We take tons and tons of photos on vacation. In the past five or six years, I have concentrated on trying to get a really good photo of the four us in whatever fantastic location we are at. We have photos of us eating shave ice in Hawaii, at the rim of the Grand Canyon, in front of a castle in England, in the Colosseum, in front of a glacier in Alaska and lots more. I pick a really good photo from each trip and frame it. However, my shelves and tabletops quickly became cluttered.

For a long time I’ve wanted to do a staircase display of photos and finally I realized that if I gathered all of these photos together from around the house, they made a rather grand collection. Fortunately, the frames they were in worked together. We had an empty wall along part of our staircase, so we got to work.

First we photocopied the photos in the frames and cut them to size. We were then able to tape these up on the wall and move them around to find the perfect arrangement. Then we had to do the hard part – remove the stands from the backs of the photos, so they would lie flat on the wall. That was a commitment because now they can only be displayed on a wall.

Next, we decided to make our lives easy and we used the new 3M removable velcro attachments for wall hangings. One piece goes on the frame and one goes on the wall and they velcro together. The sticky stuff comes off if you pull on a tab, without damaging the wall at all. Miraculous. It also allows for those “oops” moments when you need to correct a mistake.

I am hoping to be able to add to this collection of photos, so being able to remove them and rearrange if I add new photos really helps.

We take tons and tons of photos on vacation. In the past five or six years, I have concentrated on trying to get a really good photo of the four us in whatever fantastic location we are at. We have photos of us eating shave ice in Hawaii, at the rim of the Grand Canyon, … Read more →

Let me first be clear: no one asked me or paid me to write this post and I bought the product myself at full price. I don’t get any kickback and have no relationship with this company other than being a customer.

I have been waking up in the morning with a sore neck. A few weeks ago, it was so bad that I was in agony for days, with limited range of movement. I have tried every pillow we have. I’ve gone to Bed, Bath, and Beyond and stood in front of the pillows, clueless about what would work or what to buy. It was deeply confusing for me because I sleep in every position: stomach, side, and back within each night and most of the higher end pillows seem to be geared to one type of sleep.

I was just resigned to the fact that my neck was going to be a problem. A writer friend mentioned she had bought My Pillow and that it changed her life. When I saw how much it cost ($99 for king size), I dismissed it. Then I hurt my neck again sleeping and I was ready to try it.  There’s lots of explanation on their site about this, but basically it is filled with small pieces of foam (medical grade they say), so you can move it around and change its shape to mold to your head and neck. The best part is that it does not compress. You arrange it, lie down, and it stays that way all night long. Since I started using this (over a month ago) I have not woken up with a sore neck once. I also had been waking up with a sore ear. Whichever ear I slept hurt when I woke up. This problem is also now gone. I love, love, love that I can adjust it as needed and it stays put. When I roll over in the night, I can change the pillow to support my head in that new position.

There are instructions on their site about what pillow to buy for your size and needs.  I’m just crazy about this product and am so, so happy to be sleeping well and waking up without pain!

Let me first be clear: no one asked me or paid me to write this post and I bought the product myself at full price. I don’t get any kickback and have no relationship with this company other than being a customer. I have been waking up in the morning with a sore neck. A … Read more →

Laundry stains are something I spend far too much time on. Yes, there are the usual kid stains, but I also manage to spill everything all over myself, all the time. Whatever I am eating, cooking, working on, or touching invariably ends up on my clothes.  I am also guilty of putting away clothes I wore briefly, only to take them out months later and find those yellow stains on them. I have developed a huge stain fighting arsenal to deal with it all.

Cold water and soap: This is the best way to get out blood, chocolate, and tomatoes, as long as you work on the stain as soon as it happens. You have to do this by hand and scrub hard and continue to rinse and scrub until it disappears.

Alcohol, soap, and cold water: This will get out ink stains, but is another process you need to do by hand over the sink, continuing to reapply and scrub until it comes out.

StainStick: This is now called Resolve, but is the same product. It’s a gel stick that you rub on stains when you take the clothes off. It helps prevent them from setting in so they will come out in the wash. I take this with us whenever we travel and keep one next to the laundry hamper. It really cuts down on stain removal work.

Shout: This is my first line defense against stains. It never ruins clothes so it’s always safe to try first. I spray it on and let it set for half an hour, then wash the stained clothes.

Shout gel: This is a more concentrated Shout which also will not ruin clothes. I also let this sit for a while before washing.

