A vintage shopping trip...

A couple days before leaving for our Christmas holiday I had to head down to the next town for an oil change on my vehicle. Since I had to be down that way anyway I planned to make the most of the trip and do a little shopping. Don't get me wrong, we have amazing shops here close to where I live, but we are very close to Canada... so the shops get very crowded very fast! Not the case just 20 minutes down the road!
After the 40 minute wait for my car, they are so fast! Love them! I headed to one of my favorite antique stores. I picked up the vintage framed picture and finally scored a vintage floral frog! (the tags were included so cute)

This piece was in the exact same spot the little table and chair set I purchased my last trip to the same store! You can see them here. I didn't decide to purchase it right away, although the price was a steal and the color and size were perfect, the style wasn't exactly what I had in mind. I walked through the store a second time and decided I could use the piece in another area... my craft cottage! So I bought it for $60.00! Just after I told the proprietor I wanted the piece so she could clear it off, a second person inquired about it!

I couldn't resist these vintage star shaped jello molds I think I like to do some kind of crafting to them before next year and add them to my Christmas tree in the kitchen.

For now the peice is in my dining area, it's a little cluttered in there right now, but I am still trying to finish putting away the Christmas decor! I know I know, I've been working on it for almost a week. But I decided this is the year I am going to not just shove it all back in the boxes till next year. This year it is all getting put away ORGANIZED! Yay! I should finish it up today, then I can start some fun stuff! 

Speaking of fun stuff, I am so torn as what to do first! 

1. paint and organize garage

2. paint that fabulous antique furniture I found on Craigslist

3. get crafty in my craft cottage, I need thank you cards, some valentine goodies, I need to plan a Valentine craft class for my friends

4. get out in the yard and pull some weeds and cut some vines

5. start the kitchen reno

6. start the guest bathroom reno

7. paint the walls and ceiling of the craft cottage 

8. paint an organize the 3rd garage

What would you do first? By the way the garages are both heated and so is the cottage so outside temps are not to much of a problem and the outside temps have been in the high 40's low, 50's anyway. 

Well, I guess I will have to decide tomorrow!

Have a wonderfully lovely day!

Christmas home tour~upstairs 2011

Now that Christmas is over, let me finish up this little tour so we can move on to the New Year! Let's head upstairs to the office.

This area belongs to my hubby. All of his airplane memorabilia live up here, so of course his tree holds all his airplane ornaments.

I added a couple pillows and a throw to his chairs.

One last view at the living room from the balcony upstairs.

The snowman Christmas tree in the media room.

I LOVE snowmen!  That's it for the Christmas decor for this year! 

Before I left for the Christmas holiday I made up some extra dollar store cake stands and filled them with Christmas goodies for neighbors and the hubby's coworkers.

Fudge, spritz cookies and almond roca.

A few chocolate covered cherries...

I added a tag and delivered them all before heading to spend Christmas with family.

We had a wonderful Christmas together with our three children, our "son-in-law" and our grandson Liam. Here's to a wonderful New Year!

Christmas home tour~kitchen, powder room, guest bath 2011

 Welcome lets continue our tour into my kitchen decorated for Christmas.

 A little peek at the gingerbread tree in the window sill above the sink.

 The china hutch full of Christmas china and miscellaneous holiday pieces.

 A few shots of the table.

 The paper whites have just begun to bloom.

 Even the chairs got a little dressed up this year.

 

The powder room off the dining room didn't want to be left out :)

 Neither did the guest bathroom.

 The white scalloped bowl contains peppermint sugar hand scrub I made, it leaves your hands so soft and clean. The room smells good to!

 I even added a few touches to the bedroom. I picked up some pine springs off the ground along with some little "cedar flowers" and added them to the Epsom salt at the bottom of the candle holder.

 I am not sure what the "cedar flowers" really are, but they look like a flower to me! =)

A red fleece blanket on the bed and some red place mats on the night stands complete the downstairs decor! Next post we'll head upstairs!
Have a lovely evening.

Christmas home tour~entryway and living room 2011

 

Welcome to the FRONT door to our home! It is not decorated for Christmas, no one has ever used this door. But I thought it would be fun to have YOU enter here ;) to see the outside of my home decorated for Christmas see this post.

I wanted to keep my decorating pretty simple this year since we will not actually be here for Christmas.  Since I didn't really get the chance to decorate last year due to us moving into this house, I wanted to enjoy decorating as much as possible this year.

The carolers were my grandmothers.

 The Christmas village were Christmas gifts for several years from the same grandmother.

 This Santa was part of my grandmas Christmas decor ever since I can remember, I think she made it years ago.

She also made most of these Snow Babies. The two that she didn't make my son and daughter made one summer that they went to visit. It is one of my favorite things to put up.

 

 The Christmas mantel this year. I kept the same cupboard door that has been up since spring, left the same twig wreath that I put up for my fall mantel, added a subway art canvas I created last year. I fell in love with the candle sticks from Partylite, so added them to my mantel along with a fresh cedar bough, white lights and ornaments.

 Most of the ornaments I scored at TJ Maxx.

 We went with a real Christmas tree this year. Smells so good with the fresh pine and cedar boughs.

 Closer view of the tree. The large ornaments came from Dollar Tree, the other ornaments I already had from years past.

 A mix of textures on the coffee table, love!

 I couldn't resist this vintage look ornament at a local gift store. Who doesn't love a little white church?!

 One of the subway art frames I made this year.

 Found this great red ornament shaped card holder at an antique store a few weeks ago for $15.00! Added it to a wooden box I found at goodwill for $3.00, a pine garland and a couple red poinsettias.

Another look at the banister. I love the added warmth of the faux furs on the sofa.

An evening shot of the tree. Next up a little tour of the kitchen and powder room. Thanks for stopping by, have a lovely evening.