It's the day after Thanksgiving, and I know that many of us have already started unraveling Christmas lights, and are rummaging through the totes in the garage (okay, that would be me), "fixen" to "Deck the Heck out of the Halls". In fact, my husband looked like one of those poor, tired ponies, that walk round-and-round with a large child on it's back..looking tired and haggard...but, he had volunteered yesterday to help me wrap our trees in the front with lights..Big mistake on his part, but they turned out lovely. 
These are some photos of holidays past...I try to make things fresh every year, but I've fallen in love with this wreath I did last year, and other than replacing some burnt-out lights, I don't want to change it...It's so lovely, that it will remain the same.
After I had glazed the niche over her stove, my client asked me to decorate her kitchen for Christmas. I got the sleighs at good ol' Hobby Lobby, and the rest I pieced together from what she had, and what I had...
You may have heard of "Hertz Rent a Car"; well, this is my angel ("Jessica's Rent an Angel") , and I can't part with her...she did preside over the party she had, and then, I brought her home, where she is as we speak, guarding my kitchen.
Don't worry, this isn't one of my mantles, nor one of my designs...This poor creature presides over the bar in the Driscol Hotel, in Austin, Texas. Poor thing....The legend is Driscol won the hotel in a poker game back in the 1800's. I don't like dead animal heads, but you sure see alot of them hanging about in Texas.
This was our tree (blurry, of course) from last year, and again, I am pleased with it, and probably will add some ornaments that I plan on making (remember the angels - gold-leafed)?I woke up this morning, trying to figure out how to make the corner work, since I did the window treatments, added the chair and side table...I moved the chair to the other side of our ugly tv, and the side table to the end of the sofa. The new lamp is in the dining room. We have a giant ficus, that we have to roll inside around this time of year, so it get's lit up in the dining room.
This was two years ago, when we had our first Christmas in our new home. I always put our tree in this urn...(which served me well in my garden in Wisconsin), which makes a five-foot tree an eight-foot tree, and keeps cats from knocking off ornaments, and occasionally, climbing into the tree...plus, I just like it. I put a large, plastic bag in the urn, put a large stew pot (which my husband then searches for in the kitchen in vain) in, add lots of water, pop in the tree, and "viola", no crawling around under the tree on my belly, trying to straigten it!
This is another wreath I made, and will always pull out of storage...it resides in the dining room, even as I write this. I did go to a wonderful, little town on Wed. called Salado, and bought three, beautiful silk and velvet pointsettias for $1.00 each!!! I will make another wreath today.
My poor bottle brush trees are a bit worse for wear, and I've glued the white elk's horns back on several times, but they are also a tradition...I have a lovely cake stand, and I use powdered sugar for the snow...if you don't have powdered sugar around, try cornstarch..they both work.
This was two years ago, when we had our first Christmas in our new home. I always put our tree in this urn...(which served me well in my garden in Wisconsin), which makes a five-foot tree an eight-foot tree, and keeps cats from knocking off ornaments, and occasionally, climbing into the tree...plus, I just like it. I put a large, plastic bag in the urn, put a large stew pot (which my husband then searches for in the kitchen in vain) in, add lots of water, pop in the tree, and "viola", no crawling around under the tree on my belly, trying to straigten it! 
This is another wreath I made, and will always pull out of storage...it resides in the dining room, even as I write this. I did go to a wonderful, little town on Wed. called Salado, and bought three, beautiful silk and velvet pointsettias for $1.00 each!!! I will make another wreath today.
My poor bottle brush trees are a bit worse for wear, and I've glued the white elk's horns back on several times, but they are also a tradition...I have a lovely cake stand, and I use powdered sugar for the snow...if you don't have powdered sugar around, try cornstarch..they both work.The day after Thanksgiving is one of my favorite times; I get to "play"....I can't wait to see what ya'll out there in blogger world do to decorate your homes.......
I know I throw those Texas phrases and words around; like "fixen" and ya'll (I was actually brought up in Oklahoma and Kansas), and as my friend, Juannell, who is a Texas gal through-and-through sent me a wonderful "Grits" - "Girls Raised in Texas" thingy, reminded me...you can't move to Texas, and become a "Texas Gal"..in fact, it says, "Just because a cat has kittens and moves them to the oven, that don't make them biscuits"! So true, and so funny, but I still am going to talk like that! (You should have heard me when I lived in Boston)...
