Check out these neat Christmas Finds....

On the first day of Christmas.....

I don't want a partridge in a pear tree. Nor do I have any need for seven maids a milking. What I do like though is flitting around on Etsy to find things that tickle my fancy. So I've compiled my twelve items I would love to have for the 12 Days of Christmas.

1. These cute little crochet pine cones were the first things that caught my eye. I just thought they were so adorable.

Shop at Ahmaymet

2. I love holly and this leaf and berry is one of the most unique necklaces I have seen for Christmas.

Shop at Dangling Jewelry

3. This is a neat idea for a hair bow for a small girl.

Shop at SAuvigne23

4. Don't you just love Christmas purses. I don't have a holiday purse this year. I need to rectify that situation soon.

Shop at Lauries Gifts Biz

5. Some neat little crochet ornaments. I admire people with such talent. Although I can do a beautiful chain stitch, I can't figure out how to turn back the other direction and make anything out of it.

Shop at Zoom Yummy

6. I like this little tree. It says it all.

Shop at Lynnie Pinnie

7. How precious is this little snow couple. They are ceramic but the glaze on the jackets makes them look almost like glass.

Shop at Ju Jos

8. I wish I had found these sooner. I would love to have bought a set to start wearing today. I may have to get them and put them up for next year.

Shop at Click by Color

9. I love reindeer. This just caught my fancy. I am really into charm necklaces. This would be cute with a little thin tree charm.

Shop at Seven Blueberries

10. I love this angel necklace. It could be worn year round.

Shop at Sevgi charms

11. I love dangling earrings and these are absolutely gorgeous.

Shop at KC Mis Me

12. Bracelets are another weakness of mine and this one is so great for the holidays.

Shop at Copper Token

Just so you'll know....

It's December. It time to go a little crazy. So I thought I'd share some of my quirks about the season. I am not one of these who dreads the constant activity. I am not one who hates the whirlwind. I am one of those who lives for every single moment of the season and I squeeze every bit of joy out of it.



I still leave CHRIST in Christmas. Christmas is love and hope and peace and joy. But that doesn't mean we can't enjoy the madness and the craziness as long as we never lose site of the real meaning of Christmas.

Here are some of the things I love that makes people think I'm a little nuts...



.....I like to attend as many Christmas functions possible. All of the functions I like to attend are with family or church functions. I like my calendar to be full. I already have 15 things on my appointment calendar ranging from children's school programs to parades to Christmas dinners with church friends.

.....I love to wrap Christmas presents and very rarely use gift bags unless it is a bulky present.

.....I NEVER use gift bags for the grandbabies...even if it is bulky. I just figure out a way to wrap it.  Watching them unwrap is one of my highlights of the season.

.....When Daddy was alive, I helped him do his Christmas shopping for Mommy every year. When I moved to Tennessee, he would send me money and tell me what to get and have me wrap it and ship it to him. He's been gone since '99 and I still go overboard for Mommy and send it to her so she will have extra presents to unwrap on Christmas. I always tell her that in my heart, some of them are from Daddy.

.....I love to bake and I will bake like crazy...only to give most of it away because we would never be able to eat everything I bake this month.

.....Every year, I have to watch Rudolph, Frosty, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Christmas Story, Home Alone, National Lampoon Christmas Vacation, Miracle on 34th Street (old version), Emmett Otter's Jug Band Christmas, Christmas Comes to Willow Creek, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Smoky Mountain Christmas and my favorite, A Charlie Brown Christmas.

.....My favorite Christmas songs are Tender Tennessee Christmas and Mary Did You Know.

.....I cry every time I hear Alabama sing Christmas Memories http://youtu.be/fS-7EfnS4tQ especially when it says "there's that old easy chair, me and Daddy sat there waitin' for Santa's sleigh. Now Daddy's gone but we carry on..."

.....I love sending out Christmas cards. I love getting them too. I read everyone of them and sometimes get them out at night and go through them again.



.....I love shopping and being right in the middle of the crowds at Christmas time. I even intentionally leave some last minute stocking stuffers for hubby until the 22nd or 23rd so I can have a reason to be out in the craziness.



