All I Want for Christmas

Okay, I give in.. It is merely the start of November and already I have caught a bug. Now this bug, although mind/time consuming as it may be, is not painful nor dreaded. This bug bites me every year around this time, sometimes sooner and sometimes later; I like to call it the Christmas Bug. With less than two months from the big day, my mind has be taken over by all thoughts of Christmas. I must admit that for the past three weeks I have checked the isles of Target, Home Goods, and Kohl's just to see if they had received their seasonal shipments. Obsessive, perhaps just a tad, but I couldn't help it. Even with the present state of our economy all that I can think about are ornaments, snowstorms, Christmas music, hot chocolate, and gift wrap. Typically I don't decorate for Christmas until the day after Thanksgiving, but I think that this year, Christmas might come just a little bit early, at least in small doses. You will no longer hear the radio playing in my living room, no sirree, you will now hear Christmas Cd's blasting their joyous tunes through the walls of my chilled Autumn home. Ella Fitzgerald, Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole, just to name a few. I even began creating a Christmas list for myself, how selfish is that? I normally don't ever make a Christmas list, but I have just encountered so many "good things" that I "have to have." Although I will do much needed revisions to the list before I hand it over to my loved ones, it is still nice to wish, so I guess it would be more appropriate to call it a wish list (*which I currently have on Amazon, Anthropologie, and J.Crew.com ;) With that said, I decided that I would post up a few of the items that have caught my eye, since by the looks of it, many of my fellow bloggers have also started in with their Christmas spirit. Enjoy!





*It's funny to me how our Christmas lists change as we grow older. As a child all I wanted was baby dolls, kitchen toys, and a cash register (yes a real cash register, but that's a whole other story ;) Then, into my tweens and teens, I wanted cold hard cash, perfume, clothes, shoes, and makeup. Now that I am a little bit older, I find myself asking for home supplies, home supplies! Of course there's still always room for shoes!

Anatomy of a Rose

Ahh, how wonderful that soon-to-be Springtime breeze feels today!! I'm tellin ya, I have been in the mood for Spring all this week and last, and today I thought instead of just letting my blog sit for yet another week, I would share a few of my favorite things. Roses have been one of my favorite flowers since I can remember, much like the rest of the world, but certain roses catch my attention more than others. Billowy petals, and pastel colors automatically make me look twice. Since my all time favorite flower is the Peony, roses that resemble the peony in any way shape or form always make it to the top of my list. Since I have been in the mood for Spring lately, (although I wouldn't mind a couple more snow storms ;) I decided I would put together a little visual aid for all of you dear readers, since I am sure that most of you are dealing with Spring Fever as well.
I went online to the Queen of Good Things website, and of course found an array of beautiful images and plentiful information regarding all sorts of plants and flowers, of course including roses.. So here it is my friends, just a short list of a couple favorites on Martha's behalf. Hope you enjoy it as much as I have, and hopefully you'll check back tomorrow because somebody I know (ehem...) is going somewhere tonight that fits in perfectly with this post and Spring of course ;)

Wishes Granted

Coming home on this rainy and slightly snowy afternoon, I was pleasantly surprised by the red white and blue box that was sitting in front of my door. I have been waiting for over a week for this package of goodies to arrive and finally today of all days it has come! When I reached the door, and picked the box up I was appalled to see that it was soaking wet and slushy all over. "I cannot believe this!" I screamed out loud, luckily no one hearing, and I rushed inside, found a pair of scissors and cut the box open. I thought I was going to find a pile of mushy papery mess, with soaking seam binding and drippy glue. Instead I was thrilled to see that everything had been gorgeously packaged by that crafty Andrea, and not only that, it was all gently protected by gorgeous pink and brown tissue paper. The tissue paper had soaked up all of the wetness and left me with a feeling of pure joy.
My heart skipped a beat when I opened up all of the individually wrapped seam bindings, and vintage ledger papers, and my nose was delighted by the almondy sweetness that those Cocoina glue sticks emit. "WOW" were the words that crept out of my mouth as I opened up the elegantly packaged glass glitter bottle and the Flea Market flash cards. Today has been a wonderful day, despite the rainy muck that encompassed the package and the rest of PA. Beauty rested inside, and now my craft room is full of a whole lot of pretties. I cannot wait to use these new supplies, and order some more in a couple of days. Won't you head on over to One Hundred Wishes, you wont be disappointed!! PS: Happy Valentines Day to all, perhaps tomorrow I will share a little treat with you, since all of you are so deserving of some craft love!

Im Sorry, So Sorry

Where on Earth has the month of January gone?!? Last thing I know I'm tellin ya the next time you'll see me is sitting in front of a present piled tree sipping a nice hot cup of chocolate and bam! January 25th. I have no specific excuse, many things have been happening in my life, and along with them alot of stress as well. I have been piled up with responsibilties, a sometimes inbearable workload, and to top that off the stress of the new year and my resolutions (which I have decided to start in February ;)
So now that I have found some time to relax, and take a couple pictures here and there, I decided to craft. Craft is a word that I have not thought of in over a month, not since wrapping my presents (which by the way were super snazzy, but all were unwrapped ;( So anyways, January has rushed through and I feel as though I have had no time for myself. So today, I decided that I was going to craft up something for the coming Holiday, seeing that all of my recent magazines are filling me with Valentines inspiration. I'm only showing a few snippets of the pieces, since I still have not decided what I am going to do with them. I just love the red sequins and the glitter, and that green I felt just went so nicely with my "Love Potion" that I'm cooking up. As for now, I have some events lined up ahead such as the Philadelphia Antique Show, Redners Antique Show, and the Spice Girls Concert (*yeah, I'm goin ;) So hopefully I'll have pictures to share with you of my future adventures. Right now, I think I'm gonna go keep working on my valentines projects and perhaps purchase a few crafty items online. Until next time, wishing you love and inspiration!