Biz: This is a powdered color safe booster you are supposed to add to the wash, but I make it into a paste and put it on tough stains. I let this get almost dry then wash. Sometimes it can bleach out clothes, so it’s always best to test it first.

OxyClean spray: This is also good on tough stains and I like that it comes in a spray bottle.

OxyClean powder: I buy this in a tub and make it into a paste to apply to tough stains. I let it get almost dry before washing. This has also ruined some items, so always test it first.

Chlorox Bleach pen: I use this only on whites and only on stains I can’t get out any other way. It allows you to apply bleach directly to one single spot without getting it everywhere. I usually apply, then immediately rinse with cold water so the bleach does not spread.

Grandma’s Secret Stain Remover: My mother-in-law bought this for me and it sometimes works when other stainlifters will not. It comes in a tiny little squeeze bottle and can be hard to use, but I’ve had success with it.

DL Hand Automotive Hand Cleaner: This looks a little out of place on the list, but it works! This is a pink no-water needed hand cleaner that cleans grease. It’s marketed to mechanics. My husband and father-in-law used to repair office furniture and used this to clean grease off their hands. It is spectacular for tough, greasy stains. Rub it on. Let it sit a while, then wash.

Chlorox 2: This is my newest stainfighter and it got stains out of a shirt that nothing else on this list could touch. I was ready to throw the shirt out and had a free sample packet of this so I decided to try it. It’s a thick liquid, so I poured a little on and let it sit for about half an hour and then washed it. It was magic.

Some other tips about stain-fighting:

• If at all possible, work on the stains before sending the clothes through the wash. The dryer seems to set tough stains in.
• Sometimes if you scrub at a stain with a toothbrush this will help to remove it.
• If you have a piece of clothing with a lot of stains, instead of targeting each one separately, try soaking the garment in a tub with Oxyclean or Biz. I use about a cup of powder to a gallon of water and let it soak.
• Always check your stained item after you pull it out of the washer and before you put it in the dryer. As mentioned earlier, the dryer will set it and you won’t have as good a chance to get it out.
• Washing your clothes in cold water will help prevent stains from setting as well.
• Avoid detergent stains on clothes by always starting the washer, putting in the soap, then putting in the clothes. If you pour detergent over the clothes, sometimes it will stain them.

Do you have any stain-fighting tips?

Laundry stains are something I spend far too much time on. Yes, there are the usual kid stains, but I also manage to spill everything all over myself, all the time. Whatever I am eating, cooking, working on, or touching invariably ends up on my clothes.  I am also guilty of putting away clothes I … Read more →

I’m halfway through my posts about all of our stops in Italy, so let’s take a rest stop and talk about shopping (don’t worry, there will be lengthy foodie posts to come as well!)

Pre-Shopping

Before I leave on a trip, I try to find out what the specialty items of the area are. For Italy, I determined that I should look for handmade glass and lace (and locally made lace is hard to find and expensive since most of it is just made in factories in Asia now) in Venice, handcrafted paper and leather in Florence, and lemon products and custom-made sandals in Sorrento. Cameos are another specialty in Italy. I also read about glass or stone mosaics throughout the country.

I have several specific collections I am always looking to add to: bookmarks and magnets are the cheapest, although bookmarks can be hard to find. I always am looking for Christmas ornaments, Easter eggs and cups, handmade baskets, locally made soap, fun food items to bring home, and watercolor paintings depicting the area. It helps to have specific things to look for.

Venice

The shopping in Venice was fantastic. There were so many stores, it was hard to focus. This was also our first city, so we were jet lagged and trying to adjust to the terrible heat! We took a vaporetto to the island of Murano which was

an amazing place to visit, but they had so much glass that is made there on the island that it was hard to choose! Some of the glass is very expensive. One shop had a few glass mosaic pieces, but none were right.

I found two great bookmarks in Venice, one with a tassel (which they sell many of in Venice) and one with Murano glass.

We bought our Venice painting from an artist in the campo right in front of our hotel, next to a canal. It was one of those perfect settings.

Florence

There was a lovely shopping section in Florence on the far side of the Arno, just past the Ponte

Vecchio, but I wish it had been bigger. This area had some terrific artisan shops where we bought leather items and a beautiful painted tray. My husband bought a wallet and we got the leather trays I photographed. I found bookmarks here and little books of paintings from each city which will hang on my book tree in my office.

