Deck the Halls

Is everyone in Tulsa surviving all of the snow?  I must say that I do love winter accessories very much.  And I like a little cool weather.  And I do like white Christmases.  But Fall is still my all-time favorite season. Though I think the snow is beautiful, this biting weather is just too much.  

My husband and I volunteered at Church on the Move's Christmas Train for our first time this year.  It was amazing!  And cooold!  I got to go around as part of a 10 or so person group caroling throughout Dry Gulch.  Husband was a train conductor!  I had to do a double take when he came out of his dressing room all dressed to the nines like a conductor straight out of the late 1800's. He looked so good!!  I wanted him to keep the costume and wear it all the time.  It could fit into an electrical drafter's office environment, right?

  It was so rewarding getting to walk around and see the happy looks on people's faces.  They requested Christmas carols, sang along and took pictures with us.  It's something we would definitely do again, though hopefully it won't be so cold next time.  They said that it was the coldest it's ever been while still keeping the Christmas Train open.  It even snowed a little!  

Our children will love us.  They will love being dressed up in little outfits and being paraded around as the most precious kiddos in the world.  Bandit on the other hand...he was shaking as I put his little Santa jacket on before her went outside.  I don't know if it was because he was already cold or if he was so ashamed to be seen in it.  That was his shortest little trip outside since it snowed.  He did his business then was ready to come back inside.  Mommy's sorry you were embarrassed....but you looked so cute!!

I am proud of how this little tree turned out.  It was a very sad looking tree when I pulled it down from the attic.  All flattened with branches going every which way, and was missing 1/3 of its little legs to stand on.  Husband came into the sun room to find me sitting on the floor with the tree in my hand, woeful look on my face crying, how do I make it stand up?!  Husband, in all of his logical-ness said "Why don't you put it in something..."  So I did.  An orange insulated mug that I found on the kitchen counter, wrapped some burlap around it and called it good!  Know one will ever know....except for y'all because I just told you...shhh.

Since it's in our sun room and our sun room is nautical themed, I did a halfway nautical themed tree with seashells and little blue and cream paper accordion bows.  I was pretty pleased with myself and my resourcefulness.    

Sister's Tree

We had such a fun time the other night helping Sister decorate her Christmas tree.  Three generations coming together to celebrate such a wonderful season.  I had to make myself slow down and take a step back.  I noticed I'd had the tree up and started putting ribbon on it before anyone else had gotten there.  I get a little excited and on a roll when it comes to decorating.  They made it in time though and Mama helped wrapping the ribbon around the tree.  

It was a lot of fun.  We had Christmas music playing in the background, pine tree scented candle burning and decorations spread out everywhere.  It was so peaceful.  We used a combination of mine and Grandmother's ornaments.  The fun thing about Grandma's ornaments are that each one has a story, or she made some of them.  Mom and Grandma would go to craft shows, buy a prototype of something they liked then have Grandpa make it for them to put the finishing paint and decorating touches on.  I come from a family of crafters.

The finishing touch on the tree.  Sister putting on the last ornament.

Anyone else remember how delicious this ribbon candy is?  I've actually never had it this big before.  I just remember at my church growing up, around Christmas time they would pass out bags of candy to all the little kids.  Bags full of the mini ribbon and pillow candies.  All bright yellows, oranges, reds, pinks and greens.  Much like this:

I could eat it all day...or until my teeth were so covered in the candy that I couldn't open my mouth any more to chew.  

  What are some of your favorite Christmas memories?

The Leg Lamp

Happy Tuesday!  

  It's that time of year again.  The time where red, green, white, silver and gold are the primary colors seen everywhere,  Christmas trees, ornaments, and snowy window-scapes adorn every store display window, children's eyes are wide with wonder as they walk the mall being toted behind their parents, songs like O Holy Night, Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree, and Mariah Carey's  All I Want for Christmas is You can be heard all over the radio, 24/7, (94.1 the Breeze is Tulsa's 24/7 Christmas station.)  Husbands can be seen scaling ladders and hanging precariously to satisfy their wives by being the first in their neighborhood to put up their Christmas lights.  Churches prepare for their Christmas pageants, with little angels and snowflakes running around, the birth of Jesus, our savior being fully celebrated.

   And then out come the Christmas decorations.  There's so many varieties that it's hard to keep track of: traditional, rustic, vintage, funky, girly, and I'm sure there's some Ducky out there somewhere!  As for us, we mostly have traditional.  Except for our entertainment center.  That leans more towards woodland.  Woodland!  That's one I forgot to mention.

This is one of the more fun pieces of decor we have.  We got it from Dick's .5 & .10 while on our honeymoom in Branson last year. (Which I still can't believe it's been a year already!!)  It's from one of the classic, iconic Christmas movies, A Christmas Story.  I'm sure everyone is familiar with it.  There's a station on TV that plays a 24-hour marathon of it on Christmas day.  And from it, the iconic leg lamp, which full sized ones cost upwards of $80!!  One day we will splurge and get a real one.  And yes, we will find a way to put it in our front window, even though the window doesn't really have a ledge. There will be a way!  Husband loves this lamp.  He also has a leg lamp puzzle that came in a much smaller version of the wooden shipping crate. 

