A Little Blue

I thought I'd share a little blue with you for Christmas.  I'm sure well get a little down around this time of year with missing those we no longer have in our lives, with feeling pressure of all of the money that's spent, or just feeling plain ole "bah humbug".  But did you know the color blue can actually make you feel good?  

Our master in the basement has one window.  With the winter months, I want all of the light I can possibly have in this space.  Years ago, when this space actually had green walls with dark beadboard paneling, I had a vision of a pastel blue and white space.  

That's when I started my trek....painting everything in sight blue and white!

I am in love with this space now especially here at Christmas time!

Just look how soft and cozy everything looks!

The stairs were painted a creamy white and lots of mirrors were hung in the stairwell to reflect every ounce of light.  

I love how the mirrors reflect all the twinkly lights.

Our self made canopy bed is something I love to adorn with Christmas decor!  We really do love our bed!

Behind the curtain, I have an outlet strip attached to the wall for easy peasy access with turning on/off all of the lights.

 The pine garland with the lights really pop against  all of the white.  

I am still loving this little cheap tree from WalMart!   I am so happy I didn't go with a white tree again...the pine looks so pretty with all of the white Christmas ornaments.

Instead of putting up the vase of white roses, I decided to add the pine and pine cones.  

Instant love!

The "joy" plaque on the mirror was fount at Target for a few dollars.  I hung it with fishing line. Fishing line is my bast friend because you can't see it and it's strong enough to hold heavy objects!

I kept the mantle pretty simple this year after adding the mirror.  I think this is the prettiest it's ever been!

The battery operated lights keep it clean with no cords.  I hate seeing cords!  The NOEL blocks represent the feeling of Christmas perfectly along with the Angel wings.

Our one window doesn't go without getting something pretty.  Nice and light is my motto!

More mirrors of course...the more the better!  

One little cluster of snow pine with some ornaments adorn our armoire.  

The office area got a few touches of Christmas as well.  I bought the buffalo checked pillow for outside but fell in love with it here!  Who knew I would like a touch of black?

The grouping on top of this armoire, sparkle and glow with the mirror behind it all.This area stays a little dark since its cut off from our one window.  Our door has a window but it leads to our garage which is a little dark.

I can't remember where I found this little faux violin, but it used to be red and black.  Painting it white was a chore but it turned out beautifully and adds Christmas charm.

Pine is a staple for me when it comes to decorating for Christmas.  Adding white blooms of all sorts with pine cones does the trick with making it feel winter-y.

And what would Christmas be without Jesus?  The greatest gift of all!

I really love how the white tulle garland looks with the little pine tree.  And the light bulb ornament I made a few years ago, makes me smile.

Now tell me...doesn't blue make you feel better?

I know it does me!  I hope all of you are doing well and enjoying this holiday season.  It's my absolute favorite time of year!

I'm Back

I know...it"s been awhile.  I'll start with how I decided to allow my own website die away.  I still own my name and may start it back up later, but this is where I first started so I'll keep it for now.

So how have y'all been doing? I've tried to keep everyone in the loop with my FB and IG page. I lost all desire to blog almost a year ago.  I still can't believe that!  So here's what's been going on in my life.....

My sweetie lost his job for almost a year but then got it back.  I know that had God written all over it with justification.  God will always stand for you when you're right!  I had a bunch of lymph nodes removed with surgery.  Thank goodness it all came back benign! Our youngest daughter graduated from Homeschool, our oldest graduated college and then got a super great job offer she couldn't refuse, so she moved about 3 hours away.  I think that knocked the wind out of me for the first month! I cried so much!   But before she moved, my husband and I became teenagers again.  We started to go dancing every weekend which was and still is so much fun!  We even went as Vikings for this  Halloween! 

I had started working again but then quit a year later.  I'm so thankful my sweetie has provided for his family to allow me to have that luxury. We've made totally new friends along the way too!   We actually have been taking better care of ourselves health wise and I started drinking Moscato wine for health purposes.  I have seen a huge improvement all of the way around.  I used to frown upon the idea of any type of alcohol, but God opened my eyes with that too.  Did you know that His word actually tells us to drink a little wine for the stomachs sake?!  It sure has helped my stomach, I literally had a knot on my stomach lining and now it's gone!   My liver enzymes and my cholesterol are normal too!! Of course, it's all within reason when it comes to drinking any type of alcohol.   I talked with my DR and he confirmed what I felt with trying to become healthier in my old age decent, lol!   We've been traveling...something we used to hate!   I've lost over 30 pounds and got all of my hair cut off!  And I'm thinking about going shorter!  I've had long hair for way too long and am coming up on 49 next month.  I feel more beautiful and sexy than when I was in my 20's!    Thank goodness my husband loves me with short hair because he made sure I knew he loved long hair for so many years. 

