Christmas Break

Via

Merry Christmas! We are headed home for the holidays!  
This blog will officially be on vacation until the New Year!

Via

Hope you find lots of joy spending time with family and friends during this special time.

Via

Just for fun, here's some photos I took of my friend's beautiful children yesterday.

 

May your path into next year be full of blessings, peace, hope and God's love!

Christmas in the Dining Room

I love to put up a tree in the dining room because the window faces the front of our house. Don't you enjoy driving by houses and seeing a tree all aglow in the window?

I wedged the tree into an urn using bricks to anchor it. The gold is acutally a tree skirt gathered and tucked.

I also decided to add a little blue to the gold decor which I've had for 15 or more years. Gold and silver are my two favorite colors for Christmas. Sparkle will always be in style.

While teaching school in Savannah, a mom of one of my students made this ornament for me. It holds sand and shells from Tybee Island. I'll always cherish it. 

Glimpses around the room. 

Please forgive me for not visiting and commenting much this week. I am down with the flu.  No good time to be sick but better now than next week.
Hope you are enjoying the season!
Posting to Wow Us Wednesdays

Shuga Please

Christmas is a time for eating sugar, with less guilt. Here in Georgia, people from the deep south say "shuga."  Love it.
Yesterday I hosted a small birthday dinner party for the doc.

We had lasagna and salad for the main course. This is the dessert table. I decided not to bake this year. We have a lot going on and time is short.  I did manage to bake the doc's favorite pound cake. But guess what was most eaten?

Yep, these little store bought cookies. Guests were dropping by and grabbing them right and left, even though they claimed to be "too full for dessert."  
It's the shuga I tell ya.

Before the party ever started, my little guys ate the top of the donut tree and then some.

No party complete without a hot cocoa bar. Whipped cream and crushed peppermint were also added.


Have you tried the crock pot recipe?  It's to die for.
6 cups milk
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups milk chocolate chips
Cook for 2 hours. Serves 6-8
(Thanks to the blogger who shared this- sorry I didn't make a note of origination. Let me know if you read this blog.)

I love dipping biscotti into hot cocoa. My thrifty find is this jar from The Christmas Tree Shop- $6.  Lovin' the little chalkboard label. 

I am off to wrap gifts. So happy to have my doc home. Maybe the wrapping will go faster while we chat. 

Posting to:
A Stroll Thru Life
Coastal Charm

Oh Christmas Tree

The tree decked in silver with touches of black.

A couple of years ago my daughter was working retail and the store was going to throw away all of these pretty silver balls left over from the holiday decor. She's been around me long enough to know trash vs treasure. So she brought home boxes of them. Love that girl!

Have you noticed how difficult it is to photograph reflective ornaments?  Hard not to make a self portrait.

This year we added black tulle, beads and ornaments. $20 for a little different look. 

Our tree is skinny but tall. I love tall trees.

Podso recently wrote a post and asked, "do you decorate the back of your tree?"  Thought maybe I'd get by without it but the mirror tells all. Yikes! I see some big gaps.

Reflections...

May your Christmas be merry and bright!

Posting to-
2805   Christmas Tree Party

Christmas Mantel

Simple with a touch of bling.  

Love the battery operated candles but they do not make good photos. They are not nearly this golden yellow in reality. 

I'm in love with lanterns. They flow great with Christmas decor.

Can't you imagine one being carried on the fox hunt?

And now something to warm your heart. Our little friend, Gavin who has been undergoing chemo for the last 6 months, received an early Christmas gift- a liver transplant! Surgery went well but yesterday they found a blood clot and took him back to surgery. He is being closely monitored in ICU. Please pray for him, and his parents on this journey- expecting to be away from home at least 3 months. Things are looking good for Gavin today. Also, remember the selfless and kind donor family in their grief. We are so grateful to them and God for this miracle. If you have not already done so, please discuss organ donation with your family. To save a life is the greatest gift of all. 

Posting to:
Uncommon Slice of Surburbia- Holiday Mantels
From My Front Porch to Yours- Mantel Party
Southern Hospitality- Merry Mantels
Savvy Southern Style- Wow Us Wednesday

I'll be home for Christmas...Be back in 2 weeks!

Southern Living

I'll be home for Christmas.  You can count on me...   

My parents' home will not look quite this elaborate outside, however, I'm convinced the love and warmth found inside can't be matched anywhere else in this world. 

(my son and my dad)

Since we only go home twice a year, I want to make every moment count. The plan is no internet, no phones (Wait. Who am I kidding? We have teenagers. They'll probably text between opening gifts.) For the most part, we'll just be chillaxin' with the fam.  Lots of eating, laughing and gift unwrapping. 

I'm going to miss each of you! I'll try not to think about all the lovely posts during my absence!  

Country Living

 May you each find your little red shoes clicking all the way home.  Wherever you are, home is where the heart is.

Coastal Living

Country Living

There's no place like home for the holidays!