~sleigh bells ring are you listening?~

Good morning bloggy friends!

I've been listening to Christmas music for a good couple weeks now!

and when I looked at these pictures again......

they totally reminded me of this song

 and

~happiness~

sleigh bells ring....are you listening?

in the lane...snow is glistening....

a beautiful site

we're happy tonight

walking in a winter wonderland

gone away is the bluebird

here to stay is a new bird

he sings a love song

as we go along

walking in a winter wonderland....

{pause.....do you have any idea how hard it is not to comment on these pictures???}

in the meadow we can build a snowman

and pretend that he is Parson Brown

he'll say: are you married?

we say: no man

-pause-

{you do recall my love of brown packing paper.....or bags....especially w/ red & white ribbon......

and OH MY HEAVENS....I love those tags!!!probably pop out the generic white ones & replace

w/ red paper???? cuuuuuute!}

-o.k. back to the music-

but you can do the job when you're in town......

later on, we'll conspire

as we dream by the fire

to face unafraid

the plans that we've made...

walking in a winter wonderland

have a fabulous day friends!

Shellagh

{photos by woman's day, except second to last country living}

~I need a little Christmas~

Good Morning bloggy friends!

weather alert......after many days of rain

rain

and more

rain.......

The sun is shining!!!

hooray!

You know that song,

"I need a little Christmas right this very moment,

candles in the window, carols at the spinet..."

that's me today....

So here's a little Christmas

~wow, huh? cozy and lovely....

love the major chippy cabinet...barely any paint left

~

you know, I have a dresser like that....

sitting out in my garage....

I removed most the paint

and was so overwhelmed

by how difficult was!!!

I stopped.

?

I feel some inspiration coming on......

moving along...

not really Christmas but there is snow.....

so it qualifies

here ya go.....more Christmas.

I really love wrapping packages

in brown packing paper.

but

have any of you ever tried to convince your children

that this is better than Frosty the Snowman paper??????

it's a losing proposition....

Now

I have a question for you!

let me 'splain first....

for the last several years

I have had my tree & a kiddy tree

you know where this is going?

So my sweet 9 year old Allie

is asking me.....

"Mom...do we have to have the fancy tree in the living room this year???"  The one that we can't put our stuff on? ouch.

seriously.....ouch....

Ok...to my defense

we have had a tree in our family room

{where we spend 90% of our time}

that the kids can decorate any way they want!

~

is this not enough?

must I relinquish the fancy tree as well?

~

ok...that was my question for you

how do all of you do this?

I know you have fabulous trees out there

vintage ornaments & all! :)

it's a little bit of a balancing act...

to create the home we love

decor & all

all a certain way, with a certain theme...

and the sweet little child.....

one of several whom you are creating the home for...

~

throws a monkey wrench into it.

~

with that little tiny question......

are we taking enough time to relish in the wonder

of Christmas seen through the eyes of a child?

I know I could definitely do a better job....

~ 

a little less stressed about the 'clean house'

a little more enjoying the mess of baking...

~

a little less worrying about the frosting going on perfect

a little more letting them "do it themselves"

even

on

 the trays of cookies to give away.......

after all....

our kids don't remember how clean the house was...

they remember the love they felt

they don't remember the pile of laundry on the bed...

they remember snuggling up & watching a movie together

and the memories created...

behold our little ones....

Till Next time...

Shellagh

p.s.  I almost forgot to show you
 my latest pillow design...

ya' like it?

here's a close up of the vintage lace

the very top w/ a tiny vintage button on the pleat

and here's a picture of the back~

(if interested, the pillow is in my Etsy shop)



thanks for coming by today! xoxo

{most pics by country living...a couple from an unnoted source...oops)

~Ticking and Toile Vintage Home Goods~

Good afternoon Bloggy Friends!

I hope everyone is well out there!

I wanted to let you all know that I've added a few items to my Etsy shop!

a couple pictures...

a lovely vintage wool blanket/throw

and a couple pieces of vintage milk glass

These make the prettiest holiday centerpiece~

They look gorgeous stacked w/ the little one on top

filled w/ greenery & ornaments...

and some frogs.....

not the leaping kind....

:)

So have a look around....

there's more to come...

stuff I've been creating...

it's just taking a little longer than I thought...

Till Next Time!

Shellagh

~it's all about the stairs~

 Thank you for all the kind comments and

concern for my sick daughter, Kenzie!

I thought for sure she had the flu, but

her soar throat wasn't getting any better.  And when the flu-like

symptoms went away and the soar throat didn't... I thought I better

get her tested for strep.

and

sure enough it came back positive...

So she's on antibiotics & already feeling better...it's actually

a relief to know what it is & that it can be treated! 

so what else has been on my mind??

Stairs!  

You are all by now probably familiar with my house projects and projects and projects...

but one of the latest projects looming is our stairs!

I wish the stairs in the picture were ours!

they are not....

But, here's where you come in!

{I would love your feedback......}

I love these stairs...

I love the color, the farmhouse...cottage-y feel

and especially

the painted wood walls!

*

am I daring enough to go for it?

*

before you answer....have a look at some more ideas...

I really like these too.  I like the painted risers & the stained stairs.

I wonder about how well painted stairs would hold up to kids & such...?

These above are probably a little more practical & do-able.

Painted stairs would likely end up shabby & worn

similar to these above 

but...

do we really care about that?

isn't that kinda what we are all liking?

am I going to be ok with that? or am I going to feel like

I need to repaint??? you know the natural man in me....

on these...what I really like is the rustic timber on the edge.

I'm not a big fan of the 'light blue everything else'

but I'm thinking that could possibly be a way to

sneak some rustic wood into my home.

I found this on apartment therapy.  Kinda like the metal signs.

This is a recent revamp from

Just Beachy

It's kinda fun to number the steps huh?

here's another example

I'm really liking the painted stair runner with the numbers.

I like the stenciled stairs too.

I really like the saying on these.

I really like this too, there is a part of me that would love

to paint our upstairs hallway wood floor & carry it down the stairs

It would give our home a definite farmhouse feel to do this.

especially with our narrow hallway & stairwell!!!

and lastly, we could always do all wood....?

but I don't think I'm feeling that.

I'm feeling a little more painted- ish.

ok that wasn't the last....I'm still contemplating....

I guess I'm really feeling a bit wishy-washy.....

wanna help?  leave your opinion....

then I'll focus on something else....

like my craft sewing room redo and

my sewing projects, and

the master bedroom, and

the master bath, oh

and don't forget the main upstairs bath

and...and...and...

oh and yeah Thanksgiving & Christmas.......

it's time

to

get out 

the

Christmas

decorations.....

I am excited..really...seriously I am, it's just dragging them out of the attic

no what I really mean is having hubby drag them out of the attic....

I'm sure he'll be thrilled anxious to do that for me :0)

Till next time!

Shellagh