IT'S USUALLY ABOUT THE TREE FIRST...

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving 

with your families and friends 

gathered round. 

 Our's was fantastic.

  An excellent meal 

eaten in the glow of a beautiful sunset, 

in the company of loving family, 

counting our past blessings 

and all the 

blessings to come...

...and while

 we were enjoying our time together,

 Jake was strolling the streets of 

Spain and Italy, 

making memories 

that he will be

 blessed with 

forever.

I am certainly enjoying 

all the preparations for Christmas 

that are abundant in blog land now. 

 As excited as I am, 

I can't seem to get much of 

my own up and doing. 

 Usually,

 I start with the main tree 

and that sets the tone

 for what is 

to come.

Last year (above) 

we got rid of our big faux tree

 and put up a fresh one.

 We have decided 

that is the way we wanted to go

 in the future, 

but the trouble with that idea is 

we don't have the luxury

 of having the tree

 close at hand 

to be able to put it up when we want to.

  I normally like to start 

the day after Thanksgiving 

but this year

 we have had days that were 

so wet and nasty 

that we didn't want to get caught 

in the down pour.

I have a theme in mind 

so decided to jump ahead 

and carry that through to

 the parlor mantle.

Since I want to use fresh greens, 

I picked from some bushes 

in the garden 

until we get the tree.

They looked pretty at first 

and the ones in water, 

in the red Dollar Tree vases, 

look pretty still, 

but they don't hold up well

 out of water.

 But, still 

I have managed to set the picture

 of what I want

 the final outcome 

to be.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The sitting room, 

as opposed to the parlor, 

is telling me

 what the theme should be.

 It definitely says 

it wants to be 

a more casual 

woodland setting...

...I think the plaid ribbon on the wreath 

dictated this particular way to go.

  I wanted a tree 

in this room also 

but the floor space is limited 

so I took the top of a 

smaller faux tree we had 

and put it in an old stoneware crock

 and placed it on the oak end table.

  Because of the earthy feeling

 I was getting from the room,

 I thought the cotton stems

 might be a good addition 

and then some yarn pom poms

 for a touch of color

 instead of 

bright and shiny ornaments...

...it's funny 

how ideas just 

seem to evolve.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I have to tell you

 about these pillows I got on Amazon. 

 I found them quite by accident 

and the prices were so good 

that I had to give them a try. 

 I figured I didn't have 

much to lose...

...they didn't look too bad

 when they first arrived,

 at least not something

 that an iron couldn't cure.

 They took awhile to get here 

and I still am waiting for two more.

 They say they are 16" square

 but they are bigger 

one way than the other

 so a 16" pillow form doesn't fit.

  The openings are zippered 

but not very large 

so it was almost impossible 

to get the form in.

  I ended up stuffing them 

with loose filler. 

 I had the idea of adding the pom poms

 all the way round 

but the letters are so close to the seam 

that they would be covered up

 on the sides,

 so just did the four corners.

I might yet add 

some to the other one

 after I stuff it a little fuller. 

 What I thought looked like a green tree

 is actually dark blue, 

although it looks black in the photo, 

but it does go with

 the colors in the room.

 The others that I haven't received yet

 look black with white writing,

 but that remains to be seen.

 The Captain thinks 

the pom poms are ridiculous 

but it looked too plain for me.

 No matter how you might feel 

about their looks, 

you can't dispute their price:

Blue Tree: $1.81 

and

 Merry Christmas: $ .91.

 The two yet to come

 are $2 and $3.

 How do you like me now?

~~~~~~~~~~

Today

 was a beautiful day and,

 hopefully,

 tomorrow will be the same

 so we can go look 

for our tree.

We are still working 

on our current project 

and I'm counting on a Christmas reveal 

and I promise 

it will still be Christmas,

 even if it is

 in July...

...but,

 more Cottage Christmas next time 

and don't forget

 the new season of 

Fixer Upper

 starts tonight!

...Judy...

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