Touches of Christmas-Master Bedroom

It's not looking much like Christmas here...rain and wet snow flurries in the forecast for the next few days...perhaps Sunday afternoon we might get the outside lights up.  The past two evenings have been beautiful...great walks with Liesel around the neighbourhood to check out homes decorated for the holidays.  It's. my favourite way to see the lights and outside decor...

I put a few touches in the master bedroom....and love my dachshund holiday quilt set...and who doesn't love a faux fur comforter?  Especially when the nights cool down...as they have been the last few weeks....

This is where the adorable gnome found a home...and we've had our knitted Canada Christmas stockings for years....but I prefer to use them as decor rather than as actual socks for Santa to fill....we have moved on to canvas holiday sacks for that!

A holiday wreath replaces the floral one this time of year....

Even Liesel's night time digs gets festive...with a couple of snuggly Christmas throws....I plan to attach a small wreath to the outside door of her crate....this is her happy place...her bedtime ritual includes one last potty break...then she races to her crate...where a treat filled kong is waiting for her! As well as a kibble snack...you know...for when those midnight munchies hit....

I still have not done Christmas decor in the kitchen...hope to put out a few things this weekend.  I have a couple of jars to fill with candy....those are Mr. Seventies favourite decorations....

Liesel and I took advantage of the great weather the past few days and went out and about Christmas shopping....this looks says "Mama you know how much I hate to shop!"....*sigh*...where did I go wrong?

All was forgiven when she playfully watched this silly dancing, singing Christmas tree...and no....I didn't buy it for her.....

I did however pick up this adorable sweater for her.  I mean...she will make a cute reindeer...an early Christmas present....

We continued on...and came across a gnome of all gnomes!!   This guy is huge...stuffed and heavy....but so festive!

At another store...I saw this picture...love the book the guy is reading....

And I was crushing so hard on this next one...if only I had some place to hang it...very true and powerful message...not to mention the old truck and log cabin...

These guys really creeped me out...so real...I had to poke one!  Not sure if they were a store display or for sale...we moved on since Liesel was barking at them....

And with that we concluded our shopping expedition...and were quite successful.  This evening my daughter, along with a friend and her daughter are meeting for dinner before taking in the interior designer's Christmas decor show.  We attended last year...I wasn't able to get great photos...so will see how I can do this year.  A draw will be made and one lucky attendee will receive a fully decorated Christmas tree done by the designer.  I've already assured daughter if Mama wins...the tree and decorations are hers.

Next week, the same designer hosts the Christmas house tours!  We will be attending...a local bus company will shuttle us around to the various homes...hot drinks and snacks included!  Tickets for these tours, I think I mentioned in a previous post...sold out in five minutes!  While people were checking out on line....the tours sold out!  I was very lucky to snag two tickets!  They went on sale one morning at 9:00 a.m. and by 9:05 a.m. had completely sold out.  That's four bus loads of lucky participants!  Each bus leaves at a different time...

Lots of events to look forward to.  Next month Mr. Seventies & I are taking in an evening Christmas concert, two favourite Canadian country singers are playing...it should be an awesome evening!  This concert may have sold out as well.  

In the meantime, have a great day wherever you are!  

Family Room Christmas Tour

Welcome to our festive family room!  We love being in this room...with the warmth from the pellet wood stove it's a cozy room to curl up with a book or watch some tv.

Our quirky and fun Christmas tree is back again this year!!  I set my wooden Christmas dachshund from Inspired Living under the tree...awaiting Santa's arrival....

This precious tree ornament was given to me last year by my beloved friend...we're still coming to terms with her death last month.  These words have even more meaning now..."Your Wings Were Ready But My Heart Was Not".....

There are little touches of her in this room....the dachshund Christmas Countdown and adorable hand made coasters were also gifts from her...

Liesel has a brand new ornament on the tree this year.....

And this adorable ornament was sent to me last year...anonymously....and one year later I still have no idea who gifted me with it....and one for granddog Benson.  The only clue I could determine was they were mailed from Nova Scotia...and no one has ever claimed to have sent them.  A sweet Christmas mystery....

Remember the pink tree I purchased at Inspired Living?  I am so loving it...two little surprises...it is all one piece (the base is not separate)...and it operates by battery!!  

