Winter white, silver, and green for the mantel...

Of course the winter white is year-round since it's the color of our walls, our painted furniture, and our slipcovers. I don't know why I'm so afraid of color. I love color! I drool when I visit blogs with bright colored walls, and furniture painted in blues, greens, & reds, with vibrant slipcovers in florals and stripes. Maybe someday I'll get over my fears, but until then... winter white!

(click any photos to enlarge)

Alrighty, so in my last few posts I've shared the dining room, including my bird tree and the dining room hutch. As you can see from the photo above, the hutch is actually located in the living room, right next to the fireplace (because our little dining area is too small to accommodate it!)


So come on into the living room with me... Oops - don't go too far! Mm hmm, that's the end of the living room already, right where the corner TV armoire is. Very tight quarters in here, especially at this time of year.


The tree has been set up where the loveseat usually sits. And the wing chair, because it's smaller, was moved over next to the tree. It usually sits next to the fireplace.


As you can see, it's pretty cramped over here by the fireplace, with the loveseat and coffee table plunked right in front of it. But instead of saying cramped, let's call it cozy. That has a nicer ring to it!

I tried the mantel with green glass balls hanging from the garland...

...but ended up switching to silver.

I guess I have a bit of a winter woodland theme going on. There are lots of trees on the mantel - all sizes and varieties of bottle brush trees, as well as some birches.

There are also woodland creatures, in the form of deer (stocking/garland holders), cavorting about...

... as well as mirrored snowflakes (again, stocking/garland holders) and sparkly silver trees of all heights and textures.

I wish I could remember the name of the woman that I purchased these stockings from years ago so I could share it with you - aren't they pretty? This one has a cream crocheted doily-type border at the top...

... while this one has delicate lace and ribbons.

The finishing touch is The Christmas star, sparkly white with silver tinsel edging.

I also decided to tucked my peach and green floral lap quilt over the loveseat sitting area for a little change of pace, trying to coordinate with the green floral sheet I'm using to cover the old brick hearth (we don't actually use the fireplace so the sheet is safe!). So that about does it for our cramped, I mean cozy cottage living room!

I still need to share my collection of Night Before Christmas books with you, and I also have a few things in the family room to show you!

But now you should head over to visit Cielo at The House in the Roses, to see the incredible mouth-watering meal she has prepared for Sunday dinner with her family! You'll also find a list of bloggers who are participating in Show Off Your Cottage Monday...

Then after that, be sure to head to Nesting Place for a huge list of Christmas homes to visit!!

Stay safe and warm, wherever you are!

Donna

Sweet memories, a manger, and the new bird tree...

I have such sweet memories of my Nana, whose china I proudly display on my dining room hutch.

(click any photos to enlarge)

I so enjoy decorating the hutch at Christmastime, and I like to think that she's right here with me as I unwrap each delicate nativity figurine that will go into the manger...


That's a photo of my nana when she was a young woman, in the center of the plate rack hanging above the hutch (between the two empty vases donning lampshades that may someday come in handy for lamps that I don't yet own!)


The manger/nativity takes center stage on the hutch every year. The oversized white figurines were found years ago at a Salvation Army for a song... Then I found the oversized manger several years ago at Target and couldn't believe my luck - it was the perfect size!

The candles I'm about to show you are very special to me. After my mom passed away in 1996, my dad didn't have the heart to decorate for Christmas. But a couple of years ago, he changed his mind so we went through all the old boxes of Mom's decorations and ornaments (Mom loved decorating for Christmas!) Dad only wanted to put up a tree and nothing else, so I got a lot of Mom's old decorations for my house. These are the things I grew up with as a kid and they bring back such sweet memories...


This tall glass encrusted candle, in its own little stand, is titled A Home in the Country, and it features a beautiful, snowy New England style scene that wraps around the whole candle. My mom purchased these in the early sixties. That's a baby photo of my mom next to it...


I wish my photos captured the beauty of these encrusted images...


On the other side of the shelf is the companion candle titled The Skating Pond. Mom used to put these on the fireplace mantel every year. And that's my baby picture next to it...


