Angels we have Heard on High ....

Nestled high above on my curio cabinet is a choir of angels in all shapes and sizes. Of course they all have a personal story to share but I'll share just a few. The two on the left with the big eyes are made by Mary Myers .... remember her from the Santa's?? Gabriel is the largest with his horn in hand ready to notify the world of Jesus' birth. I love his funny, chunky knees! Now way over to the right up front is an angel with clear wings. She is REALLY old! She sat a top my dad's childhood Christmas tree until my grandparents passed. She has numerous melt marks on her plastic body from the heat of the electric cord that illuminated her body. I'm shocked she never ignited the tree and burned it down! She holds a lot of memories for me and always has a front row seat where ever she rests.



This is a motley crew of Santa's don't you agree? This little fella standing directly next to the second "s" is from Russia. My husband and picked him up one year on one of our trips. They greet our guests as they enter the front foyer and always make people smile!



Oh Christmas Tree .... This year I limited my decorated trees to four, this being the largest. I have a child's rocking horse and doll in view under the tree. Not seen is my dad's locomotive engine, a feather weight sewing machine and a vintage Noah's Ark. The grandkids love to them when the come to visit, thinking Santa already visited Grandma's house.



This piece always makes my husband laugh. It's a pie safe yet he has never seen a pie in it! My grandmother's childhood rocking chair sits in front with my Woopie Goldberg doll singing Christmas Carols to the baby in her lap!



And finally, the formal dining room table. Here is my very big dough trough filled with all things Christmas! A Longaberger basket holds another one of my decorated trees. The tree is filled with my collection of Longaberger birds. Sitting behind my woodland Santa is another Longaberger Bowl Basket. As you may have noticed by now my Longaberger will show up in very odd places!



So Long November

                                 The Turkeys and pumpkins are safely tucked away for another year as November 2011 comes to a close. I feel so blessed and thankful for all the gifts and treasures God has bestowed upon me and my loved ones. In these turbulent economic times that says a lot in itself. As we stand on the threshold of Christmas and the birth of Christ I ask you to join me as I take a walk in my past Christmas'! Some days will be funny, others reflective while others may be melancoly I hope you enjoy my journey.

Finishing the Family Room



The following pictures will complete the family room Christmas decorations and these pictures are at the heart of the room so I saved them for last. Many of the blogs I read are from the east coast/New England and it's interesting how the west and the east coast differ in the way we reference our rooms! So, a family room here is a great room on the east coast as I blog along I will let you know what our spaces are in comparison to the east!

One of the fella's made reference to how he likes to keep his year round item in place and place Christmas with it. Well, I agree, and to a large degree I have done the same. So follow along as I explain what's goin on! The above space is directly above out television and it's something we look at a lot! Therefore I want to enjoy it. The area with all the Santa's is completely re-done for Christmas and I so enjoy it. The 3 tallest Santa's are Nutcrackers hand carved by Mary Myer. This is a craft she learned as a child from her grandpa, I just love her story. The smaller Santa between them is from Germany and he's a smoker. We got him on our honeymoon so he's very dear to both of us! Scattered in with all of these are some of my Longaberger Basket Christmas features.

Right smack in the center are two little plastic reindeer. These were always in our home while I was growing up. My mom was throwing them out when I rescued them. She just laughed and couldn't imagine why I would want them ... geeze who wouldn't! The other vintage piece here is the largest Santa coffee cup. This has my name painted on it in gold paint and was given to me as a baby. Vintage, wow does that sound old!
The space above this has two pieces that are almost antiques! There is an old truck that belonged to my dad as a boy, the back is filled with additional old toys that were his as well. To the right is a toy train car, it's the only piece left after 80 plus years. These are part of my year round decor'.



Scary Santa, as my grandson calls him sits on the far right, I've had him for years and he makes me laugh. He's quite large and wears a red velvet suit, quite dapper don't you think? 

On the far left is a hand carved black Santa, he used to have a really cute black crow sitting on his shoulder but it was lost long ago. Remember my love of crows? I was so sad when it flew away. To Santa's right is another toy of my dad's, this is a wind up race car - it works too! The Longaberger basket is my first ever Christmas Basket and yes, it's almost vintage as well.
That it's for tonight, I'll be back tomorrow with another room. Happy decorating!!

The Transformation Continues ....



Yesterday I posted a photo of the top of the hoosier, here is the lower portion! Another easy make over, I filled my existing dough trough with an assortment of oranges, lemons and pomegranates as well as a festive mini quilt and some pine from the local court house! So fun and so easy.



A tiny vignette above a prim bookcase. The wooden plate was another Goodwill thrift store treasure. The beautiful grain sucked me in and I paid $3.99 ... so worth every penny.



This is a shot of my family room mantle, I'm bummed - this pic came out a bit fuzzy. I have displayed another portion of my Santa collection  and my pewter candle sticks, I love candle sticks! The pewter type candle stick closest to my soldier is from our current Longaberger catalog. I love the look of these, they have a nice patina and a colonial design to them. Another Longaberger product on the mantle is the mirror on the left end, I like how nicely it blends with the pewter and my Santa's!




