Mom's Christmas Decorations {Christmas in July}

I thought it was time for a little Christmas in July action... here are a few pictures from last Christmas.

Some vintage goodies... I always had fun rearranging these little guys.

The very toy train my dad played with when he was young... and what I like to think of as the original "Elf on the Shelf" (err... ladder). Mom has decorated with that guy for as long as I can remember.

A Vintage Ornament. 

A Cute Bell. (Fun to ring... I wonder if my family ever got tired of me ringing this thing when I was younger...) 

Homemade Crocheted Stockings (the original family stockings were made by my grandma, but Mom has since made a few more as the family has expanded!).

My parents' Christmas China (Lenox Holiday). Mom usually receives one new piece each year. She is proud of all the pieces, but that punch bowl may just be her favorite. I mean, it even gets to come out for Easter and Thanksgiving and any other family gathering she deems punch necessary for. And it's always fun to explain why there's a Christmas punch bowl next to the basket of colored eggs and Easter Bunnies ;)

Christmas 2014 will be here before you know it! Happy Christmas in July!

Birthday Presents(!)

Yikes, here we are just finishing up celebrating Evelyn's birthday and I'm just now posting about a few of the gifts I received (my birthday was way back in January).

Several of my gifts will be highlighted later, when I have a house and a place for then... but for now, here is a little vintage-y, fabric-y and foreign-y goodness :)

My sister-in-law went antiquing to find me this first gift! It's a FireKing jadeite mixing bowl and it's been on my  list forever. I've seen them frequently, but I've just never allowed myself to buy one.

Now I have one! It was so thoughtful of her to take the time to search and buy it for me. I cannot wait to use it!!

Sticking with the Jadeite theme... these were purchased on Ebay as a gift from Dan. He came up with the idea (I'm always drooling over Fire-King Jadeite), and I was more than happy to "help him" find my birthday present :)

I was able to buy four of them, and adding them to the one we already own, we now have 5! According to my mom, they are too nice to use for everyday. Hmm... I'm more of the mindset that they are too fun not to use for everyday!

These came all the way from New Zealand! Dan's sister and her husband are living down there for two years. The hat will be perfect for going rummage saling and just hanging out at the lake, and I'm sure the slipper-socks will be used a lot next winter!

Admittedly, these two pieces of lovliness weren't for my birthday. My inlaws recently returned from visiting the afor mention "foreigners" and this fabric (along with the beautiful coasters below), were gifts from the travelers.

I definitely have to come up with the perfect project for them... They are way to pretty not to use them!

Here are the pretty coasters! My sister-in-law and I decided to do halvsies... we split our sets so we could have two designs instead of just one. They make me smile :)

Like I said, there are more fun pieces I hope to show you in the future. All I can say is that I am surrounded by amazing family! They are a blessing in my life :) Thank you to all!

October Goal. Done

I posted my October goal here... this is a part of Melissa and Shanna's A Lovely Year of Finishes.

 I wanted to create something to highlight a piece of Hardanger embroidery that Dan's grandma made... and a pillow is what I decided on! The finished product will probably end up in Evelyn's future bedroom :)

 I used some fat-eighths that I found at a rummage sale back in Montana to create a log cabin block with the embroidery in the middle. I pieced the block onto a piece of scrap fleece, so it was quilted as I added each 2-1/2" strip. The back is just a simple envelope closure, and the binding was attached to the front and hand-stitched to the back.

It's beautiful embroidery, but I knew that I would never take the time to learn such intricate handwork in order to finish this piece. It was best to put it to good use as it is, so it can still be loved while on display. There is a sad kind of beauty in unfinished work, and now it is brightened up with some pinks and blues.

Now I need to decide on a November goal!

Linking up to my favorite parties... the buttons are on the side bar - go check a few out!

Is it Christmas Yet?!

Because... sometimes it feels that way with some of the things my mother-in-law is excited to give me! Just the other day, she said that I could have three vintage suitcases... and if I didn't want them they were going to Goodwill. Sure Kari, I'll take those off your hands ;)

 Here is a metal tin full of vintage postcards and letters. Now, I actually don't know if I get these or not, but I will for sure be scanning both the fronts and the backs to preserve these lovely, family treasures (some are even written in Norwegian)... and then I'll see if I can decorate with a few of them!

 They aren't all Christmas postcards, but with the countdown to Christmas quickly approaching, I thought it was only appropriate :)

 Gosh. I love vintage. I love Christmas. I love history. How perfect :)

 Here's one dated 1910.

 Most of them seemed to be in the 1920s range.

One last picture for your vintage-loving-hearts. I look forward to having time to scan them all! I'll be sure to share more pictures when I do!!


PS: I can totally see something like this in my Christmas decorating future... not this year, but you know... when I have a house :)