Decorating for Christmas!

Just a few photos of our house all spruced up for Christmas . . .

you can never have TOO MUCH mistletoe!

an armoire full of Christmas cheer ready to greet guests!

I haven't decided yet what to fill the vintage cart with . . . picked that up for $4 at our local thrift store!

our mail-sorter filled with sweets for good girls and boys

I found these "X-mas" printer's blocks at one of my favorite antiques shops . . .

found the little choir boy at our local thrift shop {fitting that we have four sons} . . . he has my husband's birthyear engraved on the bottom . . . an added bonus!

my display case filled with white Christmas-themed lovelies

little porcelain dancing figures with large bottlebrush trees in an abandoned flower pot

my collection of vintage santas and snowmen atop our piano

this is one of my favorites, given to me by my mother . . . he looks like he's ready to hug anyone who comes close! SO CUTE!

our diningroom table this year decked out with a mossy sleigh I purchased at a rummage sale for $1.00 and trees I made from heavy cardstock, fabrics, buttons and trims, our stockings hang on the fence in back

my handmade little 'forest'

my grandmother gave me this santa face. I remember it hanging in her house when I was little . . . it has always been my favorite decoration to set out!

moravian stars, once a gaudy gold, painted white and glittered with mica

Remember this tree made from vintage wire fencing I saw at the Holiday Home Tour this year? It inspired me to make my own . . .

. . . here's my version {it sits on the credenza at the front entrance and looks beautiful all lit up at night!}:

 I filled a large jar with white twinkle lights to put in the middle of the tree, and decorated the tree with the letters j-o-y,  vintage mercury glass ornaments, and a 'welcome december' banner

our tree decorated with vintage C9 lights and assorted homemade ornaments

. . . now that the house is all decorated, I'm looking forward to snuggling up with my boys and a cup of hot cocoa, listening to Christmas music, inviting friends and family over for games and good food, and enjoying the holiday season in all its splendor!

Wishing you all a season full of wonder and joy!

Sweetly, Kate

A Christmas-y Girl's Day Out!

I always look forward to the first weekend in December!

Every year, my mom, sisters and I enjoy the Grand Ledge Holiday Home Tour.

We always make a day of it!

First, we meet up at Sweet Linda's Cafe for a light breakfast.

this year, I started my day with their fruit & yogurt parfait with homemade cherry-almond granola . . . 

 . . . and a frostbite {a wondrously decadent hot chocolate with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, topped with whipped cream and chocolate drizzle}

Then we head next door to The Lamb's Gate Antiques Shop where I invariably leave with a few finds! This year I bought a handful of letterpress letters to spell 'Xmas', a pair of antique white bloomers, and a bag of old monopoly pieces.

. . . but the MOST fun we have at The Lamb's Gate, is in the upper room, trying on old hats!

mother-in-law, mom and me modeling some real lovelies!

my sister, modeling the 'match head' hat

next, we crossed the street to the Grand Ledge Opera House

to see their santa display . . . 

 . . . trees all decorated for the holidays by local businesses and private citizens . . .

 {absolutely LOVE this one made from vintage wire fencing!!! In fact, I made one of my own this year!} . . . 

. . . and festive tables decorated for the holidays . . .  

We visited five beautifully decorated historic houses this year, but this one was our absolute FAVORITE!!!

We saw this house last year too, and it was WELL worth coming back to see! Peg had her home all decked out with vintage finds and salvaged pieces! She has an amazing eye for style, and we were surprised and delighted to see what she could do with a handful of cast-offs!

 . . . mom, Jenny & me in Peg's DELIGHTFUL upstairs bedroom!

. . . then, it was back to Sweet Linda's for lunch . . . 

mom's veggie croissant with a frostbite to go!

and my heavenly tuscan chicken panini with a raspberry-strawberry french soda

the lovely {and, yes, very sweet!} staff at Sweet Linda's who serve up wondrously delicious food! . . . Linda, Mike, their son, and this lovely gal with wonderfully amazing pink hair! Just like cotton candy! :)

Such a delightful girl's day out! And a wonderful opportunity to start feeling the holiday spirit! Even my sister Jenny, aka 'the glam queen' who despises all things old and vintage, couldn't wait to come this year after having a wonderful time last year!

Wishing you all wondrously delightful family moments this season!

Sweetly, Kate

Black Friday Sale! :)

I am one of those crazy people who wake up at 4:30 am on the day after Thanksgiving, bundle up and brave the crowds to shop for Christmas items for my family and friends.

So, to spread the Christmas cheer {and help avoid those big, long lines}, I'm hosting a SALE this weekend in my shop!

I'll be offering FREE DOMESTIC SHIPPING on most items! :) {and $2.00 usd flat rate on international orders}

Plus, spend $24 or more and receive this lovely red silk butterfly {brand new to my shop}

FREE!

Plus, I'm also trying something new this year. WIN one of these 'instant winter scenes' in a GIVEAWAY! :) 

It's easy to enter! Just click HERE. 

Two ways to win:

1. FAVORITE THIS ITEM between Thursday, November 24th and Monday, November 28th. All "favoriters" will automatically be entered. :) On Tuesday, November 29th, I will draw names and THREE WINNERS will each receive one of these lovely "instant winter scenes" just like in this listing. I will contact the winners via Etsy convo.

2. CREATE A TREASURY WITH THIS ITEM between Thursday, November 24th and Monday, November 28th. All treasury curators will automatically be entered. :) Curators of my TWO FAVORITE TREASURIES that include this item will receive one of these lovely "instant winter scenes" just like in this listing. I will contact the winners via Etsy convo.

