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Search results for Christmas

I found another new crown for my soon to be collection! *winks* Needs to be three or more right? So clearly I NEED to buy one more!! (lest a ways that's what I'm telling my hubby!Lol!) AND... It's all Chrissys FAULT at http://theapothacaryshop.blogspot.com/ *winks* She has the most enchanting crowns and blog!! I took one look at hers and fell in LOVE!!..Well this blog is titled "Delusions Of Grandeur" Aint it?!! And I'm deep into deluding myself that I... A.) I Am royal... and B.) That I can afford another darn crown!Lol! Plus I needed to show a little Christmas spirit to deserve the honor below *winks*

I was sooo excited to receive this award from Melissa at http://melissasheartandhome.blogspot.com/ If you havent been by to check out her beautiful Christmas decor? You're missing out! So go see!!

And also from my dear friend Lynne at http://lynnesgiftsfromtheheart.blogspot.com/ She has a gift store with the most wonderful things! And she's the queen of vignettes! Least I think so! *winks*

Here are the rules for the Christmas award.~~~~~You must be a true Christmas lover to receive this award. The person to whom you give the award must also be in love with Christmas. You must link back to the person who gave you the award. You must list 5 things that you love about Christmas. If you can't limit it to 5 things, then keep going till you run out of space! Pass the award along to as many people as you like. That can be 1 or 50. It's up to you! But, you must pass it on to at least one person in order to keep the Christmas cheer going! Let your recipients know that you have tagged them by leaving them a comment.

1) That it's the day we celebrate the birth of Jesus. And all that he stands for.

2) That my family gathers together and we all laugh and cry and sing... which brings me to #3!

3) The wonderful food!! Food FOOD!!!!

4)The nip in the air and the feeling of wonderful surprise just around the corner!

5)Listening to Christmas music especially Nat King Cole! Brings back my childhood for me.

I know so many have received this award already, but if you haven't? Please help yourself to this Christmas award!

Thanks y'all for stopping by my little corner of blogdom... Or should I say "My Royal Blogdom?... Yep still deep into delusion! Lol!

Yesterday Iwoke up overwhelmed - never a good sign. My to-do list for the day was longer than my arm. I wanted to crawl back under the covers and hibernate until the middle of January until after the Christmas dust had settled.

The schedule for the day included attending our Ladies Christmas Tea at Church - something I look forward to every year. Something I was supposed to bring homemade goodies along to as a gift to our Senior members and shut-ins.

I hadn't baked anything.

Also on the list was finishing an article for Free Homeschool Deals, picking up a car-seat swing for our new church, buying a birthday present for my brother, baking cookies for two separate exchanges, tackling seven loads of laundry, and replying to an overflowing inbox... after homeschooling and taking care of supper.

I wanted to cry. I felt stressed and irritable. When I'm stressed and irritable, I get snappy. I've learned that snapping at my kids doesn't make them work any faster or harder; it drags them down and puts a wedge in our relationship. Ain't Momma happy, ain't nobody happy.

I didn't want my kids to have another day with a snappy Mom. They had too many of those already this month. Something had to give, and I decided it wasn't going to be them. They had given me plenty of grace lately, more than I was worthy of.

I cancelled everything.

I didn't go to the Ladies Tea. I emailed the hosts of the cookie exchanges I had committed to and apologized for over-committing myself; I just couldn't do it this year. I turned off the computer and refused to check my email until the kids were in bed. I closed the door to the laundry room and put the "out of sight, out of mind" rule to the test. Picking up the swing and buying the birthday present could wait until tomorrow.

I cleared the schedule. I had a day free of commitments; a day where I could enjoy my children all to myself and they could enjoy a happy Mommy whose focus was on them and not the things she had to prepare or the places she had to go.

I started the morning with devotions, something I had skipped for a few days because I was "too busy." Ironic and shameful isn't it? The Christmas Season was too busy for me to spend time with the Reason for the Season.

I found my place in 1 Corinthians.
"Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends... " 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8
"Oh, Lord," I prayed, "please help me to love the precious souls you've entrusted into our care with that kind of love today."

I woke up the kids by whispering "Mommy loves you! We're going to have a super fun day today!" They opened their eyes immediately and smiled. "We are? What are we going to do? Are we going somewhere?" "Nope. We're just going to stay home all day. Mommy's going to play with you, and read books, and we're going to have lots of fun doing school!"

