Pockets of Christmas Decor All Through The House

 Christmas Decor Here And There

Hi friends!  Today, I'm sharing all of my Christmas decor with you and how I have inserted "pockets of Christmas" all throughout the house. I think it is so fun to see little bits of Christmas here, there and everywhere!

First up, is the dining room. Here, I have a bit of a gingerbread theme going on. The top of the tiered tray is featuring the gingerbread chef, a gingerbread house and a gingerbread wagon. And, of course, there is a gingerbread man! I love the vibrant color of this top tier.

The bottom tier of the tiered tray features so many cute little figurines. From a little mouse poking his head out of a mailbox to Santa Cats, snowman and a real Santa, this tray is just so much fun to look at and enjoy!

Here's a look at the tiered tray all together. It sits on the top of the tall thin table in the dining room.

The bottom of the thin table continues the gingerbread theme with another gingerbread house (it lights up!) and to the left are my stuffed gingerbread dolls.

As you can see, they have been busy baking gingerbread cookies to wear and even baked a pan of miniature gingerbread people! I found the little gingerbread tray ornament on a shopping spree at Jo-Ann's and just had to have it to add to my little display. So cute!

I even added some pockets of Christmas on my curio display cabinet in the corner of the dining room. It's not as colorful but, if you look closely, you can see a Santa, a white ceramic tree, little snowman angels, snowman salt shakers, and my Mitford snowman peeking out on the shelves. How many did you find?

The living room holds most of the "light-up" displays starting with our table top 4 foot Christmas tree in the corner. I love all of the ornaments on the tree and they are predominantly red with a few other colors thrown in. The lights along with the ornaments create such a festive corner in the living room.

And this is the side table with all of the lights glowing. As you can see, I have added and rearranged a few items in order to accommodate the Christmas decor. 

And this is the mantle all decorated for Christmas with the nutcracker musicians, a new little snowman and these pretty little light-up trees. The trees change colors and add such a note of cheer to the mantle. 

And these last two photos show some of the fun items used to decorate two bathrooms. I like fun and playful items as you can see!

And that, dear readers, completes the tour of Christmas decor in my home for 2022. Hope you enjoyed the tour and that you are having fun decorating your own home. Be sure to let me know if you have a particular theme or way of going about decorating in the comments. Perhaps you too have pockets of Christmas throughout your house! Can't wait to hear from you!

Until Next Time,

Debbie

Thanksgiving Week How About You?

 

Hi friends!  Hard to believe but it is the weekend of Thanksgiving week and I am thinking about all of the many things in my life for which I am grateful. How about you?

The Mr. and I will be celebrating with just the two of us and our furry girls so I will not be cooking a huge turkey. But, we will have a delicious dinner for two. How about you?

I know that many folks start their Christmas decorating soon after Thanksgiving. I have already decorated and will share my efforts with you soon. I did manage to go through our Christmas tubs and found many things to donate and allow someone else to enjoy. That gave me a real feeling of accomplishment. How about you?

It is such a blessing to be a blogger who connects with lovely readers. I'm certainly thankful for all of you! Remember when I invited all of you to "take five" with me and think of five things each day for which we are grateful? How about if we revive the "take five" habit for each day of Thanksgiving week? I'll be taking five each day. How about you? 

Wishing you many blessings,

Debbie

Fix your thoughts on what is true and good and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely, and dwell on the fine, good things in others. Think about all you can praise God for and be glad about.

Philippians 4:8

The Living Bible

Candle and Stone Garden Piece for Remembrance and Christmas Beginnings

 Items for Remembrance and Christmas Beginnings

Hi everyone!  Today, I'm sharing some items that I purchased recently as remembrances for my sister who recently passed away. The handbell choir I direct was so kind in giving me a gift card to Jesse Israel & Sons Garden Center which is a local shop. Rather than a plant which might not make it in our yard, I chose a couple items that I can always keep. First is this pretty flameless candle. My sister loved to watch birds and especially liked Cardinals, so the Cardinal on this candle caught my eye right away. And then when I turned on the candle and saw the lights on the front twinkling I knew this would be my choice. Since my sister's name is Star, the twinkle lights were especially appropriate. I can't tell you how pretty this candle is all aglow in the evening!

I also chose this stone garden ornament that continues to carry the bird theme. For now it is on top of my figurine cabinet in the dining room.

I removed the basket so you could see the detail of the piece better. I love how one bird is sheltering the other. That's the way I always felt about my oldest sister. As you can probably tell I'm still coming to terms with her passing. I have many sad days where I struggle but I know this is normal. I am grateful to have three sisters still with me. 