I bought my painting in Florence (the long narrow on in the front of the photo below) in a small courtyard outside the Uffizi where artists were selling their work. Artists were also selling things in the Plaza Repubblica at night. I find that areas where

tourists gather in the evenings are good places to find local paintings that are inexpensive. I rarely pay more than $20 for paintings like these.

I looked at gorgeous stone mosaics in Florence, but could not bring myself to spend a minimum of 250 Euros for one. So those have now taken up residence in the museum in my mind (all the things I wished I had bought and didn’t on all of my trips!).

Rome

Rome was a challenge for shopping, but we did find a nice little grouping of shops near the Pantheon. Everything else was junky souvenir shops or expensive designer shopping. There were several shops with nice pottery in Rome.

I bought a painting in Rome, but it’s a print that I saw lots of street vendors selling. I could not find any artists selling original paintings.

I saw a gorgeous handpainted leather purse I came very close to buying, but the back of it had some scratches. They didn’t have any others. Another item added to the museum of my mind.

Pompeii

We took a tour of Pompeii and I did not expect to buy anything there other than my fun little cheap magnet (I buy one every place we go and they decorate the file cabinet in my office). However, our guide took us into a cameo store, where an elderly man sits hand-making cameos.  They were beautiful and my daughter and I each bought one (ok, I bought two). The artist signed them on the back and also wrote our

initials on the back. I really wanted a blue cameo, but they told us those are always made in factories. The ones we bought are handmade from shells.

Sorrento

Sorrento had a wonderful shopping section, very quaint with narrow

alleys and cobblestone streets, just off the Tasso piazza. It was a shopper’s paradise. There were so many shops selling leather purses that I was dizzy!

My daughter had sandals handmade for her here (you go in and pick out the elements you want on them and they have it ready the next day: they do not actually hand-make the sole however – they just put together the pieces you select). Limoncello is a big product here, but I bought lemon soap and honey since we don’t care for alcohol.  My husband bought a beautiful leather bag and a belt here.

We had dinner one night down in Marina Grande, a tiny little beach area. There was an old woman selling lace just behind the beach. She was sitting and doing lacework, so there is a chance the lace I bought did not come from Asia, so I bought one lace doily.

We also stumbled upon a truly fantastic HUGE store called Gargiulio and Januzzi. They sold inlaid wood boxes and plaques, some glass jewelry and a big room of amazing Italian pottery and linens. Downstairs was a big room with marquetry inlay furniture which was gorgeous. I had to get out of that room or I would have had the entire thing shipped home. I bought some pottery and a table runner, as well as an inlay wood box (all still being shipped home, so no photos). Very high quality items and very good customer service. The shipping was free which was a nice bonus.

Capri

We visited the island of Capri on a tour, but only went to the town of Anacapri where the shopping was rather limited. I had high hopes for Capri, but didn’t buy much, other than the beautiful hydrangea glass plate I’ve photographed with my Murano glass. My daughter and I bought the lace bracelets I photographed with the lace doily here.

I could not find a painting on Capri (there was one shop in Anacapri with paintings and the owner was so aggressive, I could not even really look at his work. We ended up buying one in Sorrento of Capri the next day, so that worked out ok.

Not pictured are t-shirts and sweatshirts other members of the family brought home, as well as a couple pairs of earrings my daughter bought and promptly put into use!

We also had to make an emergency suitcase purchase at a train station! My daughter’s suitcase zipper broke. The train station in Rome had a big suitcase shop and we got a nice one for about 50 Euro, which was a nice bargain. We tried to throw out the broken suitcase, but everyone we asked told us to just set it outside the main doors of the station and someone would take it!

Overall, it was a successful trip in terms of shopping and now I am trying to figure out where to put it all! I have to get the paintings framed, which is always a challenge. I can often find frames and mattes at Michael’s but sometimes they are not standard sizes and I have to have them framed.

I always feel as though I am buying a ton, then I get it all home and it really isn’t a lot. It’s always so nice to have lovely little items to remind me of our trips!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m halfway through my posts about all of our stops in Italy, so let’s take a rest stop and talk about shopping (don’t worry, there will be lengthy foodie posts to come as well!) Pre-Shopping Before I leave on a trip, I try to find out what the specialty items of the area are. For … Read more →

We spend every July 4th at Conesus Lake in New York state’s Finger Lakes region. While the 4th is a great holiday, it’s the 3rd that is the big day here. On the night of the third, everyone with a home on the lake lights flares they’ve lined up near the water at 10 pm. The red lights circle the lake, making a ring of fire. There are also bonfires at just about every home, and there are fireworks everywhere. Municipal fireworks are shot off at Vitale Park at the north end of the lake, but about every third house has fireworks they shoot from the ends of their docks. One of our neighbors has so many that he backs a trailer up to his house every year to unload and then spends the day carrying stacks of boxes out onto the dock. It makes for quite a show. In fact, it’s hard to even know which direction to look in, there are so many spectacular lights in the sky. Fireworks are very different when they are exploding directly over your head!