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And I couldn't help but add this cheerful little Santa sprite to my shop! He's SO cute! Currently available for Pre-Order {as he's still in production phase}, he'll be shipping out starting December 2nd, 2011!

. . . you can see him in all his glory in my shop HERE!

Many holiday blessings to you all, much joy, cheer and merriment. :)

Sweetly, Kate

My NEW Etsy Shoppe!

Well, I've been working for weeks and weeks now on opening a new shoppe on Etsy {forgot how time-consuming that process is} . . .

The time has come to unveil it . . .

Introducing Larkspur & Linen!

~I'll be offering glistening glass bottles and hanging glass vases~

{fond sentiments}

{sweet as honey}

{emily's posies}~named after my sister

I'm definitely a magpie! I've loved glass ever since I can remember! Milk glass is my favorite {I've a huge collection of it}, followed closely by cobalt glass, although any glass will do!

I'm hoping this shoppe will demonstrate my keen love of the simple, farmhouse feel of glass in all its facets. :)

Glistening wishes of happiness all around!

Fondly, Kate

Annual City-Wide Garage Sales

Every year, on the first weekend in June, a neighboring community holds their city-wide garage sales starting on Friday.

This is one of two annual events that I look forward to, stashing away a dollar here, five dollars there, all year long, knowing that I'll find great treasures!

For as long as I can remember, my mom and brother have come with me, on their own quests for great cast-offs!

Our day started early on Friday. After dropping the kids off at school, we packed up a yummy lunch of vegetarian roll-ups, gala apples, and cold water, and made the trek up to the small, sleepy little town of Litchfield about 15 miles away.

A lot of sales are within walking distance of each other. Here my mom and "little" brother are walking to the next garage sale down the street {I'm walking just behind}.

We found lots of vintage and antique wares and items like these GREAT old bicycles . . . 

I just LOVE that little trike!

We live in a community which has a large Amish population, so buggies and cars share the streets . . . especially on garage sale days! Amish love good deals too, and women with bonnets, and men with straw hats are busy finding wares to put to good use in their homes.

A majority of my finds came from one sale. An antiques dealer holds her annual garage sale on this weekend and I ALWAYS buy LOADS of great stuff {very reasonably priced} from her.

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After 5 1/2 hours of garage-saling, we headed home to unload all our treasures. 

{Most of my treasures lined up on the front lawn}

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Two of my favorite finds were these two matching ice cream shoppe chairs . . . for $3 apiece!!!:

 . . . and this printer's drawer used to hold old types for printing newspapers, ads and such:

Here's what I picked up on Friday {for less than $50}:

2 ice cream shoppe chairs . . . . . . . .    $6.00

3 rolling pins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   $3.00

assorted vintage biscuit cutters . . . . .  $2.00

printer's drawer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   $2.00

milk glass mixing bowl . . . . . . . . . . .   $ .50

watering can . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   $3.00

assorted linens . . . .  . . . . . . . . . . . . $5.75

vintage lunchbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  $1.00

Little House on the Prairie DVDs

     three seasons . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  $15.00

pair of shoes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1.00

2 children's games . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  $2.00

gently used backpack . . . . . . . . . . . .  $2.00

antique butter pat . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   $ .50

stack of unused cloth diapers

  {my earthy sister is having a baby} . .  $1.00

blouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1.00

pants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ .25

3 vintage sewing patterns . . . . . . . . .  $ .75

vintage china bowl with rose pattern . .  $1.00

baby towel and robe . . . . . . . . . . . . .  $2.00

GRAND TOTAL:       $49.75

My mom ended up purchasing a baby crib for my sister, a bookshelf, some "new" clothing for herself and my kids, and various other treasures. My brother's best find was a pair of old "steampunk-style" green glasses.

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Our day ended with a taco salad dinner, conversation around the dinner table with our family, and my eight-year-old playing one of the games I picked up earlier that day. :)

Overall, it was a long, but fruitful day!

Here's to the beginning of treasure-hunting season!

Fondly, Kate

Bold to Beautiful

I admit it, I'm a junkaholic! 

One morning, as I was taking kids to school last year, I saw this cute little aqua dresser sitting out front of a neighbor's house with a 'FREE' sign taped to it. 

I did a double take, at which time, my wonderful husband said, "Don't even think about it". I promised him I wouldn't come back and pick it up . . . 

so, I dropped everyone off at school, drove right back, and threw it in the back of our minivan. Took it home and hid it in the garage for awhile until I could get to it.

We were in sore need of a quilt chest in the livingroom. So I removed two drawers and the cross-beams, gave it a fresh coat of white paint, and filled it full of quilts.

Although I thought the aqua was wonderful, most furniture that is to stay in my house MUST be painted white!

I think it turned out pretty great! {and my husband liked it too}!

Three cheers for turning junk into junque! :)

Fondly, Kate

a sleigh ride

A month ago {yep, I'm that far behind}, on my husband's birthday, we were invited to some friends' for a bonafide sleigh ride {our first ever}! It was a perfect day in a perfect setting! Good friends, great food, a woodstove to warm up at, and lots of hot cocoa and hot apple cider, made for a memorable day!

walking to the horse barn

conversing with the horses

loading up with some friends

our farmer friends have several teams of horses, these ones took us out

Sadie follows behind. 

Sasha, the other german shepherd was smart and climbed aboard the sleigh!

into the woods with our driver, Barney, and some friends with their granddaughter

it was the PERFECT day! 22 degrees, and snow falling all around!

snowflakes that stay on our nose and eyelashes!

out of the woods and back to the farm

Sasha giving Ethan doggy kisses

going out on another run

If you get the opportunity, NEVER turn it down! It was an utterly magical day!

Looking forward to our next invitation . . . NEXT winter! :)

Fondly, Kate