Kimba's Holiday Open House

Christmas decorations are definitely some of my favorite things, and the lovely and talented Kimba has given us all an excuse to share our holiday pretties with everyone today! :)

One of my favorite decorations is new this year! It's one of my favorites because Austin and I made it together!

I do not have any good pictures of our tree yet, but will post them as soon as I do :) - the tree is the best part of decorating, I think, and ours sits in our front window so it is visible from the street!

This small nativity screen graces the coffee table in our front living room:

It is a very traditional nativity scene and it has scripture written on each of the different pieces pertaining to the respective character.

We are trying the "decorating with presents" approach this year, so our dining room centerpiece is made up of three packages that will actually be given away on Christmas Eve Eve (tee hee!)

This little guy sits on the half-wall behind our stove. The top of his hat holds a tea light candle, and he makes me smile :)

More decorating with presents on the coffee table in the family room, these ones are accompanied by a stuffed snowman, who sings and dances when you squeeze his hand. (Not Diddy's favorite decoration, but awfully comical to watch, lol!)

My absolute, number one favorite Christmas decoration is our Willow Tree Nativity Scene:

I love them so much that I keep them out all year round!

But I keep the different figurines scattered throughout the shelves of my Willow Tree collection . . .


And only bring them all together for the Christmas season!

O come let us adore Him!
O come let us adore Him!
O come let us adore Him!
Christ, the Lord!

Thanks for coming to my little corner of the blogosphere to share in Kimba's Holiday Open House! Be sure to check in with all of the fantastic hosts and hostesses!

Merry Christmas!

What a haul!!!

Ahhhh . . .

I have just returned from one of the most fabulous activities - curb shopping!!! In our area they have what they call clean-up days where twice a year people can put their junk out on the curb, and the city picks it up free of charge. This may not seem like an optimal situation for finding those little things we cannot do without, but you would not believe the things that some people throw away!

It starts out kind of like this:



and ends up:


I was first introduced to this fabulous pastime by my wonderful inlaws when I first moved to Iowa, and they let me tag along again tonight which was tremendously adventageous because I made out like a felon! The above picture is me sitting in the back of their van with half of my haul!

It was crazy fabulous!!!

The mother-lode includes:

a really nice wicker hamper, loads of throw pillows, tablecloths and cloth napkins, AN ELLIPTICAL MACHINE, several books, some great wreath forms, a huge, gorgeous clock! I'm in seventh heaven!

It's like the best garage-saling day ever - except everything was FREE!!!!!

I really need to get to bed, hope you have a great night :)

Autumn Recipes & Tablescapes

Heidi is hosting this fabulous Autumn event today, and I absolutely adore anything autumn-y, so, of course I had to participate!!! The recipe I'm sharing today is from my Aunt Geri, who is a phenomenal chef, and who always has the best presentation! Presentation is everything, you know, and she is tremendously hospitable so she has a lot of opportunity to cook for others, and always makes a huge breakfast for Austin and I to enjoy with her whenever we go to Colorado! :) (Love you Aunt Ger!)

Sweet Potato Casserole
3 cups of cooked, drained and then mashed sweet potatoes
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1/2 c. softened butter or margarine
1 tsp. vanilla
1/3 c. milk

Mix all of the above ingredients together. Put mixture in a greased 9x13 baking dish. In a separate bowl combine 1 c. light brown sugar
1/2 c. flour
1/3 c. softened butter
1 c. chopped pecans
Mix these ingredients together. Sprinkle on top of potato mixture. Bake 25 minutes or until set in a 350 degree oven.

I was so excited about this event because I had $100 in gift certificates (wedding gift) to a local home decor store that expired on Sunday 9/21, so it was the perfect reason to by some beautiful fall decorations, so most of the elements of this centerpiece are from that, the candle holders were a wedding gift, and the star I won in a blog giveaway from Linda! :) The stars (set of 3 - large, medium, & small) will eventually be hung on our dining room wall when everything is done, but for now the small one is a pretty touch for my autumn centerpiece!



Thanks for reading!