I think us having what I would call a marriage rejuvenation, has changed the way we look at things.  It's like God stepped in one day and waved a magic wand!  I know He's not magic, but really, that's what it felt like!  

I know many couples our age get divorced because they fall out of love or cheat on each other.  It's really sad because all of the history you share with someone, just all of a sudden disappears.  But something we have definitely done right is keeping God in our lives throughout the our marriage.  Sure, we've not been perfect, but we both have loved Him and have not wanted to lose Him.  We've struggled along at times with our marriage, fought, cried, almost got divorced...but we've always loved each other too deeply to allow the world to come in and steal that away from us.  So here we are, till together, stronger, happier, and more in love than ever!!!  I'm just now getting a sparkle back for decorating and creating.  Wow,  we've had an exciting past 2 years!!! So there ya go....a little fast glimpse into my life without writing a novel, lol.

I recently decorated for Christmas over a week ago, so I'm still trying to take photos.  Can you believe my trusty Nikon camera has had a layer of dust on it all of this time?  Poor thing must have thought I forgot all about it.   I haven't edited photos or used our computer either, I've just used my phone all of this time.  I'm tellin' ya, my world has been turned upside down but it's been just absolutely amazing!  My attitude has completely changed too...I don't get mad or irritated like I used to either.  I know my sweetie and girls have loved that fact, lol!  I don't care if the house is messy or if the laundry isn't done either.  I'm all for just smiling and having fun it seems!  We now have 3 cats and two dogs too!!!  That will be a post of it's own soon....I'm absolutely in love with each of them!!!

Ok, I'll shut up for now and show you all some of our home for Christmas.

I had to move some furniture to other rooms for the main tree.  This chest has been in our living room for years and years!  It looks so nice paired with all of the pink!

I adore this little grouping...sweet memories and friendships!

The flocked tree came from Walmart 3 years ago...and I still love it!

This little tin stocking was a yard sale buy over 13 years ago.  I love it paired with green pine and this pink poinsettia.

Grouping the angels together on top of the armoire just works beautifully!

Now onto a few photos of our master retreat...

It's been a long time since I've shopped for any type of home decor so when I spotted this arched mirror at Home Goods for $50,  I knew it was mine!  I had wanted one for many years after spotting one similar at Hobby Lobby that was over $180 which was way too expensive for my blood.  It replaced this mirror...

Paring two mirrors on each side did the trick with filling up this long wall.  Adding the stockings and poinsettia swag made Christmas appear!

And y'all have to know I haven't lost my love for snow!  The little blue sign holds a dear place in my heart....I want snow for Christmas!

Usually I buy new things every year, but this year, I haven't other than this Christmas tree.  While I was visiting and shopping with my oldest daughter, I spotted this tree at Walmart for $22!!  It came without lights which thrilled me to death!  I had a little bucket that I painted white and put the tree in it instead of the stand it came with.

However, my daughter had a major shopping spree for her first Christmas decorations at Hobby Lobby!

This was our first ever shopping trip together to Hobby Lobby....Mom and I loved watching her go wild in there!  We had such a fun day, just us girls!  Sadly, our youngest daughter had to work, 

Did you notice my daughters and I all have black hair?  That's another newby for me!  

Now here's a little of the main living room....

This window wall is my absolute favorite creation that my husband and I created!  

You can see a little of the tree...but I'm saving the living room reveal for later.  Everything looks so pretty!  This mantle grouping is to die for in my book!  My great idea was to hang the deer head on this mirror paired with some pine and mistletoe.  My uncle fell in love with it!

Our bed in our master retreat from last year has been a hit on social media!  I'm seeing it pop up everywhere!

Things look a little different this year.  I'll share it later as well.

Mirrors are still a passion of mine!  This turned out gorgeous!!!  

And just a peak at the kitchen mantle....its so dreamy!

I hope I haven't bored y'all to death with gabbing on and on about my life.  I hope all of you have been as blessed as I have and I hope to hear about your lives too!