Holiday Open House

Last year I did a blogging holiday home tour and I wanted to do another one this year seeing how it was oh so much fun.  I heard about Kimba's and so here I am.  :)  

Thanks, regular blog readers for "visiting my home" as well as any of you who are visiting from Kimba's open house today!

Welcome!  Come on in.  

To see my newly created "mudroom" all decked out for the holidays, click here.  

This is my centerpiece on the table.  I like it a lot in its simplicity and old fashioned feel.  My new sisters-in-law gave the deer to me last Christmas!  (Keeping it real, notice the half decorated for fall still and half empty shelve behind the dining room table?  It doesn't have to be perfect.  Sometimes you just have to notice what you've had time to make beautiful and ignore the rest. )

My wonderful husband put this shelf up for me in the guest bedroom.  Childhood Santas and a VERY old plate I just bought antiquing with my mom at Thanksgiving.  I love its graphic green plaid!  

Here's the top of the fridge.  :)  Sorry it's a little blurry.  

tiny touch of kitchen festivity

This is how I decided to display my cards this year.  I just cut a bunch of different green trims into short lengths and keep those and a hole punch in one of the kitchen drawers.  

Seasonal sweets from my sweet mom!  

Mantle close-ups

I love how calm it is.  

Even though I didn't replace the burned down candles in the candelabra or manage to find the chalk to write "Unto us a child is born" on the chalkboard, it is still beautiful to me.  The "R" handkerchief was a gift from my aunt.  

a quiet reading nook with a quilt that a sweet, sweet lady from Adrian's church in Missouri made and a pillow that I bought in Italy in college. 

our first tree!  

one of the women who came to our shower from our church made this ornament for us with the blue beads,  the beads represent our wedding date, 10-4-08.  

my blogging spot :)  

May the peace of Christ dwell within you this holiday season.  

He is Emmanuel, God with us.  

Merry Christmas.  

Thank you for your kindness in visiting.  

Kelly

cool, cool, cool!

I just discovered this site through one of Jessica's blogs and checked it out on snopes just to be sure.  It is called free rice and you can answer vocab questions or identify the artists of fine art or even learn Italian a word at a time and all sorts of other subjects.  Every time you get a question right you are donating 20 grains of rice to poverty stricken countries.  This rice is paid for by advertisers but to be honest I haven't even noticed the advertising yet.  It's super fun!  Give it a try!  Kelly

a happy bargain!

My very smart husband is of the opinion that no home should have only ONE pie plate.  Pie is something that should not be hampered by such logistics.  :)  

So, I have been on the lookout for a second pie plate.  I like the glass ones.  I had looked at antique stores, etc.  Last weekend we were in a Marshall's.  I saw a glass pie plate.  aha!  $12.99!  What???  no way.  So I put it back.  The very next store we went to was Target.  TWO plain glass pie plates just like I like for $4.50.  Now that's more like it.  

I bought them wondering did I really need THREE.  Tried to give one to a friend but she already had a bunch also.  

Just this morning I realized a wonderful use for it.  

My super cool and talented at gift giving sister-in-law, Mandy, gave me an herb themed gift for Christmas (we celebrated at Thanksgiving since we'll won't be together on Dec. 25th).  First up, herb snips that I'd registered for!  Yea!  Second, a neat book called "a handful of herbs" with gardening, cooking and decorating tips and finally I opened a wrapped box to unveil a BEAUTIFUL pot filled with oregano, thyme, basil, sage and rosemary.  We used the oregano in a frittata this week and the sage and thyme in a salad.  Yummy!  

 

The only downside was that I did not have anything to set the pot in so it was still sitting on top of a plastic sack on top of an old towel and was not quite as pretty in our living room as it could have been.  You got it!  This morning:  brainstorm!  A glass pie plate!  hooray!!!  

wanna make a cute advent calendar for your kids?

how cute is this???  If I had kids I betcha we would be making one of these.  Let me know if you make it.  Kelly

heart shaped

Remember this post about where I blog with the red pyrex "ice cream dish"?  

