The decked-out dining room....

Okay, calling this a dining room is stretching things a bit since it's actually just a small eating area connected to the kitchen and living room (most split entry 'cottages' don't have real dining rooms)...

(click any photos to enlarge)

I stood on my tippy toes and held the camera up high to give you a bit of a bird's eye view of the room... Oh, let me move those two chairs so you can see the tablecloth I'm using this Christmas...

Well that was a mistake! It would have been nice if I'd ironed it before putting it on the table!! (Irons and I don't really care too much for each other)...


This view was taken from the living room. The windows above the half-wall are strictly decorative, overlooking the family room off the back of the house.


And this view is looking toward the living room (I'll share the hutch and fireplace photos in my next few posts).

These photos were taken last week. If I took them today you'd see a blanket of snow outside! Not too much changes in this window from year to year... The animated doll from the 80's and the little white Christmas tree are always placed there. (The animated doll used to be dressed in red plaid but I gave her a shabby cottage makeover several years ago.)

The Christmas cactus is blooming beautifully! One new thing I did add to this area is the "ice crystal" wreath that I got on clearance last year. It definitely adds some sparkle and reflection to the window.

The silver glitter bird didn't come with the wreath, but I thought he looked right at home nesting in it.

My bird collection grew too big for this tree, so now it's just decorated with small pink and aqua bell ornaments. I'll show you in an upcoming post where the bird ornaments ended up!

You might remember the pink sugarplum reindeer who gave up their "reindeer barn" (a.k.a vintage birdcage) to my Christmas sheep this year... They're happily grazing by a tall (bottlebrush) pine tree on the jelly cupboard these days...

... where they're being kept company by a couple of the Wal Mart glitter birds I showed you a few weeks ago...

The mini birdcage on top of the mirrored cupboard also got decorated for the holidays with a chippy vintage angel. Pete and Re-Pete (two of my many parakeets) approve.

A small white manger sits on top of our little recycling center in the dining room....

... while stars & snowflakes sparkle, and reindeer prance across the windowpanes.

And speaking of reindeer, I just love these deer that I got at Target years ago, with their scrolly antlers just dripping with prisms... They guard the Christmas tree centerpiece every year (although from what, I don't know!!)

Here's a good closeup of the vintage morning glory tablecloth I'm using this year. The tablecloths are about the only thing that gets changed from year to year in this room. (You can see the past 5 years' tables in this post.

Another thing I did differently this year was decorating the chandelier. I attached my dollar tinsel wreaths (such a deal!) and then hung a few of the sparkle birds along with some glittery white stars I had on hand....

It really does give a festive look to this little room!

I still have so much to share with you... more of the living room... the fireplace, the hutch, my new bird tree, the winter village set up on the TV and, of course, my collection of Night Before Christmas books, so if any of that interests you, pop in again from time to time!

Now be sure to visit Rhoda at Southern Hospitality and see her elegant home all decked out for the holidays!! You'll also find a list of many, many bloggers sharing their Home for the Holidays decorations!!! Have fun touring!

Donna

Happy B-day, honey!

We took advantage of everyone being home for the holiday weekend to celebrate Amanda's birthday...


...which meant it was Amanda's day to wear the CELEBRATE birthday crown, and CELEBRATE we did!


Since Amanda is an artist, I thought I'd get a little "artsy" with some of the photos I took that night (I think this was a "pastel chalk" conversion or some such thing... it seemed like a good idea at the time!! ha ha). She requested mock meat tacos for dinner since she's a vegetarian, and this year, rather than black forest cake, she requested a strawberry cake with vanilla 'funfetti' frosting.


I love this photo of Amanda peeking through the Christmas chandelier of tinsel wreaths, sparkly birds and stars. The little dining area, which had already been decorated for Christmas, looked very festive for her birthday celebration. (And yes, we did end up having Thanksgiving dinner under the Christmas chandelier! That was a first!)


Court found a perfect card for her! I'm sure Amanda will end up displaying it above her painting desk, along with all of her other neat postcards, photos, and cards.

So happy birthday, honey! It was so wonderful having you and Courtney home this weekend (even if it did go by way too fast!!!) ... I love you and I hope that all your birthday wishes come true!!!!

Love and hugs,
Mumsy


P.S. I've tried to personally respond to everyone who left a comment on Spotty's post, but in some cases I couldn't find a blog or e-mail in order to do so... For everyone who left such kind words, you have no idea how comforting your comments and e-mails were. It's clear that you are all animal lovers. So many of you shared the pain of your own losses, and my heart goes out to each and every one of you.... Again, thank you all so much...

Tinsel wreaths and pastel birds...

... found their way into my shopping cart this week...

During a quick trip to Wal Mart yesterday, I made a little side trip through the Christmas aisles. I'm thinking of decorating the dining room chandelier for Christmas this year and I needed some inspiration.

Well, when I spotted these sparkly birds with sequined wings and the palest aqua feathers, I couldn't resist...

And then there was my quick trip to Target earlier this week. Every year I put off buying stocking stuffers until the last minute and by then, all of the good candy is gone. So this year, with the shelves fully stocked, I purchased some candy for the girls' stockings... and then I browsed (I really shouldn't browse)... But in this case it paid off! Look what I found in the Dollar section - tinsel wreaths! They were pretty skimpy, as you can see, but for $1 apiece I figured what the heck, so I picked up 3 (they came in silver, green, and hot pink at our Target, but I liked the silver best - very vintage looking!)...


Well look at what these skimpy little wreaths blossom into when you pull and tweak all the little tinsel boughs! Woo hoo!! Score!!! (I don't think these are going to last long in the dollar section so if you're in the market for tinsel wreaths, make a dash to Target!) I know that some people think they're a bit gaudy and cheap looking, but oh, how they remind me of the vintage decorations of the Christmases of my childhood!! And being the nostalgic, sentimental fool that I am, I love anything from that era!

So I ended up with my inspiration - and decorations - for the chandelier in our little dining area...

Today I played around with everything to see how it would look, and we may just end up eating Thanksgiving dinner under a Christmas chandelier because I don't know if I want to take the time to disassemble it (only to reassemble it again next week!!) I'm joining Tracey's (Notes from a Cottage Industry) Virtual Holiday Home Tour on December 1st, and if any of you would like to join in and show off your Christmas decorations, just click here for details! And even if you don't want to participate, be sure to visit Tracey's blog that day because she'll have a list of blogs who've decorated for Christmas - and let me tell you (based on the past years) - it's spectacular! There's so much to see! Sometimes Tracey even spreads it out over several days! So on December 1st, make yourself a cup of tea, coffee, or cocoa, and then settle in and browse to your heart's content!

Happy decorating!

Donna