Christmas & Winter

It’s almost Christmas! Are you ready?

December 9, 2010 / 32 Comments

I honestly don’t now where this month is going!  Feels like it’s flying by!  I desperately need more time!!!  I have to fit in making cookies, our hometown parade, Granddaughter’s birthday, school play, time with friends, wrapping presents, shopping, and projects for January.   Do you feel this way?  It’s going way too fast, this month we call December.

I’ve done as much decorating as I can this year.  There’s just not enough time!   I actually let my husband slip by without putting lights on the house!  I must really be feeling rushed to let him out of that!

Our tree stands in the center of the living room.

My little black cat named Topsy came out to see the tree.  She’s very shy so it really must have  attracted her!  She loved it!  She was purring, licking her paws and sitting so happily under the tree!  And yet, if you were to stop by you’d never see Topsy.  She’d be hiding as quick as a wink!

She’s content to sit under the tree…

…and enjoy the ornaments!  Or maybe she loves my little stuffed Allie dogs & Scooter Pie the cats!

My feather tree is dressed in silver this year, with a little touch of gold…

And the dining room hutch is home to my little pink sheep…

How do you decorate?  Do you always put your tree in the same place?  Do you have ornaments you mix up each year?  Different sets of ornaments?  Do you move everything around or does it make you feel more “at home” with things the same every year?

If you visit Kevin Sharkey’s blog (he’s part of the Martha Stewart team) you can watch how he decorates  his trees.  He has boxes and boxes of wonderful ornaments and he’s so dang organized.  I’m taking notes for next year.  Be sure and click on the slide show above the picture.  You’ll see 3 gold tinsel trees come to life.

Hope your shopping is done (LOL) and presents all wrapped.

Anne

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32 Comments

  • Mary T. Salmon

    December 23, 2010 at 12:04 pm Reply

    Anne:
    You have the most beautiful tree I have ever seen. I do not have one this year…just feel out of sorts. But I usually have the same ornaments I have been using all my married life…all 42 years…Many of the ornaments were made by my daughter and the rest I inherited from my mother. I love my vintage tree but I will have to wait until next year. God bless you and your family and have a wonderful Christmas.
    Love,
    Mary

  • SuzK

    December 14, 2010 at 5:58 am Reply

    your tree is so lovely. I also have a cat that disappears when strangers come in, but the tree was of no interest to her once she realized it couldn’t be eaten! My older cat, that passed away last Spring, loved the tree. She’d lay underneath the tree on her back just looking up at the lights for hours on end.

  • mimi'sdarlins

    December 12, 2010 at 9:13 am Reply

    Anne, I know I left a comment yesterday, maybe I forgot to submit it!! Life is hectic! I LOVE your tree(s), I think it’s so sweet that Topsy finds comfort in your tree, too. My little Max used to love our tree, she would drink the water when I wasn’t looking, and I worried it wasn’t good for her. We always cut down our tree so it’s fresh, and we find a nice, BIG tree (nearly ten feet w/ the angel on top), and I decorate the same every year, only each year has more ornaments. Each one is special, either vintage from my mom, or ‘vintage’ from my first trees on my own, many are handmade by someone special, including ‘me’ :-) I still hang the ornaments my boys made when they were little. This tree makes my heart ‘sing’ every time I walk into the room. Thank you for sharing your beautiful home with us. Merry Christmas!
    Love, Diane

  • Jennifer O.

