Merry Christmas!

I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and blessings in 2013! This year, Sport designed our Christmas card and chose the verse  inside that reads,

"The gift of God is eternal life

in Christ Jesus our Lord."

-Romans 6:23

xoxo,

Krissy

It's Almost Time!

Has anyone else been dashing about this week? I cannot believe the weekend is here and Christmas is Tuesday! The mini-pearls had their last day of school yesterday. It was a half day full of carol singing and laughter and a bunch of us met for lunch at the Food Truck Park and enjoyed 70' weather, sunshine and fun! Sorry to throw that in for all of you that are buried under snow right now! The day turned out pretty good, considering that we woke-up to water dripping from the kitchen ceiling. Yes, we had a plumbing leak, in our new plumbing. I now have an early present of a piece of ply board covering a 2' x 3' hole in my ceiling, as the sheetrock person is already on Christmas vacay. Praise - it was warranted by the plumber, so the repair is free, but still... could have been worse! I am thankful that it wasn't.

I plan on spending the weekend cooking and enjoying my family. How about you? Don't work too hard, this is supposed to be a fun time! Here are a few more pics of my home that I haven't shared.

This is Sport's tree in his room. Most of the ornaments on it are ones that he made in second grade during their "Christmas Around the World". He is very proud of these!

This is Sweet Pea's room: lots of pink and green and her Nutcracker ornaments on her feather boa tree.

Merry! Merry!

Krissy

Our Holiday Home - Family Room and Kitchen

Hello all! I hope your week is going well. The Christmas countdown is in full-swing! Are you ready for the holidays? Today, I thought I would share our kitchen and family room. Lots of color and Christmas fun. 

I love this window seat that we put in the breakfast room. We can seat a crowd around the table and it makes it cozy in the kitchen. The kitchen is not that big, so I wanted everyone to be comfortable because everyone always gathers here!

This is my little hot chocolate station. The chimney in the background is our Santa countdown. A gift from a dear friend, we remove a brick everyday until Christmas Eve and Santa moves a little lower down the chimney.

This is our family room and where we have our big tree. The tree skirt was made by Mr. P's grandmother and is the twelve days of Christmas. I absolutely adore this!

This is Kawliga. I had him made for Mr. P as a college graduation present. He has been with is for our entire marriage and keeps watch over our home.

xoxo,

Krissy

Our Holiday Home - Den

 I would definitely say that I am a traditionalist when it comes to holiday decor. I love the look of themed trees or an all white look, but I just can't seem to get there in my own home. I love color and I love my Christmas ornaments! I am fortunate to have quite a collection of Radko ornament. For years, my mom owned a store that sold them and I was the excited recipient of many beautiful, gifted Radko goodies. The result? My trees are every color of the rainbow and well, I love them. 

This year, I put a small tree in our den. The "big" tree is in the family room where we spend the majority of our time, but both trees are full of beautiful glass ornaments and the ones that I treasure most, the handmade projects from my children and a few from my childhood that my mom has passed on to me. I have another feather tree in this room, as well. I guess that I if one is good, two are better. Right? The wooden creche is one that Mr. Pearl and I purchased on a trip to Germany. 

This Welsh dresser serves as an ever-evolving backdrop to various collections and family photos. I sort of use it as a giant scrapbook of sorts. The dresser itself was a gift from my mom and dad, and all of the tiny trinkets and mementos on the shelves have a story to tell about our family. It is fun to change it out and add to it.

The pictures with Santa are of the mini-pearls and Mr. P as toddlers. Yes, your eyes do not deceive you, they are all bawling. Yup, I framed pictures of my terrified children with Santa. Ok, worse, I made them stay on his lap for the shot! Please don't call CPS on me, they are priceless! And, they do not appear to be permanently scarred by the event. All of them went on to take happy Santa pics. I have posted on this here if you would like to see them up-close.

The little girl with her doll in this picture is my grandmother. How cute is she? The Santa ornament is one that broke at some point, but it still had some jolly left in it. The pocket knife on the ribbon belonged to my father as a child and says,"Deputy Sheriff" on it. The tortoise box is one that my grandfather brought back from Korea and the horse is an antique toy I purchased at an auction. The cotton comb belonged to my great-grandmother.

The mantel is a work-in-progress. Eventually, it will be a shrine to the television. Mr. P has plans for one where the estate sale mirror now hangs. Also a work-in-progress, our stockings. I lovingly needlepointed my firstborn child a beautiful one. My second born has one that is halfway complete in my closet somewhere. So, I made her a lovely "interim" stocking that she has been using for eleven years. My third child? A purchased one from Pottery Barn. Where is the love? I did, however, add some extra fluff to the train, but it's one of those "third" child things that I swore would not happen at my house. Never say never people!

