WarehouseArtchix

The day after......please let it continue on and on and on...

If I could make a wish today...it would be that time could stand still and we could all just stay where we are celebrating Christmas for just another day! I mean come on....there is plenty of good leftover food, lots of desserts to enjoy when we aren't just stuffed, their are all those wonderful family members that we all love spending time with.....why can't we just enjoy it for one more day!!! We had a wonderful Christmas and I hope you did too! 

My daughter is headed back to school today, so sad...it was one of my greatest gifts having her home and in my kitchen for the holiday.  She is an excellent cook and we love cooking together!!  She made a yummy three chocolate bark that had dried cherries and pecan bits that she had glazed with brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and of all things cayenne pepper....it was just addictive!!  We had a delish Christmas lunch after a morning of opening presents shared with my mom, my brother and his two boys and my daughter's boyfriend.

Guess it is back to work for many today...I refuse to go back until after lunch today...just need a few more hours to savor the magic of Christmas!!  I can't wait to show you what my dear friend Kecia sent to me for Christmas, it was a box full of handmade treats!!! I will get some pics of them today so I can share with you all!!  post by Sandra

What a wonderful life!!

Oh to be home and just savor every moment of it all!!

The tree is trimmed with vintage ornaments of all colors shapes and sizes. Finally finished that yesterday...the Living Room is clean, the gifts are wrapped (most all of them), and now it is time to get in that kitchen, make order of the mess and start the cooking! But first, I want to share a little holiday magic with you....Karla Nathan held a home tour on her blog and I have to say that through reading her blog, it reminded me to appreciate every little detail of our holiday decorations, taking joy in the big and the small! Thanks Karla!!!  Now to share some of the sights from around our house-

lots of tiny cottages adorn the kitchen in red and white-

I even tucked some vintage goodies in the cabinets to make me smile as I make my coffee each morning!

A collection of old Santa boots and Santa mugs make for a colorful display. The large Santa mug is very well worn...might need to bleach him to remove all the bits of paint from him.

I am going to try and get the kitchen tree decorated today, it is a red tinsel tree that my friend Gigi gave to me. My ornaments for the kitchen tree have a Bon Appetit them...I even have tiny glittered cupcake ornaments for it!! I will share pics of it if it gets finished. The next picture is of Vegas, he liked playing amongst the boxes and bags of Christmas decorations-

He thinks anything fabric is his toy! The hat did not stay on very long before he was trying to toss it in the air! Then there is the big dog, Luchia (italian for Lucy)- She looks tough, but she is such a softy!!  But she does give you the evil eye if she is not enjoying something...can you tell?  She must know I am talking about her, she just came over and laid her head on my shoulder to see what I was doing...she is more the size of a pony than a dog!   I have pictures from many Christmas past tucked aroung the house, this is one of my favorites of my sweet daughter and I sitting on the floor in front of the Christmas tree!  She was almost 16 in that picture, how she has grown since then....such a lovely young woman with a heart of gold!! She arrived yesterday evening and is still sleeping this morning in her bed...what a comforting feeling when everyone is tucked in their bed safe and sound, the house is quiet and I am just sipping that first cup of coffee...what a wonderful life!!! Hope your home is filled with as many blessings this time of year and that you have the time to slow down and relish it all!

post by Sandra

Ready or not, Christmas is coming!!!

Welllllll....ready or not, it (meaning Christmas) is coming!!! Are you  ready??? Are all the stockings hung by the chimney with care, and the house decorated from front to back???  Are all your packages wrapped, shipped or waiting under the tree??? Have you made the trip to the grocery to get all the ingredients for a fabulous holiday meal???   Well, either way, Christmas is coming at a rapid pace!!!  I put in a 14 hr day at work today (friday) so that all my clients would have what they wanted in time for the holidays...drove to a total of 6 cities, spent long hours in traffic, wished for one more day....but all in all, it was so nice to see everyone's smiling faces as each delivery was made.  I am blessed with the most incredible clients, whom I truly love!!!!  I only had one that was a real grinch this year and she was the exception to the rule!  Most of my clients are repeat business and referrals from long time clients, so for the most part they are so sweet and fun to get to know and work with!!!  I get to know their families, hear incredible life stories, pray for them, have them pray for me, celebrate their life's blessings....and truly get to see who they are and what they believe!!!! Who could ask for more!!!  As for the grinch, well...she has some things she is dealing with this year, one of which is she wanted more than she could afford, the other being her heart desires something, but it is not happening for her......will be quite interesting to see how and if she grows from this!!!   Well, enough of work stories....to answer all the questions above...I have not found the box the stockings are in yet...but no worry, I have spares...this is not the first year they have been packed away too deep to find! The tree is up in my living room, it is covered in vintage ornaments....but the sad news is there are boxes and boxes of those left that have not been put on.  I have to start from the inside of the tree and work my way out to get them all on....maybe they will all get to shine this year!! And YES!!!! I have made my trip to the grocery to get all the ingredients for a wonderful holiday meal and lots of yummy snacks and treats for my kiddos!!!   I have all my shopping finished, but none of it is wrapped....that's tomorrow's task!!  I will spend the day cleaning and wrapping as I wait for my daughter to arrive!!!  My favorite saying this week is "It is what it is!!!", meaning .....doesn't matter if it all gets done, Christmas is coming Dec. 25th ready or not!!!!  I want to share a great recipe that my hairdresser told me this afternoon when I got my hair cut (very short) at lunch time....I am calling it : Larry's Bon Bons....he had a tin of them to share with us today!!!! Oh my gosh they were incredible....so rich and moist....when he told us how easy they were and gave us the directions, I could not believe it!!!  You take one package of oreo cookies and put them in your blender, pulverize, add one block of cream cheese to this and blend well.  Shape this mixture into bon bon size balls and chill.  then melt dipping chocolate and dip each one in that, place on wax paper to cool.  If you want (and they look fab this way) melt white dipping chocolate and drizzle over each one......you will not believe how incredible these taste and they are so easy to make!!!! I am making them tomorrow for my neighbors to enjoy!!!  You know inbetween the wrapping, cleaning and decorating!!!  Hope you are taking this holiday in perspective and realizing that it is not how much we get done, but how much we share, love and enjoy each other as we focus on the birth of Christ.  That tiny baby born in a manger and placed sleeping in a bed made of straw..... that is what is really important....not finishing the to do list!!!!! Happy Holidays to each of you and thank you for being such a blessing in my life!!!! post by Sandra

