Christmas Royalty

On our trip to Snohomish, WA Hubby and I visited a beautiful shop named the Sweet Bee.  As I was making my purchase (I found a tree skirt) they were unpacking inventory.  They had white, soft owls that were adorable.  They were pairing them with tiny glittering crowns that a local craftswoman had made.  I swooned.  Since I had found my treat for the day I left them behind.  Then when Hubby and I got in the car my wheels started turning and before we'd gone too far we made a stop to find white owls.  We didn't have any luck in the Burlington Micheals.  But you know me I could not let this go.

Last night we went to town for groceries and Hubby suggested stopping at our local Micheals.  I resisted.  After all, I had pushed any reasonable husband to the limit the day before.  He insisted and thank goodness!

I found Martha Stewart tinsel glitter, corrugated silver paper and the OWLS!  Not soft but really pretty and white and glittery.  I danced to the check out.

 And then I made mini crowns for owls.  Why?  Because I had nothing better to do.  No baking, shopping, wrapping or cleaning.  Hahahaha.

 To attach the crowns to the owls I used Zots aka snot dots.  I put it front and center on the band, where you see my finger).  Then I slipped the crown over the hanger and pushed crown to the Zot.

 I hung them on the tree.  And then I happy danced.  First of all, they are adorable and second of all they cost under $3 each, instead of $20 each.

 The crown pictured below is solid Martha Stewart tinsel glitter.  Please excuse the glare,  that would be some serious Bling.

 I think I'll name this one. The Royal Princess of Snow.  

Or the Queen of Winter. 

Or Lady Snowy Winter Season.

Look at those jewels!  She must be the Queen Mother.

OWL stop now, but you get the idea,  I am a tad excited about my owl royalty.

TIP:  I saw white Owls at Grandiflora today if you want to crown some owls.  And I left a few at the Bellingham Micheals.

Grandma's Prayer for Generations

Yesterday Hubby and I went to Marysville, WA.  Back to where it all began, where we met and fell in love.   We went to visit Hubby's Grandma in Marysville.  She will be 98 years old this month.  A Godly woman, still very sharp, but getting frail.  She visits on the phone with her sister who is 102 years old and lives in California.  Grandma mentioned that she won't see her sister again.  Not until we all meet again, I reminded her.  Grandma is a blessing, a prayer warrior and still has a great laugh.  Yesterday she told us her birth story.  It was different in 1914.   

All Grandma wishes for is for all of her family to know Jesus.  I love her and am grateful for her.

After our visit with Grandma we drove to Snohomish to file a police report.  Our insurance needed us to file a report and supposedly it saves us $300.  But then we went shopping in Snohomish.   Hubby decided it really didn't save him much.  I love Snohomish and when I lived closer I went there a lot.  A sweet downtown with many shops and a hometown feel.  We had Thai for lunch and then browsed

 The store windows were gorgeous.  They glare but you get the idea.

A beautiful sleigh, bright colored packages and a gorgeous vintage party dress.
It takes me right to the place I want to be.
The snow is lightly falling and the only sounds are the bells on the horse's harness and Hubby humming a carol.  There is a cozy fur robe tucked around us.
And the vintage dress fits me.

Honestly, this is my Christmas brain.

Whoa there sister.  Wake.  Up.

You're stuck in Everett traffic.

Girl, you need to work at the museum, get groceries, make a trip to Best Buy, sort gifts, make another list, bake two layer cakes, call in a favor from your brother, catch up the laundry and ironing and get your Christmas organized.

Why is it so easy for me to get caught up in the things of this world?

Take a deep breath, read the Word and remember the Advent season for what it truly is, a time for reflection of our dear Savior's birth.  

Grandma's focus on the season is so real.  She can't decorate, bake, shop anymore.

She just has the Christmas story and it is enough.  Grandma reminds me of Mary, humble, praying, and praising God.

Mary’s Song in Luke Chapter One

⁴⁶ And Mary said:

“My soul glorifies the Lord

⁴⁷     and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

⁴⁸ for he has been mindful

    of the humble state of his servant.

From now on all generations will call me blessed,

⁴⁹     for the Mighty One has done great things for me—

    holy is his name.

⁵⁰ His mercy extends to those who fear him,

    from generation to generation.

⁵¹ He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;

    he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.

⁵² He has brought down rulers from their thrones

    but has lifted up the humble.

⁵³ He has filled the hungry with good things

    but has sent the rich away empty.

⁵⁴ He has helped his servant Israel,

    remembering to be merciful

⁵⁵ to Abraham and his descendants forever,

    just as he promised our ancestors.”

⁵⁶ Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.

Prayer-

Help me, Lord to spend time in prayer for my family today.

I want to be more like Jesus, more like Mary, your servant, and a blessing to all generations.

Thank you for a special day yesterday, visiting Grandma and spending time with my husband.

Amen.

Wreath Restored

 The shiney brite wreath had a bad storage experience.  Hubby pulled the ornaments off the ring and each other.  It was a pile of shiney mess.  I bought a new glue gun(BiG), lots of glue sticks and I got busy.  This time I wound old tinsel garland around the foam and glued it on.  I hope it helps.

 It is back, above the mantel, its rightful place of honor, shining for another Christmas.

It makes me smile!  The season may begin.

Isn't it grand?

My guys fight over who gets this beauty when Mom croaks.

I like to think they want it to have a place of honor in their homes, however; that is not the truth.