    December 11, 2010 at 9:49 am Reply

    Dear Anne,

    Out of all the blogs that I have on my list I do enjoy reading yours the most. I love what you have done with your tree and you are very lucky that your cat has not taken advantage of it. Unlike our Isabel who happens to think that our tree is there for her own personal use. I am almost afraid to put the decorations because a lot of them are from my childhood and others that I have bought on my own in the past that are very expensive. Our other cat is a lot like Topsey, Lea loves to be under the tree because it is a place she can hide. Our tree is partically stuck in a corner. So it makes her feel safe and she can still see everything that is going on.
    As for the rest of the holiday cheer a lot of it may not happen because of a tight budget in our house. It came down to the choise of getting the kids presents or holiday baking. Truthfully I and the rest of my family do not need any more weight on us and I rather see the kids have a good Christmas instead. Even though I am in the mood for some chocolate chip cookies, buckeyes and some fudge!
    As for the household it is decorated differently every year even though I use the same decorations that I have had for the last five years. I rather be home on Christmas day than to be out and about visiting with family and friends. I have made it a rule to let the kids have Christmas at home and we do not go any where on Christmas day. But this year is going to be rush here and there. Ugg!
    This year my daughter and I have been watching the 25 days of Christmas on ABC Family and trying to catch any of the Christmas specials that are on at night. One other thing I have done with my daughter since she was old enough to grasp the concept of Christmas as is to put a glass pickle on the tree and she has to find it on Christmas morning after all her presant are all opened. When she does find it I give her one last presant and it is typically an oriment. That way when she grows up and moves out on her own she will not be scrambling for oriments. Instead she will just have to search for her own tree.

  • Martine

    December 11, 2010 at 12:40 am Reply

    Anne,
    Your Wmas tree is superb and your home radiates the sweetness and gentleness life of inspiration. It makes me dream !
    My Christmas Eve goes on very simply. It begins with a light dinner, which we try to make a bit more interesting than our usual meals, then we watch DVDs or nice Christmassy films like “Holidays” or “Love Actually”. Then, we go to church for midnight mass and when we come back, we unwrap our presents. When I was child (well, a long time ago !) we would unwrap our gifts in the morning just minutes after waking up… (still in our pyjamas)
    We’ll decorate our tree on Monday or Tuesday. Each year we bring back ornaments from the countries we visit. So you’ll find a Pope next to an American Santa, Tutankhamun’s head under Shiva,… unusual but we like it !
    Well, I’ll stop here for now… The count douwn has started.
    Martine – FRANCE

  • ellen

    December 10, 2010 at 9:30 pm Reply

    December should start all over again. I keep plugging but I seem to get “behinder” every minute. My Christmas tree is a palm tree now. Very easy to decorate–fewer branches! My Shogi, may she rest in peace, was not shy like Topsy. She loved Christmas and had her favorite ornament. Every year she’d look for her ornament on the tree; everyday I’d come home from work to find her ornament on the floor. That was the only ornament she’d pick off the tree, all of her 20 years of Christmas. That was our “tradition”.

    Mele Kalikimaka

  • Louise

    December 10, 2010 at 8:27 pm Reply

    I’m getting there. Somehow I always manage..Topsy looks so beautiful next to your lovely tree. A very sharp contrast..I have so much to do still. Thank you for taking the time to blog. It is such a nice little treat..

  • Kim

    December 10, 2010 at 6:53 pm Reply

    Can I just come to your house…..it looks so beautiful!
    Nothing done here…….send some Christmas spirit if you’ve got some extra :0)

    Happy sewing and Merry Christmas

  • Devon

    December 10, 2010 at 4:58 pm Reply

    Oh my that is my dream livingroom,,it is pink,,my most favorite color..how did you get your husband to paint it,,,and I absolutely love your tree and your little sheep..where did you get the sheep..Merry Christmas,,

  • Wendy Parks

    December 10, 2010 at 1:48 pm Reply

    I love your tree! {and your living room} I checked out the tree’s on Kevin Sharkey’s blog. Have decided yours is way better. His might be beautiful to some people but, yours has a lot of love and homeyness in it.

  • Juanita in Ohio

    December 10, 2010 at 10:50 am Reply

    Oh, my GOODNESS, your tree is the epitome of beautiful! I LOVE your ornaments, the way the room looks, and sweet Topsy. This reminds me of our Festival of trees…the most beautiful things imaninable. TFS and blessing my day with your photo. I would like your permission to use this as my desktop photo, please let me know.

