TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS 5-12

Welcome back!  Hope your season is the most calm one you have ever experienced and that you have had moments of pure Christmas to enjoy.  Thank you for taking the time to stop by.  If we could visit in person, I'd offer you a cup of wassail and time to sit and chat.

To see days 1-4, click HERE

On the fifth day of Christmas...

the baking begins...

On the sixth day of Christmas...

the tree is complete with these four ornaments at the top...

one for each child's first Christmas

one from my husband's second grade

and one from my parent's house

On the seventh day of Christmas...

A cross-stitch I made when my children were little that reads...

"May this season

bring you joyful hours, 

pleasant memories, and

peace"

On the eighth day of Christmas...

On the ninth day of Christmas...

On the tenth day of Christmas...

On the eleventh day of Christmas...

On the Twelfth day of Christmas...

Gifts from my book club buddies

My ornament from our book club exchange...

we played naughty Santa

I stole this one!

Merry Christmas!

Robin

THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS, 1-4

On the first day of Christmas...

Homemade marshmallows

On the second day of Christmas...

A snow lantern with Christmas mugs

On the third day of Christmas...

On the fourth day of Christmas...

 A cooperative poinsettia--it hasn't dropped a leaf yet!

On the fifth day of Christmas...

You'll have to return to see those treats!  Thanks for stopping by...

 

Robin

BITS OF CHRISTMAS

TheChristmas Season  came slowly and lightly to 

Highpoint Circle this year.

Coming off of a major remodel made us desire a calmer

 season.

Five tubs of decorations are not coming out this year

and it feels wonderful...

Like a cleansing of the house.

And so the calmness of the 

season 

shines brighter

and

we are enjoying it more thoroughly.

Next year may be different

but

maybe this is the start of something new for us...

This tree skirt is from the window treatments that came down this year.

I've been putting tags on ornaments that people give us

so I will remember who gave it and the year it was given.

The tags fit my style and I love the remembrance each year.

A trick to highlight special ornaments.

Hope your season is allowing for quiet moments by your tree

with a cup of tea and, perhaps, a good book.

Thanks for taking the time to stop by.

Till next time...

 Robin

Linking Up with

Simple Details

CHRISTMAS AROUND THE KITCHEN

This was a tired old Santa from the past.  He needed an update, a facelift!  So, with help from a bottle of acrylic paint and about 10 minutes, Santa got a makeover.

He's now the star of the kitchen mantle. 

Santa shares his shine with these other kitchen accessories.

Thanks for stopping by for a cup of Christmas cheer!  Stop by again soon.  May your week bring you time to enjoy the season.

Robin

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WANTING TO PAINT

 I wanted to share a couple of paintings I recently did for a craft show at my church.

This one is an original idea.  I had painted only the pumpkin and it sat that way for about a month.  I wanted to add something to the left side but just couldn't commit!  Then, with a little pressure, because the church sale was looming, I decided on the butternut squash--it was in my fridge and I used it for inspiration.  Most people in my family thought I'd ruined the painting by added the butternut, but I didn't think most potential buyers would be too inclined to purchase my lopsided pumpkin painting!  Turns out, my sister came to the sale to buy my painting!  Thanks sis! 

This little man was inspired by a painting I saw on Pinterest.  It is not an exactly copy, I hand-drew him and changed his proportions to suit the canvas.  He was a blast to paint and watch his little face come to life.  He was raffled at the craft show.  I am doing another one for a dear friend as her Christmas present (she asked for him) and will be excited to see how the new one turns out too!

A little background, for those interested...

About 28 years ago, I took some painting classes and I continued to paint for a couple of years.  Then, like a lot of hobbies, the paints and brushes went to the closet.  About a year ago, I began painting baby gifts and my desire to paint blossomed once again.  Now all I want to do is paint--just ask my husband who had to swept up the dust bunnies from under the couch!   The funny thing is I wouldn't want either of these paintings in my own home--too much color for me!  Crazy lady, I know.

And because this blog post is short on pictures, I thought I'd share a little bit of Christmas that is starting to creep out (it is a very short season this year)...

Thanks for reading and thank you especially for all of the wonderful comments left on last week's post--you make my day!

 

Robin

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GOODBYE OCTOBER

Just a quick little post to wish you all a happy Halloween and say goodbye to October.  Does it feel like the holidays are about to happen to you?  I love the excitement of that feeling--family gathering, planning the perfect turkey (never happens), planning the perfect Christmas Tree (never satisfied with it)...  I still love everything the season ahead holds and am seriously thinking about getting my Christmas decorations out and just having a look...  It doesn't ruin Thanksgiving for me because I am so excited about everything that will happen preparing for it and Christmas. 

 

Being someone who loves design, I do always miss the decorations that I am putting away BUT I know I will be excited next year to open my plastic bins and see them with new eyes, even though some of them are very old.  It's fun to refresh the memories and revisit the people that surrounded them.

So, goodbye October.  Welcome November and all the joy that it will bring with the gatherings, friends, and activities.  I'm so ready to just jump in I can hardly wait.  Here we go...

Robin

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

"One day,
one birth,
one life--
 one world changed forever."

And Best Wishes for a Very Happy 2013!
I'll be back in a few days

Progressive Dinner

Each Christmas season, my book club buddies and I attend three of the nine houses in our club to see the decorations, exchange ornaments and have a wonderful time together.  If you are the hostess, you don't cook--the other six members provide all of the food for the evening.  It is one of my favorite nights of the year!  Nine great friends together enjoying food, drink and presents. This year we began at Vicki's for appetizers.

Then everyone came to my place for the soup and salad course.  I made chocolate-peanut-butter fudge and put it in a Christmas cookie cutter as a take-away. 

The centerpiece was a old wreath with a little tinsel.  I added a three-wick candle with a brass topper and then a couple more candles with greenery.  Each place setting also had a mercury-glass votive.  Lots of candle light with lots of great friends made for a great time.

Next, we travelled to Sally's for dessert, an ornament exchange and lots of laughter.

Finally, we got to eat this gorgeous strawberry cake with champagne frosting provided by Kristi.  Oh my, was it ever good.

Just had to share this fun evening with all my blog friends.  Thanks for reading and traveling the season with me. 

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WINDOW SHOPPING

"City sidewalks, busy sidewalks,
Dressed in holiday style
In the air, there's a feeling of Christmas."


  I must have taken 50 pictures of my tree in various lighting conditions in the last week and I haven't like any of them, so I did what I normally do when I'm frustrated, I went window shopping.  Come along, I'll show you what I saw.

Of course, that little rabbit drew me into the store and look at what I found...I think I was supposed to be looking at the clothes, but they lost me to these wonderful decorations.

I walked down those city sidewalks and spotted this little gem of a window display...

this is a color photo, not a black and white!

(Okay, I did try on a few things here, but didn't purchase anything!

The display was almost effective.)

Still going strong down the sidewalk and around the corner to this...

Yes, I went inside to get this shot (and look around just a little bit too!).

I gathered my strength and went on and saw this beauty...

Now, I'm a traditional girl with Christmas colors, but I really liked this--for someone else.  With that being said, you can understand a heart palpitation at the sight of this tree...

I am still wondering why I can get such great pictures of every tree but my own, but the frustration might have been worth it--I got out and enjoyed someone else's hard work and came home with a song in my heart for the season!

Hope your heart is singing too.

Thanks for reading, or just looking.

I've got some more wonderful posts coming soon and I am so excited to share them with you.  Come back in a few days and enjoy some more wonderful sights of the season.

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