Jesus is the Season

Jesus is definitely the reason for this wonderful time of year! He's the reason every day of the year! 

It's my most favorite time to decorate!  I love putting the tree by the window wall, it allows both spaces to have their seperateness but still be able to enjoy it in both spaces.

The tree is full of nothing but white ornaments....nothing else but ornaments.  The white against the gorgeous pine green branches is just so pretty to me.  Simplicity which allows the tree branches to shine!

It's such a pretty tree!  We bought it at Sams about 4 years ago, I think.  The LED lights are a soft white, not the blue/white/silver color which made me super happy!

Moving things around this year wasn't a chore like last year.  We gave a lot of furniture to our oldest daughter when she moved into her new place, so we had plenty or room for every piece of furniture....and I didn't have to store any of it away in the storage room!

(my back thanked me)

I bought this sectional last year right before we took our other sofa to Sara. It was one cramped house last year, I tell ya!  And it took me almost a year to complete this slipcover, lol.  Life was way too much fun to be sitting behind a sewing machine this past spring and Summer.  Now that cooler weather is finally here, I feel that nesting gene kicking in and am wanting to sew my little heart out.

My youngest daughter bought me these tins that I painted white.  I've had so much fun decorating them for the seasons.  Adding the pine and poinsettias to the mirror just pulled them together.  It's a big wall space so I wanted it to feel cozy over the sectional.

It definitely feels that way.  

See the garland at the windows?  All of the white needed a little something.  So one night while pondering, I started looking to order something on Amazon, like pom pom garland.  But I wasn't finding anything I really liked.  That's when I thought, heck, I can make something!  I grabbed some white ribbon, cut off pine from some garland and used some snowflakes I had.

Not too much, but just enough to add some Christmas charm....wink.  Pine shows up so dark in photos...it's really a pretty shade of green. Not the blue green like most pine.

I moved Mammaw's china cabinet into the living room.  It holds a special spot in my heart and I always think of her when I see it.  She saved and saved to buy it to display her pretty china.  Of course I have hers stored away and have mine on display.  It's a simple piece but means so much to me.

Hannah and I love this corner...it's so charming!

It's packed with lot's of pine, ornaments and flowers.  Pictures do not do it justice!

It gives a nice warm glow to this part of the room.  

These JOY foam letters came from Hobby Lobby about 3 or 4 years ago.  Putting them on my mirrors have been so much fun!  I added some green holly picks with red berries for some color....I really like it!

The word JOY really means a lot to me.  It's an absolute JOY to be alive and able to enjoy the holidays.

Hannah decorated both Christmas trees in this photo.  She does such a great job and enjoys it so much.  me, not so much, lol!  But it sure does look pretty, doesn't it?  I'll share the kitchen next week.  Oh, it's so pretty...the whole house is!

I love adding twinkly lights all around the room for that nice warm glow.  Just having them on and no other lights is really cozy and festive feeling.  

Notice the small arrangement on the end table?  

Some sprigs of pine, pine cones, poinsettias and battery lights is all it is.  I lost a lot of table space to use for decorations so I had to come up with something. 

Simple but pretty!

I wanted to keep the same look for both end tables.  I bought the lamps through FB Marketplace and painted them along with making new shades.  

I share a lot of my stuff on Instagram so you can check out what's new with me that way.  Links to it and FB are to the side of my page if you want to follow.

Two creamy white stockings hang on the window wall stuffed with pine sprigs, one poinsettia, a pine cone, a jingle bell and a tree ornament.  Using the handmade tulle garland tied the whole area together perfectly.

I can't wait until Thanksgiving!  I'll have my little family all together and we will eat and be merry and enjoy how festive the house feels.  To me Thanksgiving and Christmas are joined together by family heartstrings.  I want to enjoy Thanksgiving just like I enjoy Christmas so that's why I decorate so early.  Plus I've never been a fan of the oranges and browns for Thanksgiving...wink wink.

Even King Louis enjoys it all <3

I hope all of you have a very blessed Thanksgiving full of good food, lot's of laughter and so much love you can't contain it!  And of course stuffed bellies and a few naps! 

Most of all, thank God up above for it all!

A Crafting Christmas

 I always seem to end up making something from scratch for Christmas.  I just can't escape it!

This stocking has always been a favorite of mine for years but I only had one.  After installing the french doors, I needed two to decorate with on each side.  So instead of spending money, I dug through my stash of fabric goodies.  I actually have closets (plural) and drawers full.  I get it honest, my Mammaw had oodles of fabric scraps from all of her sewing escapades.  I tend to save bigger pieces like quilts, though.

So I found some quilted shams that had seen better days.  They had turned more creamy rather than their lustrous white.  I only had two but the fabric on the back was one of the reasons why I saved them.  Tiny blue flowers on a white background...something so simple had captured my heart from the beginning.   

This is what I came up with.  A simple stocking started what became a frenzy through the night.  I became a mad sewing woman making not 1, but 8 stockings from the 2 shams!  

Now I finally had two stockings for the french doors.  The shams were part of a Simply Shabby Chic quilt set.  Don't worry, I bought another of the same set which is white white and tucked away for when I want to change my bedding.  I adore the brand and can't seem to escape the torture it does to my heart and my purse.

Oh how I've wanted to add stockings to our bed for  years but have been too lazy to make them and definitely too tight to buy them. I'm so pleased with the simplicity but festive look they added!

I made the garland at the headboard from some snowflake garland and pine I had.  I usually add pine garland and lights to the foot and the head but I just wanted more of a simple, light and airy look this year.  

Didn't it turn out cute?!

I honestly am in love with this whole look!

Adding one to the armoire with a smidget of frosted greenery added Christmas charm but kept the simplicity my heart craved.

