MEADOWSWEET WREATH MANIA...... It's all about the wreath!

Wreaths here, there, and everywhere........ Oh, if only I had more doors!

A Country Christmas

Sugared Fruit

Red Roses and Lime Green Hydrangeas

Burgundy Peonies and Frosted Pine Cones

A Very Victorian Christmas

Creating beautiful homes, one door at a time.....

AND THE SHOPPING BEGINS.......

BLACK FRIDAY

The shopping frenzy will officially kick off at the crack of dawn on Friday morning.  I would like to remind everyone to please remember to support your local small businesses this holiday season.   Our small businesses have taken a terrific financial hit this past year, and many won't be around this time next year if they don't rebound this holiday season.

Remember... this country was founded on small mom and pop shops all across the nation.  Small shops that are slowly disappearing as they become swallowed up by the big stores.   Please don't let that happen.  Think about Main Street USA and the wonderful old world charm that exists in the quaint little villages across this country.  

Please let us all do our part in keeping our small boutiques up and running by supporting them this holiday season!

Shop on......

A POST AFTER A POST:  

A YOUNG MAN IN OUR AREA ON LONG ISLAND WAS

 TRAMPLED TO DEATH EARLY THIS MORNING WHILE OPENING THE DOORS TO SHOPPERS AT WAL-MART.  PLEASE LET US ALL STOP THE MADNESS AND GET BACK TO THE REAL MEANING OF CHRISTMAS!

BRING ME YOUR HUNGRY......

I finally had a moment to design a centerpiece for my holiday table.  Typically, I am so busy designing for others that my house usually comes last.  

Let the holidays begin!

We thank you, Lord, for all you give;

The food we eat, the lives we live;

And to our loved ones far away,

Please send your blessing, Lord, we pray.

And help us all to live our days

With thankful hearts and loving ways.

Amen.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Poem courtesy of Donna's Holiday Sentiments

Copyright (c) 1998-2005 Donna G. Sheehan - all rights Reserved

A LOVING REMINDER......

Dear Blogging Friends,

Last night we had a power outage for several hours.  My daughter and I moved to this brand new home not very long ago and safely assumed as we slept that because our smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors are all hard wired, there was nothing to worry about.....

When the power went out in the middle of the night, the carbon monoxide detector kicked on with an ear piercing beep every 60 seconds and continued to beep for a few hours, I didn't know what to do.  I knew by the reading that the problem wasn't carbon monoxide and I assumed the beeping would stop when the power kicked back on.  In the meantime, we got some ear plugs and put our pillows over our heads and waited for the annoying sound to stop.

When the power finally came back on, I thought we could finally have some peace and quiet. But the indicator just kept beeping away.  You might be thinking, duh, at this point, but I didn't know that there was a battery in the detector since it was hard wired.   Lesson learned!  I finally took the detector off the wall and saw that there was a battery compartment as well as being hard wired.  Makes sense that when the power goes out, there is a battery back-up, but the battery had expired and I would have never known!  I guess there is a lesson to be learned in everything.

Friends...... now that the windows are closed up tight in some of our areas, this is a loving reminder to check the batteries in your smoke detectors and..... your carbon monoxide detectors!  I want you all to be safe so we can keep on blogging!   

PEACE......

THE CHINA, THE WINE GLASSES, THE TABLECLOTH.......THE TABLE

This cold morning I am sitting with a big steamy mug of coffee and preparing my shopping list for the days ahead.  The tablecloth is ironed and hanging in the closet all ready to be placed, the china, the new lovely tall wine glasses with golden circles surrounding them that will compliment my china so well..... everything ready for the gathering of family and friends all of whom I am the most thankful for.

In all of this preparation, we give little thought to the table itself, that "gathering place" that brings us all together.   My son, Bill, gave me a card some years ago, and the message is so endearing that it sits among other treasures in my bookshelves all these years later.  The message is a reminder that no matter if your table is crafted from the finest wood, or the simplest pine, it's that special place where its members may change from year to year, some are added and some no longer with us, but the memories of the time spent gathered around that table grow more precious as the years pass.  So here is that message, I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.  

 

 It's just a kitchen table,

much the worse for years of wear,

with memories

in each scratch and stain

from all that happened there~

the paint that never would come off,

a scissor nick or two,

the dent where something heavy dropped,

a bump of dried-up glue...

the scorch left by a cookie sheet,

the surface worn and faded

where hands were held

and elbows propped and countless stories traded.

It doesn't show the teardrops,

and it has no voice to tell

the secrets shared, the joys revealed,

but those are there as well.

Around that kitchen table,

life was happy and secure,

and my heart will feel that love

as long as memories endure.

Happy Thanksgiving!

CHRISTMAS IN NEW YORK.....Thanks to Paula Deen!

I love magazines. But, I especially love the holiday editions that start appearing on newsstands this time of year. I'm always inspired by the titles for new ways to celebrate the season..... great new recipes for cookies, candy, and old favorites like fruit cake and gingerbread. I especially love the decorating ideas. I'm always on the lookout for new ways to to put a "spin" on the old ways I usually decorate. I especially love a warm welcome for the entrance to our home.

I love filling the house with all the scents of the season with garlands of fresh pines and cedars, juniper berries and holly along with huge blooming bulbs of brilliant red Amaryllis and potted Poinsettias. I always get a little frustrated that the fresh pines barely make it through the season without shedding their needles everywhere. Sometimes I even find one or two months later!

I was intrigued by the front cover of one of Paula Deen's holiday magazines featuring Colonial Christmas in Williamsburg where they are renowned for their exquisite designs using fresh pines and fruits. Since I love to decorate early, and I knew the fruit would never last the season, I was inspired to design a wreath using synthetic materials.

Because I have a store that specializes in silk floraI design, I have access to all types of good quality synthetic botanicals that can really "fool" the eye. I started with a synthetic mixed pine base and added synthetic boxwood throughout. I then added a mix of assorted fruits, pine cones, and pods (all synthetic) and created my New York version of "Christmas in Williamsburg".

WHAT DO YOU LOVE?

We have this sign in my store that I just love. For me, it is a reminder that home should be a collection of all that matters to us. I think it is easy to get caught up in a certain style, or design concept that in the end produces a "model home', but not one that defines what matters most.

As I sit having my morning coffee.... I look around and see all of the things I love..... Photos on shelves in frames of various sizes and textures holding images of friends and family gathered for special moments in time. Lovely bound books on gardens and flowers. Books about Nantucket, and some favorite authors that live there and tell their stories. A beautiful hand crocheted afghan draped over the arm of the sofa that my Mom made me for my 40th birthday. That afghan surrounds me in warmth on chilly evenings while relaxing, reading or watching TV. My two furry companions, Teddy sitting right beside me on the couch, and Kobe stretched out at me feet. What would a home be without pets?

Look around you..... have you surrounded yourself with the things you love? What are they?