People start “practicing” during the afternoon and by 9 pm there are fireworks everywhere. It lasts until the wee hours of the morning and I’m always in bed hearing more explosions happen outside.

A recent addition to the festivities are Chinese lanterns, tissue paper lanterns with a square of flammable tar at the bottom. You light the tar, wait for the hot air to fill the lantern and let it go. It rises up, up, up until you can’t see it. The sky is filled with these, but I admit they make me nervous that one will end up in a tree or on someone’s roof.

All of this fun has a few downsides. Our dogs go completely crazy. They hate the noise. We leave them in the house and try to get them to stay in an interior room with the doors closed. Another big issue is that the next morning there is debris everywhere. The deck is covered in dust and scraps of paper. The water has garbage floating in and we clean up what washes ashore. Any cars that are outside are covered in debris. At least this year we didn’t hear any sirens, so hopefully there were no injuries.

 

We spend every July 4th at Conesus Lake in New York state’s Finger Lakes region. While the 4th is a great holiday, it’s the 3rd that is the big day here. On the night of the third, everyone with a home on the lake lights flares they’ve lined up near the water at 10 pm. … Read more →

Over the years, I’ve managed to accumulate pottery from our trips. It had been sort of scattered around the house, with some of it stuck in drawers or on various shelves. When I put away the Easter decorations, I usually get the pottery out to stand on a chest in the dining room. This year the collection had grown a lot, so I thought I would share it. As you can see, I like blue!

The plate with the turtle is from Hawaii (Big Island) as is the blue and green plate in the front left, which has dolphins on it. The bowl at the front right is something my mom brought back from Turkey for me. The interesting shaped vase at the back right is the Navajo wedding vase I bought last year in Taos. The little bowl to the front and left of that, as well as the big blue bowl in the center are from Maine. In the back left, the bowl that is pink inside is from Santa Fe. The little piece to the front and right of that is a small plate or coaster that has sea glass set in the center of it. I bought that somewhere in the SW last summer (after I bought it, I saw them in almost every store, so I am unclear where I got it). The tall blue vase is a mystery! We looked at something similar in Colorado last summer but did not buy it. I have bought this since then, but have totally blanked on where, possibly Amelia Island, Florida.

When I asked my daughter if she could remember where I bought that vase she told me I have to put stickers on the bottoms of these items, and other things in the house so that I can remember so that she will eventually know where it all came from when she inherits it, which is a good point. I have a lot of beautiful things my grandmother bought on her travels and I am just clueless about where some of it came from. So, today I stopped and bought a package of stickers. Let the labeling begin!

This pottery collection has sort of organically happened over the years. I never set out to collect pottery, and Mr. MarthaAndMe will tell  you I have PLENTY  of collections (sheep, bookmarks, baskets, ornaments, teacups, eggs, antique glass, cranberry glass). I just keep bringing it home so I apparently I collect it! Do you have any collections that have snuck up on you?

Over the years, I’ve managed to accumulate pottery from our trips. It had been sort of scattered around the house, with some of it stuck in drawers or on various shelves. When I put away the Easter decorations, I usually get the pottery out to stand on a chest in the dining room. This year … Read more →

I have a lot of Easter eggs – handblown, glass, porcelain, wood, you name it. I have an egg tree, egg baskets and an egg plate, but my favorite way to display them is in egg cups. Today I’m sharing my egg collection with you (and the eggs in the baskets will go with my kids when they leave – those are theirs), but I also wanted to share my new fave egg cups, that I bought from Shapeways. I saw one in Real Simple and got sucked into the web site and ended up buying 3. They’re made of some kind of resin, but it seems as though anything you order there is made to order, so you choose the design, the color and the finish. They may be made of resin, but they look like fine porcelain, and really feel like it too. I got plain white with a matte finish, but both designs came in colors. I spent $33 including shipping for these 3 cups. No one is paying me to talk about them and I paid for them myself, I just wanted to share because I am really in love with them!

