A COTTAGE OF COMFORT AND JOY, PART THREE...

Did I mention that I am addicted to YouTube.

  I watch it every night in bed. 

 It is a relaxing end to my day. 

 I am enthralled by all the Christmas decor channels. 

 There is one, in particular, that caught my eye and got my decorating juices flowing 

to a time, long ago, that filled my days.  

I am a product of

 the country decorating era of the 70's and 80's.

  I crafted and did ceramics, and our home was filled with all the goodness of mauve and blue

 and lots of rustic touches. 

 When we came to the Cottage, I thought I would move on (or back, if you will) to the Victorian style. 

 I soon found that I didn't like the heaviness and limited my decorating style to 

country Victorian in the parlor only 

and sold most of my treasures. 

The channel that so interested me is

 Bridgett's Primitive Passion. 

 Bridgett Swindle is a real southern girl with a wonderful southern accent.  

She goes shopping with her Mama, who says

 "bless her heart" about a charming, handmade doll.  

I sure could be BFF's with these two.  

Bridgett has a beautiful home,

 decorated in the primitive colonial style 

and she showcases the homes of others 

that love the same style on her channel.  

Now, I know, that I am not 

a true, hard-core prim lover. 

 I admire all the ones who choose it

 for themselves and their families, 

but I prefer the softer side of the decor 

paired with country and colonial.

After the first episode I watched, 

I knew I was going to have 

a Prim Christmas dining room this year. 

 After getting rid of most of my good things, 

don't ask me how

 I managed to find enough to carry out my plan 

in all the nooks and crannies, but I did.  

  The only new things I bought were

 a wreath and a couple of small trees 

and two stencils to complete a couple of signs. 

 It may look much the same to you

 because there is a lot of the same

 but to me it is very different. 

I can see a lot of thrifting in my future from now on.

One of the little trees from the Dollar Tree. 

I removed the tin stand it was on 

and put it in a small crock. 

 We have had the standing lamp forever. 

We tried to sell it at a garage sale once upon a time, but nobody wanted it. Thank you very much. 

 I stole the shade from the kitchen lamp

 and will find a new one after the holidays.

Let me quit talking now 

and show you what it is all about...

The old crow has the place of honor

 on the tree top this year.

  I stenciled the sign on both sides. 

The other side says Old Thyme Christmas

 so passersby can see it from outside 

(no, this was not planned, 

as usual I was cheaply trying for

 two for the price of one)

 and after Christmas Olde Crow Homestead 

will hang on the wall.

I decorated the tree with orange slices

 and a few prim items this year. 

 I didn't use the flags but...

...you can see 

I didn't forget them.

Some day I hope to have

 more quilts to pile up.

Bridgett crafts all her own samplers.  

She found a way to photograph them 

that makes them look like the real thing,

 and I bought this one for $26.  

The original would certainly cost much more.  

For anyone who is unable to own one any other way, 

this is the perfect solution and, I swear, 

you can't tell by looking that it is not the real thing.

Another little tree

 

from the Dollar Tree.

Remember the little lantern that we used 

in my great-grandmother's stove in the parlor? 

Here it is warming up the dining room.

 We moved the anniversary sign 

that was hanging here to the sitting room 

and replaced it with the two folk art prints

 that we thrifted awhile back for $5 each.  

That is what started me on my newest adventure.

Another wreath and ribbon from Temu.

These are bells that I bought a couple of years ago and they were bright red. 

I went over them with some dark glaze 

and toned them down quite a bit

.   

Hope you enjoyed my 

Perfectly Prim Christmas dining room. 

 I can't wait to see how it will evolve

 after Christmas is all put away.

Have a wonderful holiday, everyone,

 and a happy and healthy new year.

Thank you for all your support throughout the year.  

I appreciate all your friendships. 

 Thank you, Linda, for including my kitchen post in your wonderful party, Love Your Creativity. 

 It is always an honor.

See you next year.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

...xxoJudy... 

Sharing today with:

Love Your Creativity at Life and Linda

A COTTAGE OF COMFORT AND JOY, PART TWO...

The kitchen, this year, 

has hardly changed from year's past.

  I guess if it ain't broke, don't fix it. 

 So I have heard. 

 A couple of years ago it became a home

 for all things gingerbread 

and it continues to be that.

Most of you have heard these explanations many times,

 but in case you are new to the Cottage, 

rest assured that the old-timers are 

very courteous and generous. 

 They won't mind being on repeat. 

 With that said,

 I have to warn you

 that this post is long winded. 

 Very longwinded with photos and words.