Here's a closeup of one of the skaters... I'm sure these would be beautiful if they were illuminated from within by burning the candles, but my mom used them strictly as decoration, so that's what I will do, too.

Every year I decorate my "bird tree," which up until this year was the little white one in my dining room bay window. But my bird collection outgrew that tiny tree.


Luckily I had this skinny tree stashed downstairs from about 15 years ago (sometimes it pays to be a packrat!). It was the perfect size to squeeze in next to the hutch, and it allowed me to hang all my bird ornaments in one place.

The tree is also decorated with a silver jingle bell garland, white berries, frosted sprigs, and white lights. The most sentimental part is the tree topper...


... which isn't really a tree topper at all. Again, it's one of the decorations my mom used to put out every year at Christmas time... just a little glass candle with glass ornamentsand silver foil leaves on a little round stand. There used to be two of them and I hope to find the other one in dad's basement some day!

The tree is actually sitting on a stack of magazines to give it some height, so I hid those with a vintage embroidered table topper and then placed a nest at the base of the tree.

These are just some closeups of the many bird ornaments on the tree. My mom's favorite bird, the cardinal, is so special...

And you might recognize the pastel bluebird I got in Concord at the end of October, at the top left of the photo...

Here's a hummingbird (with a broken wing), a reminder of summer spent on the deck watching them at our feeder... And the Carolina wrens who make their home in the birdhouse by our front gate each year. And everyone needs a little bluebird of happiness in their tree, right?

The beautiful white glittery bird right under the silver sparkle bird at the top right is a gift from my friend Jill (who I am trying to convince to start a blog!) She has incredible taste... She's the one who also gave me the Christmas lamb that I just posted about!

There's Mr. Bluejuay that I picked up in Concord (the same day I got the bluebird ornament)... He is very happy to be living in the bird tree, and he reminds me of all my bluejay friends who come to the door for peanuts..

There are Baltimore Orioles, a robin, chickadees, finches, nuthatches and so many more birds, all enjoying the Christmas season in our dining room... How lucky am I?

So this is where the bird ornaments will spend their Christmases from this point on. (I am sooo glad I hung onto this tiny tree!! It just fits!)

And the glow from the lights at night is just magical!

Tomorrow we'll head back into the living room and I'll show you closeups of the fireplace (of course our little cottage is soooo tiny, you can see it from here!!)

Till then, wishing you all a wonderful weekend!


Donna

The decked-out dining room....

Okay, calling this a dining room is stretching things a bit since it's actually just a small eating area connected to the kitchen and living room (most split entry 'cottages' don't have real dining rooms)...

(click any photos to enlarge)

I stood on my tippy toes and held the camera up high to give you a bit of a bird's eye view of the room... Oh, let me move those two chairs so you can see the tablecloth I'm using this Christmas...

Well that was a mistake! It would have been nice if I'd ironed it before putting it on the table!! (Irons and I don't really care too much for each other)...


This view was taken from the living room. The windows above the half-wall are strictly decorative, overlooking the family room off the back of the house.


And this view is looking toward the living room (I'll share the hutch and fireplace photos in my next few posts).

These photos were taken last week. If I took them today you'd see a blanket of snow outside! Not too much changes in this window from year to year... The animated doll from the 80's and the little white Christmas tree are always placed there. (The animated doll used to be dressed in red plaid but I gave her a shabby cottage makeover several years ago.)

The Christmas cactus is blooming beautifully! One new thing I did add to this area is the "ice crystal" wreath that I got on clearance last year. It definitely adds some sparkle and reflection to the window.

The silver glitter bird didn't come with the wreath, but I thought he looked right at home nesting in it.

My bird collection grew too big for this tree, so now it's just decorated with small pink and aqua bell ornaments. I'll show you in an upcoming post where the bird ornaments ended up!

You might remember the pink sugarplum reindeer who gave up their "reindeer barn" (a.k.a vintage birdcage) to my Christmas sheep this year... They're happily grazing by a tall (bottlebrush) pine tree on the jelly cupboard these days...

... where they're being kept company by a couple of the Wal Mart glitter birds I showed you a few weeks ago...