To cheer myself I am slowly starting to add Christmas decor to the house. I actually have had a tree up for awhile so I can enjoy the colorful lights. This photo doesn't do justice to how pretty the lights are! I hope to start actually decorating it later today. It may be too early for some but I like time to enjoy Christmas decor before Christmas Day arrives. 

And this year I decided to change up the side table and put my ceramic tree on the bottom shelf rather than the red ornament tree. Now, I just have to figure out where to put the red ornament tree! I've also added a few unique Santa figurines  to the shelf. 

I've owned this ceramic tree for a lot of years. It reminds me of a handmade one that my great-aunt made years ago and gave to my Mom. I always enjoyed seeing it lit up and was thrilled when I was able to get this one. So pretty. 

Each year, I try to go through my Christmas decor and decided what I want to keep and what I am ready to give away for someone else to enjoy. Certain things always remain like certain ornaments that were gifts from family, the Peanuts handmade ornaments one of my sisters made for our first Christmas and this ceramic tree. The last few years I have been able to downsize a whole tub of Christmas decor and this year I hope to do the same which will leave me with two tubs. I'll keep you posted on my progress both with Christmas decorating and with purging a tub. 

How about you?  Any early Christmas beginnings at your house?  How about Thanksgiving preparation? I hope to hear from you in the comments. 

Until Next Time,

Debbie

Halloween Fun, Concerts and Fall Decor Pics

 A Little Bit of This and That

Rose from trip to Elizabethton, TN

Hi friends!  The last rose of summer is about gone and I have lots to share with you today about what I've been doing of late. In true "this and that fashion" there will be some fun pics from Halloween, Fall decor from a recent trip, just a little bit of bragging about The Mr. and, of course, some food! Let's get started. 

Last Saturday night The Mr. and one of the bands he plays in gave their annual Halloween Concert at The Whitehorse in Black Mountain, NC. I have to tell you, it was so much fun! The band members dressed up and their costumes were spectacular!  I have several to share with you. 

There were scary, creepy costumes. 

And beautiful flower costumes that light up in the back!

Costumes from movies!

Cat woman costumes!

Sweet costumes!

And well......costumes that aren't really costumes, lol!!

I almost didn't go to this concert but I'm so glad I changed my mind and went. I would have missed out on all the fun. 

And speaking of concerts, The Mr. played a solo at another band concert this past Tuesday and he did a wonderful job. 

He got loud applause at the end!  I'm so proud of his musical abilities. 

How about a few more photos from our day trip to Elizabethton, TN?  I love this farmhouse decor porch.  Everything looks so cozy. I think I could spend a few hours in that porch swing on one of those rocking chairs. 

And I loved this gate all dressed up for Fall with a sunflower and leaf wreath! This makes me want a white picket fence with a similar gate around our property. Alas, it wouldn't work!

And while Fall decor is pretty, so is a beautiful and healthy plate of food!  This was a tasty meal I pulled together today. Steamed rice with veggies with the addition of flaked chicken and some Durkees onions. On the side were steamer bag green beans that I sauteed in olive oil with the addition of onion powder and garlic powder. And, of course, some juicy mandarin oranges to complete the plate. This was a colorful, delicious and healthy meal!

So how's that for a little bit of this and that from my part of the world? Now, it's your turn to share a little bit of this and that from yours. I can't wait to hear from you in the comments!

And, whatever you do, please, please, please don't forget to exercise your right to vote!  Make your voice be heard!

Until Next Time,

Debbie

Autumn/Thanksgiving/Fall Centerpiece Vignette

 Creating A Multi-Purpose Fall Vignette

I decided to play around today creating a centerpiece for Fall. I like to simply use objects that I already have on hand around the house and see what I can come up with. I gathered several items and had a fun few minutes arranging and rearranging them and I think I created a vignette that could easily slide from Fall right on into Thanksgiving. 

I borrowed some pumpkins that I was displaying in other places and found an orange charger that I had tucked away in a cabinet. I scoured through my candles and found a glass votive cinnamon scented candle and a couple other candles that I thought would work well together. And there is a little egg that has beautiful tans and blues all swirled together that I added to the mix.

The colors represented here are mostly earthtone/Fall colors that compliment each other with a touch of blue in the candle and the egg to pull it all together. With vignettes like this, I try to vary heights for interest. By the way, the candle holder holding the blue candle is actually a vase but it works beautifully I think! 