This cupboard was purchased

 many years ago from Ikea.  

It has great storage 

and I couldn't get along without it now. 

 I painted the little glass panes in the drawers 

with blackboard paint

 and wrote herb names on them. 

 Believe it or not, 

that was about seven years ago

 and I have not had to do them over yet.

All of the little cottages are found items

 that I painted to resemble gingerbread houses.  

The one above is a little pixie house

 that was found at the Dollar Tree.

 

 The hanging cupboard, above the chest, 

we found in a local antique shop 

and I love that it is rather crusty. 

 Wreath and bow are from Temu.

 

I am just going around the room wall by wall.  

The large blackboard was picked up from a neighbor.

  It originally was a screen door

 that I painted with blackboard paint. 

 That was when I first started blogging

 and chalk boards were all the rage.

  I hardly write on it anymore 

and keep thinking that I will take it down

 for more useable wall space, 

but it seems to be a hard decision. 

 The tree itself is actually on its last legs,

 but I keep piling on the ornaments still. 

 The old white cupboard was in our garage 

for over 20 years 

when we decided to change it from

 very dark brown to white. 

 We really didn't have sufficient wall space for it

 but it is a great old and good storage space.  

I had ordered what I thought

 looked like a cute wall sign. 

 It was of a pickup truck in seasonal dress 

with the Holly Farm sign attached.  

When it came, I hated how cheap the truck looked

 but loved the sign part 

so I took it apart and discarded the truck.

  That is how Holly Farms came to be. 

 The little red houses are a good match

 for the red stove so, as you can see, 

it all became part of the fresh farm scene.

This is our working island, if you can believe that.

  It is small but mighty. 

 A lot of chopping goes on there 

and it is about all we could fit in the space.  

We found it at a consignment shop 

and found out it was also from Ikea 

so we call it the Little Sister.

These two are my most prized possessions.  

Tami gifted me this ceramic house many years ago.  

It was green and white when I decided to paint it.

  I love how it turned out 

and when it is set up in the forest 

with Grandpa's old white pickup loaded down

 with the family Christmas tree

 and all the lamps inside are lit, 

it is the coziest place I could think to be. 

 I painted the Santa during my "Santa phase" 

and I love his facial expression.  

They both sit by this wall every year.

These little houses started out as pink and yellow plastic doll houses from Dollar Tree. 

I saw them all over Pinterest and when I went to our Dollar Tree they only had the one style. 

 I wanted two because 

they just fit on the windowsill better.

  The trees are part of a Dollar Tree product too. 

 They look like little gingerbread condos

.  After all was said and done,

 I did find another style at the store, 

so I picked that one up for next year's project.

 This counter holds some berries, a tree,

 a spiffy chicken from Hobby Lobby

 and glass canisters full of

 cereal and Cheerios for dog treats.

This little house is the cutest thing.  

It is from Temu and it is 3 dimensional.  

It is a flat piece of plastic with a picture of a gingerbread house on it.

 It appears to be sitting on a cake stand. 

 You would swear that it is a 

perfect little house sitting before you.  

You can see it from front and back 

so it shows from the outside of the window too. 

 I just love it.

I usually have this Santa and cups on the counter 

next to the stove 

but it takes up a lot of valuable space.

  I put it on this old bread board 

and it fits there nicely.

I made the hanging hearts

 many years ago when I had my kiln

 and there is one of my recent folk art paintings.

We changed the angle of the table 

which seems to take up less room than before...

...and we also added the North Wind chairs 

that were in the dining room. 

 They are very old and were a gift to my grandfather from a woman he used to work for.  

They are oak and have the original hand caned seats,

 or at least one of them does. 

 Someone sat on one of them and went through the cane once upon a time.

That's pretty much the end of the kitchen tour.

 There is only a towel with a cute goat 

hanging on the oven door

 and the frig doesn't have any decorations at all. 

 Hope you enjoyed it and weren't too bored.

Oops, one more thing.  

The centerpiece on the kitchen table

 was used on our Christmas dinner table 

as it didn't take up much room.

  We put all the food on the kitchen table

 and everyone filled their plates, buffet style,

 and then sat in the dining room.

Oh, my, did we forget the dining room, you ask?  

No, we did not, but that has

 a little different tweak to it 

so I thought it deserved a showing all by itself. 

 It will be coming to you in a couple of days.

Christmas is coming very soon. 

 It seems funny to say that 

since we have already celebrated ours...

Until then...

...xxoJudy...

Sharing today with:

Love Your Creativity at Life and Linda

MID-WEEK CHRISTMAS...

