Christmas in the House

The first thing up is those wreaths. That's because I get to them first sitting on top of the pile when I am unearthing the Christmas boxes.  

My husband found the lavish poinsettias at Costco and though I planned to put them on the porch, it was too cold. They really look beautiful in the kitchen.

The view from the kitchen into the living room. I love the evergreen garland. It smells so good and makes up for the plastic tree out of camera shot. 

Here is the living room from the entry way. There is another 30 foot garland hanging over the windows on the right. 

The entry table holds Christmas cards and my little musical Father Christmas that is 40 years old. 

A wider view of the entry way. 

The hearth in its finery. I love the burlap "Merry Christmas" swag. It was made by a friend. 

The Christmas stockings have served my husband and I well. Can you guess which of us is the dog and which is the cat?

My favorite red transferware tea set, just poised for an invitation to serve. 

The dining table with small trees and tall angels.

Getting ready to set the table. 

More window garland. 

And how it looks from a distance. 

The mantel from the straight on view. 

And the side view with the sectional and pillows and blue velvet ottoman

. Can you tell I like looking at it?

Nothing quite like the coziness of Christmas. Hope you enjoy yours!

Indoor To Do List

Dusty summer mantel and  full shelves

A cluttered entry way.

A disheveled office.

 Disorganized bedside stands. 

Thankfully the bed pillows are clean and effortless.

Windows need cleaning to shine up the view outside.

Outdoors, our lovely weeping willow tree.

And a hidden creek.

Back inside, my overladen dressing table--too many bottles.

Dusty shelves and a sweet baby chair.

I wonder if the bluebirds need to do as much housekeeping as me?

Master Bathroom --Before and After (and a peek outside)

This is the master bathroom AFTER. The tub is a wonderful vintage clawfoot, but I have no idea how old it is. It came with the house. The sink is a nice Kohler reproduction. The beadboard is all new, with nice square moldings on the top edge, the baseboards and the ceiling.
The yellow stand at the side of the sink is a recycle, painted by yours truly. The painting above it is of a whale in Maui, painted by a friend of mine. 

 

 AFTER: This is a peek into the powder room, and I apologize for leaving the lid up. To the right of the green towel is the shower.

AFTER: This gives a better view of both the powder room and the shower area. It's a nice large bathroom, with lots of maneuver space.

BEFORE: This is how it looked when we bought the house. Bare basics, stripped down and raw. 

 BEFORE: This closet had wobbly doors, which we removed. We decided to leave it as open storage--easy to access, and very nice when you don't have a vanity cabinet. 

AFTER: Now it looks like this. Much more personality, but still farmhouse simple. 

AFTER: Blinds on the windows allow natural light to flood the room.

AFTER: Here you can see the new storage area with the door trim redone to look like it was meant to be this way.

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And now, let us step outside to catch some more tulips before they are gone. 

Our well looks so country gorgeous. 

Tulips are so happy. Straight, tall, optimistic. 

Beyond, you can see our junky Coke machine by the barn. It's also in bloom. 

I love spring. Every day brings something new to see.

By the front walkway, the daffodils have had their turn and  are on their way out...but they are still beautiful. Hope your Spring is as lovely as mine. 

My Hang Ups

BEFORE:

This is how our foyer looked when we moved in. A whole lotta nothin' going on. Well, a bunch of trash on the floor was goin' on.

AFTER:

This is the same area now. On either side of the french doors are pictures of our native blue and white herons. Behind the closed french doors is the kitchen.

 

This is the view from the living room,  with the front doors to the right. The long hallway beyond is lined with a hook strip made of the same knotty pine that is on the floors. 

 The hooks extend all the way to the end of the hall. There are 24 of them all together. They are super-convenient and handy for everything that comes through the doors--keys, hats, scarves, jackets, bagpacks, etc... 

 A close-up of the hooks and the pine strip.  We got the hooks at Home Depot. They are usually loaded with stuff, but are trying to make a better impression today. 

This corner does a lot of extra work. There's a shoe basket under the natural pine bench, a glove basket on top of the bench, and tools, keys, and a sunglass box on the hooks. Stuff.  

A close-up of the native blue heron print. We love when these birds visit our pond for breakfast. 

This picture was taken after Christmas. The blue heron was almost three feet tall and loitered for about 20 minutes. Then he dove into the pond, ate something slithery, and flew away. 

The handles on the french doors are made of a section of branch, sanded and polished to the touch.  

The accessories on the chippy blue table change with the seasons. 

One more view looking toward the front doors. Au revoir.