And one last stocking was made to adorn the foot of our stairs.  All of this talk about stockings is making me want to go make some more!

Our master has the best cozy Christmas feeling this year!  

Even when the lights are all off.

I must admit, it feels good to not blend in with everyone else.  I have my own style and it makes me happy even if it isn't what everyone else is doing at the moment.  

Being the downstairs with only one window, I definitely want to keep it nice and bright as possible.  Putting the tree where it is, you can see it from each space and enjoy it. 

One day, when I have grand babies, I can just imagine them sleeping with their Nana-Mamaw-Granny (still not quite sure what I want to be called),  waking up and peering through the spindles at the tree all aglow.  Now that vision makes my heart feel as big as the moon with tears in my eyes.  Oh how I can't wait to be a Grandmother!  Our oldest daughter is getting married in November 2020.  She's actually talking about babies now so I'm excited!  They'll both make wonderful parents!  BTW, I love my soon to be son in law, John.  Sara couldn't have done any better...he's a keeper.

Now ladies, tell me how blessed I am to have a sweet husband who sleeps in this bed with me?!

I count my blessings every day with him!

I love having touches that remind me of what Christmas is all about.  Especially this little church. What an amazing time this is....little Baby Jesus was being prepared for all of us!  I just love Christmas time!!!

 I love reindeer, snowflakes, wreaths, candy canes,  snowmen, stockings, sparkly things, stars, angels and sleighs.  I really don't decorate with Santa, but love the thought of what he's all about.  I think all of the white looks perfect because I adore snow!  And if you look at the last photo of the church, you'll see snow.  Our very first snow of the year just as I was finishing up with all of the Christmas decorating.  Now how neat was that?!

I love our retreat....it's so peaceful and quiet.

I ended up moving the chair I had originally, to the upstairs, thinking I'd have the tree here.  But I changed my mind and didn't feel like lugging that chair back down the stairs.  I had this little parsons chair and added the slipcover I made for it, to give a soft touch. It actually works better because in the colder months, we turn on the fire so we can't have anything too close. 

Forgive me for the quality of my photos.  I used two different lenses trying to capture everything.  My wide angle lens isn't quite as good as my close up lens.  I love my close up lens way better because I can get that soft bokeh in the background when focusing on something.

The gun cabinet at the bottom of the stairs gives us some privacy but fits perfectly in with our bed area. A simple pine wreath adorned with tiny silver ornaments and battery lights just felt right.

I honestly could go crazy with adding lights everywhere...but I'm reminding myself about when it's time to take it all down, lol.  It took me a total of 3 complete days to decorate upstairs and downstairs.  I still have to decorate outside!  But honestly, this is my most favorite time of the year!  Sleep deprived, sore, stiff....it's all worth it!

Besides, the mirrors reflect enough light, so no more lights!

See the difference with the quality of this photo?  Oh it drives me insane with how that lens is!  Sometimes a photo just doesn't capture the essence, ya know?

Now this photo quality is so much better with the other lens.  When I uploaded the photos from my camera, I knew this one was perfect!  

I decorated the office area, but didn't take any photos other than this one.  It doesn't get much natural light like the rest of the space.  So natural lighting photos don't take well and I hate how yellow things look from incandescent lighting.  No matter how hard I try to edit, I never can get the yellow out.

So there you have my pillow shams turned stockings story.  Hope I didn't bore y'all!

Well, it's 1 am  and I need to get to bed.  I pray all of you have a blessed nights rest and a lovely day ahead.  Thanks for visiting,

Changes Aren't Always Bad

Happy Valentine's Day

Yes, I know I am late ...but I had to share a few snaps of a wonderful day full of love and happiness.

These guys right here have my heart every day of the year.  I honestly couldn't ask for a better little family. 

How I love them so....

And this guy.... he knows what I love, white roses and Reese's!  We had a romantic candlelight dinner (you can see it here) and had a few sips of some bubbly.  Our first time being totally kid free on Valentine's Day!  

What a treat!

Onto other news....since our oldest moved into a bigger space, we took her plenty of furniture.  The Uhaul we rented was packed clear to every crevice!  So now, I have been playing with her old room, making it into a guest room.     Here's how it's looking...

I am trying to figure out what color to paint the walls and of course I need to paint that headboard.  We gave our oldest daughter one of the beds and if you'll notice, this bedding came from that bed.  I do miss the headboard that I made that was tufted, but it sure does look pretty in her new guest room.

I'll be sharing her new place soon.  It's so pretty!

Thankfully I still have plenty of furniture to fool around with in our home.  The whole house is slowly getting small makeovers.  The functionality of our home has changed so it sure is fun making it into what works for us now.  But it's definitely a slow process.

          Chairs, Chairs, Chairs! They're everywhere!  This little gem loves to show off her bows and having her seated here definitely allows her to shine.  

We still have this guest room.  I had to steal the end table for the other room so I'm thinking about using something else in here.  But for now, I'm using the little desk that goes with this little chair that belonged to my Mammaw.  I love this room!

I have really been slacking with our home.  From all of the moving and running to having fun with my sweetie, I finally packed and put away the rest of my Christmas decorations downstairs in our bedroom.  

I put these little vases of faux flowers on the mantle and now I'm ready for SPRING!

As for an update on me, I've lost some more weight from all of the dancing me and my sweetie are doing and my health has been great!  And I'm finally fine with my hair being short and black now.  I can wear hair extensions if I want long hair again  :)

Life is really good and I am so very thankful for the blessings God has bestowed on me and my little family.  I have to pinch myself sometimes to prove it isn't a dream!

I hope y'all are all blessed, loved and happy as I am.  His word says what He will do for one, He will do for another! He loves us all!