The mini birdcage on top of the mirrored cupboard also got decorated for the holidays with a chippy vintage angel. Pete and Re-Pete (two of my many parakeets) approve.

A small white manger sits on top of our little recycling center in the dining room....

... while stars & snowflakes sparkle, and reindeer prance across the windowpanes.

And speaking of reindeer, I just love these deer that I got at Target years ago, with their scrolly antlers just dripping with prisms... They guard the Christmas tree centerpiece every year (although from what, I don't know!!)

Here's a good closeup of the vintage morning glory tablecloth I'm using this year. The tablecloths are about the only thing that gets changed from year to year in this room. (You can see the past 5 years' tables in this post.

Another thing I did differently this year was decorating the chandelier. I attached my dollar tinsel wreaths (such a deal!) and then hung a few of the sparkle birds along with some glittery white stars I had on hand....

It really does give a festive look to this little room!

I still have so much to share with you... more of the living room... the fireplace, the hutch, my new bird tree, the winter village set up on the TV and, of course, my collection of Night Before Christmas books, so if any of that interests you, pop in again from time to time!

Now be sure to visit Rhoda at Southern Hospitality and see her elegant home all decked out for the holidays!! You'll also find a list of many, many bloggers sharing their Home for the Holidays decorations!!! Have fun touring!

Donna

Baby, it's cold outside...

Our first real snow of the season arrived.


So now, in addition to the snowflakes hanging inside the house...



...we have the real thing outside, clinging to branches and covering the ground.


The mulberry tree looks so magical with it's white branches! Thank goodness it was a light snow (about 3"). We need to build up to these things gradually... we certainly don't want to be whalloped with a blizzard right off the bat!


I think it will be many, many months before we're enjoying meals on the deck again... And even if it wasn't snowy, it's just too darned cold out there!

So I'll be content to stay toasty warm inside, admiring Old Man Winter through my windowpane. (By the way - that does say JINGLE, not INGL! The "J" and "E" are being camera shy!

Wishing you wonderful, safe winter weather wherever you are!

Donna

Cottage Christmas sheep....

...the ox and lamb kept time, pa-rum-pum-pum-pum...

My good friend, Jill, who lives in Ohio, sent me this beautiful little sheep several years ago, and he is now a beloved part of my Christmas decor...

This year I thought he'd enjoy being part of my vintage birdcage display (last year the pink glittered reindeer lived in the cage, then known as the vintage reindeer barn!)


I went all out for this sweet little lamb, hanging a sparkly silver NEST banner on the front of his cage (it usually hangs on the fireplace, but was moved to make way for the stockings and mantel decorations)...


...and I put one of my favorite flocked bottlebrush trees into his cage.


He even has a sparkly bird to sing him Christmas carols...


I think he looks very happy in his vintage cage... maybe even a hint of a smile?


The outside of the cage even got decorated this year....


I picked up these dangly ornaments, discounted by 75%, at AC Moore this past January.


At the time, I wasn't sure where I would use them, but 75% off was too good to pass up! And this year, when I started decorating the cage, it seemed like a good place to hang them.


Cottage sheep says he's really enjoying his sparkly holiday home, and he hopes the reindeer never want to move back in! (They're enjoying their place of honor in the dining room. Pictures to come soon.)


But now it's time to go to sleep... Goodnight little sparkly bird... Goodnight sweet little lamb... See you in the morning... (and thank you, Jill!)



Wishing all of you sweet and sparkly dreams!



Now you must go visit the lovely Cielo at The House In The Roses to see her "Show Off Your Cottage Monday" post, and to find a list of all others who are participating this week!!!
Happy Cottage Monday!!!






Donna

Something old ... Something new....

My old junktique gems and my recent Target finds are being joined together in the decorating of our little cottage this Christmas!

(click any photos to enlarge)

Remember my recent post about the tinsel wreaths I found in the Dollar Section of Target? One of them is now hanging on the big old junktique dresser mirror in our entryway.

And on it is this scrolly PEACE sign that I picked up on clearance at AC Moore after Christmas last year (I added the glitter, then propped it up in the middle of the wreath)...

