The baking begins....

Yes, they taste as yummy as they look!

Someone has tasted the dough.....

My son just couldn't wait to make our first batch of Christmas cookies. Since I haven't made my baking list yet, he settled for Costco's Chocolate Krackle cookies. I must say they are heaven in a box...

MAREEN

Pillow Knock Offs - It's the thing to do this year...

First, I bought some painter's cloth, used a fabric acrylic paint and painted my number on the canvas....
I sewed up the sides and covered some very OLD and UGLY pillows that I had inherited somewhere...

There, nice and neutral!

Just like everyone else, I love all things Pottery Barn. I love to go in and see what they have and try to figure out a way to recreate it at a much better price. I admit, there are some things that I just have to buy there and I'm perfectly O.K. with that too!

I loved these numbered pillows that they had there. Not sure why, but they are different and neutral so, I covered some old UGLY pillows with my new 1,2,3, covers. I'm pretty happy with the results! Plus, when I'm tired of them, I can switch them out at almost no cost! Perfect!

MAREEN

The Good Ol' Days

I found this vintage copy of a December, 1916, Good Housekeeping cover in a magazine lately. I loved it! I had recently purchased a bunch of great frames at a thrift store and I thought that this would be a great seasonal picture for the wall. Cool huh?

MAREEN

More hints of Christmas.....

Here's a few more fun things I've done to my house so far.... This mossy reindeer sits on my entry way buffet....

I bought this wooden platter at a thrift store, it's beautifully carved on the ends. I added some greenery and different shaped, sized and colored candles. Can't wait to see them lit up at night! It turned out to be the perfect centerpiece for my formal coffee table!

I added some of my left over animal print fabric to some plain red sweater stockings for a bit of pizazz!

There you have it! Just a sneak peak of what's going on inside my house this year! Happy decorating!

MAREEN

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

My sweet little elf helping with the outdoor lights....

I love the way my front porch turned out with my new (old) Christmas wreath....ahhhh.....

I went to my parent's house and dug out my old ice skates when I was a little girl. I removed that horrible beat up red ribbon, attached a sheer gold ribbon and glittered balls, some gold candied berries and my little skates and ta da! Instant sweetness!

Here it is before....pretty sad huh??

After a quick trip back to the midwest to visit my in-laws for Thanksgiving, I have finally (well almost) completed my yearly Christmas decorating extravaganza! The first project I tackled was reinventing a very tired and old Christmas wreath that I've used for years.

Off the beaten path...

I am a very traditional person at least when it comes to decorating. I am trying to come out of my shell a little and add some not-so-traditional items to my home. I follow other blogs and I love the whimsy and uniqueness that people add to their homes by just a few pieces. So, I decided to make something a little different and fun for my home that could be used many different ways. Here's what I've come up with.

I had a beautiful french picture that I bought years ago that had an amazing black and gold distressed frame on it.

After years of enjoying this picture, I was finally tired of it. I wanted to keep the frame however, because to replace it alone would be very expensive. I stripped the old picture out of the frame and decided to head off to Calico Corners for a bit of inspiration. I found this fabulous animal print that I decided to use inside of the frame. Pretty non-traditional and gutsy of me for sure!

I loved it right away! Then I was stuck. It was very neutral and could be used on almost any wall for color. I hung it in my downstairs hallway. I liked it but as the holidays began to approach, I felt it still needed something to give it a bit of interest. It had to be something inexpensive and also non-damaging to my fabric.

Wah La! I was at the Dollar Tree (my new favorite place) thanks to many of the blogs that I follow and found this little lovely. A white, felt Christmas tree decoration. The price was certainly right! It was lightweight too! I attached it with a straight pin.

I put it up but it still kept calling for something....hmmmm.... Eureka! I added these tiny red glass Christmas bulbs and it was perfect!

Here's the finished product. It really looks better in person but I love it and have decided that I could switch out my tree for something new for every season! Cheap, non-traditional and versatile! What do you think??

Mareen

OH HAPPY DAY!

For years, I've been wanting the Johnson Bros. Friendly Village china. I've searched online, everywhere! Low and behold in my travels today, I came across a set of 8 plates. I can build around it. I would love to have the complete set but this will do for now. Score! My life is complete. $32.00 - not too shabby. A very GOOD shopping day for moi.

This will be great for our cabin as a utensil holder!

I've wanted one of these jars for months! Kept meaning to go get a new one and there it was whispering to me at Goodwill!

Below, I have a cute idea for this bulletin board at our cabin too.

So, today I headed out early to find a simple basket with a lid. I hit all of the local thrift stores. To my dismay, I couldn't find one basket to my liking. However.... I did happen to find some great items not on my list! Check them out! I must tell you the whole lot cost me $7.80!!!!

Thanks for visiting!

Mareen