A Little Something ~ Cause They Deliver For Me

In past years, I have given a "gift" to the mail carrier {even though you're not supposed to}, and this year, as we are watching our budget, I still wanted to give the mail carrier and the UPS guy something to let them know I appreciate them delivering my mail and packages, and always doing it in a friendly fashion.

So, while I was at the dollar store, I picked up:

3 plastic holiday containers

4 bags of Peppermint Kisses

2 bags of York Peppermint Patties

1 box of small candy canes

1 package of silver bells

Everything was $1.00 each; I had the ribbon and the tags.

For the red one with the peppermint candies on it, I used two bags of the Kisses {but it really could have used three bags}. I filled in with some of the little candy canes.

The ribbon was a bugger to get around this thing {maybe because it's plastic?}, but I fed the ribbon through a bell and a tag, and managed to get it tied on to the lid.

The blue ones have snowflakes on them and I noticed that the Peppermint Patties had snowflakes on the packaging. I love that!

Here they are done!

Saturday I'll put the mail carrier's in my mailbox and for the UPS guy {and his holiday time helper} I'll put them in a box with a note for them. I hope they like it!

Linking up to DIY Day at A Soft Place To Land.

Blog Of The Week ~ Blue Creek Home

This week we are highlighting Rhonda over at Blue Creek Home. Rhonda also recently opened her boutique called Blue Creek Boutique.

Isn't this a great skirt for a laundry room sink? You can read how to make one yourself in this post.

Rhonda re-did her guest room into quite a lovely place for anyone to stay. Here is one post that shows you some of what she did in this room.

Isn't Rhonda's mantel gorgeous!?! I love the angel that tops it off. You can see more of her Christmas decorations here.

Rhonda set up some beautiful Christmas cloches. I love this one with this foxy looking couple!

Rhonda has lots of great ideas and inspiration to share. I hope you will get to visit with her soon!

Let Them Eat Cake ~ Off My New Cake Stand

Yay! It's Friday and that means the end of a long and tiring week for me, and Frugalicious Friday, hosted by Jane of Finding Fabulous.



I almost thought I had nothing to participate with this week, but remembered that I got a pretty good price on a cake stand this past weekend. I had actually been looking for some pieces at the dollar store that I could put together and make my own, but all they had were some Christmas patterned dinner plates. I picked up two and headed to Marshalls thinking I might find something there to use as the base.

After scrutinizing each shelf I found this by accident. A plain white cake stand, which, after consideration, I realized might be a better idea because I can use it all year long for special days.

$5.00 at Marshalls! I thought that was a good price {especially since I was expecting to see $12.99 on the sticker}. Here is the plate I got at the dollar store, too. I realized after I washed everything that I might be able to use both these things together.

Have you seen this picture around blogland? I have and I love it! So simple, yet so pretty. I had also picked up something else at Marshalls . . .

Here's what I did ~ I put the decorative plate on top of the cake plate and that gave me what I wanted for my Christmas Eve table {as I want to lift some foods up and have varying heights on the table}. Then, just for kicks, I put this set of gift boxed chocolates on top. Right away I thought of that picture above!

Well, I thought it made for a nice picture anyway!

I don't know that I'll leave it like this for my buffet, but it does provide some nice decoration in the dining room at the moment.

~ Welcome ~ Our Home For The Holidays

I hope you'll join me on a Holiday Tour of our home. I don't go crazy, like when my kids were little, but I like to decorate for Christmas just because I think it looks so pretty and sparkly.

First, let me apologize for the quality of the pictures. I tried many different things {flash on, flash off, day time, night time} but I am a shaky person to begin. So with that said, I will limit the commentary except to say which rooms you are looking at, as the sucky thing about Blogger is working with picture lay-out.

This is our great room, where we set up our main tree and where we usually gather and exchange our gifts.

This is the fireplace mantel in our den. This is where we watch television and where I mostly sit and play on my laptop.

I added some Christmasy scrapbook paper to the candles.

This is the top of the roll top desk in my living room, holding my Snowmen.