  • Jean

    December 10, 2010 at 9:11 am Reply

    Oh, my goodness! Your house is beautiful at Chrismtmas. You could seriously sell tickets for tours. I’d be first in line!!! Am I done? Very funny!!!!

  • Diane R.

    December 10, 2010 at 8:35 am Reply

    Your home is so beautiful, Anne — I love the tree! I put up three trees this year, a traditional one with ornaments from my girls’ childhood — my granddaughters love to see the ornaments their mommies made when they were little girls. There’s one white tree in my quilt studio with pastel ornaments and this year we put up a new tree with white and robins egg blue ornaments — I love how it turned out!

  • Joanne Moore

    December 10, 2010 at 7:29 am Reply

    What a beautiful tree!!! Topsy looks just like my grandcat Maynard. My cats LOVE the Christmas tree each year. They also love drinking the water from the base. I’ve read they are not supposed to but after 13 years of Christmas tree tea they are still thriving. Love your Allie and Scooter Pie decorations. For years I kept lots of the Christmas stuff in my daughter’s upper closet and the rest went in the attic. So Dec. 1 I went to my daughter’s room to start the decorating process and her upper closet was empty! I forgot that last year I had my husband put everything in the attic so I could have much needed storage space. For an entire year that section of closet stayed empty!Man!I got so organized my brain could not retain it! Thanks for sharing the link to Kevin Sharkey’s trees. Beautiful. All the organized bins kill me. Good luck with all your Christmas prep. Somehow we accomplish those lists each year.

  • Jackie Ro.

    December 10, 2010 at 3:36 am Reply

    Love seeing your shy kitty enjoy ‘her’ tree :)
    Your Christmas trees and home look absolutely beautiful Anne.
    Blessings to you & yours throughout this holiday season.
    Jackie in NC

  • Nancy C. in Utah

    December 10, 2010 at 3:02 am Reply

    Anne, it was a treat to see your beautifully decorated tree. Your living room is just breath taking! So inviting and lovely, looks like a place I could curl up with a book or stitching and just completely lose track of time. Hmmmm…maybe that’s what your gorgeous Toppsy was feeling to. We are talking about getting a kitten maybe two from the shelter as soon as we are through with our small, but extremely messy remodel. I think I already told you no tree for us this year but I have my Nativity and a little holiday table topper out downstairs so we will have to call that good this year. The shopping….DONE…but not wrapped (ugh). But as Scarlet said…”tomorrow is … another day!!!’ lol thanks for sharing your beautiful decorations with us. I really need to make some of the little Allie dogs. I need 4 to represent the two Scottie mix dogs that have left us and the 2 schnauzer and schnauzer that we have now. Also a little white Scooter Pie Cat for one that we lost a few years ago. They are just adorable and look delightful on your tree! Hugs….

  • Hollyhill

    December 9, 2010 at 11:55 pm Reply

    Hello Anne!
    An early Merry Christmas and warmest holiday wish to you! We are finally getting into our Lily & Will and loving it! Anyway, we just wanted to say your tree and your snowmen are gorgeous as always. Thanks for sharing through the blog…we very much enjoy it!
    Jan & Brian

  • littlecottonbluebirds

    December 9, 2010 at 9:07 pm Reply

    I am happy I found your blog. Love, love, love your tree where it’s place and the scottie dog with the big bow. Pink lambs am so smitten with them.

    Our Christmas tree sets up Christmas Eve we get a real tree decorate it with ornaments passed down from generation to generation, every Christmas we each add a new ornament. The we say why we choose that particular ornament. We add 12 real candles clipped to the tree light them as we watch our favorite dvd of Christmas Vacation, eating pop corn by the woodburner. We each have to make one handmade gift for everyone. This is our Christmas.

    Hugs, Dani

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