One of my favorite things about Christmas is the traditions that each family has around the decorations and celebrations. What is your favorite? Don't have one? Start one. It's not too late!

Happy Monday!

Krissy

Flashback Friday - Christmas in the 1950's

Welcome to Flashback Friday, 1950's edition! The war was long over and the fifties was a time of Baby Boomers and consumerism, the Cold War, Red Scare and bomb shelter building. Teenagers became recognized as a legitimate part of society and with that, teen idols, rock and roll and a whole lotta shakin' was goin' on. The Civil Rights Movement moved to the forefront and our country was growing older and wiser. The fifties was a time of family values and traveling in the family automobile and pop culture followed suit.

The fifties saw the invention of the oral contraceptive, the polio vaccine by Jonas Salk, the atomic clock, hovercraft, the credit card, lunar probe, nuclear power and video recorder.

Harry S. Truman was President  until 1952 and Dwight D. Eisenhower served as President from 1953 until 1961. Alaska and Hawaii became the forty-ninth and fiftieth states. America was booming!

American style on the fifties was blue jeans, poodle skirts, pony tails, flat tops, saddle shoes and sweater sets.

Television started to change society and our lives forever. TV brought a new way to market with the shows and toys to go with them. TV also fed consumerism with commercials influencing our purchasing behavior.  Popular shows of the fifties were I Love Lucy, the Twilight Zone, the Honeymooners, Micky Mouse Club, Lassie and Howdy Doody.

Rock and roll music was shaking the country. Teens and adults alike tuned-in to Dick Clark's American Bandstand and a new, controversial young man was making girls swoon with his crazy dance moves. Oh, Elvis.

Famous stars of the fifties included Rock Hudson, Tony Curtis, Robert Wagner and teen idols like: Frankie Avalon, Bobby Darin, Fabian, Bobby Rydell, Ricky Nelson ( for you mom!), Paul Anka, Troy Donahue and Elvis. The ladies with their cinched waists were Doris Day, Debbie Reynolds, Elizabeth Taylor, Marilyn Monroe, Mitzi Gaynor, Connie Francis, Sandra Dee and Annette Funicello.

1950's Facts

$100 in 1950 is the equivalent of $835.41 today.

Average new house in 1950 - $8450  and in 1959 - $12,400
Average income in 1950 - $3210 and in 1950 - $5010
Average new car in 1950 - $1510 and in 1959 - $2200
Gallon of gas in 1950 - $.18 and in 1959 - $.25

1950's Toys

This is my dad with Santa circa 1956

1952 - Mr. Potato Head - originally parts to be used on a real potato
1955 - Play Doh and Pez candy dispensers debuted
1958 - skateboards
1959 - Barbie

This is my mom with her new Radio Flyer circa 1952.

 Love the tree and of course, their pride and joy, the television!

Also from the fifties: Tonka Trucks, Matchbox cars, Yahtzee, Hula Hoops, kitchen sets and farm sets.

My mom again, a few years later and her new doll!

Christmas traditions of the fifties included bubble lights, electric color wheels to highlight your tree, aluminum trees, tinsel and lovely plastic candy containers.

Happy Friday!

Krissy

All photos, other than my own found here and Pinterest.http://pinterest.com

A Pink Christmas - My Favorite Room

The front of our home is where our formal sitting room and dining room are. The space is really mine. I love to cozy-up and read in here or play the piano. The lighting is always so soft and soothing. This room also contains our formal dining space. I keep the dining table at it's smallest size, without any leaves, but when we have a large group for dinner, we can expand the table to fill the room and it makes for a wonderful meal. The walls in the room are painted Sherwin Williams Copen Blue and it is a wonderful, soft blue with a hint of turquoise. I have pops of pink in the upholstered pieces and pick up on that pink for my Christmas decor.

This is the room where I display my collection of vintage ornaments. They are faded and wonderful and have every shade of pink you can imagine! The entry table is our old game table that I recently painted with Annie Sloan's French Linen chalk paint with a dark wax finish. 

The feather tree is a Christopher Radko tree from a while back. The corbels are found pieces from a local antique store and the little house is a new vintage piece that I love!

The fence is a Victorian feather tree fence and is so delicate. Each little fence post can be removed and it still has pieces of flocking on it after years of use.

For the chandelier, I tied on some ribbon with tiny, little silver balls and mirabeau feathers.

This is my favorite little nook in the house. The nesting tables belonged to my grandmother and are a treasured gift. On the top table is a turquoise music box that belonged to my great grandmother and a collection of sterling baby rattles from the mini-pearls.

Hope you enjoyed the tour of my favorite room!
Merry HO-HO!!!

Krissy