#1 Old & New: Old mirror/New tinsel wreath and PEACE sign

Onto more old and new...

Back in February I showed you this Salvation Army find, a snowflake candleholder...

Rather than a candle, I decided to fill it with mini glass ornaments in my favorite cottage colors of blue, pink, and green. And do you see that sweet little deer peeking at you from the corner of the photo?


I just couldn't leave him behind when I spotted him on this little tray at Target last week!

#2 Old & New: Old snowflake candleholder/New Target deer tray

And just look at this sweet book that I picked up while out junktiquing a couple of weeks ago. The little church illustration on the cover is what first caught my eye... I've got it displayed on top of this scalloped pedestal tray, next to my church birdhouse...


The book is titled, "Let's Keep Christmas," a sermon by Peter Marshall, with an introduction by Catherine Marshall, copyright 1953 (I was just a baby that year)...


Dust jacket original price: $1.50... I love the Christmas trees on the endpaper, too...


The talented Barbara Cooney illustrated the book. I love her. When the girls were little, we loved reading Miss Rumphius (The Lupine Lady), one of our favorites by Barbara Cooney...

Bunny loves looking at the charming illustrations....


... which are all done in red or green. I so enjoy these old books. It's always such a treat to find a good one while out thrifting!


This is the Marshall family on the back of the dust cover, relaxing at home. Their house looks so much like the one I remember from my childhood, right down to their dog! We had a blonde cocker spaniel named Rusty back in those days...

#3 Old & New: Old book/Fairly New Pedestal Dish

So there you have it... a little bit of old mixed with a little bit of new... you can't go wrong when mixing it up with Christmas decorations!!! I'll be sharing a lot more of our Christmas decorations in the upcoming days and weeks!

Now please visit Cindy of My Romantic Home to see her beautiful bedroom Christmas Tree and to find a list of all the other bloggers participating in Show & Tell Friday!


Donna

In the arms of the angels...

The bay window is decorated much the same as it has been for the past several years...

(click any photos to enlarge)

...with the silver tinsel tree in the window surrounded by vintage angels...


As many of you know, this window was Spotty's favorite place...

... to relax while watching the changing seasons (as well as the squirrels, chipmunks & neighborhood cats that would happen by on a regular basis!)...

So this window is a constant reminder of our sweet boy and after losing him so recently, I wasn't ready to take his kitty cushion out of the window. Instead, I opted to decorate around it...


... so now a choir of angels watch over his favorite spot. I love this photo with the sun streaming in. It has an almost heavenly glow to it...

You can actually see the angels better in this photo... Tinsel angels and feather angels... I love them. Did you know that items from the 1950's are now called mid-century? That makes me mid-century!

There are more angels on the other side of the window, also decked out in pink gowns, netting, and white feathers. A pair of vintage reindeer keep them company...

On the apothecary chest in front of the window I've arranged bottle brush trees among our pets' urns, so the window area truly is a tribute to all those sweet fur babies who gave us so much love and joy throughout their years here on earth. And since they all loved the Christmas season (I think they associated it with the treats Santa would bring!!), I thought they'd enjoy being out here among all of the decorations and lights. This is our sweet Malley's urn. We lost him in September of 2007...

Next to him, in the little blue cottonball-holder-turned-urn is Mr. B, my sweet all black kitty who we lost 3 months later in December of 2007.

And then there's our precious Ms. Giz, the little one-eyed terrier who ruled our little cottage from the day she arrived. We lost her three months after Mr. B, in March of 2008.

So this window area is a tribute to all of them. As some of you may be aware from past posts, I've captured a few orbs in photos lately and now I've captured another. After arranging the urns in front of Spotty's window, I stepped back to take a photo (and as I've mentioned before, I always take 2 or 3 since I've started blogging, just to make sure I get at least one good shot)... So this is the first photo of the window area...

...and this is the next. Do you notice anything in front of the bottom right drawer? (You can click the photo to enlarge it if you'd like.) Now when I was setting the urns in place, I accidentally knocked Gizzy's little urn onto the floor (luckily the ashes are all tightly sealed in plastic inside the urn!).... Anyhow, I told Gizzy I was sorry! and then placed her back on the chest and took my photos... Back in October I did a post titled, "Orbs... Dust or Loved Ones?" I believe I know the answer...