"Okay! I'm excited about that, Mommy!" I didn't rush them to get dressed or scarf down their breakfast. There was no reason to hurry. They were in the best of moods and I found myself enjoying their chatter. How had I let those adorable giggles get on my nerves?

They laughed when I told them they could do three jumping jacks for every flashcard they got correct. They got more right then the day before when I told them how many they were getting wrong.

We baked cookies, seven dozen of them. I put away my perfectionist tendencies and let the kids help me roll the dough balls. They weren't uniform in size like they are when I roll them. There were small cookies, and big cookies; cookies that looked like snakes, and cookies that looked liked they were rolled by a two-year-old. They looked better than they ever had. Tasted better too.

We read books on the couch, one child leaning on my right shoulder, one child leaning on my left shoulder, and a baby on my lap trying to eat the pages. "Can we read another one?" they asked. "We like it when you read us books!"

They felt satisfied by the undivided attention and went off to play. I started tackling the mountain of dirty dishes in the sink and had the counters sparkling by dinner. We enjoyed the Cream of Broccoli Soup that the kids helped me make.

Not everything was picture perfect about our day. The potty-training child had more than one accident, the baby was teething, I burned the last batch of cookies, and the living room was far from spotless by the time Brad came home from work. Many times I had to remind myself, "love is patient and kind... love endures all things... "

But our day was happy, peaceful, and far more productive than I had imagined it would be. I enjoyed my kids and they enjoyed their Mom.

Quite possibly, I disappointed more than one person by cancelling all my plans, but I didn't disappoint our kids. You can't please everyone all the time; sometimes you have to pick and choose who gets your attention and who is going to feel slighted even if slight is never intended.

I'm no expert (as evidenced by the circumstances that led up to this day), but if you have to choose between your children or another thing, or place that needs your attention, choose the souls that have been entrusted to your care. Cookie exchanges and Christmas Teas are lovely but happy, peaceful children in a happy, peaceful home with a happy, peaceful mother are even lovelier.

If the busyness of the Christmas Season has you wound up tighter than an eight-day clock, consider making the following changes:

• Just say "no." Practice with me, "Nooooooooo." That's it! You can also add "I've got too much on my plate right now," for clarification.
• Ask your husband. This advice comes from my friend Stephanie at Who Can Stand. She says, "Andrew never minds if I want to "blame" him for having to turn something down. We got this wonderful idea from Gord and Paula, and it seems men are less likely to care what others think than we are. So if it is easier to say, "Oh, I just can't take that on - my husband thinks I've got too much already," then check with Brad and see if you can 'blame' him too!"
• Spend time with the Christ of Christmas. You cannot survive without Him, but you can thrive within Him.
• Subscribe to Homeschooling Enrichment. Seriously. I love curling up with this extraordinary Christian homeschooling magazine for inspiration and vision at the end of long days. It ignites the fire when it's almost out, helps me re-focus, and keep my priorities aligned as they should be (You can read more about why I love it here, or purchase it for 58% OFF the cover price here).
• Clear your schedule. Wipe it clean. Commit to nothing but your kids. See if it's not the best day of the year, in their books and in yours.
• Determine not to yell at your children to obey. Otherwise, you are actually training them not to obey until you shout. Call and instruct them in your regular voice. Correct them calmly, firmly, and consistently until they respond promptly to your first call.
• Remember that a good education is life-integrated and not confined to a textbook. Make it fun! Reward correct answers with jumping jacks Count baking cookies as Home Ec. Sing carols around the neighborhood for Music. Read Luke 2 for Bible Time. Teach fractions with the clementines you're snacking on. Go tobogganing or skating for Phys Ed.
• Take a break. Who says you can't?
• Tell your kids you love them. It's hard to feel stressed or angry when you say those three uplifting words: "I love you."

Looking for more practical homeschool encouragement? Our new eBook, Homeschooling Day by Day is available for $2.00 until January 17! It's 40 chapters of realism, practical advice, and plenty of grace from homeschooling Moms on every stage of the journey. You can read the Table of Contents here.