Of course, even though it doesn't really match I had to put on the ornament for my alma mater.

Outdoor Decor

Welcome back, everyone!!  I hope you had a delightful, family-filled Thanksgiving!  Pardon my absence these past few days.  I've been getting spoiled by getting to spend these past 5 days all with my husband, getting to be off work and spending time with family.  Celebrating our thankfulness.  We have a lot to be thankful for.  God has provided us with so many blessings that it's hard to keep track!  I've felt him working in our lives these past few months, bringing us closer together and closer to him.  I can't wait to see what He holds in store for us in the next year.  

  I can't believe it's December already!  That's just crazy.  It's starting to feel like winter and look like it.  Though I've been listening to Christmas music for about a month straight now, I'm still not tired of it.  Christmas is such a happy time of year.  Lights are slowly going up on people's houses, including ours!  We were busy Christmas bees this weekend.  Our house is all decked out and feels so cheery.  

Husband braved the roof to hang up the Christmas lights for me! They went up in no time.  He's so good!  I went up on the roof for a little bit just to prove that I could do it.  It really wasn't too bad...until I had to get down.  That was a little scary.

Once, when I was like 6 or 7 years old, my dad was repairing the garage/laundry room roof and fell off of it...right on me!  That was scary.  None of us were hurt though.  I went off crying into the house because I hadn't known what to do.  It was a life changing moment.

Husband has just been surprising me more and more lately.  This cross was his idea.  He wanted to put it in our backyard so that people could see it from the road.  He made this!  It's 7 ft tall.

"And presents under the tree...."  I've been waiting 2 years to finally put these out.  I got them on mega after Christmas sale from Kirkland's Home Decor back when I used to work there. I didn't put them up last year because I'd forgotten about them.  But this year was the year!!  They look really neat at night.

Winterscape

I'm pretty proud of every component of this table setting.  There's still more to be added, but it's coming right along.  Each piece has a story.  Well, mostly...  Really each piece was just a lot of fun to find.  I didn't know what I would be using some of them for until this display just kind of fell into place.  The stump looking candle holders have actually been used in just about every season except for Summer.  They were part of my Easter centerpiece in a tray with moss and pastel Easter eggs; they were part of the previous Fall centerpiece with the clear canisters filled with leaves and pinecones; and now they're part of this Christmas, wintry centerpiece.  This whole thing was done in probably about 5 minutes or less.  

    We had company coming over.  So naturally, we hurriedly spot cleaned the house.  (Husband said we should have company over more often because it caused us to tear through the house de-cluttering and cleaning.  Maybe when it comes time to clean house again we will invite people over before we start so that we have a little motivation to clean faster.  

This table display was just the icing on top.  Previously, I had Christmas decor that was waiting to be dispersed just flung all over the table.  Very messy.  So I whipped that stuff away, gathered the remaining things that didn't have a home, gathered up the china and poof!  Instant table decorations!  I've been told before that I have an interesting way of helping clean.  Storytime:  Back when I lived in Edmond with 3 other girls in a cute little 1910 farm looking house just a couple of blocks away from campus, there was a night when we were all cleaning to have people over.  I think we were going to be holding my recital reception there.  I had bought my first white pumpkin, or ghost pumpkin that year and loved it.  It matched everything!  The girls had been getting onto me about needing to throw it away.  It was after Thanksgiving, bordering on December, (well now that I think about it, if it was that time then it wouldn't have been for my recital.  Must have been cleaning for a Christmas party!) I wasn't quite ready to let it go.  So...I sat down, got out my painting supplies and painted a nice little snowy scene with snowmen on it.  My best friend walked by, looked at me and said "you sure have a funny way of helping clean!" I smiled at her, finished my painting, cleaned up my supplies, (that counted as cleaning, right?) and set the pumpkin back where it had been.  Voila, Fall decor turned Christmas decor!!  

This was one of those same instances.  Except we'd actually finished cleaning already before I started on this.  And the timing couldn't have been more perfect.  Just as I was setting the last plates, our friends pulled up in the driveway.  Couldn't have turned out more perfect even if I'd planned it that way!

This is our wedding china.  I got it at an antique store in Atoka, on our way to Texas.  We love it!  Perfect for Christmas.  And absolutely beautiful.

What are you all thankful for this year?  I'm thankful for a loving and supportive husband, a precious puppy, a great job with a fantastic boss and coworker, friendly clients, a roof over our heads, supportive family, new family, fun friends, old friends and new friends.  I'm thankful for coffee, breakfast, coffee, decorating, cold weather, coats, running water and indoor plumbing.  (Could you imagine using an outhouse in this kind of cold weather??)

Trip Time!