When I saw the orb in this photo I just knew that I'd captured one of our sweet fur babies... Maybe Spotty who we just lost, and who loved this window, was giving me his nod of approval? Or maybe Gizzy, who I'd just dropped and apologized to, was letting me know she was okay? I don't know, but I just get warm fuzzies when I look at this photo...

So that's the story behind the Christmas window this year... I really do believe all of our fur babies are looking down on us from the arms of the angels and that, on occasion, they do come back to pay us visits because, after all, love is an unbreakable bond...

I'll be sharing lots more "Christmas" with you in my upcoming posts!

Donna

Holiday Home Tour

Today I'm taking part in the 2009 Holiday Home Tour hosted by the lovely Tracey of Notes from a Cottage Industry. Please be sure to visit Tracey as she has posted links to many other bloggers who are sharing their Christmas decor! Thank you, Tracey!!

(click any photos to enlarge)

We took advantage of our daughters being home for Thanksgiving to trim the tree. It's definitely more fun when everybody is here to decorate... We bit the bullet a few years ago and bought an artificial tree (I'm not sure either girl has quite gotten over this yet, but when the last 'real' tree we had dropped every needle the day after Christmas, which meant we were still vacuuming up remnants of it the following summer, we decided it was time to go artificial.)


I wasn't able to download all of my photos, so I'm just going to share a bit of the living room for now... In future posts I'll show you the fireplace & mantel, the vintage birdcage all decked out for the holidays, the dining room, and much, much more.


Our living room is quite small so every year, in order to make room for the tree, the furniture has to be rearranged.


The tree definitely takes up quite a bit of the room, but it's well worth it - especially at night when the room is illuminated by just the tree lights...


In a future post I'll share the sentiment behind this year's window decorations.


I'll also show you more of my "Night Before Christmas" collection (I never get tired of looking at the beautiful illustrations in these books... The artwork is amazing, with each individual artist depicting this Christmas classic in a style that is unique to them)...

I often take advantage of after-Christmas sales to pick up heavily discounted bottlebrush trees in all styles and sizes. I've used them in several of my groupings around the house this year...

...including on the pie safe, where I plunked them down on top of my small collection of button vases. The glitter reindeer are from Target last year - can you ever have too much sparkle at Christmastime? I don't think so!

Now I'm off to finish downloading more Christmas photos! Thank you for stopping by to see the first of my holiday decorating posts! I wish you all a joyous holiday season...

Donna

Happy B-day, honey!

We took advantage of everyone being home for the holiday weekend to celebrate Amanda's birthday...


...which meant it was Amanda's day to wear the CELEBRATE birthday crown, and CELEBRATE we did!


Since Amanda is an artist, I thought I'd get a little "artsy" with some of the photos I took that night (I think this was a "pastel chalk" conversion or some such thing... it seemed like a good idea at the time!! ha ha). She requested mock meat tacos for dinner since she's a vegetarian, and this year, rather than black forest cake, she requested a strawberry cake with vanilla 'funfetti' frosting.


I love this photo of Amanda peeking through the Christmas chandelier of tinsel wreaths, sparkly birds and stars. The little dining area, which had already been decorated for Christmas, looked very festive for her birthday celebration. (And yes, we did end up having Thanksgiving dinner under the Christmas chandelier! That was a first!)


Court found a perfect card for her! I'm sure Amanda will end up displaying it above her painting desk, along with all of her other neat postcards, photos, and cards.

So happy birthday, honey! It was so wonderful having you and Courtney home this weekend (even if it did go by way too fast!!!) ... I love you and I hope that all your birthday wishes come true!!!!

Love and hugs,
Mumsy


P.S. I've tried to personally respond to everyone who left a comment on Spotty's post, but in some cases I couldn't find a blog or e-mail in order to do so... For everyone who left such kind words, you have no idea how comforting your comments and e-mails were. It's clear that you are all animal lovers. So many of you shared the pain of your own losses, and my heart goes out to each and every one of you.... Again, thank you all so much...

