Drivin' 55

Impish smiles... White Christmas... Fancy new purse and a new tube of lipstick... What else does a woman need besides a healthy husband  and a warm fire? Did you have a very Merry Christmas?

Merry Christmas to All! Happy Birthday, Baby Jesus

Still haven't managed to decorate one little bit and sadly, I do not have the energy to do so. Being downgraded from "all time hostess" to guest has not set well with me yet. What shall I do with my 12 piece setting of my holiday Lenox china, matching stemware and my mother's silver? I'm off to rescue my husband from yet another hospital stay. Anyone for Cancun?

Tis the season... to decorate the tree... lots of work... but such joyous memories.... No, my tree is not up just yet, but I am  mentally preparing to do so! Is that the same as good intentions?

Christmas is over. The goose that was once fat is now a small facsimile of itself. I am relieved. Presents once wrapped have left our home and only the wrinkled paper remains in the trash. The food that I stressed over, cooked with love and prepared with the utmost care, is now long gone. If I had it to do over again, I would not change one thing, except perhaps, to include my mom, sister and her family to be with us to celebrate the day. I've come to realize that a holiday will never meet the expectations one has in ones mind. I try to channel my Martha Stewart but I discovered that there are more important things in life. This year, I made a few Christmas presents. One present that I was particularly proud of was a scrapbook of my daughter for my son in law before he met her. When he opened the book, there was a slight smile upon his face as he read my inscription to him. Flipping through the scrapbook, he came upon a photo of my daughter in her senior year of high scho...

May your holiday be filled with special memories, love, family, friends, and peace!

As I decorated my mantel this year, Santa, his sleigh and Rudolph came out of the cabinet to be placed in a prominent location. I thought it was a grand idea at the time... until I had to fuss with the pine boughs and then... CRASH! Rudolph took a nose dive off the mantel and smashed into a million tiny pieces. Husband was not amused and returned everyone back to the cabinet. What a stupid idea I had!

...very serious business!

One project to scratch off of the list! Jack’s Christmas stocking is complete. Yea! I haven’t used my embroidery skills for quite some time. By the time I got down to the lower stocking, all skills of stichery somehow came to the forefront of my brain and I was proud of my accomplishment. Here’s the baby bear saying “Grand Mom, you did an awesome job!”   I already ordered and received the next stocking for baby number 2…whenever he or she makes his or her appearance. 

  These are just a few of the many Santas I own.  They are cheerful… youthful… hopeful… colorful… and I love them! I couldn’t possibly hide them away in a box so these fun little guys stay out on display all year long. What do you collect?

Truly, I am so excited to say that the winner of the Christmas in July box and album is..... Drum roll, please! Ellen from Across the Net Please email me with the necessary information. Congratulations, Ellen! Random Integer Generator Here are your random numbers: 8 Timestamp: 2009-08-01 20:34:06 UTC

Today is the last day to enter to win the lovely, vintage Christmas box. Remember to leave your comment in the post down below in the original post. If you would like a second change to win, just pimp me on your blog. Which means, provide a link to your blog to my blog. And when you do that, leave a second comment on my blog. Good luck everyone!! To all my dear blogging friends who left such heartwarming comments on yesterdays post, just know that I was very, very touched.

What better way to celebrate the middle of summer with a give a way for one lucky blogging friend? Just because I want to, I will be giving away a Christmas box with an accordion album. This happens to be my design and I have already given one away last December. Sorry, Kate , you will have to sit this one out! This paper mache box holds an accordion album inside. More than likely, I will make a minor modification to the box before shipping it to its new home. I really love these vintage papers from Melissa Frances Scrapbook . Her collection of designs and patterns reminds me of a little sea side cottage. I can smell the ocean spray right now. These papers bring me back to a time when I think I would have loved to live…The Victorian Age. But let’s not fool anyone, I want all of the modern day luxuries. This paper on the left takes me back to a time when I played with cut outs. I was never a doll kid, but give me cut outs and I was happy for days. S o if you think you would ...

