I may have to have....

this... OnlyD says I still wear gold jewelry cause I'm old. Haha. True enough! The necklace also comes in silver & you can add a diamond to represent a city or you choose to have the whole state outlined in pave diamonds.

Maya Brenner

Ready for the new year!

Sweet Boy & I planted this amaryllis bulb a few weeks ago. It has bloomed beautifully. It was a kit from Walmart...

Christmas has come & gone ...my favorite time of year. Wish it lasted longer!

The Vols lost to VA. Tech - can't say I was surprised. They are better but not great yet. Not sorry we skipped the game now.

Tooo bad about the UT basketball players. Scuttlebutt from S1: the car was not their car - so they claim the gun was not theirs either. Police are testing the gun & bullets (!) for fingerprints. Hope they didn't touch it...Still, very stupid behavior.

It is cold, cold, cold in Middle Tennessee! My toes cannot get warm! It will be cold here till April...

Fun Times...

A Christmas tradition @ our house...making M & M Christmas cookies - with red & green M & Ms of course. Sweet Boy only ate a few - haha! His class @ preschool did a play of the Christmas story this week - he was a wise man. No school till Jan. 5 - yikes!

Tutu Christmas Jammies...

Working on getting the house ready for Christmas.

Got these cute jammies @ Carter's...

Funny...

We just got back from Knoxville after visiting family.

A quick pic of one of Sweet Boy's presents - a preppy pink & green remote control dinosaur! Pretty funny! It's called Dino-Buddy.

Merry Christmas To All!!!

I hope everyone has a wonderful, warm, and blessed Christmas.

My List for Santa...

Miracle skin cream from Avon!! It's ANEW CLINICAL Thermafirm Face Lifting Cream.

These beautiful enamel & 18k gold rings are from Hidalgo Jewelry. They "stack" - you can add a number of coordinating styles.

Someday I would love to have this "Musical Chairs" tea set by designer Barbara Barry for Wedgwood USA. It's only $435. The plates are an additional purchase. The design is one of my all-time favorites - very classic. Also available @ Macy's.

Cranberry Floating Candles

We went to a lovely Christmas party last weekend in the mountains at the second home of some of Jim Bob's colleagues. It was a "cabin" deep in the woods - think Southern Living Dream Home. I wish I'd taken my camera. The food was wonderful and there was a fire roaring in the stone fireplace. The hostess had made several floral & candle arrangements using fresh cranberries, so I got inspired.

Sweet Boy and I made several of these using some cut glass fruit bowls, fresh cranberries, water, & floating candles (from Walmart). He feels the candles must be immediately blown out, a la "Happy Birthday"!

Check out Ocean Spray for more ideas.

More Christmas Decor...

I almost forgot to put out my FAVORITE Christmas decoration - my Fitz & Floyd rabbit! During the "off-season", he stays in a special place high up in a closet to avoid breakage - no hot attic or boxes upon boxes for him! He is displayed on our mantle, which I'm not happy with this year. It just looks cluttered.

The small (12") silver tree with purple ornaments is for Sweet Baby's nursery. I couldn't resist...her nursery is lavender. The tree came from Big Lots & the ornaments (shatterproof) from Walmart. We had a big silver tree like this when I was a child...the ornaments were turquoise blue.

Ugh, another rain day. Will it ever stop? It is not usually this rainy in TN. in December. Sweet Boy is out of school till Jan. 6, so we will be looking for ways to stay busy. Today we went to Story Hour at the library where he made an ornament for the tree & had an iced cookie! What nice librarians!

Diana Krall - The Man With the Bag

Diana Krall - The Man With The Bag.mp3

This is a jazzy Christmas tune - it was on a Target commercial a few years back.

No Excuse This Time!

Yes, I have four copies of Jan Brett's The Twelve Days of Christmas. I can't plead age or disorganization this time...I knowingly bought all four.


The big book is Jan Brett's Christmas Treasury - a collection of seven of her stories, which is beautifully illustrated. I got a great deal on it @ Marshall's.

The other copies are paperback, board, & small hardback. I am sure I intended to give a few as gifts - the board book is for the grandkids. I need to clear out some of these!

Why Do I Do This???

Old? Disorganized? Too much stuff? Well, we did live in our last house for twenty years...four kids, etc. Anyway, one of these is headed for eBay.

By the way, if you have never seen this DVD, rent or buy it! It is fabulous! It about a boy who builds a snowman who comes to life. No dialogue, just music...based on the book by British author Raymond Briggs. You do not have to be a child to enjoy it!

UPDATE: OnlyD says the second DVD was @ her place, back when she & Sweet Boy had one...Glad to know I am not completely losing it!

Christmas Decorating...

Christmas Comes to Our House...

Christmas Dress...

Pretty Christmas dress for Sweet Baby ..purchased on eBay.

Baking Cookies...

Sweet Boy is stuck inside with an ear infection, so we decided to bake some M & M Christmas cookies today. He only ate a few M & Ms while decorating!

Sleigh Ride...Boston Pops

Christmas Stamps!

Today I ran into the Post Office to mail a package. While I was there I bought this year's Christmas stamps. One set features nutcrackers. I love them! What a great idea! The second design is a detail from the Virgin and Child with the Young John the Baptist by Sandro Botticelli. The original painting hangs in the Cleveland Museum of Art. See it here.

More Plaid - Williams Sonoma Home Holiday

Christmas is my absolute favorite time of the year (but autumn is my favorite season - go figure!). I love all the beautiful PLAID items @ WS Home for the upcoming holiday season. Of course, some of these lovely offerings are ridiculously expensive, but still fabulous.