Casual Christmas Dining

I am having so much fun participating in the Christmas Blogger Block Party. Today's party is Christmas Dining. My Christmas tablescape is cheerful, whimsical and fun! Since we no longer have a formal dining room, I kept my "fancy" Christmas dishes in the cabinet. I decided to just do something different this year. I think it is a happy table - if dishes can be happy, and I think they can! This is most assuredly not stuffy :-)

I started with shiny, somewhat "blingy", placemats that I got several years ago at Target. You can barely see them in the finished tablescape, but I thought they were a great starting point. I topped these with layered red and silver chargers (also purchased at Target). I alternated the red and silver depending on the placemat. Next I layered Wedgewood Strawberry and Vine dinner plates. This simple white plate is so versatile. The salad plates are 4 different whimsical patterns from Radko. I got these a few years ago at Dillards. They are too cute! Finally, I added a little felt stocking flatware holder. I hated to cover the design on the salad plate, but it seemed to be the perfect place for the silverware.

I love these plates!!! Just like Radko ornaments, they make me smile!

I shared the centerpiece a few days ago so I won't bore you with all the little details. I do think it goes so well with the rest of the tablescape. To me, you just can't go wrong with vivid red and green for Christmas!!!

Today I am linking to the following parties:

http://nominimalisthere.blogspot.com/2011/12/holiday-dining-block-party-giveaway.html

http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/2011/12/santa-claus-is-coming-to-town-welcome.html#more

Come join in the fun!!!

A Warm Christmas Welcome

I was so excited the other night because I made new wreaths for our front doors. I had mesh wreaths the last two years and, sadly, they didn't survive our move this summer. I tried to "fluff" them but to no avail. I had looked at several places that had gorgeous wreaths for sale, but I was trying to be thrifty AND I knew I could make some myself. Being creative and frugal in the same project.... what could be better? I will tell you that I chickened out and didn't attempt to make mesh ones. Partly because I wasn't sure I knew exactly how to begin and also it seems everyone is out of mesh! Instead I went for cheerful and festive traditional wreaths. I really like all the trendy colors but when it comes right down to it I prefer red and green for Christmas! (However, if I could have two sets of wreaths I would love to have the lime green, pink and silver ones that my friend Lynda made the other day. They are adorable!!)

I went to Michael's and filled a buggy with wreaths, ornaments, picks, stems, and ribbons!! With Lynda along, it didn't take long to decide what I wanted - if I had been alone, I would have been there for hours!

I took everything home and piled it in the middle of the floor and just jumped in! :-) My husband said "I think you may have to much". I just smiled and kept working! If I bought it, it went in the wreath! I am not much of a bow maker, but Lynda helped out in that department. Boy, am I lucky to have her as a friend!

Hmm..... can I turn this pile of stuff into something that can go on our front door without the neighbors thinking I am goofy??

Another close-up.

My favorite part is this happy little lime green glittery bird! Precious!!

Here is the finished product! I love them! I also love the price!

Most of the wreaths I looked at cost a minimum of $55 each.

Since I have double doors, the cost would have easily escalated.

These cost a fraction of the price!!! So happy!!!

Our home is small and cozy, but I think it is very welcoming :-)

This week I am linking to the following:

Wow Us Wednesdays @ http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com

http://www.atthepicketfence.com/2011/12/blogger-block-partydoors-and-porches.html

Beneath My Heart

A Tale of Two Mantels

Today's post is a tale of two mantels. You see, I wanted to participate in today's edition of the Blogger Christmas Block Party - The Mantel Party that is going on at My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia. Here's the deal though: My mantel is topped with a "humongo jumbo" TV. This hardly leads to an amazing mantel decoration! But what can I say? It's really the only place in our great room for the TV to reside. Most of the year it doesn't bother me, but at Christmas, I really would like a stunning mantel. (With our fireplace in our new home, I can't even "hang the stockings by the chimney with care" because we actually use the fireplace and I am very cautious. Anyway..... back to the story. How do you participate in the mantel party without a beautiful mantel to share? Why you ask one of your dearest friends if you can share her mantel, that's what!!

