come sit by my fire...

i have finished decorating my mantel for the holidays.

until i decide to change it AGAIN, that is!

hubby and i are very casual people and after decorating 3 very large, very traditional mantels for my client.....

you can view them HERE.

i wanted to decorate mine light and airy and slightly whimsical.

i was inspired by this cute gift tag i received on a gift last year.

i can just imagine a small child selling snow balls for 5 cents.

i love snow! i would buy them!

instead, i had to make mine.

i adorned this little tree with trims from my sewing box.

like drifts of snow hanging onto the delicate limbs of a tree.

my hubby's collection of antlers add a rustic element to the mix.

some of these were sheds, some are from his hunting expeditions.

he is the hunter. the only thing i ever shoot are photos.

my handmade stockings.

two with button cuffs. two with vintage ponsettia tablecloth cuffs. two hiding in the back, waiting for some sort of embellishment, when the inspiration hits......

we found the windows in an old barn that was about to be torn down.....back when we lived out in the country.

this is where we relax together.

nothing fragile here.

you can take your shoes off and put your feet up.

wrap yourself in a blanket.

and get

comfy and cozy........

thanks for stopping by!

you are welcome here.

anytime.

i am joining

layla and kevin over at the lettered cottage blog

for a christmas mantel party.

and kathleen at faded charm

for white wednesday.

come join us!

snow kinda mood...

something you may not know about me......

i was born in california.

my family moved to minneapolis when i was very young,

and then onto a suburb of chicago, where i did most of my growing up. picture the "wonder years", remember that t.v. show with fred savage? i loved that show.

both of my parents and all four grandparents are from north dakota.

my first two years of college were spent in minnesota.

hubby, he's from the "u.p" of michigan...that means upper peninsula.

anyway.......

i have some northern blood in me.

and i LOVE snow.

and i LOVE winter recreation.

cross-country skiing, ice-fishing, skating, sledding, snow-mobiling, you name it.

if it involves being out in the snow, i love it.

so...

please excuse me for changing up all my side bar pictures.

i'm just in that snow kinda mood.........

even though here in tennessee, today on thanksgiving, it was 70 degrees!

tomorrow i will be pulling out my christmas treasures and perhaps even play some christmas music (only when hubby is golfing...he says it's way too early for such music).

me...well, i'm dreaming of a white tennessee christmas.

give thanks...

may you find

much to be

THANKFUL

FOR.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

joining Kathleen at Faded Charm blog

for White Wednesday.

snippets...

i think i mentioned i would be decorating for Christmas over at C's home.

here are little

snippets

of what i have been up to..........

i will decorate three fresh trees there after Thanksgiving.

i usually do only one fresh 15 footer, but this year i will be adding 2 more 6 footers.

believe me, that's a lot of twinkle lights!!

phew!

i truly don't know where i get all the energy for this?

and to top it off, i decided to spend this weekend painting my beamed ceiling and fireplace mantel (finally, Mr. Lee).

my lovely daughter, Ash and her hubby Rob will arrive on tuesday, and we will be hosting a casual party for her friends hopefully around a roaring campfire.

wednesday, my hubby will make his famous cabbage rolls,

and then thursday my son, Ian and his girlfriend, Sam will join us for Thanksgiving!

Sam just might be bringing her bestie Ke$ha over to meet us. yes, i DO mean the rock star Ke$ha...they have been friends for years.

tons of fun, family and great food!!!

if that wasn't enough excitement,

my two horsey paintings were featured over at Anita's wonderful blog,

Castles Crowns and Cottages.

i have just recently found this gorgeous slice of bloglandia, and you MUST visit her.

you will be enchanted.

i promise.

thank you Anita!

i am also,

extremely excited,

and proud as punch to announce...

i have

SOLD

my first

painting!!

WHOO HOO!

that's right the horsey painting above has been sold!!

it wasn't really even, officially for sale, but someone i know "just had to have it"!!

YIPPIE SKIPPIE!!

i am just over the moon thrilled about this,

and of course i can't wait to have the time to paint more.

for now though, i look forward to a wonderful week.

i have so much to be

THANKFUL

for.

indeed.

ee

thank you, my friends...

i am working my little butt off this week,

decorating for Christmas over at C's house...

but i just had to pop in here........

to tell you all,

how happy you have made me,

with all your glowing compliments

about my horsey paintings.

it just warms my heart,

that you take the time to visit my little bloggy,

and leave such wonderful and supportive comments.

you have touched me, indeed.

thank you,

my friends.

ee

i'll be around to visit

as soon as i can!

xxoo

horsing around...

hello friends!

well, here it is....

my newest painting.

see what can happen if i focus more on

ART

and less on blogging.

i missed you!

art happens!

and when art is happening, well, i have to go with it.........

cuz it's not always there.

this horse painting is big. 3'x4'

here it is hanging above my couch to show scale.....

oh, my...

here is another horse painting i did this week.....

i sure hope you like these horsey paintings.

cuz, i am liking them.

i can't say that about a lot of my paintings and i must admit these recent paintings need some tweaking,

but i was excited to show them off right now, before the paint is even dry.

i feel like my bloggy is a safe place to share part of myself.

and my

ART

is part of me.........

i thought i'd show you some more of this room in my house.........

you know, since i had the camera out.

and since i am sharing and all...

i have a pretty neutral palette in here,
with lots of textures and natural elements.
that is an old Christmas tree stand holding those drieds.





a cement bowl i made with a leaf mold.

gotta have fluffy pillows!

an old hospital cart as a side table.

driftwood topped with a discarded stem braid

from a deceased ficus tree.

wet paint...

i love this little lamb,

he reminds me of my beloved bichon frise who lived for 17 1/2 years.

i sure hope you enjoyed seeing my latest paintings and little snippets of my home.......

things will soon be changing in the house with the holidays coming.

i start some Christmas decorating for one of my clients next week,

in her 10,000 sq. foot home (yikes!).

this will be my seventh year decorating for her

and i still get pretty darn nervous about it.

really nervous...truth be told.

here is wishing you a fabulous weekend.....

i hope you can take the time to find some inspiration in your life........

and thanks so much for visiting me!!

xxoo

ee