It's Sunday. Yes it is. Laziness has beat me down this weekend. I still owe you all my Christmas in July post. Don't worry, it is coming, just like Christmas! If my friend was a little treasured nic-knack, I would certainly have him on my shelf of Santas. Happy Sunday!!!

Christmas memories are different for everyone. Some families have Christmas Tacos. Other families have traditional turkey and stuffing. Others even travel over the river and through the woods to Grandmother's house. For me, I love to set a grand table. I want my family to expect the very best on the table because after all, they are worth every bit of effort I exude. Over the past 20 years, I have collected Lenox Holiday China . Due to the expense, it takes a person that long to collect a complete setting for 12. Just between you and I...I didn't find all of my china, but there was enough for us to enjoy. Being the oldest daughter, I was lucky enough to inherit my mother's sterling silver. I have been known to have as many as 3 forks and 3 spoons, but this year with all of the unpacking going on, I scaled back. The linens on my table were gifted to me by my mother in law. I couldn't have selected a more perfect pattern if I choose it myself. The red water goblets were p...

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you all had a spectacular time and celebrated the Birth of Our Lord in you own very special way. Here's our whole family, sans my side, gathering on the couch for a photo. Uncle Steven on the floor with his nephew playing the part of protective uncle! One of Jack's presents had tissue paper in it. He played with the paper for at least 10 minutes squealing with joy! Oh, if you are wondering why there is a bottle of Purex behind Jack, it was a gag gift from my daughter and SIL. My husband lives for doing the laundry! If we are at their place for more than an hour, he finds their own laundry and starts the wash! A nice obsession to have... Christmas is all about children. Jack was a delight to have around yesterday. He thought it was pretty cool, too. I believe I must have practiced what I preached because I woke up with a whopper of a headache which should be classified as a migraine. Up at 9 this morning, I vaguely remember swallowing some Ad...

Now, I am not bragging, but I accomplished everything on my to do list for Sunday. Yep! And it feels soooo good. Often, when I feel as if I'm running around with my head cut off, I have to just sit down and make a list. It may be simplistic, but for me, it works wonders. I promised photos of the little box I am sending to my sister. That reminds me of the special gift that Kate received this year. Hmmm...there may be a theme here. Here is the picture of the outside of the box. The Santa is actually 3 D, thanks to little pop dots. The box is sitting on extra paper as I didn't want you to see my cutting matt with all of its scars. Note the hardware that actually works. The inside of the box is lined with this vintage paper. Inside the box holds a stand up album. My sister will go ga ga over this paper. I expect a call from her because she will want to wallpaper a room of her house with it. I told you the album could stand up. The cover ... ... a few of the pages... I like to ...

Christmas traditions mean so very much to all of us. This year is very special for so many reasons. Mostly because this will be our grand baby's first Christmas, but because we are settled in a very nice apartment and we are close to our children again. Back in 1972, my dear cousin, Lennie, who is older than my youngest aunt (my Grama was a hottie!), made this entire nativity set in ceramics class. This was her wedding shower present to my hubby and I. Although is has survived 36 years of Christmas's, it has a few chips and I think the donkey is missing an ear, but tell me, who doesn't have a few chips after 36 years of life! I can remember exactly where I purchased this beautiful bulb, The Festival of Trees. Always a fund raiser for Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, this event was always fun to visit. Many years past, you could drink in over 200 different trees. Sadly, this year, the event was downsized and moved out of Atlanta. No matter where the event is ...

Who came up with this lame idea? I mean, what was behind the thought? What was the person thinking? There is just something wrong with an upside down Christmas tree. Tell me what is the weirdest decoration you have in your home. I don't think anything can top this...ummm...bottom this?

Jack's first Christmas tree. Mom, Dad and Jack around the tree. Mommy showing Jack how to hang the ornaments. Here's Jack attempting to touch the tree. His eyes were glued to the bright lights. We celebrated our daughter's birthday. My Son In Law made a delicious spaghetti dinner. Christmas will be very special this year seeing it through the eyes of a babe.