Christmas Tour of Homes 2012, Finally!

This is a day late because, after being busy all day yesterday, I finally sat down to blog at 9 pm and my computer almost crashed. It was unusable until today.  

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Good morning.  

Welcome to our home. 

 

 

 

I chose a decorating theme this year of "traditional with a twist of funky baubles." The all-traditional stayed outdoors.

This  wreath was made by a great friend of mine years ago. I flanked the door with fake mini-trees and an old sled with fresh greens.  

 

 

To your left is happy Frosty and his unnamed penguin sidekick .

They love their perch atop the cinnamon-scented pinecones.

Frosty is battery-operated and motion-sensitive. I seriously thought

about leaving him in the "on" position,  but, honestly, if an unsuspecting UPS man

was "detected,"  the sudden outburst of "FROSTY THE SNOWMAN"

might make him drop a fragile package. Or wet his pants. Or both.

 

And for the casual visitor to be "greeted" in like manner

might scare the Christmas right out of them.

So I disabled Frosty.  Yet he still smiles. A lesson for us all, I suppose.

 

 

 We hang stockings on the banister, since we don't have a fireplace.

I'm still working on three stockings and will hang them

on a door in the kitchen. 

 

 

On the  dining room table sits our nativity scene.  I thought about

putting it on the linens dresser in the kitchen.

But that dresser isn't stable.

And don't you know, the nativity scene is nothing if it isn't  "stable."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's where I introduced some funky baubles.  These were ornaments that

my daughter bought on ridiculously-low clearance the year she worked at

Michael's.  She created a Dr. Seuss tree back then.

I was in the mood for some Seusss fla-vuh this year.

 

 

My friend Barb's brother--in-law carved this candy dish  many moons ago. It's one of my favorite

decorations. The angels watch over baby Jesus and guard the chocolate as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our Funky Baubles tree.

I made the topper in two minutes. I simply took a

5-inch round green foam block , covered it with jewel-toned wrapping

paper, stuck five of those funky baubles into the foam,

and "voila!"

Unfortunately, because the tree is right beside the back door where the dogs

go in and out, the low-hanging ornaments don't survive the tail-wagging

of a happy Golden or a nearly blind German Shorthaired Pointer.

Hence the sparseness in the bottom third of the tree.

 

 

 

 

Above the entertainment center, some buffalo snow, glittery birds, and funky leaves.

What's with the blurry pictures?  Granted, I'm using my cheap camera,

but is my eyesight that poor? Anyway, take my word for it, there are nesting

birds of unusual color and texture up there!

 

 

 

Quite serendipitously I found a set of mugs to go with the 12 Days of Christmas

napkins and drinkware that I bought last year.  This set was at Tuesday Morning.

Besides loving the design on the outside, I love mugs that feature a picture inside the lip as well.

And the bonus is the size of  these mugs. They are large, so I can use my large cup setting on the Keurig.

 

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I found a darling Christmas carousel this year at a consignment shop.

She plays quite a variety of tunes with the click of a button.

 

 

 

 

 

                                                         I arranged them on a lazy Susan and hid the  ugly wires

                                                      with fake greens and cranberries. 

 

As I fiddle with the carousel, I am happy. I recall carnival days

of my childhood and how, of all the carousel animals to choose from,

I always chose a horse.  My imagination nowadays goes to thinking

of future grandchildren....ah, someday.

 I hope to take them to ride a carousel

and, at Christmas, watch them delight in this tabletop decoration with us.

 

 

 

More funky baubles in a basket in the bathroom.

The air freshener from Pier 1 was a hostess gift at Thanksgiving

from my DIL's mom .It smells so good and was still full,

so I wrapped it in wrapping paper and labeled it clearly so that

people who leave funky smells will get the hint!

 

 

 

 

Oh! Oh!  Gotta show you this. My precious daughter

surprised me with these gorgeous flowers in

the midst of all my busyness and nostalgic

moments.  I just wanted to cry. She speaks my love language(s).

 

 

 

A pink poinsettia graces the linens dresser in the kitchen.

 

 

And now that it has taken you all day to read my long post of a short tour,

I bid you a Merry Christmas and goodnight.