I am not a seasoned technologist

 (is that even a word?) 

 I had to google how long the computer 

has been in our lives. 

 It wasn't until 1970 that computers became

 a staple in most homes. 

 Ours, however, didn't appear until 2000. 

 I learned how to receive and send emails,

 and that was the extent of my knowledge. 

 It wasn't until 2012, when I started blogging,

 that I started to branch out. 

 I have never played a game on the computer 

or watched Tic-Tock videos.

  I dabbled on Facebook for a short time

 but don't do it anymore.

  I had heard of YouTube

 but had never connected until now 

and I seem to be obsessed. 

 All I watch are decorating shows

 and am especially enjoying Christmas. 

 They are a relaxing way to end my day.

  I have found channels that I didn't know existed

 plus bloggers that I follow 

but have never seen their videos.

  One channel, in particular, 

has been an inspiration to me 

but that is another story for another post.

When I showed you the parlor and sitting room

 in Part One last week,

 (Part Two coming soon)

 I realized I had forgotten to show 

some important photos

so I am coming back today to rectify that.

Here is an overview

 of the parlor from the sitting room...

...and the sitting room from the parlor.

Santa says I should get coal in my stocking 

because I forgot to showcase he and Mrs. Claus

 as they forge out into the snow. 

 The deer pulling the sleigh are from Dollar Tree.  

They were glittered silver

 and I painted them to resemble metal. 

 I trimmed the weird antlers 

to look as natural as I could.

This snowflake is made from 

lunch bags from Dollar Tree. 

 They really are fun to make and quite pretty. 

 I only had time to make one,

 but as many as you can imagine could be made.

As I am writing this on Saturday

 and looking out my real window,

 it doesn't look anything 

like the picture on the TV screen. 

 The wind howled all last night around the Cottage and has been doing the same today. 

 Along with the wind 

there were gray skies and cold rain. 

 We are getting ready to host the kids on Sunday

 for our Christmas family gathering

 and the report is for a little better weather. 

 I'm so glad because

 they will be on the road for awhile.

The dining room table is all set 

for us to enjoy our Christmas meal.

We are eating from

 my set of The Old Curiosity Shop dishes 

that I purchased a few years ago

 from Goodwill in San Diego for $11.

Throughout my Christmas posts this year 

you will notice that I mention 

Temu and Dollar Tree a few times.  

These two companies do not sponsor me

 and I pay for everything I get. 

 I noticed on one YouTube channel 

that was featuring a haul from Temu,

 the host sounded like there might be

 ones who didn't approve of Temu.

  Maybe I misunderstood her but, for me, 

I enjoy buying from them. 

 I have always received my orders in a timely manner

 and have always been greatly impressed

 by the quality for the prices they charge. 

 They have a great variety of

cute and different merchandise

 and, let's face it, no matter where we buy from, 

most of the products come from the same place. 

 If I am to be honest,

 we probably won't be able to afford any of their prices next year anyway.

Hope you all are well 

and enjoying the count-down to Christmas.

P.S.

We did hold our family dinner on Sunday 

and it turned out so well.  

The weather was perfect 

(on Monday it went back to raining).  

The food was wonderful. 

The Captain and I cooked 

a turkey breast, mashed potatoes and gravy, 

yams and brussel sprouts with maple syrup. 

 Tami and Tim brought rolls, 

a wonderful spinach and strawberry salad 

and carrot cake.  

Jake and Jacenda brought 

a homemade lasagna that was delicious. 

 There were 6 adults and 5 dogs in attendance.

  All were on their best behavior and had a good time.

  Instead of giving gifts to each other 

we pooled our resources

 and donated money to a woman's program. 

 It was one that Jacenda was familiar with 

in her work at the hospital

 and one, among many others, 

that would be left out in the cold 

after the Trump administration takes over. 

 We did each contribute an ornament 

and played a white elephant game with them. 

It was a lot of fun.  

The dogs emptied Rugby's toy box all over the house

 and had a great time playing tug-a-war together. 

P.S.S.

On Friday night the Christmas carolers came to the neighborhood.  What started out many years ago a very small group, has now grown considerably.  They all line up outside the garden gate and one runs up the walkway and knocks on the door.  When we go to the door they start singing and at the end they all cheer, wave and holler Merry Christmas.  We cheer, clap and tell them thank you and give our holiday wishes back to them. They then move on to the next house. 

 It is something that we look forward to 

each and every year.

See you soon...

...xxoJudy...

Sharing today with:

Love Your Creativity at Life and Linda