What I Bought Myself For Christmas...

Stealing Magnolias by Debra Shriver

About her love affair with New Orleans
A Passion For Interiors by Carolyne Roehm
I have all her books, I like to live vicariously through her pages.
Maybe someday when I have the funds and staff...


The Great Lady Decorators by Adam Lewis
A look at the lives and careers of the pioneers of Interior Design.

Christmas in the Parlors

Filled with glass ornaments

A feather tree on the piano, with all the ornaments from places we have visited in the USA.

Middleton Place in Charleston, Mount Vernon, Baseball Hall of Fame, Graceland and more.

Candy canes for all the students at school.

Presents for the teachers and staff.

Everything gets taken tomorrow.

Christmas in the Dining Room

This gorgeous ribbon I found at Nell Hill's in Kansas City.
These built ins were the reason we bought the house!
The silver and crystal are looking pretty sparkly.

Dinner table set with Lenox Holiday china, Francis I silver, Waterford ice teas, which I use as water glasses, and my great-grandmothers wedding wine glasses. The huge silver punch bowl was found at an antique show in Illinois a couple years ago.

I love the tablecloth, which is humongous, found at The Company Store Outlet.

Christmas in the Kitchen

A feather tree with food glass ornaments. Between the blooming paper whites and the amaryllis, is my Santa chef.
The top of the cupboards are filled with Spode.

I love the extra deep sink, you can't see any dirty dished in it!

Care for some lunch? I found these cute nutcracker glasses at World Market.

The kids decorated the gingerbread house the day after Thanksgiving.

Christmas in the Living Room

A place for the Christmas cards.
I would have started a fire and taken the picture then,
but since it's 10 degrees below zero, it's too damn cold! The silver dishes will have greens and roses in them on Christmas Eve. B gave those to me a few years ago, and they are so beautiful.

The Dept. 56 dickens Village. S REALLY liked helping with the trees and snow.
He has a good eye with decorating, and so does his brother. And, not to brag, but they didn't get that from their dad.

The candy cane tree

Decorating Dilemma - Help!

We have lived in this house for close to eight years, and I still struggle with how to decorate this mantle. At Christmas it is filled with pine garlands, ribbons, pine cones and berries. In the fall, it is filled with grapevine, Indian corn, pumpkins and the like. What do I do the rest of the year? For parties I put flowers in the silver containers, but I can't afford to do that year around. Do I decorate both upper and lower mantles? I tend to ignore the top one, except in December and the fall. Any ideas? This dilemma drives me crazy! Help!

Goodbye nursery...sob

This week we are giving S a big boy room, and switching his room and a guest room. The guest room was large, and it didn't make sense to use that space only a few times a year. The saddest part for me is painting over the mural my sister created, although she is fine with me painting over it. The crib has been gone for years, but it makes me melancholy to officially not have a nursery. S is very excited about him Cowboy and Indian room, and could care less about the mural. I found a 1950-s toy chest with silhouette of cowboys on it in Door Co. last weekend, and the cutest sheets at the Company Store Outlet. I'll post pictures as the new rooms take shape.