Homeschooling Day By Day: $2.00 40 Chapters (with Discussion Questions)
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Bonjour lovely people!
I hope everyone had a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving.
Now Christmas is right around the corner... Where did the time go?
I know I've been talking for the last two weeks about this little project that I've been working on and how much I'd like to share it, but things keep breaking down and making my "simple" project very complicated... Isn't that always what happens? So hopefully next week I'll finally be ready. Sorry about the delay.
Meanwhile I thought I'd do a Flea Market Post to fill in *winks*... And as usual not a darn thing came from a Flea Market, but I did find some things I really love... And at a Black Friday sale no less! Which I swore I would NEVER participate in again! I say pay the extra money and keep your sanity! Did any of y'all hit the jackpot at Black Friday?Or are you like me and avoid it like the plague?
I didn't intend to participate this year... however the Goodwill was having a half off Black Friday sale (Their biggest of the year) and it was packed! And I still managed to find some good treasure har de har har!(insert pirate voice *winks*) Well this one is NOT from the Goodwill, and as usual I'm going to start with my favorite find. I have long wanted one of these French display cushions but could never justify the cost. I finally found the perfect beauty for me for only $61! and it came with the display plinth too! Thank you ebay! While everyone was shopping at the mall they missed out on this fabulous piece of French history! Yay me! Lol!... Now we both probably know you could find one in France for a pittance at a Flea Market, but let me have my little thrills OK? *winks*

If you happened to read my blog a few weeks back I found a plethora of crowns at the Value Village HERE and I thought how perfect this display cushion would be for showcasing them. And then last Friday I found yet ANOTHER crown for $14.99 at the VV! It's missing a few rhinestones, but what the heck. It must have slipped through the cracks with the pricing people back around Halloween time. It must have come from the same donation I'm thinking? I've gone for years without ever finding a crown at the VV and all of a sudden it's raining crowns!??... Hallelujah!!

Then at the Goodwill I found this wonderful Santos doll. She's a reproduction, but with half off she was only $12.50! Her one arm was broken but I couldn't believe that nobody had taken her home? It doesn't look like it will be a difficult fix? (probably famous last words *winks*) It really did feel like an early Christmas miracle! And I thought hmmmmm this French pillow looks like it might provide a perfect seat for her... And voila! Doesn't she look beautiful!? And a saint in front of a saint (The portrait in the background is of my Grandmother) She was one of the most wonderful people ever born!... Yes I'm a bit biased.*winks*

The ex voto she's wearing was an early Christmas gift from my hubby. That's the way we shop for each other. I find something I love and he buys it for me. He finds the perfect car toy and I buy if for him. Lacking in romance and surprise maybe? But it works for us... And we always receive something we really love *winks*

Another early Christmas gift from my hubby via ebay was this set of nude spelter ladies that were once part of an art deco lamp. Y'all know if you read my blog how much I love beautiful classic nudes!

I envisioned them as bookends... but I'm not quite sure if they work?

Since I'm on a crown kick I thought they looked pretty good like this! Whatcha think?

And it just wouldn't be a Flea Market Finds week lately without a boudoir doll or two *winks* This beauty is a German Lilli Baitz doll named Eva.

She has such a beautiful outfit and hat.

Isn't she lovely? I've never seen another like her. Of course I'm no expert so that may not be saying much *winks*

This antique crewel work tapestry was a craigslist find for $10. It has all kinds of condition issues, but somebody put a lot of work and effort into it. I had to take it home and protect it from the people who were keeping it in their garage on the floor.*winks*

Lovely cranes on old linen.

With some holes and stains and missing stitches here and there I think it's still a beautiful piece. I have a "thing" for cranes. They're kind of the borzois of the bird world... Lovely long legged and elegant*winks*

And lastly this sweet antique pillow pin cushion with ribbon flowers from the Goodwill sale. I'm not sure yet if I'm going to keep it or send it off to etsy.

That's it for this week. I hope you'll come back next week for my project reveal... I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'll FINALLY get it finished without any more issues! I hope you'll leave me a comment. I LOVE to hear from you! Vanna
I'm joining Sherry at No Minimalist Here for:

Debra at Common Ground for:

Courtney at French Country Cottage for :

And Cindy at My Romantic Home for:

The Round-up:

• Food - 4 out of 5
• Service - 3.5 out of 5
• Decor - 4 out of 5
• Total - 11.5 out of 15

2124 Albert Street, Regina, SK
306-545-8811

_______________________________________

Dear Abbey:

It's about this time of year when the intended joy of Christmas starts to compete with the utter madness of Christmas.