On my Easter tree, I have eggs, but I also have baskets and rabbits and one little sheep.

Many of the eggs are ones I made last year following Martha’s instructions. We blew them out and colored them. I also bought some wooden eggs and painted and decorated them as well.

What is your favorite way to display Easter eggs?

I have a lot of Easter eggs – handblown, glass, porcelain, wood, you name it. I have an egg tree, egg baskets and an egg plate, but my favorite way to display them is in egg cups. Today I’m sharing my egg collection with you (and the eggs in the baskets will go with my … Read more →

It’s been quite a while since we have attempted a major home project. I have a bedroom set that I got when I was about 16. The headboard for the bed will hold a full or queen size bed. A couple of years ago we upgraded to a king mattress and box springs (when you have 2 golden retrievers sleeping with you, you don’t have much choice). We could not attach that to the headboard, so we just stood the headboard up between it and the wall, but you could tell it was too small, so it looked a little funny.

The headboard was curvy, with different carvings and panels in it, so whenever I sat up in bed to read or watch TV, my head was against some uneven part of wood. It drove me nuts. Pillows did not do the trick. I wanted a padded headboard. There are some out there, but none of them are in colors I would choose. So, we decided to make our own. This project was actually pretty inexpensive (in contrast to buying a pre-made headboard) and was accomplished in one day.

First we measured how big we wanted it to be. Then we bought fabric, batting, a piece of wood and a big piece of foam. We cut the wood an inch smaller all around than the foam, so that the edges would be soft. We used a spray adhesive to attached the foam to the wood. We covered it in batting and then covered it in the fabric. We used an air compressor stapler gun which makes it quick work.

We worked slowly and carefully because the pattern is linear. The hardest part was the corners. It took some trying, but we came up with a technique that had some very small folds/creases at the corners so it wasn’t too lumpy.

Mounting it on the wall was very easy because Mr. MarthaandMe bought these fantastic self-leveling mirror hangers. You attach one piece to the wall and the other to the back of the headboard. They catch each other and hold the headboard up (each one will hold up to 75 lbs and we used 2). It was easier than I ever imagined.

Total cost: under $300. The fabric and batting were both 50% off at JoAnn Fabric. Wood was from Lowe’s for about $8. The foam was from a special foam store. We would have had to use 2 pieces if we bought it at JoAnn and were worried the seam would show. Mr. MarthaAndMe used to repair office furniture and used to buy foam for chairs from this store. We got a professional discount since they remembered him (it still was not cheap – $78).

It took us most of the day but we kept getting interrupted for other things, so this could really be done in just a few hours.

I am THRILLED with how this turned out. I will be going to bed early from now so I can spend some time reading, leaning against it!

It’s been quite a while since we have attempted a major home project. I have a bedroom set that I got when I was about 16. The headboard for the bed will hold a full or queen size bed. A couple of years ago we upgraded to a king mattress and box springs (when you … Read more →

I love hearing about people’s holiday food traditions. In my family, the Christmas menu is pretty much set in stone. First, sometime before Christmas, I make Hal Linden’s Hanukah bread. Christmas Eve we always have a ham and potato latkes (recipe from The New Basics Cookbook by the same gals who wrote the Silver Palate Cookbook), which we started making when TeenMartha was tiny and watched a Sherry Lewis and Lamb Chop special where they sang a song called “Everybody Loves Potato Latkes.” It aired on a Christmas Eve when we were snowed in and we whipped them up and it became a tradition. We serve them with sour cream and homemade applesauce. We usually round out the meal with some grapes, and then have cookies while we watch National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.

Christmas morning we always have baked donuts. I got the recipe from one of Dianne Mott Davidson’s Goldie’s Catering mysteries (they are called Galaxy Donuts). They’re made with different grains, baked and dipped in cinnamon sugar. We always have hot chocolate with them.

For lunch, we have a fun buffet. The ham from Christmas Eve comes out, along with marble rye bread and rye bread dip. Mr. MarthaAndMe always gets a summer sausage in his stocking, so we eat that with cheese and crackers and an assortment of mustards. Grapes and tangerines round out the meal. The kids usually get candy in their stockings and eat some of that.

