Lavender & Linen: Christmas

Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts

~Christmas in the Garden~

The weather in KY has been unbelievable! It's been in the 70's, totally unheard of this time of year. I believe this time last year we already had several snows plus freezing temperatures.

Since the weather was so nice, I decided to invite a few neighbors over for a snack in the garden. We started out with Wassail, but since it was so warm we switched to wine...(wink)

Maggie and sweet Albert are enjoying this beautiful weather also.

Maggie is so full of mischief....trying to decorate the courtyard has been quiet the challenge!

We sat out here until dark....hopefully will get to repeat again today, because this weather is due to change next week.

Early morning view from my walk in the neighborhood,

The clock at the Capitol is beautiful this year,

this is how it looks at night.

It's always decorated differently each year, I think this is my favorite.

Well friends that's all for today...hope to take a few photo's of the inside and post before Christmas, but until then, wishing you and yours a wonderful week.

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A Few Vignette's

Hello Everyone!

The weather has been incredible for this time of year!

I’m hoping the tree’s and flowers don’t get confused.

Anyway, I found these cute little wine stoppers and décor for bottles

at a new shop in our area. They’re made by local artisans….I love the fact, she recycled an old

shirt sleeve to make the bottle jacket.

A red tie would have been more festive, but I thought I would

go with neutrals so I could use it all year.

I LOVE his face!

The shop owner also used them for flower vases. He had fresh greens in

bottles, dressed up in men’s shirt sleeves and ties, all around the shop.

This is just a little Christmas vignette I pulled together last night. My daughter bought the instruments

at a consignment shop several years ago. The story goes…that

they once belonged to a band member of Cher’s.

The angel was given to me by my daughter, the Rosary is from

Notre Dame in Paris.

I’ll never forget climbing up and down 380 stone steps to the bell tower, waiting in line

at the gift shop, to buy Rosaries. You can see why it’s soooo special!

I love words, chalk boards old signs and etc., however, I’ll admit I

need to practice.

I must have misspelled Michelangelo’s name at least 3 times before I FINALLY got it right.

It’s off centered, but it is what it is.

I think the most memorable gifts I have received are not always the most expensive

ones, it’s the thoughtful ones.

For example…this little golden retriever ornament was given to us by a good friend several years ago.

It will forever have a place on our tree each year, not only will it remind us

of our friend, but we will always have special memories of

our mischievous little buddy, Albert.

(He grabbed the Santa hat and ran because he knew I wanted him to wear it!) Smile

That’s all for today friends….

It’s gift wrapping time!

Take care and have a wonderful week!

Please stop by French Country Cottage for some lovely and creative inspiration!

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Vintage Nostalgia

A few whimsical touches to old vintage toys adds warmth and invites family home to take

pleasure in the traditions of years gone by.

Each Christmas we display this little 1946 Looky Fire Truck.

It was a Christmas gift to my husband when he was first born.

He was also firefighter for many years.

This is a 1946 Christmas stocking from Germany, it always takes center stage

on our mantel.

Mantel Clock, early 1900’s, belonged to my husbands grandparents.

Franklin D. Roosevelt's “the man of the hour” clock, dates back to 1933 and is also vintage.

This old clock was a $3.00 yard sale find and it works.

Here’s another vintage mantel clock that has a beautiful chime.

My collection of old vintage faded red books.

Our Christmas tree is finally decorated along with several strands of new lights.

Have you ever attempted to remove several hundred lights from an

eight foot prelit Christmas tree? Me either…until today and it’s not fun. They all decided

to stop working at the same time. Sad smile

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy your weekend!

For more vintage inspiration ..stop by the following

Common Ground vintage Friday Inspiration

French Country Cottage

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~Christmas Cactus~

It was a beautiful day in the neighborhood today so Albert and I walked through the woods

and gathered fresh evergreens and pinecones for our Christmas décor.

Do you like Christmas cactus?

You have to purchase this plant early for best selection.

They come in shades of yellow, red, pink, fuchsia,

white and orange to brighten your holidays.

These easy plants are favorites for both new and experienced gardeners. Care is simple.

They prefer bright, indirect light.

While blooming, keep the soil evenly moist, not soggy.

As you can tell this little cactus needed a new pot badly.

High winds knocked it over this summer, so I just stuck it in the

first thing I could find. I think I actually threw it in the trash, but later reconsidered.

While I was at Michaels, last month, I used my

50% coupon and bought this little clay pot for around $1.50.

I saw this flower pot tutorial while I was on Pinterest.

Click on the picture if you would like to see how it’s done.

She gives a simple and easy to understand tutorial.

I wanted a little bit more of a taupe finish instead of white so I

used Ralph Lauren’s smoke glaze along with grey and white acrylic paint.

It’s the first thing I see every morning….adds a little Christmas cheer to my day.

Here’s another Christmas Cactus that I’ve had for several years.

It will probably get a new French pot next year.

I hung Christmas wreaths and finally finished the outside Christmas decorating,

I’m ready to sit down and relax with a nice cup of coffee.

I hope you’re having a great weekend!

Take care and I will see you soon!

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Simple Christmas Decor

I saw this painting in Paula Deen’s magazine a couple of years ago, if I remember correctly, she said her nephew had painted it for her. I loved the simplicity of the painting and since I didn’t have any Christmas art I dabbled in a little paint and came up with this version.

I love birds! Summer, fall, winter it doesn’t matter. They are always welcome here.

I found these little birds at Tree’s and Trend’s. I would love to go visit after the holidays and browse their after Christmas sales. They have a large selection of Christmas decor.