And adorable when turned on at night....

The stockings are hung...that is Liesel's on the left...it has the sweetest paw prints on the front...to establish that it is "her" stocking...so Santa Paws won't miss it...

One of my dachshund Christmas cushions...this one was purchased a few years back at Macy's on our way back from a trip to New York...

I placed some greenery, a few ornaments and a couple of sets of mini lights on the ledge...also where my nutcrackers are displayed...

The adorable Christmas dachshund cushion from Simons arrived just in time...

That pretty much completes Christmas in the family room.  There's touches in the master bedroom as well...I'll share tomorrow.  And I haven't done much in the kitchen yet...but hope to add a bit of cheer in there over the next few days.

A perfect photo op I had to take advantage of...so precious...just sitting there chillaxin'....

Thanks for stopping by and sharing a bit of your day with me!  Feel free to leave a comment...I'd love to hear from you!

Touches of Christmas

Saturday the weather was miserable here...rainy and high winds.  Which meant no outside decorating so we turned our attention indoors.  We put our tree up..and I'll share those photos later in the week.  In the meantime,  just little touches spread about the house....who doesn't love some adorable snowmen?

The cute snowman decanter holds bath salts with a little scoop...for warm soaks on those cold nights! And my soap dispenser is filled with some holiday smelling liquid soap...and a few hand towels nearby for drying hands...

I placed my bucket of snowballs on the end of the tub...and a cute snowman holding a couple of bath bombs on his tray....

This bath is basically my ensuite....since our seventies split does not have one!  Back then ensuites off the master bedroom were unheard of in most homes!  So this is mine...all mine!  Mr. Seventies and any guests use the downstairs 3/4 bath...

Yesterday, Mother Nature graced us with a gorgeous day...perfect for getting our outside wreaths and planters put together.  We did up two wreaths and three planters...using branches trimmed from trees, fresh holly and a few bows my E-Z bow maker and I made.

Our daughter loves the outside wreaths and planters...so of course her Dad and I always do up one of each for their home too!  We delivered them late yesterday afternoon...and they were so pleased and appreciative of our efforts!

We put together this little winter setting at the back entrance...having to kind of squish things together a bit..as they were calling for high winds during the night.  As it turned out...the winds were a no show...so today I will spread things out a bit!!  I hope you can see my sled...we did a fresh wreath and attached it...and my adorable reindeer baby is making another appearance this year!  With all the fresh greenery...it smells amazing coming up the steps!!

My winter flag I picked up a few weeks back at Inspired Living...

We turned our attention to the front entrance...I will pull my crock out a bit further out  today....even though it's pretty heavy I didn't want to chance the wind knocking it around.  Occasionally, the lanterns may take a tumble...but for the most part when winds are in the forecast...we pull them inside...along with the Merry Christmas sign, 

We ran out of daylight...and energy to spot the clear lights on the Yew tree outside the family room window, flood light to illuminate the door wreath and snowflake projector which sprinkles falling snowflakes on the house.  We'll try to get that done this week..weather permitting. 

How was your weekend?  Did you do any decorating?

Christmas Bedroom Sneak Peak

I'm not sure if everyone is early getting into Christmas decorating...or if I'm late..I'm going with that everyone is early!

I did get a bit of a start...putting my doxie/Christmas quilt set on the bed.

Since my Christmas cushions are still packed away...I haven't placed them on the bed yet.  And I happen to come across this one from Simons...and it should be arriving any day....and will be an awesome addition to my other dachshund Christmas cushions!  One can never have too many...

While browsing on line ... I came across these adorable pumpkin placemats on clearance...since our table is round and small...these will fit perfect for the fall season next year...I've seen similar ones at Pier 1...these are on Stokes website (not a sponsored post..just sharing in case anyone else loves them too)...and free shipping...

One issue with having a small round table is the difficulty to find runners that are not 72" long!   I read a blog the other day...and read a post where the blogger duct tapes rugs together to make a longer runner!  Pretty smart!  I'm thinking of trying the same...only with place mats.  Two-three place mats taped together would be the perfect length for a runner for our table!  Can't wait to try it!  I have 72" runners...which work when our table is opened fully....but we prefer it smaller..since our kitchen is narrow.

