real fir tree.  I poked some here and there in the room and it smells like a freshly cut tree. I think she was honestly impressed and happy that we did this for her.  She works a 10-12 hour day teaching and it's finals time.  She also coaches 11th grade girls basketball and some games take them all over the city and she might not get home until after 9:00 p.m.  I know she's young but she's also exhausted.  Having her old familiar room (albeit it much neater), I hope, is a sanctuary for her.  

I did a little work on my mantel.  I'm doing a sort of winter wonderland tree theme.  I had everything nailed until I came to a little empty space.  I wanted to keep things neutral and the only thing I had on hand was this little old tree that I can't even remember using in recent years.  I looked up my friend, Sherry, at Thrift My House.  She recently gave a tutorial on how to 'flock' a tree with ingredients you have on hand.  You can see it here.  Alas, I had everything but shaving foam.  The Husband uses the old fashioned mug, bar of soap and little brush.  Gramps.  Ha!  So I remembered a little box of craft things I had and sure enough, I had a can of white spray paint.  

After a few wickedly cold trips out to the garage and 1000 coats of paint, I had this.  I hope it doesn't look too lame.  The look on my mantel is white so I wanted to keep that.  And don't worry, no trees were killed in the process of decorating the mantel.  :)

Some things show up in the most  unsuspected places.  In our storage room downstairs (Emily's old room) there is a closet.  I lifted up a few odds and ends and found a box filled with various holiday pieces from years ago that I had forgotten about.  And here was my swan.  He used to be out year round and one year I tied a ribbon around his neck and we were perfect for Christmas.  I don't know how I forgot about him but I can honestly say, it was a happy moment.  It's not anything really special to anyone but me, but aren't these little things close to our hearts, the little touches and secrets (like making a guest room a wonder filled and merry place for a certain someone), sometimes the greatest gifts of all?

I did a little bit in the den, too.  Just a few months ago it was a dark dreary room with old Victorian style wallpaper and outdated furniture.  We simply didn't use it at all.  Now it's my favorite little room.  I read, watch TV and use my laptop in here.  I added a lantern with a Christmas candle on a cabinet, a little boxwood wreath on the wall, the little swan, and this berry garland on the French door that leads to a hallway.  I'm learning that less is more.  After 30 years!  Ha!

Today Emily called me last minute, she had to pick up some holiday gift certificates in a little area not far from us near the Metra train that goes downtown.  There are a few streets around here that have many independently owned shops; everything from coffee, antique and gift shops, to bookstores and art galleries   A sort of 'small town' life right here in Chicago.  After getting her gifts and a stop at a little Italian deli where I needed a few dinner things, we popped into a little consignment/second hand shop and my eyes gravitated to these wrought iron tree sculptures.  They are a minimum 24 inches high and very heavy.  And the shocker---$10 for the set of two.  I've never been in this shop and can't wait to go back.  I saw a few other things that I think would be perfect for the lakehouse.  And by the way, I know I haven't  brought you up to date much on the progress there, mostly because there has been no progress, but we are in week three of the demolition aspect.  I am so beyond happy.  I pray that by the time the warmer weather comes that we have heat and plumbing and we can go up on weekends and do our outdoor thing.  Oh, how I miss that place!

I've never been able to get a good sunset picture here, the trees and homes and power lines get in the way.  I happened to see this vivid pink sky about 5 p.m. last night when I let the dogs out into the backyard.  The photo doesn't do it justice.  Our temps have been in the 50's, maybe that's why we had such a beautiful sky.  How pretty can it get?

I wish I could catch the Christmas Home Tour train but I'm just a little too slow.  I do love looking at all of the blogs participating, I get so many ideas!  Thanks to those who share, you are all incredible!

Happy Holidays!

Jane x