Are you creating any vignettes or centerpieces for Fall? Getting ready for Thanksgiving? If you're like me, you can't believe that November is just a few days away and the holidays will be upon us before we know it! Whatever you are doing, I hope you are enjoying some fun, creative and beautiful days.

Until Next Time,

Debbie

Sunday Drive to Elizabethton, TN

 A Fun Sunday Afternoon In Tennessee

Hey friends!  I have a picture-heavy post for you to see today. The Mr. and I haven't done a Sunday drive for quite a long time.  So today we decided to go on an "adventure" together to Elizabethton, TN. This is a town I have driven by a lot here lately on my many treks to West Virginia. However, I have never been to Elizabethton until today and I must say it is a quaint little town with a lot to see! The Mr. has been driving through this town a lot lately on his way to hike on the Appalachian Trail and he wanted to show me some sites that he has noticed but not spent time really visiting. The pic above was taken at the Tennessee visitor's center. The center was decorated for Autumn.

 And although The Mr. thought it was a bit tacky, I had to have my picture made with this guy as well. After all, we were playing tourists for the day!

Our first stop was this covered bridge located in the heart of downtown Elizabethton. It's on a walking tour and has parking beside it which made it easy to stop here and walk around for a bit.

The covered bridge is over Doe River and was built in 1882 at a cost of $3,000. I haven't seen covered bridges outside of New England so it was fun to see this today.

Only foot traffic was allowed inside the bridge and the floor of the bridge has been reinforced. You could see between the floor boards, however, so I kept a tight grip on my phone! 

This is our only pic of the two of us together on this little adventure. 

After visiting the bridge we did a little walking tour of historic homes that were located nearby. The homes were really beautiful! 

I loved this front door with leaded glass panes. Many of the homes were decorated for Autumn/Halloween.

This was an historic cottage. Several of the homes had either large sitting front porches or wrap around porches which I love!

Look at the turret and the beautiful details of this house!

And this house needs a little love but was still beautiful. Can't you imagine sitting on that lovely front porch with a glass of iced tea in one hand and a good book in the other? I think I could pass many happy hours here. 

After a quick lunch at Subway (fine restaurant dining was not on our radar today) we headed onward to The Carter Museum which you see here. 

Unfortunately, the house was not open for us to tour inside but we enjoyed walking on the grounds and looking at the family graveyard to the East of the house. The Carter Mansion is the oldest frame house in Tennessee and was built between 1775-1780. The owners were brothers John and Landon Carter. The county was named after John Carter and Elizabethton was named after his wife Elizabeth. There is also another historic house in Elizabethton called "Sabine Hill." We didn't make it to that home today. 

The Watauga River flows in behind the Carter Mansion making for a picturesque spot. 

Our final stop for the day was at Sycamore Shoals State Historic Park which houses a replica of Fort Watauga. This was one of the first permanent American settlements outside the original thirteen colonies. The actual fort was located about one mile away and was the homestead of Matthew Talbot who operated the first gristmill in the Watauga settlement. Due to concerns about attacks from the Cherokee, who were aided by the British Army hoping to defeat settlers during the Revolutionary War, Talbot's land was chosen to use as a safe place for settlers to go to should an attack happen. Indeed on July 21, 1776, almost three hundred Cherokee warriors attacked Fort Watauga. The attack lasted for about three hours with sporadic attacks happening over a period of two weeks. Up to 150 settlers took shelter inside the fort. Eventually, the Cherokee fled further south and the Fort was left in peace until the remaining Talbot family moved to Georgia in 1785. 

I can't imagine how 150 people managed to live together in these sparsely furnished little cabins. 

There were only five cabins inside the fort. I imagine many people slept out in the open. 

It was quite interesting to read about the history of this area. The Cherokee, of course, were here first before their land was encroached by settlers. It was interesting to me to learn about how the British Army provided guns and ammunition to their Cherokee allies. Later, in 1780, the Overmountain Men came together once more on these grounds to assemble and travel over the mountains to fight against The Loyalist Army, led by British Major Patrick Ferguson, at King's Mountain, South Carolina. The Loyalist Army was defeated and this battle helped to win the American Revolution.

Our little adventure today was filled with history, beautiful homes and gorgeous scenery. Not a bad way to spend a Sunday afternoon!

How about you? Do you like to be a tourist for the day? What have you done recently that you really enjoyed? Be sure to let me know in the comments, okay? 

Until Next Time,

Debbie