.....I love Christmas eve when the family gets together and enjoys a feast and the kids get to open presents the adults get them. I still like to buy for my kids as well. My son has always been one of those that gets impatient and loves to have something to open on Christmas eve. That hasn't changed as he's gotten older.



.....I love Christmas morning. Getting up with hubby and exchanging our gifts for each other and then spending the day lounging around in sweats all day. He'll make a big Christmas dinner for us and I'll spend most of the day reading whatever new book he gets me for Christmas.

I guess I just love everything about Christmas.

The wonders of grandchildren

Thanksgiving was a special day with my family gathered at the house. My daughter had a new camera so she was "Kodak" moment happy all day. As I looked at the pictures she had taken, I realized how blessed I am to have such beautiful grandchildren. They each have developed their own little personalities. They have much in common but at the same time are very different from each other. I thought I'd share some of my favorite photos of the day of some of my favorite little people.

Top 10 Tuesday

I'm riding the Tuesday Train

My favorite top 10 Christmas things.

1. Putting icicles on the Christmas tree - If you saw my post last week, I am one of a dying breed...a lover of icicles. My tree is not complete unless I have icicles. They evoke such strong childhood memories. Not to mention they can cover a lot of flaws and gaps on the tree.

2. Setting out my little basket of poinsettias that Mamaw Eden bought me when I was five. This little basket is 50 years old this Christmas and it is still one of my most cherished keepsake items. It was special because Mamaw got it for me, but even more special because she had taken me shopping and we were together when she bought it at McCroys.

3. Letting the grandchildren help decorate a little tree for my home office. Shelby was a little too gung ho and hung everything on the bottom limbs. Colby was more interested in taking them off instead of putting them on. Alexis and Garret did a very good job, but Caleb wasn't feeling well so he didn't feel like helping.

4. Creme drops for a litte snack. These were one of our favorite Christmas candies growing up. I don't know why we only bought them at Christmas but we did. I do the same thing. The best ones are in the produce department with the nuts and dried fruit at Krogers. Not sure why they are there, but I need to go get some for this year.

5. My little mice from Home Interior. I have had these since the my children were little.

6. My nativity collection. I love nativity sets. My favorite one is the childlike Mary and Joseph on the donkey. I've had it for years.

7. My Santa collection. I have Santa's all over the living room and snowmen all over the kitchen.

8. Having something new for decor each year. This year it is my placemats and my bowl for the dining room table. Thanks to Kohl's and their great sales and to my daughter who bought me the matching bowl.

9. My reindeer and Christmas tree. My deer is very special because my mother painted it and gave it to me. The tree is very special because my oldest grandson, Garret, painted it for me when he was just a little thing.

10. Christmas Bears. I love teddy bears. These two guys normally sit on the trunk at the end of my bed. But every Christmas, they get to put on a Christmas sweater and ride in the little red wagon.

What is YOUR favorite Christmas item at your house?

Christmas Crafting



It's that time of year when everybody likes to get crafty and create something new for Christmas decor or Christmas gifts. I love doing crafts but just never seem to have the time and not even sure I have much talent. But it is fun. I used to think that making crafts meant spending hours cutting, sewing, gluing, trimming, etc. But now I realize that you can be crafty simply by picking up a few items and putting them together for home decor. That's what I did this weekend.

Hobby Lobby (one of my favorite places to go) had a 50% off sale on most of their Christmas decor. I got these two Santa's and the snowman for under $8.00 total. Not a bad deal if you ask me.

Then when we were at Walmart I bought this plate because I liked it and it was only .98 cents. But I had no idea what to do with it.

When I was showing them to hubby, I sat the figurines on the plate to carry them easier and liked the way it looked.

 

Then I remembered the plate my daughter had fixed with candles and Christmas picks and stuff so I dug in my old Christmas stuff and found this little bucket from years ago that was smooshed up and hadn't been used in a while.

 

 

So I disassembled it and used some of the picks on the new decorations and here is the finished product. I thought it turned out pretty good.