My 39th Birthday~That's My Story & I'm Sticking to It!

My 39th Birthday~That's My Story & I'm Sticking to It!

Saturday found me with one of my dear friends & my daughter & granddaughter at our favorite tearoom having lunch & sharing laughs, good food, hot tea, & scrumptious petite fours together!

Kathy (the blonde) & I (the brunette) share the same birthday along with her late father. We've been friends for years & she is a true blue friend. We grew up together at church. Her sweet brother was a year older than me, & Kathy a few years ahead of me in school. My parents loved it when she got her driver's license, as there was never a problem with me going anywhere with a group as long as KATHY was with us & was the one driving! She was a very stable & good influence for all us younger rowdy kids & my absolute favorite!

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Several years later, when Kathy got married to Bill, I was there in her wedding cheering her on. She married one of the sweetest, kindest, most thoughtful men ever. They started married life in El Paso, TX. Many years later, she & Bill moved back to our hometown & he eventually baptized our daughter. Bree had wanted to ask her grandfather (my daddy) to baptize her, but as he was sometimes emotional (like me ~ I can cry at a sweet "telephone" commercial!) she decided to ask Bill to baptize her instead, since she thought "GeeDaddy" would cry. Well, GeeDaddy didn't cry, but BILL DID!!!!

Kathy was the one Mother & I asked to sing at Daddy's funeral. She has a heavenly alto voice. Most recently, Bill helped officiate at Bree & Anthony's wedding. He said a very special prayer for their new family unit which includes her daughter & his son.

We laughed a lot, had delicious croissant sandwiches & fresh fruit, hot spiced cinnamon tea, & petit fours that are to die for!! Birthday girls each got 3!!! YUMMY!!

After lunch, & browsing the tearoom gift shop, we went to my mother's & shared a beautiful birthday cake with her. I'm sure I must have gained 5 lbs. in one day!!

Got in late Saturday night, as we stayed & had supper with Mother, but did get one more important thing done before bedtime........

Took care of my BIRTHDAY GIVEAWAY!!!!!

Asked DH to help me by picking the winner while I snapped the picture.....

And the winner is.......

LORI !!!!! Of Pink Faded Roses!!!!!

Now Lori, if you want a surprise.....STOP right now. DO NOT scroll down any further. If you want to see what you are getting, though, be my guest.......

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Here are the goodies Lori is getting from me......a blue Victorian SPODE Christmas plate, Christmas potpourri, a lavender sachet, one of my handmade angel pin/pendants, a German Santa die-cut Tussie Mussie, & a sterling Santa charm in a velvet pouch!

These will ship out first thing Monday so that hopefully you will get them before Christmas!!

Now as for my being 39...........DH put 7 candles on my cake Saturday night. I promptly (and indignantly) said that I was NOT 70!! Then he turned the cake & what I saw was a ~5~ & a ~2~....so guess that blows the lid off the "39 again" story!!

Big Hugs & thanks for all the sweet bday wishes & comments,

Stephanie

My Holiday Home 2007

My Holiday Home 2007

I want to thank Karla of Karla's Cottage for hosting this fun "What I love about my Holiday Home" party! Karla's parties are always so much fun!! Go to her blog & see the links to holiday parties all over blogdom today!

Thought you might enjoy seeing a pic of me circa 1960

A pic of me proudly wearing possibly the only thing my sweet Mother ever made for me ~ a cute white felt Christmas skirt. The sewing & crafting gene skipped her, almost skipped me, too, but I do love to craft a bit! Oh, how I wish we had kept that little skirt. Wouldn't it have made an adorable Christmas tree skirt? I don't know why Daddy had me pose with my leg hiked up like that, guess we thought my tree would show up better that way, but how could it with my hand covering it? Must have been wanting to show off my new bracelet~see, I loved jewelry even way back then!

Do any of you love to peep into other people's homes? We have so much fun riding around during the holidays looking in all the pretty lit windows. This is our home.....

What I love about my holiday home!

Decorating for friends & family

Cookie Baking

Giving Presents

Celebrating

A Warm Fire

Christmas Carols

Special Memories

Love

Gosh, what DON'T I love about my holiday home?!? Actually my home is my refuge, the one place I ALWAYS want to be. I love it & would rather be here than anywhere else on Earth. Especially with my DH, Mother, & my daughter & her new hubby, & my adorable granddaughter. Add sweet Sissy (Jack Russell Terrier), Rosie (Shih Tzu) & Muffin (Himalayan/Persian) & my little world is complete.

With all the holiday lights & Christmas decor, it is all just icing on the cake for me! Factor in that my birthday is on the 15th, & I have always thought this is the most wonderful time of the year! When I was little I used to think that everyone was really revved up about my birthday!!

Mother always made our home so beautiful, especially so at Christmas. And she always gave me such wonderful birthday parties. I remember the pretty little angel ornaments we gave as party favors one year. I'm still searching on eBay for those!!