Christmas dinner is at my parents’ house. During the afternoon when we are opening gifts, my mom makes gougere, which is a cheese puff pastry. Dinner is always beef tenderloin. She makes a broccoli wreath (cooked broccoli dotted with cherry tomatoes surrounding a bowl of hollandaise sauce). We also have a salad and potatoes (usually roasted potatoes, but this year it will be twice baked for something different). We have cookies for dessert. This year I bought a tray from an Italian bakery and we are going to try that, along with some I made and some that were given to her. My mom doesn’t make cookies anymore and we like to have something different when we go over there, rather than eating our own cookies again.

When we see my in-laws, they always insist on taking us out to dinner although I would be happy to cook for them. Then we have two other family parties which are usually overloaded with tons of wonderful food. One aunt always makes sticky buns. My mom usually makes a pork roast or some kind of chicken breast dish for one of them. I like getting to sample family members’ cookies!

What are your holiday food traditions?

I love hearing about people’s holiday food traditions. In my family, the Christmas menu is pretty much set in stone. First, sometime before Christmas, I make Hal Linden’s Hanukah bread. Christmas Eve we always have a ham and potato latkes (recipe from The New Basics Cookbook by the same gals who wrote the Silver Palate … Read more →

This year I made some changes and additions to our holiday decorations. As always, we have  a tree in the living room with my ornaments and white and pink lights, braided pearl strands and pink bunting. We have a tree in the family room with the kids’ ornaments. I also have a tree in my office with book ornaments.

This year, partly because I now do a lot of my work in the kitchen, I added a kitchen tree, with kitchen themed ornaments. It has blue and white lights. I found all sorts of cute ornaments – knife, fork, spoon, blender, pots and pants, strainer, PBJ sandwich, milk carton, pitcher, tray of gingerbread men, toaster, crate of blueberries, a ravioli, chocolate covered strawberry, and even a Hostess cupcakes – all on eBay! I must admit though I am jonesing for another ornament on eBay. It’s a little oven with cookies baking in it. It lights up AND it smells like cookies baking. It’s going for around $110 though, so I won’t be buying it any time soon. I had the most fun prowling eBay for the ornaments I did buy though!

I haven’t figured out what to put on the top of this tree yet. Some people have suggested a chef’s hat, but I’m not a chef, so I don’t like that. I was thinking maybe a little doll’s apron tied around the top, but am not sure what that would look like. Any ideas?

Teen Martha and I went to a Christmas tour of homes and I loved how some people had ornaments hung in their windows. If you look in the background of the kitchen tree photo, you can see I have my 12 days of Christmas ornaments in the windows, but I wanted to do something else. I realized I had 3 blue star ornaments that would be perfect in the big window over my sink, so Mr. MarthaAndMe hung those for me. Next year, I am going to do something on the shelf above it as well – maybe a grouping of reindeer with some that cottony stuff that looks like snow drifts.

At the tour of homes, I also loved decorations people put on the backs of their kitchen chairs. Next year I’ll be doing that too. I haven’t been able to find what I want to do it this year.

And just a note here that my kitchen walls really are not the color they look like in these photos! They are a very, very pale subtle green but somehow they look horrible and neon in these photos!

Moving on to the dining room, I’ve added to my tree collection this year with several new ones, and I also bought a white sparkly runner to put them on so they pop more.

In case you didn’t know, I don’t do red for Christmas. Pink is my Christmas color. I do cranberry in the family room. The kitchen is blue themed so I am going with decorations in blue in there.

I have had the same Christmas dining room centerpiece my entire married life. It was time for a new one. Not an easy task with my color scheme. I bought this 60% off at Michaels and had to do some work on it. It had some awful brown roses in it I pulled out. I added more pink poinsettias, some gold accents, and put it in a shiny mercury glass vase I got at TJ Maxx for $19. I am THRILLED with the results!

In the living room I have my display of tree toppers on the mantel. This collection has grown as well, so I thought I would share it with you. I also found some fabulous vintage pink curly-que garland at an antique shop, so I’ve replaced the pink bunting on the mantel with that. I also bought pre-lit garland this year because I got tired of seeing all the wires from the lights I wrapped around the garland.

Again, the colors of my walls just look horrible in these photos for some reason!

Decorating for Christmas is so much work, but I just love it so much! The hardest part for me is I spent so much time and put so much thought into and we never have a single person come over to see it (neither set of parents is interested in coming here for Christmas), so at least I get to share it with you!

This year I made some changes and additions to our holiday decorations. As always, we have  a tree in the living room with my ornaments and white and pink lights, braided pearl strands and pink bunting. We have a tree in the family room with the kids’ ornaments. I also have a tree in my … Read more →