Well here's that same dish where you can actually see the little heart in the corner.  How sweet is that?  My precious mom bought it for me and actually gave it to me instead of keeping it for herself.  :)  Thanks, Mom!  Kelly

one more garland

I wanted to show one more garland for Nester's Show and Tell. 

She makes these fabulous ragamuffin garlands and encourages everyone else to make them too or at least buy one from her because everyone *needs* one, don't you think?  

Well, approximately 10 years ago my grandma (Sweetie) made this garland for me and one for my mom.  We saw one somewhere and said to ourselves, "Sweetie could do that!" and so she listened to our explanation and then created it, "viola!"  (oh no, my friend Sandi who speaks French for real has a pet peeve about people mispelling that word and I am afraid I am but I am tired and don't want to look it up.  Sorry Sandi, please correct me and forgive me.  :)

So I'm living in Dallas as a single gal with this fabulous ragamuffin garland and I'm thinking I should hang stockings but there's just me and I am convinced that one stocking would look absolutely pathetic.  Nope, can't do it.  It will only rub my singleness in my own face.  So . . . 

I raid my sock drawer and find all of the mismatched, holey socks and go buy Rit dye and get out the tea bags and get to work dyeing those guys.  Then the first year I got out my needle and some skinny red ribbon and strung the socks on the ribbon and tied nice little bows.  After that when one or two fell off I just began to staple them onto the strips of cloth!  It works.  

(I added a few little red berries this year so the Nester would be proud of me.)  

Nester's Garland Show and Tell

My garland is probably a bit different from most.  Mine is a garland I did for Thanksgiving instead of for Christmas.  

The inspiration to get started came from a desire to use the dried orange roses from my wedding.  

photo:  Rachel Wilks Photography

I ended up pulling out stashes of dried leaves that I'd bought at MJDesign (wow!  remember when that store was in business?  I've had these a while!)  bittersweet that I'd bought two years ago at Canton, two garlands of white berries (again from Canton) and some random sprigs of fake berries I'd picked up here and there.  

I especially love how it looked when my husband hung the top of an old door frame beneath it that I'd picked up for $5 (again at Canton!) last year and never yet used.  

I also made this "garland" for Thanksgiving.  

Nester, thanks for hosting this garland show and tell!  Kelly

hee hee hee

just looking through some old pictures and had to laugh a little

this was me three Christmases ago

my friend Tiffany came over to take pictures of me so I would have something to post on eharmony.  :)  

hey, it worked.  :)  

Kelly

Travel Tuesday

I'd like to start a new feature on my blog.  

Travel Tuesdays

Travel is one of Adrian's and my passions.  I love to talk about traveling, think about traveling, dream about traveling, read travel books, etc., etc., etc.  

Sidenote:  One of the characteristics that was important to me in a future spouse when I was single was someone who would be a good travel partner.  You can be great friends with someone but not travel well together.  It takes a special combination.  I didn't know how I was going to find that out about a potential mate since for me it would require separate hotel rooms bringing added expense, etc.  God is amazing in the ways that He works in our lives.  The first seven months of Adrian's and my relationship were long distance.  We ended up traveling all over meeting each other's families and friends and staying in their guest rooms, couches, any place they could fit two guests.  Not only did God give us the opportunity to learn that we travel really well together but along with that we also got to meet the people important to each of us and relationship is also of huge importance to both of us.  

okay, back to travel Tuesdays.  

so, I thought it would be fun to highlight different places we've traveled and particularly to get dialog going with various travel tips, etc.  

First up:  

Dublin, TX 

This was part of Adrian's and my trip over Thanksgiving.  

(look how the girl swings out on the billboard!)

Dublin, TX is home to the oldest Dr. Pepper bottling plant.  

Itinerary:  We left Dallas on Friday afternoon and drove to Stephenville, TX.

The drive from Dallas to Houston and vice versa along 45 is BORING.  You've done it once, you've done it a million times.  In the last ten years I have made that drive QUITE a few times.  Adrian and I have decided to mix it up a bit a couple of times.  The first time was this momentous trip!  

This time we decided to drive down to Stephenville on Friday night, stay in a B&B and then take a leisurely drive down on Saturday, stopping at Dublin and anywhere else that caught our fancy.  