p.s.  Debra if you read this.....I am feeling quite awful that I have not seen you and little Jack yet....it is one of the things I sooooo look forward to now that the holiday rush is behind me at work!!!!   Much love to you and that sweet baby!!!!!!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas....almost!!

ok...I have to admit it, I am running a little behind.  Yes, after putting up trees for all my design clients, I tend to drag my feet when it comes to walking in the door from work and starting the holiday decorating at our house!

Each night this week I have tried to put out at least one or two Christmas decorations....especially since Karla is having a Holiday Party on her blog.  She has links to lots of creative people's Christmas decor as she asks ....What do you love about your holiday home???....so ...I added a little pink bottle brush tree to the ledge that my bluebird painting sits on (in my very vintage kitchen)....then I brought in a box from the garage and found a pair of glittered Santa boots with silver foil leaves and red berries...

The Santa on the left is one that I have had since I was a little girl. It always hung by the front door at our house and if you pulled the glittered ball on the string, it would play a Christmas tune...sadly it no longer plays...but no fear, I have taken apart the back and am operating on him to see if he can be restored.  I have a 82 year old neighbor who is good at this kind of thing...so he is going to help me figure it out this weekend.  It would make me so happy to pull the string and hear music again. I love how my mom never took the plastic off the glittered pull.....I always wanted to take it off and touch the glitter. I think it would be wonderful to hang when I have grandchildren (much too young for that right now!!!) and watch their yes sparkle when it plays!

Since my Living Room is more of an Old World Italian look, I have this gorgeous angel perched upon a stack of old books that I have embellished the bindings on.  Can you see the candle on the left, Plum Pudding by Root Candle Co.  my favorite this time of year and  they smell good even when not lit!!  You can see a small part of a great huge iron gate piece that is hanging on the wall behind the angel.   Then, sitting on a side table is the angel that tops my living room tree and an angel ornament that I bought about 20 years ago.

The glittered gold candles are so pretty at night!  Not much to show...yet, thinking if I get it done before Christmas, it may be a miracle!  This may be a month  of posts about "what I love about my house at Christmas!".

My daughter is coming in this weekend and we will have fun pulling out more decorations and cooking some of our favorite treats!! I am so glad she is coming as she is working most of the holiday break from school.   Hoping to try out Karla's fudge recipe on her blog...sounds so yummy!! Don't forget to click on www.karlascottage.typepad.com for more holiday decor than ever!!!  Thanks Karla for letting us share!!! -post by Sandra

CHARMING COTTAGE ARRIVES!!!

Look what arrived on my doorstep this week!!!  My sweet cottage from the CHARMING COTTAGE SWAP!!  I had the honor of participating in the swap hosted by www.littlebluebirddiaries.typepad.com . My swap partner was the hostess of the swap...Rosalyn Sue, how did I get so fortunate!!  Seems we both like all things pink, vintage and fru fru!  I could not have been any more pleased, as I opened the box to find this sweet pink frosted cottage!  The roof has shimmery shingles frosted with snow, the tiny windows have snow on their sills.  The tinsel wreaths have vintage millnery flowers on them.  The sugar frosted lights are hung with care.  The little sign on the front reads "Sandra's Sweet Shop" and there is a wonderful little snowman sitting in the snow!

The front is embellished with sugared candy and goodies!

She even sent a bottle brush tree, which I played with putting it inside and then out again...The inside is soft green and holds a cottage table with ribbon edge and ruffled sides, the table holds an assortment of "sweets", so cute it makes me want to just dream of visiting this little "sweet shop"

And if that is not enough, she sent a box of goodies too!  The box has an assortment of vintage millnery flowers in pink of course! and a sweet treat of jelly beans, even some vintage pink lace!  Then, the most adorable soft pink felt strawberry ornament!  I felt like it was Christmas morning with all these treats!! 

Have you ever seen anything as cute as that cottage and then to get the extra goodies, just made my weekend!! It was extra special as I know Rosalyn Sue has a sweet little baby boy that has been having lots of medical test, a husband that is serving our country and she has been making and filling stockings for the soldiers.  To think that she had time, took time to create this cottage for me, is something I cherish and appreciate!!

Can't wait to add this ornament to my pink tinsel tree in my bedroom!!! Thank you Rosalyn Sue!!! I love it all!!! post by Sandra

P.S. Tomorrow is the day for Debra to be induced to deliver her sweet baby boy Jack!!! Keep her in your prayers and I will post a picture of that cutie as soon as I can get a pic of him!!! Bless you Deb and your family as you await this new addition to your family!!