Windy, cool and overcast here today...Liesel has her annual veterinary appointment today.  I haven't broken that to her yet!  I'm sure she will done fine...the only immunization due is kennel cough vaccine (a precaution since she does get groomed...where other dogs have been). 

Hope you have an awesome day!!

November is rolling right along...the stores were packed with shoppers over the weekend.  Daughter and I stopped into Toys R Us...and picked up a few things.  One very important item we needed to check out were stroller/car seats...of which neither of us knew nothing about.

Thankfully a store clerk gal certified in all things pertaining to the safety aspect of both came along and was an immense help, giving thorough demonstrations on the various models and features.  In the end, daughter chose this particular Graco model...for a number of reasons...one being it's high safety rating and certification, ease of use...and the actual car seat has a great handle and is not heavy.  The stroller folds up easily and compacts and since more than one seat base will be required for two-three vehicles....any Graco base will fit this model.

We came home and the exact same model is available on Amazon at a much better price...so it is on order and will arrive next week.  A couple more items crossed off their must have list.

And of course, I spotted this adorable tutu and crown headband set...for Miss Yet To Be Named baby girl's first photo shoot...not a great photo...the tutu is gold and silver...and the head band holds a pink crown...suitable for baby royalty!

This was another must have item...a video monitor and speaker so a watchful eye can be kept from anywhere in the home...(love the little books...baby girl is going to love being read to)...

 

What is amazing is how much baby gear and wear is available on Marketplace and other used items sites!  It makes sense since some things are used for such a short time or barely at all!  But then there are some things that are required to be purchased brand new. 

Liesel wants to show off her new jammies ....

While adorable...I'm hesitant to leave them on over night for fear she may tangle up in them...in an attempt to remove them or chew them.  But for those cold winter days...a girl can never be too warm. 

It was bitter cold here on Saturday...with high winds.. Mr. Seventies and I decided to forgo putting our outside arrangements and wreaths together...and opted to catch a movie instead.  Hopefully next weekend the weather will co-operate.  It's wonderful to see so many people out yesterday decorating their homes outside...and we've seen a number of Christmas tress up now during our evening walks. 

Still a little to early for me...we usually wait until the first weekend in December...but it's beginning to look a little bit like Christmas!!

Bucket of Snowballs

We've had the odd dusting of snow here the last few days...and it helps to put folks in the Christmas spirit!  The other evening, when Liesel and I were out for our walk...we saw our first fully lit and decorated Christmas tree as we were walking by a home.  And since then...we've come across a couple more.  It's a bit too early for me...we wait until the first weekend in December...and that's plenty early enough for us.

I spent all of a few minutes putting together a cute bucket of snowballs for sale.  Any takers?  They won't last long at this price...haha...I considered using spray adhesive and rolling them in sparkles...but we have enough sprinkles and sparkles once the tree picks come out!!

I picked up a few of these adorable decor items at Wal Mart...

I found a gorgeous red truck loaded with a Christmas tree on line at Canadian Tire.  As luck would have it...there are none in stock at our local store...but I was able to order it on line from their Summerside store.  I will share photos when it arrives.

I came across this adorable dachshund card....it will be perfect to tuck a gift card inside.  Do people even still send Christmas cards anymore?  With the cost of postage and all.  I have never been of fan of sending or receiving cards...I'm certainly no Scrooge...but just find them annoying and what do you do with them afterwards?...in my opinion...they are just clutter.  Growing up...my parents received hundreds of them!!  (and sent just as many out).  Even then...I thought it was silly to send cards to folks that live right around the corner!  But...it was a sign of the times....and don't even get me started on the "Christmas letters"....enuf said. 

And look who I spotted?  These are certainly larger (and less expensive) than mine...and are already framed! And you get both...the front and adorable back view!   I was thinking for the nursery...(since dachshunds do love rabbits)...but the room has very little wall space...one wall will be the mural...the other two have windows...and the third has a large closet with double doors.  For now,  we'll stick with a couple of dachshund prints I have...once I put them in suitable frames.   

In other news...physiotherapy is certainly making a huge difference in my knees!  They are getting stronger and hurt way less.  My only regret is I didn't start sooner.  Currently I have two appointments each week...and they are about an hour long.  On Tuesday...squats were added to my routine...I sure panicked when I heard that word...hahaha.  I have an appointment with an ortho surgeon in April...but the goal is to not require surgery.  So I have a few months and more leg work ahead of me.  

