July Time to Put up the Christmas Tree Yet?

CHRISTMAS 2011 PART 1.......

This is Christmas 2011! Here's the dining room table, I can seat twenty people! My husband, bless that man's soul. He doesn't ask for much, and especially in the "home area", but one request was that we have a big enough table for everyone to sit at when we eat our meal, juring the Holidays. Wlep...he didn't have to ask twice, I found this farm table at a garage sale. It was $125.00. If you know me, I never pay asking price, but  the table was just perfect for what
I  was going to need it for. The gentleman that was having the sale ,approached me, and started talking about it, and I listened and slowly drifted to another area (NEVER SHOW EXCITEMENT). Now, I really was going to buy the farm table at full price. But he followed me right over to the other goodies I was looking, and says" I'll take 100 for it", my head literally rotated 180 degrees..."you deliver it,and set it up in my dining room, and you've got yourself a deal".....I WAS gonna pay full price AND have to get my husband and grown sons to help move it!!!!

All the roping and some of the lights were all garage sale items. And all the ribbon intertwined with the lights, is also from a garage sale. The key is here, that its all the same color, or in the same family of colors.  And when it wasn't, I spray painted the object so that it blended with the other ones. And don't tell me that something can't be spray painted, because your talking to the woman who spray painted a lamp shade!

Notice the curtains, they are velvet. I really have a sickness to change things OFTEN!All of the decorations on the tree came from an auction. I knew the lady who had passed away, and when her estate had the auction, I went. ALL the gold  decorations were from her estate. $6.00 for ALL of them!! And I got the tubs to store them in as well! And the oil paintings were from garage sales or thrift stores,well all but two of them, my grandmother Mimi painted two of them!

The tulle on the ceiling was purchased at a rummage sale. I put it up in October for Halloween, went right thou for Thanksgiving, and BAM, still good for Christmas.. 20 yards for $3.00....Oh yeah!

If you are seated in the Dining Room, this is what  you see .These curtains are also changed to velvet. Dark, warm pillows replace light and linen pillows from the summer months. I made the slipcovers from a dust ruffle and  a queen sized sheet.I have about $4.00 total in the chairs. I also always add greenery around picture frames, and vignettes around the room. Not much effort, but high results.

We live on a really busy street, but I thought it would make someone smile if they happen to look in and Santa waving from the front porch window. Do you want to know how many times I awoke to screams from men's voices? Yea, husband and sons kept forgetting he was there, and would come down in the middle of the night to get something to eat....they'll teach them...

Ok, I did buy these, BUT, and its a BIG BUT...I waited for them to go on sale for 90% off at Target. I was on pins and needles the night before, wondering if they'd have any thing good. Now let me just let you in on a secret....DO NOT plan on anything! If I'd set my heart on something they were selling at the beginning of the season.  I would have been setting myself up for BIG disappointment. Friends always ask me where I get things (duh), the thing is, I don't go anywhere planning anything. If you want the deals, you have to keep an open mind!

To the right of this picture, you can see the dining rooms' french doors.And to the far left is where Santa is standing. I'm on the steps looking down, just to give you an idea what angle I'm at. The picture before this one is the exact picture, just one is day and the other is night.

This is looking into the Den, from the Parlor.

This is the Den looking out into the Parlor.

Everything on this coffee table is from Goodwill, garage sales, and thrift stores.  Oh sorry the coffee table was free....

This is what I think adds a lot of meaning to Christmas. This is a picture of my  Mimi and Papa Clark. This was taken when they were Seniors in High school. I put this framed picture along with other, 'wintery' scenes out during the winter months.These are the extra touches that people love, but don't neccicserly notice as a whole, but put together, makes a big impact!

And yet, another example of going the extra mile. The garland that was fifty cents at a garage sale, is strung with lights, and, tucked into it's branches are gold leaves, silver grapes and some pine cones from the yard.