CHRISTMAS AT THE CONDO--AND IT'S A WRAP FOR THIS YEAR

 I have taken you through much of the first floor-

minus the bedrooms.

The dining room is last on the list today.

I collected many Fitz and Floyd pieces

in the past.

Some of them grace the 

dining room table.

The table is set anticipating

my grandgirl, Alana, and her boyfriend,

coming home from college

and joining her sisters here

for a night of movie and/or games.

I will feed them first, of course.

The large clock is old--ever so old

and the wood piece with the live edge is a piece

my son did for me for my birthday 7 years ago.

There are mini-lights in the greens on the table

and wound through the greenery on the light fixture above.

My big beautiful dining room table did not

fit in this house.  It seats 12.

My daughter loves it now and we enjoy it

when we visit.

I bought a white farmhouse style table

and love it.

The dining room also has a small built in server

with storage above and below,

floor to ceiling...and OH!

the treasures I have packed in there....shhhhhh....

The picture in back is French Rabbits

and was a birthday gift from hubby 

in 1995.

The Santa fairy is one of my Mark Robert's fairies.

The mailbox holds the cards we received this year.

Hubby will sit one night and read them.

I read them as they come in.

The little fat Santa head is also a Christmas gift

from my son about 20 years ago.

Between the dining room and living room 

I have a bombe chest.

On top is the silver coffee/tea service

from hubby's grandmother.

We have write-ups in the local newspaper

where she "poured the tea" during

one of her socialite teas

back in the 40s and 50s.

She was a grand lady.

I keep it polished because I feel it is my obligation

to protect it for future generations.

The silver tray has her name etched on it.

The two Santas are part of my collection.

The picture above is from a local artist

and it is the first place, Kaaps, 

that my hubby took me

when I came to visit his family before 

we were married.

A peek in the guest bathroom:

Toilet tank top and Shabby Chic Shower curtain.

This is close to my hubby's reading chair in the bedroom

and is filled with memories and things his brother,

Steve, that passed away this last year

made. He was a wonderful craftsman.

 

Below are bits and pieces of Christmas

scattered here and there through the house.

AND JUST LIKE THAT-

It's a wrap for my Christmas posts.

I will be taking off until after the 

first of the year.

Will also be putting my new

Etsy shop on vacation mode.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

and love from me

to all of you .

 

 

GINGER DREAMS-GRAMMA STELLA'S RECIPE. soooooo good!

 I have had several people

ask me for this recipe

so here it is.

Each one is a bite of 

sweet spicy love.

EDITED TO ADD:  BAKE AT 400˚-

I use air bake sheets and they never burn.

Watch carefully because they burn easily.

They don't do well baked 

at a lower temperature though.

I have one more post coming

tomorrow to finish up the 

decorating in the condo.

Happy Baking!

CHRISTMAS AT THE CONDO-DOWN GINGERBREAD WAY

  I started out with one little gingerbread sign.

Yep!  After that--well, 

you know how crazy it can get

when you love something.

Loving my kitchen this year

with gingerbread and snowmen.

I think they kind of go together, don't you?

We partially remodeled the kitchen 

when we moved in.

Due to Covid 

(we moved the day of the lock down)

one part of the kitchen did not get finished-

I hope to get the rest of the built-ins done this coming year.

However,

I love what I have!

A little gingerbread tree

with a VW bug and travel trailer

and one of my Gingerbread dolls.

Notice the little black Cockapoo ornament

that my friend, Kris-JunkChicCottage, 

sent to me.

To the side is this sweet Mary Engelbreit picture

and a snowman that is lit day and night.

                 

On the wall where the built ins 

will eventually go

is a little coffee & cocoa station

complete with a gnome sitting on his butt

to guard the cups on the tiered cup holder.

Next to that is a bookshelf

that holds a couple of travel trailers.

The gypsy in me wants to pack and go

but reality keeps me grounded

so I live vicariously and pretend

I can shrink down to toy travel trailer size.

(If I keep eating Christmas goodies, 

I will be looking for a semi to haul me around).

On top of the fridge is another cookie jar

camper and behind it is a picture my grandson

painted for my birthday--a perfect 'sky' backdrop.

There is a round table in the dinette

that has a gingerbread theme.

This faces our condo porch and front courtyard.

I saw this tablecloth on Liz's blog

Home & Gardening With Liz

and ordered one.

Click the link above to see Liz's beautiful

home and her gardens are spectacular.

Anyway-The tablecloth?

I love it! Polyester and wrinkle free!

On the kitchen wall to the side of the table

is a large mirror surrounded by

Christmas paintings and cross stitch pieces.

I did the two Santa folk art paintings years ago.

My daughter did the large cross stitch for me

while she was in college.

The small one was a gift from my 

wonderfully talented friend, 

Neadeen Masters.

She is the most talented artist

I have ever known.

She is now doing miniatures

and if you want to see some 

amazing talent

click here.

Pictures of the pictures are not the best

but it is what it is.

By the door going to the laundry room

is this sweet Santa head from my son & his wife.

So-not wanting to bore you further,

I will save the pictures of the dining room

and odds and ends of Christmas for

another day.

Here is someone else that loves a 

GINGERBREAD TOY...

sent by my friend, Kris.

He will bump that against me about 

100 times per hour so that I will throw it 

for him.

If I don't react fast enough he will

run his teeth, nip,nip,nip, against

my leg.

I am thinking of sending him to visit Kris 

and taking his Gingerbread boy with him.

After all, 

What are friends for?!

Back soon with a Christmas wrap up!

 

A BIT OF CHRISTMAS AT THE CONDO

 Bear with me here.

These pictures are straight from my

phone and I did not have time to 

edit them all.

If I had more time I would make

these all beautiful..but..

what you see is what you get here.

I sorted/purged Christmas items

this year. Gifting some to family

and donating what no one wanted.

I did NOT dig all my Spode Christmas

dishes out this year.

I have service for 20 plus

all the serving pieces.

I used all my old traditional

REDS & GREENS 

on the main level this year.

So---here we go.

As you step into the front door

this used to be a closet to the right

in the hall.

We didn't need the extra closet

so I had them open it into a niche.

Below the marble top is a

drink fridge and storage cabinets 

and drawers.

The little tree is full of

Marjolein Bastin Hallmark ornaments,

sweet sentiments from another blogger,

plus a couple of sweet squirrels

that DON'T rob my bird feeders.

As you can see,

my statue of the Goddess Diana

has her angel wings on for the season.

As you walk down the hall it opens into the living room.

There is a marble topped table dressed for Christmas.

Straight behind this table towards the back wall

is a baby grand piano

topped with a nativity and more angels.

Behind the grand piano is a ficus tree

that sports fairy lights and a different

Mark Roberts fairy-depending on the season.

The grands have always loved this.

Above the piano is my beautiful

crystal chandelier that has graced

four homes now-as we moved and 

took it with us.

The living room also has

our main Christmas tree

and a fireplace

with a TV above it

(don't ask...Not a fan of TVs over mantels)

The rocks/geodes by the fireplace

are gifts from my youngest son many years ago.

Our ceilings are very high in the living room.

The tree here is 9' tall.

The stockings are 

Martha Stewart and at least 15 years old.

Not sure why the rug shows so bright-

it is a very pale (almost whitewashed looking

when you see it in person).

I have lots more but 

no time today to post more.

I will post pictures of the kitchen

and dining room in the next day or so.

Plus I will share some of my old

folk art paintings that I did years ago.

Have a wonderful week

and don't get your 

Tinsel In A Tangle!