And speaking of leg work...it's going to be a decent day for Liesel & I to get out walking.  Have a great day where ever you are!!

New Hand Rails and Baby News!!

We had a very busy and exciting weekend.  I'm so happy Mr. Seventies installed two railings on the front and back steps.  (I showed the back steps railing in a previous post).   Not only are they required for building code (not that we have any building inspectors here...can you believe that?)...they are a safety issue for me now that my knees are strong enough to use stairs again.

I wanted the railing at the front entry to have more of a rustic feel...and Mr Seventies did not disappoint!  We don't use the front entry as much...but it is a huge help to me when someone does come and I can get down the steps with greater ease now.

The cute cushion I won from the dachshund rescue auction arrived!  Remember the t-shirt?  Apparently I wasn't the high bidder...someone sniped at the last minute...lol!  No big deal...just happy to help rescue raise much needed funds.  I adore the cushion...and the flip side matches the fabric on the bandana and hat the doxie is wearing.  

On Saturday evening, our daughter and her husband held a gender reveal for our new grand baby.  His parents were there, as well as his brother and fiancé on FaceTime!

How about this cake?  Perfect for them...as Dad to be is a huge football fan and Mom an adorable dancer!

This is the card the ultra sound technician placed in a sealed envelope...which was dropped off to the bakery...and would reveal either the cake would be blue or pink!

Now I was probably the last person they asked to video the cake cutting...once the colour was revealed...I tossed my phone!  Excited was an under statement!!  Tears of happiness and hugs went on for at least ten minutes!!

And the new arrival is a .....

A baby girl!!  Now...let it be known...that I was the only person in the family...who guessed (and secretly hoped) a girl!  Everyone...including Mr. Seventies was convinced baby was a boy!  Even the parents thought boy....but are over the moon to be expecting a daughter!   I am the only one, in my family to have girls....and my girls have girls!  My beloved sister has a son, my nephew Geoff and my brother Reid has my other nephew, Ritchie.  Both my sister and brother have passed on...but I am always in close contact with my nephews and Ritchie....has...two boys!!  

Daughter and I decided to do some shopping for "pink" on Sunday afternoon!  

I couldn't resist this cute outfit though it is not pink...she will still be the beloved big sister to doxie brother Benson...how perfect is this little outfit?

And daughter found these adorable bibs...how awesome that they snap close...instead of tie.

Mr. Seventies attached the change pad to the dresser....here's a sneak peak....although it currently sits in their guest bedroom until everything gets set up in the nursery.  And my friend Martina is doing a gorgeous doxie mural on one wall...likely sometime in February...since baby girl's arrival is due in late March.  Three days after my birthday....so she and I had a little chat...and I requested she make her debut on my birthday....as I did on my grandmother's birthday....all those years ago!

I love that books have been included....and they read to her so she should know the stories by heart when she arrives!!

And of course...not just any mobile would suffice...an amazing Etsy member makes dachshund mobiles!!  This is the one we ordered....in these colours...which are perfect!  Once it arrives we will have a better idea if we need to purchase the arm to attach it to the crib...or if it is large enough to hang from a hook on the ceiling over the crib.  The mobile can be personalized with baby's name stitched into one of the clouds....but our little bundle is un-named at this time.  

This mural is actually wallpaper I think...but we've decided to have a similar one painted on one wall...the dachshund will be Black and Tan..(the one shown is a red dachshund) and the star will be pink....of course.   Once baby is named....we will have her name added to the half moon!! (and I hope I'm not breaking any copyright issues showing this here....)...but it gives you an idea of how things are going to look.  

The crib, mattress, dressing table & drawers and a beautiful ivory glider rocker & foot stool will look amazing...along with the ivory Boucle area rug!  

Baby girl is going to have a beautiful nursery!  For the first few weeks...she will be in a bassinet in Mom & Dad's room...but any little girl would be lucky to have such an adorable room.  I have some dachshund prints to hang....but need to find some pretty frames for them.  Or maybe ones I find at the Mission store and I can paint them. 

Phew!  That's a lot of awesomeness right there!  Thank you for taking the time to celebrate with us!!