Merry Christmas!

The picture above was taken at about 4 a.m. on Saurday morning (Dec 19). We had about 2 inches of snow at that point. Miss Lilo had to go out so I took the opportunity and grabbed the camera.

This snow bunny picture was taken on Saturday afternoon. There was about 8 inches of snow overall at the house and Lilo loved every bit of it. She even got compliments on her snowman sweater from passersby. Well ... the ones she wasn't barking at.

Snowboarders decided to take a stab at the unplowed Virginia Street on Saturday afternoon. Lilo did NOT like this and told them about it, as you see in the pic above.

We even were visited by Santa's helpers on Sunday afternoon (Dec. 20). Mom and dad decided to trek up the Interstate and bring us some toys. Dad came in a Santa hat and a red bag ... of course. And even Lilo got to open up her first Christmas present.

These lovely icicles formed on our front porch. Melissa, Chris, Scott, Mike and I had some fun taking pictures of them on Sunday night (Dec 20) while a pack of kids were sledding on the hill across the street. We wanted to join in, but decided we would rather stay warm. Plus, Mike was having too much fun trying to throw things at icicles to know them down. Which explains the next photo.

I was very angry with this development. We will be shoppping for a replacement bulb in the post-holiday rush. At least the rest of the lights stayed lit!!

I will leave you with this warm and inviting shot of our icicles, wreath and Christmas tree. We are very happy to have enjoyed this holiday season in our first home with friends and family coming to and fro. We are looking forward to many more seasons to enjoy. Maybe we will join the kids across the street next year.

Our little bungalow is a happy one with happy inhabitants. Not sure we could be more thankful.

Not quite a Charlie Brown tree

Remember the ceramic tree discussion from before? I finally have a picture of the little tree painted at the Wow! Factory. It was disappointingly easy to do. It provides festive cheer to my coworkers who visit my cube.

Yuletide Necessaries

The bungalow's decorations are all encompassing. This means even our bathrooms get a little festive. You will remember we have beach themes for the two necessaries. The downstairs room is decorated with Corolla in mind (where we were engaged in the Outer Banks) and the upstairs bathroom plays host to Antigua flair (our honeymoon!).



Because the downstairs bathroom is already blue and white, it was the perfect spot for snowmen decor recycled from mom. The only thing we purchased was the sign above the bathroom door and another hanging in the room.

Is it weird or funny to have a sign above the toilet that reads, "Comfort and Joy" ? I purchased this sign earlier this month in Hershey Park.

This sign hangs above the bathroom door. It was purchased at the Ben Franklin in Fayetteville!

The Antigua bathroom is the smallest room in the house. But it isn't too small for a little green Christmas tree and some Christmas light garland from Pier One!

Oh Tannenbaum!

Let's begin with a little Ernest P. Worrell.

It's no secret how much I love this time of year. Poor Mike deals with me by leaving for the majority of the month. He thinks using the ol "duty calls" excuse works. But I secretly think he cannot deal with my Christmas obsessions.

So this is our first Christmas in the ol' Bungalow. It's a little overwhelming to try to figure out a new decorating scheme for a new place. And I have to say I am still missing some of our decorations simply because I either do not know where they are after the move or I do not know where to put them. For now, let's examine the Christmas trees of the house. All FOUR of them.

The kitchen tree

This little cutie is only about a foot or two tall and sits on the countertop. It is adorned with gingerbread men and little candy apples. It's cute enough to eat!

The guest room tree

After the addition of pink and decor to the guest room, a pink Victorian tree was needed for the holidays. This four foot white tree was donated by MoJo, complete with pink ornaments and Victorian figures. I remember having this tree in my bedroom growing up for a few years. It included ballerina ornaments, but those are still in Maysel.

The WVU tree

For many years (i'm talking since Christmas '98), I/we have had a WVU-themed tree. Usually this is the "main" tree (the real one), but I switched up things a bit this year. The WVU tree is upstairs in the master-converted-into-tv room.

Mom and dad started giving me these WVU ornaments every year. This year's addition features Santa in his sleigh. Cute!

The "Southern Living" tree -- as my friend, Sam, calls it

I love big, real trees. Poor Mike is allergic to real trees. He swears as long as he doesn't touch them he is fine. But I question this theory and spend most of the holiday season watching him for any signs of runny nose and sneezing. I do feel guilty, but look at this beauty!

This tree features old fabric ornaments from my mom as well as the old Martha Stewart straw ornaments she gave to me. There are strings of multi colored wooden beads I remember from my childhood. Mike's first ornament is also hung here and my first doll is perched on a branch (baby's first is still in Maysel, I think).

