A Collection of Ornaments

Over the years, I've curated what I think is a lovely collection of Christmas ornaments. Most of them are mercury glass, and have that vintage feel to them, despite being new. Some were quite a bit more expensive than others, and were picked up a couple at a time, here and there. Others are very dear to me, and are a special part of my tree.

Together they make for a beautifully decorated Christmas tree. One that I rather wish could be a part of our home for more than the few short weeks it is.

I love the different shades of mercury glass and the rustic feel the twine adds to them.

There are some that are quite in expensive, but are beautiful despite their cost. These little pine cones were found a few years ago at Target for a couple dollars on clearance.

There are about 20 ornaments that came together in a box when Zellers went out of business. I scooped them up for less than a dollar an ornament. They are all different shapes and patterns, so visually they add lots of character to the tree. But really, they're my low ornaments. The ones that curious little fingers like to turn and watch the sparkling lights in. The ones that have, on occasion, dropped off their boughs and broke in pieces. They're my "bottom bough" decorations. 

Home Sense and Winners are great sources for cheap ornaments. I purchased these round ones after Christmas last year. It was $3 for a box of 12! It was a steal.

Then, near the top, are my more expensive ornaments. The ones I've recieved as gifts and slowly collected from stores like Pottery Barn. They're beautiul.

And finally, my sentimental ornanments. The really special ones that are very dear to me.

Each year, on December 1st, I would give Jess a Christmas ornament. When she passed away, I picked out the ornaments I had given, and now at Christmas, they hang as little reminders of many Christmas memories shared.

I can hardly believe that tomorrow is Christmas Eve. We're so excited. I have lots of do around the house, but I can't wait!

Gift Wrapping

One of my favourite parts of Christmas are the gifts.

I love finding that perfect gift for each person on my list. But what I love nearly just as much, is wrapping them with beautiful ribbon and pretty tags, and placing them under the Christmas tree where they lie until Christmas morning.

There's something about packaging that I love. Tags and twine, ribbon and paper. I love making something like plain old kraft paper look elegant.

As I mentioned before, this year I made my own gift tags. It was quite easy.

On a completely unrelated note, these beautiful flowers are called Star of Bethlehem, which I thought was perfectly fitting given the season.

I also love the look of sprigs of natural greens tucked into the bow. Favourites are bits of Cedar, Leather Fern and Seeded Eucalyptus.

When I went under the tree to pick out a few wrapped presents to photograph, I found this tucked at the back. I knew that Willen had brought home a gift he made at school, and had asked me for a box to wrap it in. But I hadn't seen what he had done, nor did I know that he had carefully placed it under the tree with all of the other gifts. I thought it was the most beautiful thing.

While I was busy packaging other gifts, I wrapped Willen's gifts for his teachers, as today was their class party at school. I figured they were looking forward to some much deserved "me time", We picked out a favourite movie (It's Complicated and The Holiday), a box of sea salt chocolate covered toffees, an Essie nail polish and a tin of Harney and Sons tea. To me, it seemed like a lovely way to spend an evening in.

Christmas in the Living Room and Handmade Gift Tags

After nearly a week of dull, rainy days, last night brought the most wonderful of surprises.

Our family had attended Willen's Christmas play at school, and then came back to our house to spend the evening celebrating with him. When they opened the door to leave, the sky was a flurry of thick fluffy snowflakes. And by the time my mother in law left, the ground was covered and we couldn't help but exclaim "It's snowing!".

The thought of enjoying a classic white Christmas was beginning to seem more unlikely with each passing, dismal day.

However, with less than a week before Christmas Eve, our hopes of a white Christmas may just come true.

 

 

Once again, I've wrapped our gifts in classic brown paper and an assortment of cream ribbons and twines. I've also made some pretty handmade gift tags.

I made these gift tags a month ago. The blank tags came in packages of 16 for $1.50 at Michael's. I used a collection of Christmas stamps I had purchased last year online to make my own gift tags.

Another delightful white surprise yesterday was a blooming Paperwhite bulb. We had picked some up when we bought our Christmas tree. It's the first of a few bulbs to bloom that we are forcing around the house.

I couldn't help but laugh at Hudson, who was cozy on the chair beside the Christmas tree. He just snuggled, blanket in hand, the whole time I took pictures.

Antique Finds

I love ironstone.

It's one of my favourite things I collect, and probably my most extensive.

And while most of my collection consists of pitchers, I love finding different pieces that I don't see very often. These are a few small pieces I've picked up over the past few months that I especially like.

To be honest, I don't actually remember where I found this ironstone soap dish. I believe it was locally, but all I remember was that I think I paid $5 for it.

 

Fresh flowers and my glass soap dispenser sit with it.

It sits beside my kitchen sink and holds my brushes. It's an old soap dish from a vanity set, but it works just as well as a brush holder.

I also picked this tiny little pot up at Oliver and Rust.

It's beautifully aged, with crazing and a lovely browning. And it has the most beautiful faces in the sides.

I also picked this other one, of the same size, from the same show. It has beautifully detailed handles, and a charming little lid.

It's marked Coxon and Co., a name that I hadn't yet come across.

Snowball Cookies

My sleigh, stacked with gifts all wrapped for Christmas morning, has found it's place under our Christmas tree.

We've been having the most dreary of winter days lately, with the sun making no appearance at all. It makes it quite a challenge to photograph, so unfortunately that will have to come later.

In the meantime, the boys and I have kept ourselves busy baking cookies and doing activities around the house.

This is a new cookie for me, and has quickly become one of my favourite recipes. I've actually made it three times this week, never daring to keep more than a few in the house.

They're my take on a Melting Moment Snowball Cookie. The basic recipe was found here, and then I added the following ingredients to it.

1/2 cup of good quality milk chocolate, chopped

1/2 chopped pecan pieces. chopped

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp espresso powder

The cookie plain was delicious, but with the combination of cinnamon and chocolate and nuts and coffee... divine.

While still warm, each cookie is rolled in powdered sugar to give it a bit more added sweetness.

These are perfect with a cup of coffee. The texture is crumbly, and true to their name, they really do melt in your mouth. They're also super easy to make.

As you can see, it's hard to keep them around for any length of time.