The love remains...

On Saturday evening, I lugged all of the Christmas decorations up from the basement... My plans were to spend Sunday decorating the house, except for the tree. That would be decorated later this week when both girls are home for Thanksgiving...

(click any photos to enlarge)

Spotty, Christmas 2008

Sometimes life makes other plans for us....

Instead of decorating the house, Sunday was spent saying goodbye to our sweet, sweet Spotty...

The cat who was more like a dog and who so loved Christmas...

Everyone loves to decorate the tree, but he was the only one who stuck it out with me last year for the undecorating of the tree...

He was the one who sat next to me while I crafted ornaments last year....

...and he was the one who would sit in the living room with me and get lost in the beauty of the Christmas tree....


...or give me advice if he thought decorations needed rearranging...


He'd also let me know when it was time for the decorations to come down so that his kitty cushion could go back into the living room window, his favorite place to hang out...

I think it was a blessing that all of the decorations had already been brought upstairs. It's kept me busy, unpacking these once a year treasures... And all the while my heart is warm with the memories of the cat who loved Christmas...

At some point in the future I plan to do a proper tribute to Spotty, sharing some of our sweetest memories and photos...

But for now... You took a piece of our hearts with you, Spotty, but we are so grateful that all the love remains...

Donna

And the winner is...

So sorry this is getting posted so late....



Congratulations to Holly at Girls at Heart. Just e-mail me with your address, Holly, and I'll send a little package from my cottage to yours :)

Donna

Tinsel wreaths and pastel birds...

... found their way into my shopping cart this week...

During a quick trip to Wal Mart yesterday, I made a little side trip through the Christmas aisles. I'm thinking of decorating the dining room chandelier for Christmas this year and I needed some inspiration.

Well, when I spotted these sparkly birds with sequined wings and the palest aqua feathers, I couldn't resist...

And then there was my quick trip to Target earlier this week. Every year I put off buying stocking stuffers until the last minute and by then, all of the good candy is gone. So this year, with the shelves fully stocked, I purchased some candy for the girls' stockings... and then I browsed (I really shouldn't browse)... But in this case it paid off! Look what I found in the Dollar section - tinsel wreaths! They were pretty skimpy, as you can see, but for $1 apiece I figured what the heck, so I picked up 3 (they came in silver, green, and hot pink at our Target, but I liked the silver best - very vintage looking!)...


Well look at what these skimpy little wreaths blossom into when you pull and tweak all the little tinsel boughs! Woo hoo!! Score!!! (I don't think these are going to last long in the dollar section so if you're in the market for tinsel wreaths, make a dash to Target!) I know that some people think they're a bit gaudy and cheap looking, but oh, how they remind me of the vintage decorations of the Christmases of my childhood!! And being the nostalgic, sentimental fool that I am, I love anything from that era!

So I ended up with my inspiration - and decorations - for the chandelier in our little dining area...

Today I played around with everything to see how it would look, and we may just end up eating Thanksgiving dinner under a Christmas chandelier because I don't know if I want to take the time to disassemble it (only to reassemble it again next week!!) I'm joining Tracey's (Notes from a Cottage Industry) Virtual Holiday Home Tour on December 1st, and if any of you would like to join in and show off your Christmas decorations, just click here for details! And even if you don't want to participate, be sure to visit Tracey's blog that day because she'll have a list of blogs who've decorated for Christmas - and let me tell you (based on the past years) - it's spectacular! There's so much to see! Sometimes Tracey even spreads it out over several days! So on December 1st, make yourself a cup of tea, coffee, or cocoa, and then settle in and browse to your heart's content!

Happy decorating!

Donna

Pre-decorating (otherwise known as the cleanup)...

A good part of today was spent cleaning the living room. Not just straightening up, but really cleaning in preparation for the Christmas decorations that will be coming up soon. As you may have noticed, our living room is teeny tiny, so the fact that the cleanup took so much time should give you a good idea as to how many dust bunnies were living in, around, and under furniture!


I changed the throw on the wing chair to a simple white king sized bedskirt, with a vintage "pink rosebud" pillowcase covering the seat cushion.