A word from Lilo

Lilo says Season's Greetings! ... and "Get me out of this thang!"




I came home a couple of Mondays ago to see Mike's giddy face through the front door's window. He motioned for me to come on in. I opened the door and Lilo was at my feet in this getup. She was not as excited as Mike. But she was just as cute, if not cuter.

Giving thanks ...

For the second year in a row, poor Mike can't be home for Thanksgiving. The 76 Classic calls and this year Mike has to trek to California for five days to cover it.

Wait.

Last year he HAD to trek to Las Vegas for this tournament.

So, let's start over. For the second year in a row, poor Erinn has to be home for Thanksgiving while Mike gets to enjoy a sunny, warm location that she would like to visit.

I don't mind being home. Truly. I love family time. But I love it a little less without Mike. Especially when Mike gets to go see Mickey Mouse and the Christmas decor at Disneyland without me and Lilo.

Moving on.

Mike gave thanks today for a wife who wanted to make him a traditional Thanksgiving dinner while he watched football and drank beer. We both enjoyed ourselves. Score!

We had our first turkey roasted at the Bungalow along with mashed potatoes with gravy, steamed green beans with garlic and butter, sweet potato casserole, grandma Jane's rolls and pumpkin cheesecake with cream and chocolate sauce:

It was quite tasty. Happy Thanksgiving!

Not quite what I hoped for, but maybe better.

Today started off with a trip to the WOW! Factory in an effort to create my very own Christmas decor. Even though I contacted the Factory earlier this week to make sure my desired ceramic tree was there and they confirmed it was, there were no trees to be had this morning. They were fresh out.

I pressed on and created two Christmas gifts. I can't discuss them at length here because I never know who might read this ... just know I made them for some special gals. We'll see if they are worth giving to anyone after they are glazed and fired. I'm crossing my fingers.

What I did learn today is that the ceramic Christmas tree I want to paint is quite expensive, so I'm glad today turned into a test run for it.

Tara took pics of us with our creations, but I have none to post. Courtney made the sweetest kitty treat jar for her two kitties, Captain and Morgan. Katie made the cutest little stocking ornaments for her fiance, Art, and for herself. Erin made a "Merry Christmas" plaque and a fun little Christmas tree ornament. And Tara was the bold one and created a cut glass tile with a flower design as well as a ceramic picture frame. Three hours flew bye. That's what happens when you're having fun.

I get to pick up my creations in a week. In the meantime, I'm planning what to make next, along with my tree. I'm thinking a mirror with a mosaic frame will be perfect for our living room.

I promised myself I wouldn't do this yet ...

I promised myself I would wait to post anything about Christmas. It's a smidgen too early. I was OK with that promise until the oddest thing happened today.

I was checking out the Vermont Country Store online and came across an old-fashioned ceramic Christmas tree. If you will recall from my Christmas decor post last year, I discussed how I would like to have one of my own because I always loved my mom's.

I didn't want to buy a tree, though, I wanted to make my own. People at my office thought I was nuts and thought I should just buy one. But I argued it wouldn't be as special if I did that. I went so far as email the local pottery place today to see if they have a mold for such a piece so I could plan on a Saturday morning there happily painting my very own ceramic tree.

Fast forward a few hours. BG Al and Mama Jo are passing through Morgantown on I-68 and call to say they want a cup of coffee. Nothing odd for those two -- they had today off for Veteran's Day and had been out and about since 9 a.m.

Their arrival was accompanied by a ceramic Christmas tree.


Isn't that crazy? I absolutely love that my parents randomly brought this tree to me on this particular day. Apparently they saw it months ago, but were on their motorcycle at the time and could not transport it. So they went back to Grantsville, MD today to pick it up (amidst their trekking today). I'm still dumbfounded by the coincidence. I don't even mind that it was purchased for me and I didn't make it. The fact they brought it to me, unprompted, and it happened to be eerily timed makes it special. And here it is ... sitting on the same table my mom's sat on for all those years at my parents' house. I. Love. It.

BG Al and Mama Jo's granddog also got a little Christmas cheer. Lilo received a stuffed pig (no pics, she already ate both ears and the pigtail) and her very first stocking!

Miss Lilo approves of her Christmas flair.

And she also thinks she is cute and wants you to think so, too:

The most wonderful time of year is upon us! Yay!! I hope to overflow this blog with holiday cheer!

From Drab to Fab

We're still working out details for our living room walls (see previous post). I promise to post updates when we figure it all out.