Friday night we were quite hungry by the time we got to Glenrose, TX.  After inquiring at a local pie shop that was closing for the day we were recommended to Anderson's

(which appears to be for sale interestingly enough)

It was a wonderful spot for dinner.  We shared a steak and baked potato plate with corn on the cob, a fresh, very good roll and a piece of cornbread with broccoli in it (I'd never heard of such but it was pretty good.)  We also had two salads.  The food was really good and the prices were reasonable.  They even brought a little dish to our table toward the end of our meal with 2 little brownie bite type things garnished with chocolate syrup, whipped cream and a cherry.  Very nice touch.  

We drove into Stephenville after dinner to the September Song bed and breakfast.  

My favorite things about this bed and breakfast were the gracious hospitality and welcoming spirit of our hosts,  the very yummy breakfast of Southwestern casserole with green chilies, a bread basket with several unique types of bread in it including some apricot dumplings, a good fruit salad and milk, juice, & coffee, the scripture from Isaiah that had been written into the wet concrete of their driveway, the interesting furniture pieces, the wide staircase and the little hand-crafted magnet they gave us as a souvenir of our stay, made from pecan trees on their property and hand-painted.  It was also a very reasonably priced B&B.  

I will say that the bathroom was really small.  

As we made our way from Stephenville to Houston, we stopped in Dublin and inquired about the tours.  They only run the plant on Wednesdays so we could have taken a tour but we would not have seen the plant "in action".  We opted to just enjoy a Dr. Pepper float instead, both of us agreeing that it was one of the best we've ever had and to pick up some "Dublin Dr. Pepper" in glass bottles (made with real Imperial sugar instead of corn syrup) for stocking stuffers.  I wandered into an antique store on the square that was pretty good and on we drove.  

We saw far more fall "color" than we expected in Texas and beautiful countryside with interesting land formations.  We stopped at a roadside barbecue stand and a couple of flea markets.  When I was getting desperate for a bathroom break at one point we pulled into a little town and went to a little antique store (I much prefer stopping at them to gas stations.  :) ) and it was so funny.  The proprietor directed me to a door in the back and in I walked to find a room full of merchandise (which turned out to be half-price!) and a set of stairs leading up to a little platform on which sat the toilet surrounded by plenty of antique baubles for your perusal.  Hilarious!  

So, here's the really fun part of travel Tuesdays:  

Have you been to Stephenville, Glenrose or Dublin?  What are your thoughts/recommendations?

What is the best ice cream float you've ever devoured?

Do you have an idea of an interesting route for us to take next time we make the drive from Dallas to Houston?  

p.s. I should give credit to my friends from church who suggested this route for us through Dublin!  Thanks girls.  Kelly

p.s.s. if you have a post on your blog about anything related to this travel post, please let us know.  I'd love to learn about other's travels as well.  

Also, if you have a question, feel free to ask it.  

everyday unwrapped

This week I purposed to notice.  

last Tuesday I directed you to emily's blog. 

i read her post on monday and God has used her writing to help me to think and to notice this week.  it was good to have a "mission".  it helped me to be more present and to pay attention to what i was noticing in different moments than i probably would have been.

on monday i noticed the contented feeling i had in my car while driving home from work

i noticed leaves drifting down from tall, tall trees

on tuesday i noticed my friend from high school sitting across from me at dinner at La Madeleine

i mean i really noticed her and the fact that we were sitting there

together

sharing

talking

laughing

and for a moment the air was charged with a bit more warmth and zing

"this doesn't happen everyday"

"this is a blessing"

"take notice"

"be grateful"

on wednesday  i noticed that even though i'd been feeling some spiritual dryness and felt like i was having a hard time communing with Him, that in our worship service i was smiling, feeling, praising, knowing victory

also on wednesday i noticed that there were nearly twenty kindergarteners looking joyfully at me singing the song i'd just taught them 

classes of twenty some odd children look back at me five days out of the week but after ten years has it just become routine?  do i notice their faces, their smiles, the light in their eyes?

i noticed on wednesday

thursday i purposed to relax and enjoy a meeting

a meeting?

yes, a meeting, why not enjoy a meeting if you have to go?

friday i noticed how it felt to hold my husband's hand

it felt good

saturday i left space

emily talked about this too a little while ago

i left space so that i could have the energy and presence of mind to keep noticing

i didn't say yes to everything

i didn't leave the house all day

ALL DAY

today i decided to iron an apron to wear while making cookies for our church Christmas party tonight

recipe from Julie

why not decide to celebrate something small?

have you noticed anything this week?

are you frazzled or experiencing some peace during this season?  

