Color, Sparkle and a Bit of Whimsy

It took me 6 days to decorate the house for Christmas.

Much of today was spent taking photographs for the two Holiday Blog Tours am joining.

But, I don't want to share any of those photos until the parties

so I made a second tour of the house capturing portions of vignettes or rooms.

I noticed that I am drawn to sparkle and shine this year -

bright shiny ornaments

appear in at least one spot in every room.

I found a beautiful glass bulb and bead garland at a local shop that was a perfect gift for my sister

and I had to go back and buy one for myself.

In addition to sparkle,

you can see that red & white

are the dominant colors

 in the house right now.

This little display in the guest room

will easily segue into Valentines Day by simply swapping the Christmas postcard with a Valentine.

As I was shooting small details rather than the "big picture"

another thing I noticed

was the childlike nature

of Christmas at our house.

Color, sparkle and a bit of whimsy

definitely describe the decorations this year.

After a morning at the spa, Lulu thought she fit right in with the decorations.

She might even be mistaken for a stuffed bear.

Be sure to stop by next week for the Cozy at Christmas Blog Tour.

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Join me at Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson for Share Your Cup

Happy Thanksgiving

Wishing all of my wonderful blogging friends a wonderful day with family, friends and food!

Hygge

Last week I posted a picture of a plaid throw on Instagram

and I received a private message from Serendipity Loves asking if they could use my pic on a blog post titled

which I of course agreed to despite having no idea what hygge meant.

Here is my picture shared in their blog post, We Found Hygge on Instagram.

This definition came from the Oxford Dictionaries in a discussion on the 2016 Word of the Year shortlist.

The Danish blog, Skagen, with lots of easy adjectives for hygge helped me understand it best. 

Hygge descriptions talk about enjoying "life's little pleasures" - which for me is flowers in the garden

and a carefully arranged centerpiece on the table.

The words "hospitality" and "warmth" jumped out at me 

and came to mind as I created place settings for our holiday table.

Family and friends were mentioned and I think decorating using old family treasures leans toward hygge in my home.

I'm not sure if I fully understand hygge, but I think I'm on the right track.

How do you bring warmth and coziness into your home?

In a World of Flowers

All through the month of October, I saw this L. M. Montgomery quote on Instagram

and today I thought of the quote as I did my morning chores.

But, my wording would be, "I'm so glad I live in a place where I have fresh flowers all year long."

I love having colorful flowers

to brighten up our outdoor space

and add to the view through our windows.

 I am grateful that there are always flowers 

in the garden

to use in bouquets.

When colorful flowers are sparse

there is greenery

available to liven up my vignettes.

 I can always find flowers in local shops to fill the house with lovely scents - 

roses in the dining room,

hydrangeas and freesia in the entry,

and mini roses in the guest room.

I am as content with simple baby's breath

 as I am with spectacular roses

and when roses begin to fade,

they are dried so we can continue to enjoy them.

I have only lived in spots where flowers are plentiful so I'm curious -

are you able to enjoy fresh flowers year round?