A Christmas Carol

Welcome to A Merry Musical Christmas Blog Hop

 hosted by Amber of Follow the Yellow Brick Home.

If you're following along in order, then you're coming to me from the home of my dear friend Jann of Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson - she has the cutest style.

I must begin by telling you that I am not musically inclined - I joined the after school band in the 5th grade, chose the clarinet, and was quickly told by the music teacher that it was in everyone's best interests that I quit the program.

But, my name is a noun associated with Christmas and that name was chosen because I was expected in December - I came 4 weeks early. 

Maybe that's why Christmas carols have always been favorites.

Despite a lack of musical skill, as I looked around the house,

I noticed that there are carol lyrics

in every nook and cranny.

The halls are decked

and each vignette makes a carol pop into my head.

I will admit that this reindeer did not have a red nose, but I think my embellishment adds to his charm.

Jingle bells make for a fun garland in the guest room.

Santa Claus is coming to town,

but my Frosty has a carrot instead of a button nose.

Even though these aren't silver bells, in the air there's a feeling of Christmas.

I got to thinking about my favorite carols

and used snippets of lyrics to decorate one of my little trees.

There is JOY in our home

because it truly is the most wonderful time of the year.

 I hope you have yourself a Holly Jolly Christmas.

And now I'll send you off to Belle Bleu Interiors - you will love Shannon's beautiful home.

Thank you for hopping along with this wonderful group of bloggers.

An InLinkz Link-up

A Cottage Made for Christmas

I'm honored to be joining a talented group of ladies to showcase our homes at Christmas time.

You will find the list and links to all the homes at the end of this post.

Welcome to our humble little cottage.

I love decorating our home any time of year, but our white house and red door make our cottage feel like it was made for Christmas.

My grandparents' step back cupboard dominates the entry

and it's one of my favorite spots in the house to decorate.

The chippy red chair, a recent find, is perfect for a Christmas house.

My numerous Maileg pixies are an homage to my Scandinavian roots  - read here about the history of the pixies or as they are called in Norway, Nisse.

This year I went with all white dishes on the plates racks,

but there are of course pops of red.

As you can see, the red dishes ended up in the kitchen.

I moved things around the house this Christmas - like the grocery cart holding a little faux tree I bought in 2003.

No ornaments for the tree this year, just a felt and wire garland that is over 30 years old and strips of paper with carol lyrics for an upcoming Merry Musical Christmas blog hop.

New stockings I made from drop cloth hang on a cabinet.

My favorite treasures on the cabinet are my aunt's 1927 edition of A Christmas Carol and my mother's 1926 edition of Little Women.

Our faux pencil tree (perfect for our tiny cottage) got a totally different look this year.

In years past I have displayed my fragile ornaments in bowls and baskets,

but this year they are all on the tree along with my treasured wire stars.

 I don't usually do green, but I love the way it pops off the fireplace I painted white last summer.

When not in use, our television hides behind a sign - I painted over an Emerson quote for Christmas.

 I limited decor in our bedroom to a little tree for Steve's sake, he gets a bit overwhelmed by my Christmas enthusiasm - I did not even think about putting any Christmas decorations in his studio.

One of the swaps I made was to remove a cabinet from the hallway and exchange it for a simple drop leaf table that Steve found in my parents' garage over 40 years ago.

Without the tall cabinet, I love this view down the hallway to the guest room, but I have a whole new appreciation for those of you who live in gloomy rainy places because I struggled to get a decent picture on a rare rainy Southern California day.

The guest room is one place where I go all out for Christmas.

The blue cabinet is new this year and a perfect spot for Christmas decor.

I moved my vintage hospital cart from the living room and gave the old door a fresh coat of paint.

More pixies - yes, I probably have too many

but Olaf, my first pixie, needs friends.

Thanks for stopping by our little cottage.

And now, it's time to visit the other houses on the tour -you are in for some fabulous inspiration.

MONDAY

White Arrows Home  The Chelsea Project   Our Prairie Farmhouse

Noting Grace     The Red Painted Cottage

TUESDAY

Celebrate and Decorate   Rain and Pine   Savvy Apron

WEDNESDAY

Curly Crafty Mom     Camelot Art Creations     Follow The Yellow Brick Home 

Mom Home Guide    Twelve On Main

THURSDAY

County Road 407     Art and Sand    Simple Nature Decor    Sweet Parrish Place

FRIDAY

Deeply Southern Home   First Day of Home   Life on Summerhill     
Lemons, Lavender, and Laundry   The Aspiring Home

Christmas Magic on the Porch

Welcome to Christmas Porches and Holiday Decor Blog Hop hosted by Amber of Follow the Yellow Brick Home.

If you are following the blog hop in order then you just visited Shannon of Belle Bleu Interiors - I love her gorgeous style.

And now I welcome you to our humble little cottage.

In 1928, when our house was built, this was the front of our house and the view people saw as they strolled down the sidewalk to the beach.

When the sidewalks were fenced off in the '60's, the back porch became the front of our house.

I love the details of the true front porch and have fun decorating it throughout the year.

The bells are one of the few items I bought for Christmas decor this year yet I struggled to find a place for them to hang.

It's one of my favorite vignettes I created this holiday season.

I am looking out the door at this view as I sit on the window seat writing my post and it makes me smile.

I have had fun dressing up junk as Christmas decor

like this old lantern.

It's amazing what a little greenery and ribbon can do to everyday objects.

I buy holiday tea towels yet never let anyone use them so this year I turned a few of the towels into pillows- I'm big on using what I already have in new ways to get a different look.

Some of you might question leaving all of this out on the porch, but we live in Southern California where sadly it rarely rains- I did have to bring everything in the other night when rain was in the forecast and it sounds like I'll have to do the same this week.

All the decor on the covered porch just stays right where it is.

For any of you "eagle eyes" out there, this is the photo in the collage for the hop, but one of the good things about taking pics for my blog is that I can redo things that I don't think are quite right.


I "liked" the original design, but the version on the right is just a notch better.

And now, 'tis the season of Christmas porches and time for you to visit Katherine of Katherine's Corner- you're in for a treat!

 Have fun with the rest of the tour.

An InLinkz Link-up