Once upon a Mantle

When we toured the house the fireplace looked like this....

Last Christmas it looked like this..... Saturday early evening it looked like this..... Saturday by late evening I was covered in paint and it looked like this.....

Then by evening....it looked like.............TA DA!!!!!!!!!!!! After a year and a bit I got my mantle. I bought the parts, took the measurements and was the idea guy...my lovely neighbor Randy did the cutting and some of the assembly. I did the painting...the finish assembling and Jay helped me screw it in place. I could not be MORE in love with it. I actually pause to look at it every time I walk by.

I had given up looking for mantles at the stores, b/c a much more boring one than mine was 155 dollars and that was a 'cheap' one. I bought the parts for 36 dollars, and we used some of Randy's scrap (see above link) for the face board....and the actual shelf....and I owe him a few hundred snickerdoodles, but still a good deal!

Broken, my heart

I knew it was coming and I am still in shock.

Wednesday night, my beloved and loyal dog of 16 years, Reckless was failing in a way that begged me for mercy. I did the hard thing, swallowed my breaking heart back down and made the call for her. She was euthanized in my arms, on my sofa by my friend and Vet.

To strangers she was mostly aloof, to squirrels she had been a menace, to me she was ever loyal, with Duncan she was every patient. She was a thread tying my teens (19) to my adulthood. She knew me WHEN...for more things than I can say.

May the rainbow bridge resound with the sounds of her running fast today!

A new addition

It has been a few weeks but I figure I should introduce you:
Here enjoying some chair time is BEAKER. She was found in Indianapolis and taken in by Animal Control. She found me at the Great Indy Pet Expo. They were calling her Katie. Since I have an aversion to people names for dogs, we call her Beaker, or beaky or...I hate to admit....when she is in trouble, she is KATIE SUE BEAKMAN! :D

Simply perfect

At least in my opinion.
A few years ago I bought this tiered tray (I am sure they have a name) and spray painted all it's chippy ugly plasticy silver parts white. I have used it for other things like this.
It has held soap in the bathroom, candles, you name it.
I put dollar tree silver pine cones, some berry doo-dads from an old arrangement (Goodwill) and some beeds I got YEARS ago from Walmart.

I don't know why, but it makes me smile. I hope it makes my guests, both blog and real, smile too.

Special Ornaments Volume 1

Each of my trees has a few very special ornaments. Most of the special ones go on my family tree which has a 'non-theme' theme.

The woodland tree on my sunporch, seen here last post, has just a few 'special' ones.

First is an ornament Duncan "made" in school when he was in 1st grade in art class. They pressed real pine tree parts into clay. I think it is genius, I think he probably actually was able to help with most of this project and I love it.

The one below is a beautiful REAL leaf that was gold-plated. It was a gift from my dear friend Daryl several years ago. It is from main and each year as I take it out of it's box I see the gift tag she put on it (taped inside the box) and am reminded that these friends MAKE Christmas for us.

If you have some special ormanents share them with the rest of us. I think unpacking those memories is one of the best parts of the season.

It's Beginning to Look Alot Like....

Christmas at our home!

I guess I can do a cyber tour.

WELCOME!

Our 'woodland' themed tree ended on the sunporch this year. I have dreams of a white tree with all pinks for next year.
I decorated Grandma's drum table with some poinsettias and Garland. I have to say I love the picture of Duncan, I paid $5 for an artist to make it when we were on vacation in Florida.

Here is prooof that our tastes change. When I was given the reindeer above I was 20 years old and it went with NOTHING I owned and I didn't know what to do with him. I put him up those years anyway. This year I adore him and put out Grandma's old oranaments with him. I am looking for a few new gold items to put with him as I am out shopping today.

Here is where you can have a snack on the sunporch, enjoying my gold reindeer and the view of the snow on the lawn.

And last but not least I hung my dear friend Billy's stocking on the head of the guest bed, he is the friend most likely to sleep here over the Holiday season. If he comes to visit I will be sure to fill that tin with goodies and love.

At the foot of the guest bed, I put some pink ornaments in a dish as a reminder of how pretty my little white tree will be with them on it.

I will share more of my home later this week, I hope you come visit again.

Time to decorate for Christmas

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.I can't believe it is time to drag out the Christmas decorations. Our little family got the flu two weeks ago and are just now dragging ourselves back to normal. I managed to get a box of items out and all my holiday dishtowels and such are in the was and getting ready for their seasonal run.
I have this intense desire to have the house decorated for Christmas, but am feeling daunted by the task of getting it all up. My goal is to spiff up the living room, vacuum and dust and then put up the living room tree.
I will update as the house becomes more festive.
Happy Shopping this Black Friday.