Sitting on my brick hearth is the very large Longaberger lantern. As you can plainly see is holds a lot more then candles, I have had a myriad of things inside this season, pumpkins, a stack of towels even a Mickey Mouse in his vintage baseball suite. Let your imigination soar!!




To the left is my antique sled, I found this many years ago in a favorite antique shop of mine. I finally had the perfect spot to hang my grandfather skates. The little white skates are actually a tree ornament.




And in closing is a small vignette on my stairs. My antique pail and firkin are dressed for the season as a bald headed Santa sits close by. I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday and are as busy preparing for your Christmas Season as I am.



It's Decoration Day!! Woot Hoot!

Decorating the house for the Christmas Season is a MAJOR production. The big storage bins emerge from the storage unit and assemble on the back patio and enter the house one by one. Some how throughout the day their contents end up all over the house, floor, counter tops, table tops, inside and out. Slowly things begin to form into a winter wonderland of primitive friends. For the first time in years a very dear and long time friend came in for a visit and helped with the chaos. It took a bit longer but it was a lot of fun!



Here is a sample of why it took so long ... Cyndie found the need to "decorate" herself instead of the rooms. Besides the lovely red flower clipped in her hair she adorned herself with winterberries and a few on Miss Betsy as well!



In the next few days I will post some of my Christmas magical rooms and vignettes. Here is a small wall cabinet that houses my pewter and Vallencourt Starlight Santa Collection. The middle pitcher was a recent thrift store find ... $5.00 - almost unheard of in California! It was my lucky day.

The hoosier  was an easy makeover, a prim Santa and a few holiday greens did the job.

Cyndie's getting ready to go and wanted a final pic with the Santa's in the living room. I'll say good bye for now as well and will return with more photo's soon!

Things I'm Thankful For ...

Thanksgiving was an amazingly wonderful day. I attempted to get a "nice" picture of my husband Joe and little Miss Betsy and myself. After several tries we gave up. Betsy looks terrified or bored in every photo! So much for the Christmas card picture. Anyway, I am so thankful for my patient husband and my camera phobe dog, good friends, family and a truly beautiful day. 

Whatcha been doin???



When you answer your phone does someone on the other end ask "whatcha been doin?" I get it all the time. My reply "sewing."  When I can I like to make my Christmas gifts, especially if I think they will be appreciated! So if you're some one who calls and asks what I'm doing ... here's a couple of samples of what I've been doin! They're finally completed and ready to wrap.

Here is another completed treasure. I don't know about other quilters but after all the time the quilt and I spend together it's hard to let them go, they become like a member of the family! Yes, I am that slow of a quilter!

Sometime in the near future I would like to host a Giveaway. However, before I do this and let go of one of my treasures I would like to know how many bloggers out there are even interested! So, if one of my mini doll quilts interests you please register as one of my followers of my blog. Once I see how the response is I'll move to step two!!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, I'll be back in a few days!



Getting the Table Ready ....

As the days tick by Thanksgiving is rapidly approaching and it's time to begin my preparations. The guests have been invited, groceries are in the cupboard and the turkey's in the fridge. So let's take a walk through setting a table for the coming feast! I have laid a large cranberry red table cloth as my base and a festive fall table square on top ....



In a Longaberger Crock Basket I have placed a pot of beautiful red tipped mums. A medium and small set of Longaberger pumpkins with some sprigs of apples keep the crazy long legged Pottery Barn Crow company! Moving on I add more to my table scape ....



Now the Turkey's have arrived! There are two of them along with several candles to cast a warm glow on the Thanksgiving table.



The place settings are added ... Longaberger pottery plates, flatware and napkins corralled by yep, more turkeys!





The basics are in place, I'll finish on Thursday and post the final outcome later!!



A final touch for each place is a small wrapped gift of thanks for each of my guests.



A Pewter Companion

Taadaa!! I'm so excited!! I found this very cool pewter cocoa pitcher, I just love it! It hails from across the Atlantic from the old country of England! I love the patina, it matches my ink well perfect. Now I am searching for a small pewter drinking vessel to set with it. Sometimes you just stumble onto the perfect thing without even trying ... that's when you know God is involved!!

Christmas Came Early!!



Oh happy day!! Christmas came early to my house today! I received a package in today's mail and I had no idea who it was from. When I opened it there was a little green tag saying Merry Christmas, Love Paula!! OMG I was so surprised to see a little pewter ink well and quill! I LOVE it, it's my first piece of ASL Pewter. It is now happily sitting on my antique child's desk looking quite stunning if I don't say so myself. I have been so blessed to have such a wonderful friend.

 


Here is a closer picture of my ink well, isn't it just too cute. Now keep in mind, if I had to use that quill for purposes of communication and not my computer I would not be to excited. I love all my modern conveniences but I also love the quaint charm of yester year.



Yum ... Roasted Garlic!