This year I decided to go with a different color scheme ~ PINK PINK & MORE PINK!

I've been showing a few pics this past week, but have several more to share, so here we go........
I collect bottle brush trees.....the pink one has been displayed in my bedroom every year since I was 7 yrs. old! This year I placed it in our family room in the beautiful shabby wood box with appliques & crystal knob that my dear Daddy made for me. It is one of the last pieces of his that I have, given to me for my birthday 2 Christmases ago. I will treasure it always.

Celeste of La Rea Rose painted the adorable Pink SANTA for me and Mary of Oh Merci made the precious little pink church.

Pic of me, 5 yrs. old, 1960, playing with a stryofoam & plastic Santa, Sleigh, & reindeer. This is what started my addiction.....Below is the pic of the actual Santa ~ Mother was going to sell it for a quarter in a garage sale & I had a fit. It comes out every November! The sleigh & reindeer didn't survive ~ I broke them so many times, Mother finally quit gluing & pinning their little broken necks back together.

I pair it up with this little wooden reindeer my daddy & my daughter made one night while my parents were babysitting while we attended a party. I'm surprised Bree hasn't asked for it yet for her new home. Shhhh, don't remind her I've still got it!! :0)

Jen of Jennifer's Petal Palace painted these Christmas balls several years ago & I usually leave them out in my favorite cherub compote, another gift from my parents, until closer to Christmas.

Then I bring out the blue snowflake tablecloth & my favorite Blue Santa & some of my vintage bottle brush trees & decorate the dining room for Christmas dinner.

Isn't Santa regal looking? I always place him on an oversized antique plateau mirror along with tons of sparkly blue ornaments.

This is one of my favorite SPODE Christmas plates.

I will have more pics next time of some of my other favorite goodies. Thanks so much for coming to my holiday home. If you post a comment, I'll enter you in my birthday giveaway on Sat. night!

Hugs,
Stephanie

Sleigh Bells Ring.....Are You Listenin'?

Sleigh Bells Ring.....Are You Listenin'?

This year I've gone a little crazy adding lights UNDER lots of lacey fabric. Here is a pic of my sofa table with some of my favorite things on it. I collect Santas & bottle brush trees, and angels, & all manner of BLING!
This pic shows just a few of my fav things from some of my fav girls, my PRH sisters. Katie of Rose*Breeze*Boutique made me the bling-y pink & chocolate sachet for my daughter's wedding & it is just too pretty to put away, so out it stays with one of my angels from Lorena & my sequined heart pillow with BLING from Rhea!
Lorena of RoseChicFriends handpainted this awesome PINK Santa & Sleigh & I was lucky enough to purchase it from her! If you are ever fortunate enough to own one of her pieces, you will be THRILLED! She does awesome work! The roses are so beautiful that I can't bear to put anything in the sleigh that might cover them up! Sorry Lorena, I knew you were expecting it full of bling, but I think it is so beautiful as is. Santa is holding a pretty PINK sack with white beads & pearl adornments, too! Doesn't it look like he is on a snowy mountain top?
So.......I decided that I would do the same treatment UNDER our little tree in the family room. I added tons of little white lights underneath a lacey curtain panel & then gathered it all up in ....... a pew bow......yes, a pew bow decorated with one of Bertie's medallions from our daughter's wedding last month! How's that for recycling?!?!?!

A little dimestore felt that shimmers like icicles taped to the base of a shabby white coffee table lift the small 6' tree up off the floor & make a cute place to store packages beneath ~ none of which have been wrapped yet because very few have been purchased so far!
This year besides several new PINK pieces that I'm incorporating into our holiday decorating, I'm really going out on a limb & using a little aqua. I just love it so here is a sneak peak ......
Bling goes with everything, right?

This is how I usually decorate our staircase. Not quite sure if that will get done this year but here is last year's pic

This is a new necklacee that I wore to church Sunday. It is an adorable little Santa Bell....I tinkled everywhere I went! Now that doesn't sound right, does it?!?!
Have to leave you tonight with two of the neatest items. My friend Mary of Oh Merci! made this oh so adorable little pink church! The detailing is wonderful ~ love the words Faith Hope Love beside the church doors, & gotta love that little bottle brush wreath!

My sweet PRH friend Karen of SecondHand Rose made this lovely tag ~ it even says PRH SISTER!! Beautiful graphics, pretty ribbon & just a hint of glitter make for a beautiful remembrance! She has really got a gift for making these altered art tags!!

Now, I must go dust & clean & get ready for Karla's party, What I love about my Holiday Home on Wed., the 12th. I know she says dust won't show & to just shove the mess out of the way but Mother raised me to always CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN before anyone comes over, so off to clean I go! Hope to see you at the party Wednesday!

And don't forget to enter all the comments you want for my birthday giveaway late Saturday night!
Hugs,

Stephanie

Vintage Ornaments May Be My Downfall!

Vintage Ornaments May Be My Downfall!

And don't forget my ~ birthday giveaway ~ this week!

Wanted to share a few more of my decorations with you. I collect vintage bottle brush trees & will be showing you some later this week, but this one today is brand new. Yep, this year I decided to mix the old with the new. Till I get all mine up, please take a peek at my dear friend Karen's (Secondhand Rose) on her mantle.....beware, tho, it'll leave you drooling!

My mother & I went shopping the other day & she surprised me by buying me this adorable Santa for my birthday. Of course I begged for it early....and got it! My birthday isn't actually until the 15th ~ this Saturday. Isn't it adorable?

We went into the neatest little antique shop & I found these three stenciled ornaments that are vintage & so I brought them home with me!
Then the shop lady "helped" me find these vintage indents, handpainted ones, an old strawberry, & even a Merry Christmas glittered one! Of course they had to come home with me, too!
Now these are new ornaments made to look old. Kohl's has an entire line of them called their Nostalgia ornaments. I bought these........ .......and these!!! Poor DH said that I had ALREADY decorated the tree & why did I need MORE? Poor guy, he just doesn't get it, does he?!?!

My dear friend Amy of Four Sisters in a Cottage sent me this vintage reproduction Father Christmas card. Isn't it just the sweetest?
And my dear friend Celeste of La Rea Rose sent me this beautiful Christmas card, complete with her signature roses handpainted on the bottom! This is frameable for sure, Celeste!! Thanks so much!

Since I've been so fortunate to win several blog giveaways, & since it will be a while before I reach my 100th post, I thought I would like to give back to the blog community by celebrating my birthday SATURDAY with a give away. SO......leave a comment on any of my posts anytime between now & midnight Saturday evening, the 15th, & then I will draw a name to win some items. Each comment will be a separate entry! I'm sure there will be a few Christmas goodies included!

Now I've got to dash off & decorate some more......

Hugs,
Stephanie

Santa Claus is Coming to Town!

Santa Claus is Coming to Town!

In fact, he is already making his debut at our house! This sweet pink confection was designed by my dear friend, Rhea of Sweet N Shabby Roses. Isn't he just the most adorable thing?
My mother-in-law made this cross-stitch Santa for me as a birthday surprise years ago & I treasure it. It comes out every November & stays on display thru February. Still haven't decided how to use these little angel loves, but I'm sure I'll come up with something! Probably will hit me after I go to bed tonight. Is anyone else like that ~ you know, you lay there waiting to go to sleep & start getting all these wonderful ideas? Then you can't go to sleep because you're so excited? I've been doing that a lot lately!!
Look what my sweet lil PRH sis, Amy of Bunny Rose Cottage sent me ~ a small mirror ornament! How appropriate for me since I sell antique mirrors from my store AngelicAccents here on eBay! Amy, this looks almost EXACTLY like the one I let get away & then wished I had kept!! Maybe DH will take the hint & buy me a heart-shaped one for Valentine's Day......wouldn't that be awesome?!?!
This is one of my favorite paintings. It is by Thomas Kincaide. I leave it out year-round. I could really see us living in a beautiful old Victorian like this some day with that awesome wrap around porch! Pic is a little blurry, so I'll try again to get a better one.

This is just the sweetest lil pup I've seen since, well, since my little shih tzu Rosie was a baby! Got this in an email the other day. This Chihuahua cutie was born in Japan back in May with this "heart" on its body!!

Hey, Vickie, wouldn't this make a fun playmate for Miss Margarita?

Sweet dreams to all!

Hugs,

Stephanie

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

This is my very favorite time of year ~ lots going on this month. Decorating, shopping, baking, shopping, my birthday, shopping, & did I mention shopping?!?!?
Please note the sugared pink angel ornament from my sweetest lil sis, Amy of Bunny Rose Cottage on my crystal butter dish. I have another one hanging on my tree! They smell yummy! The precious Nativity Set was from my equally precious PRH sis, Rhea of Sweet N Shabby Roses! The compote is filled with handpainted balls from another of my PRH friends, sweet Jen of Jennifer's Petal Palace. I have come to love her quiet, sweet ways so much, but it is funny that I purchased these ornaments from her several years ago, long before we really "met"! Now we are all in the same decorating group!

I have so many things that remind me of my dear friends that I have met through the blogs & my PRH group. Everywhere I look, I smile & feel loved! I even used the little package decoration that you mailed my gifts in, Rhea, on my little demitasse cup & saucer. Just another sweet reminder of you!
My dear friend & "neighbor" to the south of me, Vickie of Visuals by Vickie, sent me this stunning leaded glass angel! And a very talented neighbor & adorable friend, Celeste of La Rea Rose, painted my precious pink Santa ~ it is a gourd!!

I'll be posting more pics of our home as I get more decorating done. You wouldn't believe how many totes are coming down out of the attic!! Hubby can't believe it either! He is the one that has to rummage around to find them all! :0)

Hugs,

Stephanie