Yes, this lamp needs a shade and, you know, a bulb would be good, too. I found it in the basement and thought the colors worked for the holiday. I had painted this unfinished wood lamp for my son's room several years ago. It went with the colors we had going on in the bedding and cornice at the time. After Christmas I think I'm going to paint it to work in my living room and have it sit on top of the desk.

Chest in entry foyer.

I wired my two pieces of garland wrong on the staircase. I usually have the cord end at the top of the stairs and plug it into the guest room, which is right there. For some reason, I didn't check it before I started and after the time I spent on it, I wasn't about to do it over. So there you go ~ a lovely cord hanging down from the stairs!

One of my Goodwill trees.

Side table in the dining room.

Hutch.

Back to the great room.

About 10 years ago, I found these quilted type stockings at Michaels with the cross-stitch cuff. I cross-stitched all our names on the cuffs {with my own design} and added little Christmas trees to mine and my daughter's.

Living room coffee table with my Dollar Tree candle holders.

Great room mantel.

Foyer staircase close-ups.

Entry foyer chest again.

Hall tree in entry foyer.

Just a few small touches in the master bedroom.

Great room mantel. Again.

Main tree.

I don't do too much in the kitchen ~ just a few little things.

Dining room table.

Window seat in great room.

Whew! That was a lot! I hope you enjoyed seeing a peek inside my house at Christmas. I'm sure that if I change things, and once Christmas Eve and Christmas Day arrive, I'll have additional pictures to add. Hope you won't mind!

Linking up to the following Holiday Home Linky Parties. Be sure to come by and see everyone else's homes!

Southern Hospitality's Home for the Holidays ~ December 10th

Hooked on Houses' Hooked on Holiday House Tours ~ December 11th

Nester's Christmas Tour of Homes ~ December 14th

Thrify Decor Chick's Oh Christmas Tree ~ December 14th

5 Things You Didn't Know About . . . .

We interrupt your Wednesday for another edition of "5 Things You Didn't Know About . . .", as we visit with the talented and inspiration-provoking PK of Room Remix {the blog}!

Favorite music at the moment: I like a wide variety and can't listen to an entire CD of just one artist all the way through. Even if it's someone I really love, I get bored. At the moment - contemporary christian, pop and a little country thrown in here and there.

If you didn't live where you do, where would you live: I would like to live somewhere warm. I haven't thought a lot about where, because I won't be moving any time soon, so that would just frustrate me. :-) Ideally I would come back here for a month around Christmas time - just long enough though to get my snow fix.

Favorite cocktail: I'm not much into cocktails really. My favorite beverage is my big mug of chai tea every morning. I might be addicted. :-)

Best advice you ever received: My dad is a minister and always told me to put God first and everything else would work out. Not maybe the way I thought it would work out, but that it would always be okay in the end. Unfortunately I haven't always followed it, but I think it's good advice to live by.

Person you most admire: There are many people I admire for different reasons. I would say one of the qualities I admire most in people is the ability to be comfortable in their own skin and to truly be themselves no matter where they are or who they're with.

Thank you, PK!

Be sure to check back next Wednesday to see who we find out "5 Things You Didn't Know About . . . .".

As you were, people!

Using Home Grown Greenery

Remember when I transformed this pot for Fall?

Well, I transformed it again for Christmas! Everything you see here I got from my backyard. I cut some tree branches and spray painted them white.

Some branches from a very large pine tree in our yard; an evergreen bush with some interesting leaves; a ground cover bush with some red berries on it and my painted white branches.

Lots of nice shades of green with different shapes and textures. I love it!

And yet, I feel it's missing a little something . . .

There we go! I used some plastic ornaments from the dollar store in red and silver.

Linking up to DIY Day at A Soft Place to Land.

Sharing Some Giveaways

What a nice way to start off the week ~ finding out about, and entering, some Giveaways!


Dawn over at The Feathered Nest is having a lovely Giveaway of some of her items {including some of her lovely egg soaps}. This Giveaway ends December 13th.




The Decorating Diaries is giving away these lovely items. Ends December 12th!




Also, in case you haven't seen it on my sidebar, my sister is having her first Giveaway over at her blog, One Cheap B*tch. It ends Wednesday, December 9th, so make sure you head over there to enter for some pampering items for yourself!