Greetings! Be sure to click on the link below to view the 12 hour special offered by the Longaberger Co. TODAY only! With the holidays quickly approaching this is a perfect little hostess gift. It's available in all 7 color choices and costs a mere $12.00 before SH & TX!! If you need assistance in ordering contact me at baskets4anita@aol.com!! Have yourself an amazing day!!


Today's Special

I think I live on one of the prettiest streets in Fullerton! It's one of the few that actually shows a display of the fall season. When the sun hits the leaves just right they glimmer like red flames. By Christmas they will be in their full glory and by January they will all be naked! Isn't it interesting how the tropical palm trees and the sugar maples co-exist in the mild California weather??



I didn't realize how out of focus this picture was until I posted it on my blog. However blurry it is the message comes through loud and clear ... giving thanks. In this turbulent economy I feel blessed that my family is safe and secure, that we are healthy and that we have each other. As this holiday season is rapidly approaching and we will all be wrapped up in the madness, I hope all of you can take a minute to enjoy the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, a meal with family and friends and give thanks to God.




There has been a chill in the air just about every night so I thought it was time to get my quilts out and hang them up where they're easy to get a hold of! I love how these three look together, they all have the warm cozy glow of fall. The quilt in the middle is my newest, it's a sampler of the Underground Railroad. As we celebrate the 150 anniversary of the Civil War I felt an urge to commemorate the journey made by America's slaves to pursue their freedom and pursuit of happiness.



It's Sewing Day!

What a truly fun day we had. Penny, Rita and myself fired up the little featherweight sewing machines and worked on our "Row" quilts. As hostess I cheated and had most of mine done in advance so I was able to read a bit of a Civil War diary, serve lunch and share some exciting quilters blogs I have stumbled on! 

Here is a shot of Penny hard at work, she is pinning her block together so it comes out just perfect! I have learned so many tricks from this lady, thanks Penny.

This is Rita, she is a speedy quilter! Her row is done, her machine is packed and she's about to head out the door. But not before one more picture!

Now look carefully, to the right of the lamp is a very cute little pinwheel doll quilt. Rita very graciously gave this to me today when she arrived. I LOVE it!! She and Penny made these one day and I was so jealous, I think it goes just perfect with the colors in my other doll quilts hanging on the wall ... don't you agree???
Thank you again ladies, I had such a fun time today.

Ah the beauty of falls harvest!

Aren't these pomegranates just beautiful? My husband, Betsy and I took a little drive through Carbon Canyon a few days ago and as we whizzed up the canyon I spotted a wild pomegranate tree loaded with these red jewels of fall. Well I just had to stop and collect a few! Joe being the patient fella that he is was willing to comply, turned the car around and Betsy and I went pickin. They are so dead ripe the fruit is busting open. I don't plan on eating them, they stain everything they touch, however, they look so beautiful in baskets! 

Noodle's Anyone!!

I know, I know it's a bit dark but don't you just love it! Huh? You don't know what a noodle board is??? Well let me educate you. At least this is my version of the noodle board story.
When I was small and would visit my grandma in Ohio I loved to watch her cook .... especially when she made homemade noodles. My mouth is watering right now thinking of them. Anyway, she would roll the dough out, cut them in the size she wanted and would lay them on the noodle board to dry. The board was set on the stove top for what seemed like eternity to wait for the noodles to dry. Then grandma would make the most delicious chicken and noodle soup in the world. She was such an amazing cook and a master of comfort foods! Even when she and my grandpa would travel to California for their winter visits (to escape the bitter Ohio cold) she would bring along her noodle board. So many times I have wondered where that old noodle board went. I hope it's in someones home nestled on their warm stove and was not set to fire many yeas ago in someones "burn" pile.

So one day I was visiting my favorite blogs and low and behold what do I find??? A Noodle Board! I was so excited to say the least. I contacted Carol at Firecracker Kid and quickly ordered my black noodle board! Yes, Carol is a 4th of July baby like me ... we're kindred spirits all the way across the US. Well, last week the board arrived! I was so excited to open it up and get it on the stove. When Joe, my husband came downstairs he said "a noodle board' I was shocked that he called it by that name. He shared the story of his grandmum who also made homemade noodles and dried them on a wood board.
Will I be making homemade noodles you ask? Ah, no. However every time I see the noodle board I will imagine those buttery yellow noodles drying on the stove and for a quick moment I will hear my grandma say "no Anita, not yet."

BOO!!

My adorable grandchildren came to town for  few days and I bought them some of those silly Count Dracula teeth. Well as you can see my daughter Tiffany and myself had more fun with them then the kids did.  Austin wasn't even sure he wanted to be in the picture with us!

Say Cheese!

Woo, hoo! I ordered a hand made Cheese Basket from a fellow blogger and I LOVE it! As you all know I love baskets and this one is so me. Currently it is sitting on top of my Hoosier, I can't wait to add some pine and berries and perhaps a treasured Santa for the holiday's! If you would like one of your own just contact Pam at basketpam@gmail.com and she will take good care of you. 



Here is a wider shot including some of my new doll quilts as well! Have a happy fall.