The lineups at the grocery store are longer; the parking spots at the Cornwall Centre are fewer -- heck, the lineup just to get out of the parkade is enough to make you cringe. What's a guy to do?
Signed,
Crazy for Christmas

- - - - - - - -
Dear CC:

There are plenty of ways to deal with Christmas Craze. Some of them involve muttering swears underneath your breath. Others involve a simple retreat to a welcoming watering hole.

I suggest the latter.
Yours,
Abbey

- - - - - - - -

Today me and Big Willie opted for an easy Sunday morning and headed over to The Abbey on Albert Street. It was a brutally cold morning to brave the outdoors but the lure of breakfast without having to cook it was enough to get us out there.

I'd been to The Abbey a couple of times since it opened in December '08. My first visit, less than a week after the doors opened, was good but a little rough around the edges. And that's to be fully expected so early in the game.

My second visit, about two months later, left me with a bad taste in my mouth -- literally. A friend and I went for a Sunday-night supper before heading out to a show at the Brandt Centre. I had high hopes that the kitchen would have ironed out the wrinkles by that point but I left feeling happy with the atmosphere yet disappointed with the food, especially a very greasy pizza that was overcooked.

Since that time, I learned that The Abbey hired a new head chef. I was a bit reluctant to go back until a few friends and coworkers reported positive experiences recently.

Today, my third visit proved to be the lucky charm. Big Willie and I were seated quickly on the second-floor balcony overlooking the dining room. We took a few minutes to study the brunch menu and then placed our order.

I decided to keep things simple and ordered The Usual -- two eggs any style (I went with Sunny Side Up), bacon or sausage, hash browns, toast, and a few pieces of fruit. I figure if a kitchen can't get the most basic breakfast items right then there's little hope they'll succeed with anything else.

Big Willie chose The Eden Eggs Benedict (served with tomato and spinach on a homemade biscuit). We also opted to share The Abbey Salad, which came recommended by a friend.

All things said, our only complaint with the food was that it took too long to hit the table (close to half an hour). On the one hand, this wasn't an outrageous amount of time. On the other hand, you start to wonder what's going on after about 15 minutes at breakfast time. Both our waitress and the floor manager gave sincere apologies for the delay, so at least they were aware of the problem.

Otherwise, the food was delicious. I'm not normally a fan of Eggs Benedict but The Eden won me over. I think it was the fresh, crumbly homemade biscuit that did it. Big Willie was pretty pleased with his choice, too.

My eggs were cooked perfectly, not always the case when you order Sunny Side Up. And the best part of The Usual? The crispy sausage, just like we used to eat at home when I was a kid. I'm happy to report that The Abbey serves real sausage -- not the greasy breakfast kind that some people seem to love.

The Abbey Salad, strangely the most expensive item we ordered, was also pretty delish. A Roast Shallot Dressing came drizzled over mixed greens, grilled chicken, bacon, crumbled blue cheese, and a few slices of pear. This salad was a meal in itself and is also on the restaurant's lunch menu. I think it's safe to say I'll be back for it someday.

To make a nice meal even nicer, The Abbey plays host to live jazz music on Sundays from 11-2. Today's warm groove, combined with the awesome Viennese Dark Roast coffee, pretty much made us forget it was 30 degrees below zero, at least for awhile.

All in all, The Abbey is finally coming into its own as a restaurant. Despite the odd glitch here and there, it seems that things are almost nearing perfection.

If they keep this up they might just start to lure me away from La Bodega a bit more often.

Kudos to you, The Abbey.

http://www.theabbeyregina.com/

Howdy y'all!
Sorry I missed a week... Blond that I am I didn't realize my posting day would land on Thanksgiving so I skipped one and had myself a mini blog vaca *winks* I hope you all had a wonderful holiday... And doesn't it feel like Christmas is only 10 minutes from now? Did any of you hit the black friday sales?
Anyhoo my blog post today is about my postage stamp sized powder room. I'd love to hear opinions from all of you (my fabulous bloggy friends) on what you think I can do to improve it? *winks* As mentioned it's very small, has no window, so no natural light... hence my less then stellar pictures (sorry!) This room is right off the garage and across from my laundry room so it's very utilitarian. Awhile back I found this large over mantel mirror at a local antique store for $100 and wasn't quite sure what to do with it? I got a a sudden brainstorm and ended up putting it in here to replace a very blah maple framed oval mirror, and I'm wondering, do you think I should paint it white? I'm also thinking about adding some wainscoting? The room already has moulding rail, so should it be kept to that height? Or maybe a little higher? So many questions for such a tiny room *winks*

This is what the mirror looked like before.