Last week when I showed you the "bargain of the century" painting, a lightweight blue floral spread was covering the wing chair and blue & white pillowcases were covering the brick hearth. They were all waaaaaaaaaay overdue for a trip through the washer.


Now that the wing chair was covered with clean, fresh linens it was time to decide what to do with the hearth. I thought this vintage sheet looked like a good choice for the holidays... a nice cottage green...


... with white polka dots, pink rosebuds and a scalloped design on one end.

When we closed in our brick fireplace a couple of years ago and painted it white, the pillowcases and/or sheets that we layed across the hearth were meant to be a temporary fix (until we decided how to finish off that area), but I've come to really like them. It's fun being able to change colors and patterns, so as far as I'm concerned, the hearth is officially done!


And I know I've mentioned this little guy before... doesn't he look like a little imp? I bought him as a Christmas decoration at TJ Maxx many years ago, but I really like him so he stays out year-round. I think he looks like he's playing Rock, Paper Scissors with someone. (I suspect he was meant to be holding something, but that during assembly that certain 'something' was omitted by mistake!)


Okay, I'm pooped after all this cleaning so I think I'm going to sit down and rest a while before starting supper... I wonder if there are any roasted vegetables left....

Donna

Roasted vegetables...

...the perfect wintertime comfort food and, luckily for me, my family agrees!

Sometimes I serve them with a side of meat and potatoes, and sometimes they're spooned over angel hair pasta, but however they're served, they are oh-so-good!!

I like to use a wide variety of vegetables... My favorites are green and red peppers, mushrooms (baby bella and white), onions, zuchini, yellow squash, plum tomatoes, brussel sprouts, sweet potatoes, and baby (new) potatoes...

All of the vegetables get washed and cut up (a recent post by Tracey, Notes from a Cottage Industry, encouraged me to revisit the dreaded brussel sprouts of my childhood - and they are actually very good when roasted!!) ...

.. but I leave the baby/new potatoes whole because they're so small...


Everything gets tossed with a bit of olive oil and spices ....

...and then spread evenly on cookie sheets (I usually make 3 cookie sheets at a time because I like lots of leftovers for meals during the week)... Easy breezy - off they go into a 400 degree oven for 1 hour and...

...voila!!!! Yummy in the tummy!!!

Donna

From my cottage to yours... a Christmas giveaway!

The week after Thanksgiving finds us decorating our little cottage for Christmas, and since December is right around the corner I thought I'd post my "cranberry & cream" Christmas giveaway now so it can be sent off to the winner in plenty of time for holiday decorating!


So from my cottage to yours, a wee little "cottage" ornament, complete with 'smoke' coming out of the chimney to chase away winter's chill...


... and two mini pots filled with pinecones and berry boughs, as well as the cranberry & cream toile scalloped placemat they're sitting on...


Last year I posted about three nativity sets I own, the most special being the one that belonged to my mom. The two others are vintage sets found while thrifting, both with white figurines (perfect for our little cottage!)... While out shopping with hubby last weekend, I spotted these brand new nativity figurines and it was love at first sight! I quickly grabbed a set for myself and then immediately thought what a lovely Christmas giveaway they would make for one of you, so I picked up a second set!

Now I have to be honest, this is not an expensive set at all, but I thought it was charming and I hope you do, too! (This, and all of my giveaway items were purchased at The Christmas Tree Shop.)

The figurines are actually part of a kit. You can choose to be as creative as you'd like by painting the figures (a small selection of paints is included in the kit), or you could antique or glaze them.... Let your imagination go wild! (Of course I'm going to leave mine white... Is anyone really surprised by that?............ I didn't think so!)

So just leave a comment on this post if you'd like a chance to win my Christmas giveaway! The contest ends at midnight, EST, Monday, November 23rd and I'll announce the winner on Tuesday, one week from today. (That way I might even be able to get it in the mail on Wednesday!)

Again, you'll receive the box/kit of white nativity figures, the two little pine bough pots, the cranberry & cream scalloped placemat, and the little cottage ornament.

Good luck and happy decorating to those who start early!!!!


Donna