With a little time on my hands . . .

We didn't realize how much time our puppy takes until this morning when she was not at home.

Lulu spent all day at the vet and with no interruptions I was able to water the garden, do 3 loads of laundry, vacuum the entire house and completely scour the kitchen from top to bottom - all by 11:00.

With all the work done early, I set out to create our "Christmas" table for the day.

I was disappointed when H & M contacted me to say that the Christmas tablecloth I had ordered was sold out so I decided to make my own tablecloth from a drop cloth.

BUT, after spending a full day pulling threads to create the fringe and then 2 more days to tie the fringe, I was not going to create something only to be used at Christmas.

 I brought down red plates from the top of the cupboard and asked myself why I had hidden them away.

I bought the square and the round sets over the course of a year at many TJ Maxx stores throughout southern California until I had full place settings.

Mondays are always soup and/or salad so I went with the large square plates to hold the salad

and the round bowls for soup - as much as I love the square bowls, they aren't great for soup.

A Christmas table is easy for me with my primary color palette - there are always red napkins on hand.

A sprig of greenery from the garden tied with ribbon breaks up the predominance of red on the table.

I love the alphabet and buy letter sets on sale whenever I see them - I didn't have two S's for Christmas so I went with J O Y.

The bowl (an after Christmas purchase many years ago) is a favorite because it brings in a little yellow.

Red wine glasses and red candles finish off the table.

From any direction, the dining room looks festive with its Christmas trimmings.

But, the Advent Calendar on the mantel is looking less festive as treats are removed daily.

I worked too hard on the calendar to just put the pieces away so I am attaching them to a little basket guarded by my vintage Santa Claus.

Christmas is coming fast and I am almost ready.

How about you?

. . . . . . . . .

All Things Heart and Home - Twirl & Take a Bow!

Stone Gable - The Scoop

Mod Vintage Life - Mod Mix Monday

Cozy Little House - Tweak It Tuesday

The Dedicated House - Make It Pretty Monday

Dwellings - Amaze Me Monday

Kathe With an E - You're Gonna Love It

Coastal Charm - Christmas Home Tour Party

Bringing Christmas to our little cottage . . .

I am almost finished decorating the living room - we just need to get the tree.

The recently created Advent Calendar hangs from the mantel.

My kids are enjoying finding their treat each day and an old Santa Claus from my childhood is guarding each little package as it comes off the calendar.

 I knitted these socks years ago and hung them on the mantel despite the fact that they are not the stockings we use on Christmas.

I wrote here about why these are not KC's favorite stockings.

Glittery snowmen, Santa and metal trees decorate the top of the mantel.

The shelves of my tall skinny cabinet are filled with "Christmas".

Every flat surface in the room is decked out -

a vintage copy of A Christmas Carol sits with my old Santa on a old sewing machine base. - there was a ribbon tied sprig of holly on the book, but Lulu thought I had put it there for her to eat.

reproduction Christmas books fill a wire basket,

glass bulbs from Restoration Hardware are gathered together in a favorite ceramic dish

and another wire basket holds old Christmas books and some glittered letters I made a few years ago.

I started baking tonight, the tree will be decorated tomorrow, I still need to decorate the porch, and I am totally enjoying bringing Christmas to our little cottage.

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Join me at these fun parties

Helene's Legacy - Everyday Vintage Link Party

I Should Be Mopping the Floor - Inspiration Monday

Silver Pennies - Sundays Link Party

Organized Clutter - Creating Christmas

Twigg Studios - Sunday Show Off Linky Party

Too Much Time on My Hands - Get Schooled Saturday

Gettin' Crafty For Christmas

We are in birthday party mode for Steve right now, but it didn't stop me getting started on Christmas decorations.

I spent all day and into the night yesterday inspired by this great Advent Calendar I saw on the Stampington & Company website Somerset Place.

I had so much fun designing each package trying to make each one different.

Little buckets were decorated,

cloth bags were stamped,

envelopes were embellished,

odds and ends were gathered to festoon each package.

When KC arrived for our birthday dinner she headed right for the Advent Calendar in search of #1 - she chose odd numbers and JP got evens.

Tomorrow I have to finish buying gift cards, candy canes and chocolates to fill all the little packages.

With the Advent Calendar hung on the mantel, I'm ready for some serious decorating tomorrow.

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Join me as I party at

The Golden Sycamore - Inspiration Gallery 

The Pin Junkie - Friday Link Party

Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson - Share Your Cup Thursday

White Lace Cottage - The Scoop

Cozy Little House - Tweak It Tuesday

I Should Be Mopping the Floor - Inspiration Monday

Boogieboard Cottage - Masterpiece Monday

Alderberry Hill - Make the Scene Monday

The Dedicated House - Make It Pretty Monday