My new (old) mirror nearly goes from one wall to the other in this small space.

The old wood medicine cabinet below was a $10 find at a garage sale. The vintage game table is one of a set of two purchased on craigslist for $25. Here you can really see its size.

This lovely clock case was a $12.99 find at a thrift store. The clock parts are almost all gone but I don't care *winks* The floral prints are also from a garage sale.

Isn't it sweet?

I LOVE the romantic maidens! I think the attached antique tassels must've come off an old sofa? I paid $5 for the two of them

This sweet statue of a girl was a $10 craigslist find.

I found this frame at our town garage sale for $3. And the plaque of lovers was a find on my shopping trip with my friend Joyce for $41.

Close up.

This Moreau spelter couple picking apples was a find at a local antique mall for $100.

And this set of cherub candleholders were a Christmas gift from a friend.

I think this small chandelier was one of my best finds from awhile back. It was $28...

but it came to me originally looking like this *winks*

So what do you think? What should I change? Too busy? Please give me your opinions. I'd LOVE to hear from you! And please come back for next week when I have some special flea market finds to share with you! Vanna
I'm joining Marty at A Stroll Thru Life for:

My sweet friends Patti and Paula of Ivy and Elephants for:

Sherry at No Minimalist Here for:

Kathleen at Charm Bracelet Diva for:

Honey at 2805 for:

And Cindy at My Romantic Home for:

It's time for another week of
FLEA... MARKET... FINDS!
I only have a few things to share as I've been running around like crazy trying to get my Christmas act together... Hasn't happened yet! *winks*
Are all of you ready for Christmas? Or did you procrastinate like I did? Next year (God willing) I'm going to start a month in advance like the smart folks!
So I haven't had much time for antiquing but I did manage to sneak in one trip to the Goodwill and one to a local antique mall where I found my first (and favorite) find... This crazy quilt/patchwork robe. I picked it up and put it down a couple of times not really knowing what it was and yet intrigued by it... So I studied it a little more closely and noticed that it was entirely sewn by hand and had two banners with the names of ships along the front. Well I love a little mystery (Don't you?) so home with me it went. I tried to find out more, and did manage to find that both ships were war ships existing at the same time in the 1920's so I'd guess this robe was from around that time period. Must have belonged to the wife of a navy man. This was the 1920's -30's version of being green. No scraps were wasted!
I wonder if groups of ladies gathered together with all their scrap fabric and quilted while talking about their men still at sea?

Chock-a-block full of different fabrics.

The ships...

I love the old florals. The silks aren't faring so well and a few of them are tattered.

From the back

And another feature that really makes this robe interesting is that it's completely reversible! The other side has the most luscious tomato red silk satin! Having been protected from the light it's in amazingly good condition.

I had a hard time finding many of these pieces to get an idea of value? I did find this robe/coat from 1914 housed in a museum in Norway. But no price attached alas.

And this coat is from the 1930's.
That was pretty much it, leading me to believe that these pieces must be a little uncommon. Whatever the case I really enjoyed the learning process with this one, completely outside my areas of expertise... If indeed I even have any *winks*

OK moving on to what turned out to be my industrial style finds... the large rusty suitcase/toolbox was a freebie roadside (full of rusty crusty tools) as well as the galvanized case. The tool box also had a few of the old folding rulers. and the 1920's light fixture was $25 at the Goodwill. As well as the metal cloche with butterflies for 99 cents.

This grate cover was $22 at the antique mall. I really love it, but have no idea what I'm going to do with it.

Do you think this could be a milk case? I have no idea what this was actually used for.

Interior. If you have any idea I'd love to hear! *winks*

One of the freebie folding rulers.

This 1950's ice bucket with lucite handle was $3.50 at the Goodwill.

This brush featuring a ship was also in the large rusty case so FREE!... My favorite price! *winks* Hmmmm another naval-ish find! It does seem to go like that from week to week, a theme seems to appear.

And lastly this old rattan magazine holder ($5) that's as rough as can be, but I really liked the paintings of flowers on each side.

Tattered roses.

That's all for this week. Not some of my best I admit... But thanks for stopping by anyway! I hope you'll leave me a comment. I LOVE to hear from you! Vanna
I'm joining my friends Paula and Patti of Ivy and Elephants for: