DJ HOME: November 2009

Monday, November 30, 2009

IT'S THAT TIME AGAIN !!!! ..........

Well, we are now approaching December 1st, and, it's around this time that a deadly hush descends over our household .....

.......... Mr. Home starts to get a weird look on his face and his eyes glaze over and beads of sweat start to appear upon his forehead........ he opens his mouth and quietly utters those chilling words " It's that time again, isn't it ", he says in a very quiet voice.

I bury my head in my hands and quietly say, " Yes, I'm afraid it is ", and we peruse the calender for a time suitable for both of us to ...............................

CHOOSE THE CHRISTMAS TREE !!!!

It always has to be after work, therefore it is dark....VERY dark !! ..........

.......... and, it is invariably raining. It's either pouring with rain OR there has just been the worse storm of the year and everything is soaking wet and the wind is howling..........

.......... I am always wearing the wrong clothes, having been out for a Christmas lunch and then, running late, I don't have time to change ..........

.......... so, we arrive at the Garden Centre and, all of the trees are OUTSIDE, in the rain or freezing wind and we set about choosing THE ONE. We always have a seven footer so Mr. Home has to force his way to the back of the pile to pull out the one that I think could possibly be THE ONE, drag it out (remember, it's really wet) and hold it up, straight, for me to look it over. He has to turn it around, so that I can see it from all angles, until I tell him that it's not the one. This can go on for quite a while and we are getting soaked, me in my high heels and posh frock but, Mr. Home is sensibly dressed in waterproof coat.
Last year we had a bit of a disaster. I had spotted what I thought was a really good tree, but, just as we approached it, an elderly couple pushed in, grabbed it and proceeded to drag it to the netting machine. I was a little cross but, as luck would have it, I spied an even nicer one which was part of one of the displays. "Go and get that one " I told Mr. Home and, we both climbed onto the display, over some beautiful rusty railings and through some fake, decorated trees. Said tree was propped up in a zinc container. "Just pull it out" I said. Well, pulling it out was a bit of a problem. It seemed to be stuck. We pulled and we pulled and, the upshot was that the tree would not budge . It was caught on the railings. The railings all fell over like dominoes , knocking the artificial trees down. All of the decorations fell off of the trees and, three reindeer's of varying sizes made out of twigs, fell to the ground. Mr. and Mrs. Home were seen running as far away from the display as they could....AND...... I think that they have CCTV there !!!! We will try not to do anything like that this year. When we do find THE ONE, we have to go through the whole process again, on a slightly smaller scale, when we choose..........

.......... HOLLY and ...........

.......... MISTLETOE !!!!!!!!!!
I have to say that, after the tree has been chosen, we have a lovely time as, the Garden Centre that we go to is beautiful. There are always coach loads of people who come from all over the country and many foreign tourists who visit. They have the most wonderful Christmas display and, an outside ice-skating rink, where we sit, with a drink, and watch the skaters while we listen to Christmas carols.

I am hoping that, avoiding all disasters and divorce proceedings, that our tree will look something like the one above. I wish you a happy time, choosing your tree and hope you avoid any of the little mishaps that seem to happen to us, every year.

Jackie

My Home for the Holidays - {Part I}

I admit I am not one to decorate for every holiday, season, occasion, etc. A few pumpkins (preferably of the white and green variety) for Halloween, a fresh bouquet of white tulips for Easter and I am pretty much set. Christmas, however, is a different story.

Like many people, some of my most wonderful childhood and adult memories are of my family's Christmas traditions. My Mom baked wonderful Norwegian cookies, my grandmother cooked a full course Italian dinner {which took hours to eat} and our entire house was decorated with love. Each ornament on our tree held a memory - a place visited or lived, a childhood school project, a favorite past time or sport, a gift from a cherished friend.

Traditions tie us to the past and help us to remember from where we come. As a Mom, I want to pass these same feelings on to my children. Which is why I make the effort to decorate my home during Christmas. It is the time we spend together as a family that means the most. So over the next few weeks I would like to invite you into my home to share some of my favorite decorating projects.

This week's post features my mantel (seen above) and a simple table top decoration. For several years I have wanted to hang a wreath on a garden gate above my fireplace. I had seen pictures of this done before but had never been able to locate a gate until last week. I am so pleased with how it looks and I am trying to figure out how I can have the gate there all year!