God's blessings on you and yours.

*** does this post mean i have had a blissfully serene week?  no, a splitting headache, crying over the house being a mess, etc. have been a part of my week, but what are we going to notice?  kelly

my sled!

After reading Sandy's post about her husband's decorating idea, I wanted to get out *my* sled and find a home for it in this year's decor.  

We have an apartment with an attached garage that is down a flight of stairs and then the door from the staircase opens into our kitchen.  For a while I have wanted a "mudroom" of sorts.  Now I have made one on the landing!  Here we have a wintry, festive scene and a place to keep my gloves (green bucket) and scarves for easy accessorizing.  :)  The sled was a gift from my mom several years ago, the doorknob/hook wall hanging a gift from my friend Marcella several Christmases ago and the bucket I picked up in San Antonio probably nine years ago!  Yea for shopping the house as the Nester would say.  

The picture below is from me playing with the fun settings on my camera.  :)  

Today . . . is Saturday

Inspired by Meg's Saturday to-do list post, I decided to share about my day with you.  :)  

Sleep in!

Eat yummy chocolate chip pancakes with my hubby!  (that he made for me!)

talk shop with hubby 

swiffer bathroom floor

um . . . out of swiffer sheets

oh, I'll try out this new vacuum one we got as a gift!   

oh, the new vacuum swiffer has to be charged 24 hours before first use

okay, assemble new one, plug it in

remember that I read on Modgirl's blog that she reuses dryer sheets for her swiffer

Fantastic!  I have a load of laundry that unfortunately has been languishing in the washer for two days.  (oh dear!)

The dryer is full of clean clothes.

Start washer to rewash clothes in washer.

Start to unload dryer.  

ugghhh there is a mountain of dirty towels on the laundry room floor right under the dryer and the dryer is so full that I can't get things out without them spilling onto the dirty "mountain"  argggg

perfect time to get a hamper that can be our clean clothes transfer hamper like Adrian had the great idea for us to have

his old hamper is in the garage

bring it upstairs

go through the items that were "packed" in it when he moved over

find homes for all of these objects

get sidetracked along the way

do some blogging and some home stuff

empty hamper

exchange it with hamper in our closet

wipe out "dirty clothes" hamper so it now becomes the "clean clothes" hamper

unload dryer into it and dump on guest bed for folding

switch laundry from washer to dryer

make sure to put in dryer sheet even though I rarely use them, not so I'll have soft clothes, but so I'll have a dryer sheet to use to swiffer my bathroom floor (oh yeah, *that* was the original goal)

put mountain of dirty towels in washer and start

make lunch & eat lunch, more blogging and house stuff

get clean clothes (with dryer sheet somewhere embedded) out of dryer and dump on guest bed

switch laundry from washer to dryer

write blog posts (a new blog feature is coming), organize stuff, pick up, etc.

fold some laundry here and there in the midst of all this

make and eat dinner

fold laundry

finally find dryer sheet!

Aha!!

Get old swiffer

try to put dryer sheet on swiffer

it doesn't fit!  :)  

Decide that I don't ever really use dryer sheets anyway and I have nearly a full box and why wait until they've already been used for their original purpose, I'm just going to take out two and put them the other way and make it work

Dry swiffer bathroom floor

It works pretty well

Get paper towel, wet it, put on swiffer, spray some windex on

Wet swiffer bathroom floor

There!

Go back to look at modgirl's post

oh!  she used two (used) dryer sheets too!

funny!

hey, I've got a clean bathroom floor and it's been a delightful day.  :)  

Hope you've had a good Saturday! 

What did you do?  Kelly

edited to add: okay, here's another funny thing, it is now 12:23 making it not even actually Saturday anymore but Sunday!  oh dear!  :)