In the meantime, our little discussed guest room has been getting some love. Here is a picture from the first day we lived in the bungalow. It's quite drab:



Since then we added some 80-90 year old mahogany furniture. My parents gave it to us and it was given to them from a friend who wanted to get rid of it. Can you imagine not having a use for such fabulous pieces? There is also a vanity with a bench and mirror (you can see the corner of it in the second pic). Just lovely.


We added some pink paint (Paris Pink, to be exact) to the walls and some frilly curtain rods and white sheers. Future plans for the room include a white faux pressed tin ceiling and some major crown moulding. For now we must live with ugly brown trim and even uglier off white ceiling tiles with gold glitter. Yikes! We also hope to add a prettier light fixture. I personally think a small chandelier would be great.



All of the above updates will have to wait a while, however, I am adding some artwork to the walls soon. There will be two vintage covers from Vogue as well as some vintage advertisements-as-art. I'm also thinking about a metal dress form and a metal eiffel tower I saw at Target.

We need your opinions -- Part 1

The living/dining room is coming together quite nicely. I think it is best, for now, to leave the walls the off-white the house came to us with. But the question is what do we put on those walls? The next few blog posts will pose questions for our walls and nooks in the living room. I like feedback.

Let's start with the buffet wall.

What should go on the wall above our fabulous buffet? I have two ideas so far:

1. These prints, side-by-side:

http://www.zgallerie.com/pc-8504-121-twilight-1.aspx

and

http://www.zgallerie.com/pc-8505-121-twilight-2.aspx

2. A vintage map of the world

http://www.enjoyart.com/single_posters/worldmaps/AntiqueGoldWorldMapArtPrint.htm

or

http://www.art.com/products/p15329086-sa-i3697074/vintage-world-map.htm?sorig=cat&sorigid=0&dimvals=0&ui=1145e590bd9341e0a65b66176ba8fc1c

3. Do you have any ideas?

I really like the thought of using a vintage map of the world. That way Mike and I can sit on our little couch and map out our future adventures. But those two prints are so darling. Either idea can work on another wall in the room, too. We do have that nice print Sam gave us that currently resides above the dining room table wall (we'll get to that wall later). It can move around the room if needed. So many decisions! Share your ideas and suggestions! We'll have more walls up to think about soon.

Front Porch Fun

We've talked about my affinity for autumnal decor and how I adore pumpkins. Our front porch is loving this trait about me and basking in autum glow (well, when it's not raining around these parts).
Check out our Halloween flag that also includes WVU flair. Thank you, Courtney, for this gift!

Then we have who I like to call Lil Mike and Lil Erinn. Aren't they adorable? These came from the aforementioned Christmas Tree Shops.

And here is a better view of the rest of the porch. The leaf garland came from WalMart. The wreaths -- my favorite part! -- came from the Christmas Tree Shops. The pumpkin basket on the table built by BGAl is from last year's Charleston Junior League's Halloween Boo Ball (best costume prize for Mike and me as Freddie Mac and Fannie May. It had wine and other goodies in it). The porch now boasts an assortment of pumpkins and is in need of some more colorful mums, but this pic gives you the general idea.

Hooray for the Buffet!

Mom and Dad decided to make use of the sunny day yesterday and bring Mike and me the lovely buffet we mentioned on here before. My uncle Terry was generous enough to give it to us and we couldn't be happier. We were a bit nervous that it wouldn't fit the room, but after putting it in place and using a little Pledge on it we all agreed it looked like it was made for the room. Here are the proud new owners (pic quality not that great, sorry).

Isn't it perfect? Mike and I both get so happy when every time we see it. I want to do some research to try to find out how old it is and where it came from. The scrollwork is definitely hand carved (it seems to be anyway, it isn't exactly symetrical). The feet had rollers on them, but we removed them so the big chunks could be flush to the floor. Not sure if the rollers were original, but they had to go. I'm still looking forward to decking it out with some pieces from our Lenox Christmas china.

Lilo?

We've been wondering for months what Miss Lilo might actually be. The person who gave her to us said she thought her mom and dad were both beagles. Her mom was definitely a beagle (I saw pictures), but the jury is still out on her daddy.

Not that it matters. She is cute and sweet and perfect -- whatever she is. But its fun to wonder. And we were thinking maybe she is part rat terrier. So a google image search occurred.

She may be part rat terrier, but now the more pressing issue is how does she know Dave Coulier and what does a girl have to do to get a sit down with him to discuss possibilities of a Full House reunion? C'mon, Lilo, cut-it-out and pull some strings already!

(photo pulled from http://www.diamondsintheruff.com/carol&dana.html via google image search)