They want to take it out back with a pellet gun for target practice.

Not nice!

The End?

Everyone is having troubles with Blogger.  I wasn't because I had paid $5 in January.  This weekend my blogger crashed in spite of me paying the fee.  This morning my laptop died.  Was it from Blogger?

The bells got a makeover, the pictures are in the wrong order but its as good as it gets on Blogger.

This could be the end of the blog for me.  I hope I haven't lost all my photos stored on the laptop.

The house is decorated, the cards are mailed, parties are planned.

Merry Christmas, my friends!

I Dropped My Basket

 We've been decorating for Christmas at the Stone House.  We have four trees, one small silver tree with  pink in the guest room, one vintage in the living room, one with the boys' ornaments in the sitting room, 

and one in the master bedroom.

 I took my old garland and wound some new holly garland through it for the stairs.  It revived the old garland, then I added snowflakes, jewels and icy lights.  I try to change the banister every few years.

 I set up a bar in the sitting room using Hubby's vintage collection of bar ware.  The garland lights are from the Ballard estate sale we went to this year.  Good memories of that adventure.

Holly gave us the little vintage trailer ornament on Saturday. The trailer lights are on and this makes me smile every time I walk past it.  Thanks Holly!

 My shiney brite wreath had so much damage this year that we decided to begin again.  Karen and I made our wreaths about ten years ago.  The glue gets too dry at my house because of the wood stove.  Hubby took it apart last night.  I wasn't in any shape to deal with it.

 There are pikes of MESS everywhere.

Last night when Hubby got home from work I was hyper ventilating, turning in circles in the kitchen, babbling and making very little sense.  

The MESS makes me crazy!

I want it to look like Christmas not like someone threw up Christmas.

I want it to be beautiful, meaningful and yet fun.

And I want it NOW!

I love the part where I lay on the sofa and look at the lights and glitz.  And we are not quite there. 

He took one look at me and said, "I'll call Westside Pizza for dinner, open a bottle of wine and YOU sit down."

He is a good man, a level headed guy and often the voice of reason at the Stone House.

I get impatient and want it finished.  I get caught up in the ending.  I start out enjoying the process and then lose sight of how it should be.  Honestly, I drop my basket.

I'm better this morning,  took a deep breath, enjoyed my evening with Hubby and today is another day.

How is your decorating?  Laid back, frantic, meaningful?

Be honest.

The Good and The Bad

 Thanksgiving came and went.  Max was home for the weekend, we hadn't seen him since August.  it was fun to have him here.  We enjoyed our Thanksgiving feast at my parents' house with family and friends.

I ate too much.  Big surprise.

 On Friday evening we went to Adam and Kyra's wedding in Snohomish, (the wedding was at the Snohomish Event Center, Rose and I were leaving at the same time and she mentioned that Lynden's Delft Square be restored into a similar facility).   Good idea!

Adam and Kyra greeted their guests at a cocktail hour prior to the wedding ceremony.  The bride wore a beautiful black gown.

 Pictured below are Gloria, Cynthia(groom's Mom) and Krista.  Gloria is Cynthia's cousin.  Gloria and I are related however; thirty years ago when Gloria and I rode across the country together we didn't know we were family until we got home and our Moms told us that they are cousins.  Turns out Gloria was one of the Sunnyside relatives.  We drove Gloria's brother's car home from Dordt College for the Summer.  He told us to never turn off the car.  Even when filling up.  So we didn't.  It quit on its own, stalled for no good reason on highway 212, in Montana, in the middle of the night.  Gloria and I bonded, we freaked, we prayed, we cursed her brother and his car, then the car started and we drove home to Washington for the summer.  Whew!

So, it was fun to see Gloria because we have a history.  She still gets mad at her brother when we talk about our trip.  Cracks me up.

 After cocktails we went to the wedding ceremony where the bride wore her Grandma's wedding gown.  The ceremony was a testimony to the couple's faith in God and their love for Him and each other.

We went back upstairs for dinner.  The tables were Autumn, which I love.

 I took pictures of the tables earlier, when there were no guests seated.  I wanted to capture the evening but I don't like to be snapping at weddings.  I wish I had pictures of the bride and groom because they were adorable.  Adam won't like being referred to as adorable but they were.  

The bride wore a stunning bronze sequined dress for dinner and dancing.

 The flower fairies, Sydney and Lucy took their job seriously and did a great job.  Their brothers read the scripture during the ceremony and did it very well.  They love their Uncle Adam and Aunt Kyra and were so happy for them.  It was a great celebration and a fun evening.

Saturday our weekend went downhill.  Fast.  We started Christmas decorating, discovered our tree lights were shot.  We bought a tree on craigslist that afternoon, turned it out too small, we'll use it in the sitting room, decide to purchase a bigger tree, jump in the car and realized we were sideswiped at the wedding, both doors.  Thank you white Ford ranger truck that was parked next to us.  Hit and run.  Nice.  

I'd like to take this moment to wish you a sucky Christmas.

Many stops later we did find a tree at Home Depot.

But not before going to Walmart.  I broke my NO WALMART UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES rule.  It had been years.  I survived.

Our house looks like someone emptied their attic, threw it into the living room and walked away.

Which is basically what happened.

Three trees, one with spotty lights, one too narrow and thankfully, one just right.

We can't see the forest for the trees.  Haha!

I hope to sort this out today right after I call our insurance agent.