I Bought A New Skirt...

For the Christmas tree next year. I bought it here. Isn't it unusual? I love it and it was on sale.

Our House for Christmas

Have any of you been over to Jennifer Rizzo's blog for her Holiday Housewalk Party?  You can get there by clicking here.  Many people have shared how they decorated their home for the holidays and I wanted to join in the fun.  Here are a few ways we brought some Christmas cheer to our house.

I'll start with my studio...

My daughter Gracelyn and I decorated her nightstand...

And here are some other miscellaneous touches around the house...

I suppose I'm still not done as this year it seems like I do a little to decorate every night.  I hope you're all enjoying this wonderful time of year!

Fresh Stuff

Today's flea market was beautiful! It wasn't as crowded as usual, I heard a few times that lots of shoppers had gone to the Remnants of the Past show in Nipomo. We were camping this week and returned yesterday so I didn't feel up to the drive. Maybe next year. It was all for the best since I got some great big items this time. I had ordered the sign above from one of the vendors for my boys' room. Cute huh?

And this odd little wire settee was so cute I couldn't pass it up. I bought it for my daughters room but after seeing it in front of the window of my studio where I photographed it I might just leave it there. I need to have a piece of foam cut to fit and then I think I'll make a slipcover for it. Whether I leave it green or not is yet to be determined.

I've been wanting an old metal shopper to hold my wallpaper and it's a wonder I spotted this one in the corner of one of the booths.

I knew it would be cute and useful...

And on a completely different note is anybody else getting the "spring cleaning" bug? I've been cleaning, purging and painting around here. Isn't it funny how one day you just realize that all your towels have seen better days? I shipped the old ones off to the garage and did something new this year buying all white towels. When I wheeled my cart up to the register with this boatload of towels the lady at the register said, "We've got a bleacher!". Yep, we do now.

And then the towels led me to soap. These were so pretty I couldn't pass them up. You can't tell in the picture but one of the pump dispensers is half gone. That's because yesterday my two littles were in my daughters room and they pumped it all over her carpet and then poured a bowl of water on top. When I asked them what in the world they were doing they just stood there in their underwear and stared at me like they didn't understand the question. Then my husband rolled up on me in the hallway and asked me why I didn't know what they were up to. I just stood there in my pajamas and stared at him like I didn't understand the question :)

Anxious To Start Planting

Every year at this time I start getting anxious to begin planting. See the fuzzy soft leaf in the picture above? I saw my first one ever last year in North Carolina, apparently it's called a Lambs Ear. Do we have these in CA? I'm soon to find out because I love how they look with a pretty bunch of blooms.

I also can't get enough of these vanilla strawberry hydrangeas that I saw on the Better Homes and Gardens website. I'm thinking about mail ordering some.

As I type this I'm certain my husband feels like a day of planting is looming in his future. That's because I'm fabulous at picking things out and paying for them but not so good at the planting part. Should I see a worm {in my mind, a tiny snake} I'd likely faint and fall on it. Yes, I'll leave the digging and planting to him.

I do have a winner for my give-a-way too, The Gypsy Magpie has been emailed so that I can get her Marmalade in the mail to her next week. Thanks to all who left a comment. I read each one.

A Meaningless Post

Last week my boss {and friend of almost 20 years} was invited to attend a luncheon given by a company that has been trying to pitch us a new phone system. He knows I love the italian restaurant they hosted it at so he told me to drive over and meet him. It was so fun, I crashed their luncheon, ate everything in sight and every once in a while I'd nod my head and look impressed. I must have done a great job at looking interested because he leaned over and said, "they probably think you're going to buy it"...and actually, we did. Anywho, after l escaped I stopped by Anthropologie on the way to the car. I picked up a great sweater and this adorable candle. Admittedly it doesn't smell fabulous but the presentation is great.

Oh, and a side note about the luncheon, I forgot to mention I was in nerd heaven! Of course I'm married {and not to a nerd I might add} but I've always had a thing for them...well not ALL of them, but you get my drift. In fact years ago I was in a college English class and I sat next to a cute nerd and I would fantasize about ripping his glasses off and running my fingers through his hair. Is that hilarious or what? He had NO idea. Anyway, should any of you be single and of the nerd persuasion consider hitting up a telephone/computer luncheon at random.

OK so it wasn't a very meaningful post but it was fun to blather.

We're Getting Ready for Halloween

I bought a few things this week to add to the slim pickins we had for Halloween decorations. Last night my 4 year old and I had fun bringing some fall into the house. We started with these cute teensy pumpkin branches we got from Costco...



We bought a big vase at Ikea to put them in...



At the grocery store we picked up several bags of mini pumpkins in every color they had. She stacked several in an oversized vase as a centerpiece for our dining room table...



We found this round place mat at Target to go under the vase...



When we were all done with that we strung up a Martha Stewart garland on the mantle over some dingy cheesecloth I had...



Really cute...the "blood" is sparkly...



When we got the banner we also grabbed some spiders to put on the mirror in the dining room...



I found this cloche behind a box of Cheezits so we put some pumpkins under it in the kitchen...



When Grace got tired of helping to decorate I had made it into my studio where I strung up two banners...



Added some white pumpkins to a tiny chair...



And stuck a few spiders on the mirror here too...



We were excited to decorate with all we'd collected in the past few weeks even though it's a bit early. By the time the 31st rolls around I'll probably be ready to pull everything down after we come in from trick or treating!!

A Couple of MY Tinsel & Treasures Purchases

When I saw this halloween mask made by Iva Wilcox, I had to have it. I just love it...



And cuter yet is a teeny tiny one...



From across the building I saw a bunch of these made by Colleen Moody and I ran over and had her save me this one...



Look at that sweet snowgirl face! There were so many adorable things it was hard to not buy something from everyone.

Thanks for hanging in there with my during me posting dry spell. All is returning to normal on the home front!

Scraps Made Pretty

Last night I had my sewing machine out preparing for a class. I was going to be sewing some burlap and I wanted to test the tension on the machine with a rectangular{ish} scrap piece. I ran down one side and adjusted the machine and then down another side. What I had was a pocket that I didn't plan on making. I cast the scrap aside and continued with my class prep. Later as I was cleaning up I looked around for a use for my not-so-perfect pocket. That's when I spied the vase of flowers on the table. It was a bit of a tight squeeze but i pulled it up around the neck of the vase and what an adorable little slipcover it made! Figuring I'd gone that far I added a crocheted ribbon and a flea market brooch. Not sure why I never intentionally thought to do this but I love it and it was so simple!