The Final Countdown...

WOW, just 5 more days until the big one!! And is it that horrible for me to say that I still have yet to go Christmas Shopping!?!? Yes my friends, it is true... I am a procrastinator, and this is one of the worst cases for me. I cannot believe that I have waited until five days remain to buy a load of presents that wouldn't even fit on Santa's sleigh!! To make myself feel a little less anxious, I have bought a few presents for my mom, but that is all. I do have lists upon lists of present ideas for people, so I've gotten the "What to get?" question dealt with, now I just need to fight the traffic and the lines at America's second largest mall. I am usually a shop-a-holic, visiting the mall at least once a week, but I... haven't... been there in.... 2 months!! How have I been able to live?? Just kidding, but you would think that for someone who loves shopping so much that they would go and get it done and over with. Well, I am going today my friends, venturing out into a world of Christmas Chaos and last minute shoppers (ehem...) and getting it all finished. This is not just another one of those "half promises" of mine, this is a fact! ( You see I must tell myself that so I don't totally have a Christmas Breakdown.
Anyhoo, I am going today, meeting my sister for lunch, then perhaps shop with her for a little bit, see what extravagant new items she's been eyeing up, and see if my pockets don't burn holes in themselves by the end of the night. I also have to get wrapping paper, probably brown kraft paper with luxurious ribbon or raffia and tea stained tags. I am still unsure; I bought this really pretty blue plaid print at Target, with brown velvet ribbon, but I am unsure if it is matte or shiny. I like to use matte finished papers, don't ask why, I just think it looks better. Alrighty, well I am going to finish up here, since I do have a ton to do today, and hopefully the next time I post, you will see dozens of beautifully wrapped gifts with a nice cup of hot coco and The Grinch playing in the background! Wishing you timely holiday shopping and wrapping, as well as cups of frothy hot chocolate!!
ps: Today is my 50th post, somewhere in the near future, you will be seeing a suprise for all of my dear readers... Make sure you stay tuned!!

Rockin' around the Christmas Tree...

That good old Christmas clock is ticking away and there is just about 10 more days until Christmas!! Meaning that in the next 10 days I must finish all of my shopping, give my own "Wish Lists" out and finish up decorating and of course wrapping presents. Never has a Christmas been so hectic as it has been this year, and although it has been nerve wracking at times, I still cannot wait until the big day! I have been uber busy this entire month, and I am quite surprised that I even had the time to get a tree let alone decorate it! I have not forgotten about you dear blog, just ignored once again, and I am sorry once again, and I hope you understand. We are all busy women and I know that everyone's life gets hectic at times.
Alrighty off of the bad topics and onto Christmas!! So last Saturday I went to the local Nursery and picked out my tree, a frasier fir like every other year. I also enjoyed my annual cup of apple cider that I always get while the tree is being drilled and I picked up a beautiful wreath for the front door. I then proceeded to wait a week, stock piling ornaments and garlands for the past month in my living room, and finally tonight I found the time to decorate my tree. I also decorated my bay window a couple of days ago with lights and different sized and shaped ornaments floating at different heights from ribbon. I admit that this is not how I planned I would decorate, all in one crazy night, but thats how it happened and now I can finally enjoy it all. I'll post some pictures of the tree in a couple of days, and maybe even the silver tinsel tree I set up in my guest bedroom/ studio. As for the decorations, well Target and KMarts stock just went sky high since Genevieve bought out most of their supplies. I'm tellin ya, the day after Thanksgiving, me and the other decorators were going head to head, "fighting" each other to get the last glass glitter snowflakes at Target (which I did ;) Lets just say that Target and Kohls did not disappoint with their wide selection of gorgeous glass glitter ornaments. I am sure you've already visited and gotten some yourself, so for now heres just some inspiration (as if you need it!) Enjoy!!

Brocante Home's Puttery Treat Challenge

"Get up very, very early. Just you. Creep downstairs, light candles and drink coffee in the dark, melancholy silence of an early Winter morning."

Waking up in the darkness of the sweet, calm morning, I feel the icy breeze dash across my nose from the cracked window above me. Pushing myself out of my warm nest, I stretch to the new days beginning and slip on my fluffy slippers. Heading to the kitchen, I hear but not one noise, perhaps the yawn of Metayo as he adjusts his eyes to the darkness (for he is not used to waking up so early.) With the creaking of the kitchen door, I am happily awakened by the earthy aroma of freshly brewed coffee. Carefully swishing my feet across the dark kitchen tile, I base my direction on the flashing green light of the coffee maker. With my cup placed out from last night, with a slightly tarnished vintage family spoon acting as the stirrer of the day’s future, I pour in my hazelnut creamer, and mix in the sugar. I begin to light the tea lights which are placed in aged mercury glass holders amongst the windowsill, and peer outside to my backyard, which has been transformed to a snow covered wonderland overnight. I lean back on the kitchen counter with coffee in hand, and sip away all the worries of yesterday, and plan what delights await me in the day ahead. I am calm, I am silent, I am peaceful, but I am not alone. I soon hear the scurrying of Metayo’s paws on the floor and feel his side rub against my leg. He sits and stares at me, silently asking me to take him outside in the snow, to play in natures glistening beauty. I now tie up my snow boots, slip on my comfy down jacket and step outside with Metayo. The sun is beginning to rise, and the snow in all of its winters glory has blanketed the sounds of early morning. I stand in the icy blanket, with the mornings breeze wisping through my hair, and listen to the glorious sounds of nature, the sounds of winter, the sounds of peace.

*Image Courtesy of Creativty+'s


Do visit Allison's 'scrumptiously' lovely blog!! The Brocante Home Chronicles