My friend, Lynda, who is like a sister to me, agreed to let me show you her gorgeous mantel. It is so pretty all year round! The coolest part is that her son, Blake, who is now 24 and literally a "rocket scientist" designed the mantel when they built their new home 7 years ago. They wanted a reclaimed mantel from an old home, but it wouldn't work in the new build. Blake decided to sketch out the mantel that his mom was yearning for in their new home. They took the design to the cabinet builder and the rest is history! I hope you enjoy the pictures of this wonderful mantel all decked out for Christmas!

This is my mantel.... I love my home, but this is hardly a

mantel worth blogging about in a post that is suppose to show

off our gorgeously decorated mantels. LOL

I love Lynda's collection of Nutcrackers. They have been collecting them for many years.

All have been marked on the bottom with their son's names

and the year they were added to the collection.

So pretty!

The double mantel is so amazing!

Lynda made all of their stockings!

Thank you to Lynda for letting me share a part of their beautiful home!

This week I am linking to the following parties:

Mantel Link Party @ http://www.myuncommonsliceofsuburbia.com/

Holiday Mantel Party @ http://frommyfrontporchtoyours.blogspot.com/

Wow Us Wednesdays @ http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com

Holiday Home Mantel Party @ http://southernhospitalityblog.com

Christmas Copycat Challenge

Woo Hoo! Today is the first day of the Christmas Blogger Block Party! It is going to be such a fun week! I can't wait to see all of the wonderful seasonal posts! I love this time of year!!!

Today is Debbie's Christmas Copycat Challenge. It is sure to be awesome and filled with lots of wonderful ideas! Her Halloween Challenge was a blast! For Christmas (and Thanksgiving actually) I decided to use the following picture as my inspiration piece. It is from Better Homes and Garden online.

This is what I used as my Thanksgiving centerpiece. I loved it so much AND I was trying to be frugal so I modified it to be used for Christmas.

For Christmas I switched out the gold tray with a red one.

I got them both at Target.

In place of rice and dried beans, I added layers of red and green M & Ms.

Seth had fun sorting them. Of course, since then I have had to stop him

from sneaking bites of my centerpiece!

I switched out the walnuts and pecans and replaced them with silver and red ornaments.

Then I exchanged the brown satin ribbon with festive red and green ribbons.

For the perfect finishing touch, I added shiny red and green bells

around the base of the apothecary jars. So pretty!!!

I love the way it looks on my casual Christmas table.

I think it is so cute - Even better than the Thanksgiving centerpiece :-)

I will be sharing more about the entire tablescape soon.

This week I will be sharing with the following:

Debbie's Christmas Copycat Challenge @ http://debbie-debbiedoos.blogspot.com/

Met Monday @ http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com

Meet Me Monday @ http://youaretalkingtoomuch.blogspot.com

Tabletop Tuesday @ http://astrollthrulife.blogspot.com/

http://theletteredcottage.net/tablescapes-for-christmas/

http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/2011/12/wow-us-wednesdays-43.html

The Countdown Begins

Well, it is that time of year when things get a little wild! I am determined this year to stay calm and remember the true reason of the season. (Who am I kidding? I say this every year! I'll let you know how it is going in a week or so!) For the next several weeks it seems that I have an event every day. My planner is filled with meetings, lunches, brunches, parties and more! I have a list of items to buy for Ornament Swaps and recipes lined up for all the goodies to be made. Most of these are with different groups related to work, but some are fun outings for our family. Tomorrow we are going to Bellingrath Gardens. It is absolutely beautiful this time of year! Next weekend we have Jon's work party and a Singing Christmas Tree. I am going to try my best to get a sweet picture of Seth tomorrow that I can send with our Christmas card. I do not want to be mailing cards on December 20 or later :-)

Today seemed to be the last "calm" day for a while. Seth and I stayed home and cleaned house and I began wrapping presents. I finally bought a few more yesterday. I tend to wait until December to begin shopping! I know this is foreign to those of you who have your shopping finished by Thanksgiving!! Apparently I work well under pressure!

Anyway, just wanted to say hello and share a picture of Seth as he places his first ornament on his "Countdown to Christmas" tree. This is the tree we had in our travel trailer the Christmas after Katrina. Now it is a tradition to hang it in Seth's bedroom. :-)

I am off to take a few pictures of our Christmas decorations! I am so ready for the Christmas Block Party to begin!! I am looking forward to the first party tomorrow - it is Debbie's Christmas Copycat Challenge. Make plans to join in the fun!