Happy New Year

Wishing you the best for 2014…May your year be blessed with love, laughter, family, and friends.

Blessings,

Cecilia

Maybe Next Christmas?

I had grand plans for this Christmas….Lots of decorating and crafting...

Still in the box

Waiting to be hung

Needs to be finished

This too…wanted to have several done to give as party favors

And I was going to make a forest of fence board trees…(I cut 5 out )...

Paint this Santa that's been cut out for ages ( another project that never got completed and forgotten each year )….

Have every room decorated to the hilt...at both houses! It didn't happen!

The farm bathroom looks pretty good though

It seems like the farmhouse got more done to it than the city house…but then, it's smaller.

Host a party with great food and company ( oh yeah, I did do that one! Enjoyed having my siblings and families at the farm this past weekend ! )

Menu on the chalkboard wall

My niece was the only one to leave a message on the chalkboard. LOL, way to go Leslie!

on a side note: We played the Christmas Exchange Game with Funny Gifts…I ended up with toilet paper embroidered with Christmas designs…May I say "Awesome!"? Oh, and a bar of soap with a design too. My oldest sister is a whiz with her machine. :o)

Embroidered Toilet paper

I basically wanted to have the most decorated, awesome Christmas season ever!

Ok, one out of several isn't bad, right?

I did get a few things decorated…( thanks to my awesome family! )

Lovely angel from a blogging friend!

But not the grand things I had planned. I don't think I set my sights too high…several people decorate multiple trees and deck out their house. Sigh. I think I need to start getting ready for next year now...

Make a list...

Check it twice...or three times...or one hundred.

Problem is, I don't want to work on Christmas stuff after it's over. I want to do it during the Christmas season and this one is almost over.  I'm not sure how much more I'll attempt to do in the week that's left. Maybe it's good enough - I'll just claim I'm scaling back and simplifying. :o) Or blame it on my knee…yeah, I couldn't do stuff because of my knee…

A round cutting board I painted with chalkboard paint

another cutting board turned message board

Merry Christmas to each one of you. I appreciate you all so much for following along and leaving kind comments. I'll see you next year!


Hugs,
Cecilia

Ornament Exchange Goodies!

I was very excited to join in with Vicky from Life On Willie Mae Lane for her ornament exchange.
I received mine shortly after I broke my knee so it really lifted my spirits when I got my box. I couldn't wait to open it and see what I got!

It was from a lady in Colorado, Dee Ann. I believe she is the grandmother of Stephanie from The Enchanting Rose. While not having her own blog, she wanted to be a part of the fun. I'm so glad she did! She sent me the sweetest note along with my well-wrapped ornaments. Thank you Dee Ann - they arrived safely and I just love them!

First off, was this adorable moose family. Check out the antlers! Perfect for my rustic, woodland theme.

Next, securely wrapped in bubble wrap, was an adorable glass ornament with  sledding reindeer inside. It is so cute! I nestled it and the moose into the greenery on my entry table - I wanted them both to be seen right away!

The last item in my box was the cutest wooden bowl ever! Dee Ann knew from my answers, I collect snowmen so she picked this out for me. I just love it! It, too, is on my entry table as it says "Welcome"!

The nice thing is, it can stay out for the rest of Winter and will make me smile even when the days are dreary!

Sadly, I didn't get the moose in this next picture…they are on the other end of the table…obviously I didn't do too well taking this picture either…it's all blurry…sorry about that.

I was excited to learn I had Vicky's name. She was fun to create for and has said the nicest things. Plus she got a special gift from Donna as a thank you for hosting the exchange. :o)  Be sure to hop over and check out all the amazing ornaments and gifts everyone has received. Go here.

Thank you so much, Vicky! This was so much fun to participate in and I can't wait to be a part of it next year!

Hugs and blessings,
Cecilia

B Farm Christmas Decorating

My Christmas decorations are a lot less this year….

It's hard to do things with a broken knee. I've had to rely on others to do the climbing and kneeling and reaching…it has been frustrating for me as I love to do it all. Fortunately, I've had good help - my son and daughter, husband, and my twin sister.  Still, I just kept it simple this year. Didn't want to overtax my help. :o)

The mantle has my new ornament wreath and my twine cone trees...

See the little figure on the mantle? It was from my mom, many years ago. It is a sweet reminder of her.

I used kitchen twine and hemp twine to wrap the cones. I like the rustic look they provide.

The kitchen window has this:

The entry table lamp got dressed up with some greenery and a Ho-Ho-Ho Candy Cane:

 The hearth has my homemade wreath stand and wreath along with my primitive stitchery and fanciful birdhouse that belonged to my oldest brother:

I like the saying on my stitchery:

This year, we put the tree in front of the living room window. I really like it here:

Looks like my grandfather's saddle got decorated some too…it's there in front of the floor lamp. Funny kids.

Do you see the big burlap snowflakes? I made three and need to make more but I love these on my tree. They actually have silver glitter on them but it's not showing up in my picture.

You can find a great tutorial on how to make them here. Gail gives great directions plus she has lots of other crafts/how-tos on her blog. Go visit and tell her hi!

I didn't get a picture of the porch posts - hard to stand on a hill with crutches. I had Bruce and Son wrap them with red ribbon. I've always wanted posts so I could wrap them and now I do! Sweet Daughter put candy canes along the walk too.

I need to do a few touches in the bathroom - put a Christmas towel up and a decoration here and there. Then we'll be ready for the big family party next weekend. Can't wait!

Happy decorating!
Cecilia

Linking up here:
The Dedicated House -Anything-blue-friday