Holiday Table Topper

Want a simple, classic, holiday table topper?

Here you have it:
simple,
use what you have,
classic

Here are your ingredients:

1. All things glass-
grab all your glass cake plates, urns,
candy dishes... you get the point.

2. Fill with your fave ornaments-
Land on your color scheme.
I chose anything silver and starfish...easy.
Vary the size of the ornaments to
get even more dimension and variety.

3. Throw in a monogram and forget about it-
You know I love me a good monogram.
This is the "B" Aunt Heather
gave us years ago.
It usually hangs on a finial in the kitchen.
Not anymore...

4. Lastly, add some greenery-
I got mine at my local Trader Joe's,
$7.50 If you've got shrubs in your own yard,
don't forget to look there first.
It's cheaper.

How do YOU dress up your table for the holidays?

As always,


for visiting.

The Last Four Days...

Gal Pals

Sorry gang.
No posts.
I know.
And I probably wouldn't change a thing, though.
You see....

I was off with my home town gal pals.
You remember the gals I talked about a bit ago.
These gals.

I'm not going to talk about how I feel now
that they are gone.
No.
I won't be sad.

I'm only going to highlight the fun we had,
the traditions we started and the
luck we have knowing each other.

Here we are.
I can hardly stand it.
I have my fav peeps on my own turf.

We did a lot of this.
That's right.
Laughing till our sides hurt.


I think this is one of my favorite shots.
Would you look at Heath's face?

I'm telling you...we did a lot of those hearty gut laughs.
It felt great.
I even considered it my ab workout for the day.

Miss Corine did the girls hair for the
chorus production.

This was their "thank you" picture
for the A+ job she did with the curling iron.

Did I mention that Corine and Heath made all 5 dozen cookies
for my upcoming book club cookie exchange?

They are the best

We surfed our favorite blogs,
websites and
Facebook friends.

Aunt Heathie was the crafting queen

Madison was in heaven.

We went on a 5 hour shopping spree
and shopped til we dropped.
I think the store clerk at the Nordstrom Shoe Department
is still wondering who we were and why
we were laughing so much.
Just good company, lady.

Matching Eddie Bauer First Ascent 365 Down-light Sweaters?

Why yes...they are.

And thank you Alex at Eddie Bauer for letting
us talk you into an on-the-spot 30 percent off discount.
Vera, you too, did a great job closing the deal.

New Girl-Outing Tradition:
buy matching coats/jackets

Scary but Corine and I bought matching coats one year ago...
do you see the trend here?
Now we are calling it our new tradition.

Thanks, Heath, for the Eddie Bauer heads up.

This is us at
Old Ebbett Grill
Downtown DC
Oldest restaurant in DC proper
Yummy

Do you not love the wood paneling?
It's everywhere!

This day was chilly willy.
We parked.
Then ran to our restaurant.
Poor Corine didn't think she needed her
coat, "I have a big sweater on..."
Oh, Cali girl. Let me show you the ways.

We managed not to get frost bite.

We did everything I said we'd do:
1. We ate well...very well.
Thanks Corine, for your generosity and treating us to not one but two
fantastic lunches out!
You are the best!

2. We enjoyed the beverage...
but only at night, no driving and in jams.

3. We definitely laughed hearty...
all four days straight.

I don't have sisters but I think if I did it would feel a lot like this.
It was such a joy to watch my daughters have three mothers.
I loved showing my girls what good friends look like.
Heather with her vacuum.
Corine with her curling iron.

I loved every second of my girl time.
I even think my hubby was a little bummed he missed most of the action.
Darn that work schedule.

I am already looking on the calendar for our next visit.
I love you, ladies.

You raise my bar.
You show me understanding and love.
It is so normal and natural having you in my home.

Thanks for making the trip out.

Tell me about your best buds and how you do girl time.

As always,


for visiting.

I Couldn't Forget The Grag...One More Stocking.

After I made these three stockings

I knew I had just one more to make.

I couldn't forget The Grag.

You see, a very special person will be
joining us this Christmas morning.

You'll see more on her later...promise.

Here is another version of the
Hand Made White Twill Stocking.

Again, this one is called
The Grag

This one is not as elaborate as the previous three,
but just as adore.
Only one simple ruffle
and two little rosettes.

It didn't take long.
It is a bit smaller than the others.

It's perfectly simple and elegant,
just like the gal that it will be filled for.

Here's another look.

Who doesn't love crisp, clean, white cotton?

What do you think of The Grag?
I like it, too.

As always,

for visiting.

Hand Made White Twill Stockings

This year I decided to revamp

my Christmas Stockings a bit.

Let me explain how I got there.

I was tired of the old ones made about 9 years ago.
You see,
the three fabrics I used for the guys below I had
also made an ottoman cover.
That cover is long gone, but lo and behold, I was still using
the "matching" stockings year after year.

Not any more, I said.

If you noticed I'm slightly partial to the
white twill slip-covered "look",
That is correct.
All of my upholstered furnishings in my house is slip covered
with my tried and true, white twill.
Can you see the theme here?

So I went down to my trusty fabric go-to store.
WalMart
$4.67 a yard
2 yards later...


All the trimmings,
some of which I used, some not so much.

I love using the white twill because I can cheat and use
the ready-made white piping to go with.
Let's call that our little secret...

I also bought some thick ready-made 3-inch white ruffle by the yard.
One yard to be exact.

I rummaged through my craft drawers and found
anything white I could
use to add to these bad boys.
I put it all in a pile and went to town.

I wish I could post the pattern I used.
Sorry, no pattern.
I'm a wing-it girl.

I went in blind.
All in knew, is that
I wanted three white-on-white stockings.
I also wanted them all a different.

Stocking #1:
Let's call this the Tatum
I started simply sewing layers of ruffle.

I added a little ball fringe for a more pizazz.

Still more pizzaz.
Looking good.
Let's go on to our next selection...

Stocking #2:
We'll call this the Madison.
I was dying to incorporate some rosettes.
I found out how to make these DIY Rosettes on this website

Easy...peasy...

I thought just the rosettes left my stocking a bit plain.
Needed to jazz it up.

I found an old fabric wine bag.
Cut the seams apart and sewed it on top of my panel for
some much needed shimmer shimmer.
Now it was ready for the rosettes.
Must better.

I also added a bit of piping between my top panel and body of the stocking.
Sorry about the relaxed directions...
Again, I'm a wing-it girl.

Okay,
Stocking #3:
Of course,
this one is called the Tess.

Used the same ready-made ribbon,
although this time I sewed it upside down, in layers.

At first just two layers...
then a third...
and a ribbon
(Leftover tie from a gift wrapped
package from Anthropologie)

I'm liking the progress.
All they needed at this point was the back panel
and...

Voila!

The Tatum

The Madison

The Tess

I hung a Restoration Lettered monogram over each stocking.
You know I love me a good monogram.

I think I surprised myself.
They came out better than I originally imagined.
Not bad for some scraps in my fabric bin,
some cheap Walmart fabric
and one day at my machine with a lot of Christmas music
to keep me company.

Which is your favorite?

As always,


for visiting.