Happy New Year!

Graphic courtesy of The Graphics Fairy

I originally saw this graphic on Kim's blog, and I fell in love with it.  I wish that I was going to have as much fun as this girl is having on New Year's Eve!   But alas, we will probably have a quiet and peaceful evening here at Love and Life at Leadora.  In the meantime, I would like to wish all my dear blog friends a happy New Year filled with much joy and success!   

The Post Holiday Blues

Yesterday was our final Christmas celebration with family, and this morning I woke up with a case of the post holiday blues.  My symptoms include: exhaustion, malaise, indigestion, and extreme aversion to sweets and anything related to Christmas.   You can contract this illness by being exposed to the usual holiday stress, as well as staying up way too late, eating rich holiday foods, and trying to do way too much.   On top of all that, post holiday blues can be made worse by the realization that you still have all those Christmas decorations to put away and a huge after Christmas mess to deal with.

I realized long ago that post holiday blues are just my body's way of telling me it's time to go back to my simple pre-holiday life.  So this morning I took a long walk, had a healthy breakfast, and decided that the Christmas decorations could stay put another day.  I feel better already, and by tomorrow I should be able to tackle all those wonderful after Christmas tasks!

Happy Holidays!

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas
and a happy New Year!

A Rainy Day Wish

It has been raining here at Love and Life at Leadora for the past four days.  I was thinking how fun it would be to have these Hunter rubber boots from England.  Do you think that when wearing these I could talk with an English accent too?

Secret Santa with a Twist

Last Christmas, we started a new tradition at Love and Life at Leadora.   About a week after Thanksgiving, the five of us close our eyes and take turns randomly choosing names from a hat.    But this isn't the usual "Secret Santa" game.  There are 2 rules: You cannot spend more than $5 and your gift must be purchased from the 99 cents store!   Last year it was quite a hoot and the highlight of Christmas.  Isn't it funny how sometimes the simplest things are what we cherish the most?    

Christmas Cookie Exchange

The weather is finally starting to cool down here at Love and Life at Leadora, and now it is really beginning to feel like Christmas!  Last night, I met my BUNCO group for dinner and a cookie exchange.  I left  the house with a dozen decorated sugar cookies and a dozen red and white marbled cookies.

And I returned with 2 dozen even more fabulous cookies!

It was a fun evening, and the best part was finding out what everybody brought.  As you can see, each cookie is different, but they certainly all look delicious! 

Christmas Corner Cabinet

As many of you know, my corner cabinet in the dining room at Love and Life at Leadora is always decorated for the season.   For Christmas, I always display my Spode.  Throughout the years, I have been given lots of Spode.  I even have a punch bowl!    I wish I could use my Spode throughout December, but it is not dishwasher safe, so I only use it for special holiday occasions.  In the meantime, some of the pieces sit in this corner cabinet so that when needed I can access them easily when special guests arrive.

This is one of my favorite snowmen!    As you can see, the ornament is actually a snowman's head, but I placed it on top of one of my Spode teacups, which became a little snowman body.  Also, this year I lined the back of my shelves with red and white ticking stripe to give this corner cabinet a little extra holiday "oomf". 

Hope you enjoyed seeing my dining room corner cabinet!  I love hearing from you, and I am always so appreciative of your lovely comments!



    

A Christmas Vignette

The original part of our house at Love and Life at Leadora was built in 1876.   What I like best about my house is that it is filled with charm and details that newer homes don't always have.  However, rooms in my home are small, and unfortunately there is not a lot of space for Christmas trees.  In the past, I've squeezed in a snowman Christmas tree in the dining room and then cringed every time one of the kids or dogs rubbed up against it.  So this year I decided to do a different kind of tree, and I used my white ironstone to do it. 

My inspiration came from a Mary Engelbreit print that my mother gave me.   Why is it that pretty Christmas prints are always hard to find?   Anyway, the cost of the print was free, and although I paid to have it framed and mattted, it was totally worth it.   Then I went to my snowman collection and chose my very favorite ones to display.   

I think compared to everyone else in blogland, I am really behind with my Christmas decorating.  I need to finish my dining room corner cabinet (I'm still tweaking), and I haven't even began the outside.  Oh, and gifts?  I haven't even bought one!  How are your Christmas preparations coming?

There's Snow Place like Home!

After I was newly married, my mother at La Vie Quotidienne gave me my first Sandi Gore Evans snowman figure.  I fell in love with these cute little snowmen and have been collecting them throughout the years.   Unfortunately, Sandi Gore Evans passed away many years ago, and so the snowmen are not readily available anymore.   Every Christmas, I make their home in the lawyer's bookcase at Love and Life at Leadora.   I couldn't possibly have a close-up of every snowman, but here are a few for you to enjoy!

I joined the link party at It's So Very Cheri.

Easy Christmas Decorating

Christmas decorating is fun, but for me can be rather nerve wracking.  I never feel I have it just right, and  I usually spend many days tweaking or rearranging things that I have created.   However, my light fixture ornamentation is easy.   I simply tie gold ornaments on the light fixture using wired ribbon.  Then I curl the ends of the ribbon with a pencil.   There is no precision, fluffing or tweaking with this easy Christmas decoration!   Do you have any easy Christmas decorating tips?  I would love to hear your ideas!