I also made stockings out of white burlap, linen and muslin, with raffia hangers. The round fabric embellishments are called "yo-yo's" and have been used in quilting circles forever. If you can sew, making stockings are a simple and quick project.

The second item today is a "peppermint candy stand." Many people have some sort of wire stand in their house similar to mine. I simply outfitted it with a few clear bubble glasses, ornaments, greenery and candy.

My kids love this during the holidays as it is the only time of year I have candy out and on display in my house. They find it fun to sneak a piece while they think I am not looking! (another great memory) I have used this as a centerpiece on my island as well as part of Christmas party dessert table.

Friday, November 27, 2009

Favorite Housewarming Gift

Like most people, I never show up at a party without a gift for the host and hostess. One of my favorite simple holiday gifts is a paperwhite in a vintage tea cup. I purchase the tea cups throughout the year and save them until Thanksgiving. Here is what you do.

Supplies:
Paperwhite bulbs, river rocks, tea cups, water and rubbing alcohol, cellophane and raffia

Instructions:

Fill tea cup about 2/3 full with river rocks. Place bulb, root side down, on top of rocks. Fill around the bulb with additional rocks. The rocks help anchor the plant once the roots begin to grow.

Fill tea cup to bottom of bulb with a mixture of 10 parts water to one part rubbing alcohol. The rubbing alcohol will keep the paper white from growing too tall. Place in a sunny location until ready to give. Note - you will have to monitor the water level of your tea cups almost daily.

When ready to attend a party, simply wrap your tea cup with clear cellophane, tie with raffia and add a tag.

Homemade Gift Ideas at Tatertots and Jello

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving

We will be enjoying this year's Thanksgiving holiday with Hubby's family in Wisconsin. But spending the holiday away from home, didn't stop me from enjoying a Thanksgiving table - minus the turkey and all the trimmings!

I got the spray roses at the grocery store. I love the color.

I dusted off my Thanksgiving dessert plates and polished one of my Grandmother's old server knives. Did someone say pumpkin pie? ; )

I got the wreath for the front door but it's been so windy these days that I decided to hang it on the dining cabinet instead.

I love the simple yet intricate detail of the overlapping wheat.

I'm sending you the warmest, most beautiful Thanksgiving wishes...Happy Thanksgiving.

TO SLEEP, PERCHANCE TO DREAM ..........

The other day, just hanging around on my sofa, I was wondering what would make the perfect bedroom ?

There is so much choice out there nowadays, it's enough to give a girl a right royal headache..........

.......... what sort of room would be good enough to take your beloved bunny to have a wonderful nights sleep and dream the night away ?

.......... is comfort top of the list or is the decoration more important ? .......... a good mattress or 10 ?..... or is an en- suite top of your list ? Here are a few that I like .........

Some cool blue ticking sheets and
pillows and a lovely shabby chic mirror ......... make sure that the mirror is put up properly. Could give you quite a fright if it falls on you in the middle of the night !!

I do love an iron bed and the end of the bed is a great a great place to hang your lingerie .....

I love this unusual headboard and you must supply a comfy place for your family pets !! .....

..... how about this for a children's bedroom. Couldn't they have fun, up there in the eaves of the house ?

How gorgeous is this bedroom ? A little bit girly without too many frills.

I really like these sparsely decorated rooms with a couple of over-stated pieces of furniture........

.......... but then again, I love all of these quilts and cushions, pillows and curtains......oh, the choices we have makes choosing so difficult.

I like this look as well. Distressed, just the way I like it, but made sharp by the addition of the black and white throw.

Well, put me in here with a supply of food and drink and I could stay there for days, reading all of those magazines.

If storage is at a premium, hang your undies on the wall !!

I think that clutter can look pretty good. don't you ?

.......... and don't think that the garage is the only place to store your bike..... stick it in the bedroom !!!!

Well, I'm off to dream of the perfect bedroom and float off to sleep on the river of dreams.
What would be your perfect bedroom ? I'm in a quandary.

Jackie

Friday, November 20, 2009

Bag of Tricks

Be sure to grab a copy of Better Homes and Gardens winter edition of 100 Decorating Ideas Under $100. Inside you will find a story on using vintage sacks for many simple decorating projects. I created the roman shade and the small pillow shown in the article.