This weekend was such a fun weekend!  It was filled with family, laughter, shopping and good food.  We Forrester/Henderson/Linde women took our bi-annual shopping trip to Frisco, Texas where we stopped at IKEA,  Sam Moon, and Trader Joe's.  It was a little rough start with Mom and I both having left our purses at my house.  Luckily we'd stopped right down the street to get some dinner on the road so we were close enough that Husband could bring us our purses.  Since Mom couldn't find her driver's license once we got there, I got to do all the driving.  Surprisingly, I maneuvered us around town pretty smoothly.  Even deviated from the GPS to find us the most direct route to places.  I felt like mighty driver. Hoo-ha-ha!
  

  Sunday, we got to spend time with our dear family friends from Philadelphia.  (Originally from here.)  I got to meet my newest niece, who has the most precious round chubby cheeks that make you just want to pinch them!  She and I had a rough introduction to start with her crying as soon as I approached her.  I chalked it up to her being around a lot of new people and just didn't know what to do.  Later I got to hold her, tears free.  Than Husband and I went on a date with the momma and daddy, my best friends.  They don't have Hideaway Pizza in Pennsylvania, so we try to go there together every time she's in town.  

{Some cuddle time with Bandit before leaving town}

 {Lunch in Texas at In-n-Out Burger}

 {Grandma and myself outside IKEA}

{These little carts were so much fun to push!  So maneuverable.  They could turn on a dime.  I of course had to jump on the back and scoot myself around the store.  Too much fun!} 

{Texas shopping centers were all decorated for Christmas.  It was very cheerful and briiiiight.}

I hope you all have a Happy Monday!  Thank you for stopping by today.

Being Thankful

Well folks, it's happened!  After all this waiting, all this preparing myself...94.1 FM has finally started playing all Christmas music!  Now, not only can I listen to Christmas music all day at work, thanks to Pandora, but now I can listen to it anywhere I go in the car!  It makes me happy.  You can't say that you've ever listened to Christmas music and been anything but happy.  Except for that Christmas Shoes song.  Makes me cry every. single. time.  No lie.  So I generally change the station when that song comes on.  My eyes are actually getting that welling up sensation just thinking about it.  Moving on!

 Our house is beginning to look more and more like Christmas has arrived.  Now, I know what you're thinking: Sarah, you can't skip Thanksgiving, what about Thanksgiving??  I have my handmade wooden Turkey and fall centerpiece still sitting on the dining room table (surrounded by all of the Christmas stuff I'm still trying to find places for...) so don't worry.  And I'm being thankful a lot.  I'm thankful for such a wonderful husband.  A wonderful husband that put up with me starting to decorate for Christmas the day after Halloween.  A husband who is so kind and patient with me.  A husband whom I love very much and enjoy spending time with.  Sometimes I wish we worked in the same office so I could see him all day every day!!  Too much?  Nah...
(also, the nerd in me came out when typing this.  When typing nah, my caps lock accidentally got pushed to where it said NaH.  My first thought was that it looked like a periodic symbol.....  So I had to look it up.  Sodium Hydride: "NaH is a representative of the saline hydrides, meaning it is a salt-like hydride composed of Na+ and H- ions." Makes me feel so smart.  Also reminds me of a time when friends and I thought this guy in our church play was a hot guy.  We couldn't very well going around calling him 'hot guy' for the whole world to know what we thought!  He would know!  So we started calling him Hg, which for those of you that don't know is the periodic symbol for Mercury.  Thus, the nickname Mercury was born!  We all thought we were so clever.)  Anyway, I think I have way way digressed.  I have chased that white rabbit to his rabbit hole and beyond!

Anyway...here's what our house is looking like for Christmas so far:

 Those bottles I am actually going to start selling in an craft mall about the first week of December.  I am pretty excited!  I've been itching to get a business started, so this will be just a small taste to get me started. Also, the hanging owls probably aren't going to stay.  I think I was a little delirious from being sleepy and it being past my bedtime.  I just decided to play around with them a little.

Y'all just thought I was going to put of some pretty pictures for you to look at without my narrating.  For a second, I did too!  But...I just couldn't let that happen.  I like talking too much.

This is an assorted ornament trough that's on our coffee table.  I love it.  Put it together last night before I went to bed.  As I've mentioned before, when Husband and I moved into the house it came with a shed FULL of stuff.  All but the silver ornaments were in a small box inside one of the boxes in the shed.  I wonder if they did something similar with them or if it was just a box of random stuff that they'd bought at a garage sale.  The later seems more plausible.  I like the mixture of the red, silver and gold.  I also had to throw in the little guy on the horse just for diversity.

This is just to assure you all that I do still have thanksgiving out.  I'm not completely bypassing it.  It's just currently coexisting with Christmas.  

Thank you all for stopping by today!  Happy Thursday-almost-Friday!!  Tomorrow, Mama, Grandma, Sister and I are going to Texas. On Sunday, I have a long overdue reunion with my best friend in Philadelphia and her family!