It's the little things...

I LOVE Christmas. I love everything about it. I love to decorate the tree, the house, the yard and packages. I love to give rather than receive. This year, however, I was in a funk. A funk for various reasons. Finances, family illnesses and accidents, and an upcoming wedding in April. I didn't care to do any of the aforementioned. We had decided not to exchange gifts, so therefore why put all the energy into decorating? How stupid is that?

I really was ok with it. With skipping the whole thing. And then the UPS man showed up with a 21 pound package. It was from my daughter and suppose to be my paycheck, as I work for her. The USPS had returned it to her saying our street address did not exist. I guess we had entered the witness protection program and the gov't had forgotten to notify us.

Anyhoo, I knew immediately it contained gifts, even though we PROMISED no gift exchanges. The family was saving their money for the wedding, since they all live out of town. The heaviest part of the package came from a gigantic box of Milk Bone dog biscuits for our 3 basset hounds. Kira and her fiance had 2 labs and they are their babies, so gifts arrived for our dogs, as well. She says the other gifts and stockings are silly stuff. Whatever the reason, it just put me back in the mood and the nasty Grinch disappeared. Out came the tree and up went the decorations...well, some of them.

Paperdoll made by my friend the super talented Jackie Peters!

Doesn't she make the perfect Angel?

A beaded ornament

(this pic does not do it justice)

Vintage Glass

Glass bird...I have several of these..LOVE!

This I made from an Altoid Mint Tin

Another Jackie Peters Idea

I love you, Jackie!

Handmade from a friend

A $2 Santa I picked up from an Antique Store...

Isn't he sweet?

I just noticed the string from his tag is still tied around his waste...Geez!

One of my fav's made by my friend, Holly Abston.

It's a vintage reindeer in the center...Awe!

It slapped me in the face that Christmas is not about money and whether or not you can exchange gifts. It's about love and gratefulness. It's about giving of yourself. A time to reflect on all that is special in your life. So, now I sit in front of the tree with my eggnog and admire all the pretty ornaments I've collected over the years. Some vintage, some handmade, all glittery and bright. It makes me smile and happy and appreciate all the little important things in my life. A hug from my husband, a phone call from my kids, a lick in the face from my dogs, a yackity yack yack cat in my face, a kind word from a friend and much, much more.

I'm glad I took the time to throw the tree up and decorate my hutch. Oh...one more thing regarding that hutch. I bought that hutch at a neighbor's garage sale,for $20, about 4 years ago. This was back in AZ and it sat in my garage for a year and then followed us here to OK, when we moved. It had belonged to my neighbor's grandmother and it was a dirty white and falling apart. I saw hope in it. I saw a vision. Last year, I decided to finally tackle it. I cleaned all the dirt off and then painted it all white. Really did not like the way it looked, so I picked out this yummy shade of blue (the exact name has escaped me...now, there's a surprise!)and painted over the white. Then I sanded. Some of it with a small hand sander and some of it with my bare hands...true grit! After that, I hand rubbed a stain over it to get that antique/vintage look. I replace all the hardware and Jer, my husband fixed the falling apart shelf inside. It is by far my favorite piece of furniture!

Each Christmas has it's own special memories, including this one, that the Grinch almost stole. I'm glad I "snapped out of it" and allowed my true feelings and passion for the season emerge. On that note, I think it's time to grab the nog (as in egg and not hubby) and snuggle up on my wicker settee and get lost in the lovliness of my little tree and hutch. Blessings to all of you who take the time to visit this tiny part of my world.

I just love the sweetness from these little snow babies!

Happy Holidays!