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Greetings on this WINTRY WHITE DAY!
The snow is falling gently on this December morning.
This Christmas I pray each one of you are blessed to spend time with family and friends to celebrate the season.
Christmas services...
Caroling
Exchanging gifts...
Dining together...
Helping the needy...
Celebrating Jesus birth.

Several years ago I made this little Christmas quilt. I added hand embroidered touches, buttons, tiny charms, soft flannel, festive homespun prints and a cheerful Christmas theme.

"Every time a bell rings an angel gets it's wings..."
from "It's A Wonderful Life"
One of my favorite Christmas movies

"Mother in the kitchen now
baking pies and cakes,
cookies, candies, goodies, too.
That only Mother makes."

Can you smell the sweet aroma from Mother's pies and cakes?
I enjoyed hand embroidering the steam escaping from each pie!

I love embroidering french knots! They make the prettiest snowflakes.

Baby...It's cold outside!

The winter weather has arrived in style.
We have a beautiful coat of white puffy snow
blanketing the landscape.
It's definitely mitten weather!

"Over the hill and through the woods...
to Grandmother's house we go..."

"WINTRY WHITE STUFF"
Having a little fun with picmonkey...
Would you believe it's snowing inside???

Merry Christmas! This year my husband is home. I am so grateful and never take it for granted. I recall the year that he was deployed overseas. Please remember those who are serving away from home this Christmas. May God bless them and their families. Blessings,Carolynn xoxo

"Joy to the world
the Lord has come...
Let earth receive her King!"

This Christmas I know many of you will be remembering the families who have suffered
tremendous loss. May God give them comfort.



I'm linking to all my favorite blog parties and giveaways for this coming week.
I hope you will stop by and visit with each lov ely blog.

Thank you, Meri, for sharing so many of your sweet vintage images.
They all speak of a simpler time.
www.imagimeris.blogspot.com

Greetings to all my wonderful blogging friends and family!
I've been having so much fun adding festive Christmas touches to my home.
I hope you'll come join me in the celebration!

Sleigh bells ring...
Are you listening?

Each Christmas my little red sleigh sits happily in my kitchen.
I love adding homespun items in hopes of filling it to the brim.
Evergreens,
Small pillows,
quilted stuffies,
wooden toys,
patriotic touches,
pretty red and green ribbons
and a chubby quilted Santa...
They all make the season so bright and colorful.

"Gather Round the Christmas Tree"
Do you see my shy little kitty, Abigail?
She waited to come down and investigate until after I had left the room.

When I decorate, my kitty, Zoey is always right in the middle of things.
She gets so excited with all the activity and always finds a spot to claim as her very own.

I love Teddy Bears!
Over the years my family and friends have given me each one of these little darlings.
Can you tell I love all things patriotic?
I was a Navy wife for many years and always find myself favoring the colors red, white and blue.

My mischievous Zoey is always looking for places to hide.
When I discovered her she startled me!
This adorable scene reminds me of one from the movie "E.T."
"E.T...Phone Home!"

Thank you for stopping by and sharing this wonderful season with me. Around the world people are celebrating this glorious time of year. I pray that you have a blessed Christmas as you celebrate The Birthday of a King Messiah Lord Savior Redeemer

Blessings and A Merry Christmas! Carolynn xoxo "Behold, the virgin shall be with child,and bear a Son, andthey shall call His nameImmanuel,which is translatedGod with us."Matthew 1:23

Oh, My Goodness! Have you seen Meri's giveaway? It's absolutely wonderful.If you would like to be included in her drawing you will want to pop inand say hello!www.imagimeris.blogspot.com

I'm linking to all my favorite blog parties and giveaways this coming week.I hope you will stop by my side bar and visit with each lovely blog.

I have an aunt who has an amazing talent.

You know how some people are really great at picking out presents that you love? That are so perfectly "you" that even if you hadn't known you wanted them, you wonder how you ever lived without them? Consistently, birthday after birthday, Christmas after Christmas, they succeed in picking out the perfect gift. Their track record is flawless.

Well, my aunt has the opposite gift.

My aunt is a dear. Even now that I am grown and well past the stage that she could be considered obligated, she still faithfully buys, packages, and sends gifts every birthday and Christmas. And not just to me, but (I believe) to each of my brothers and sisters. That's five nieces and nephews, all of whom live on the opposite side of the continent to her, but whom she never fails to remember on special occasions. I'm astonished by it.

However, what I'm equally and consistently astonished by is the sheer inappropriateness, time after time, of all of her presents.

I would never, ever, of course, say this to her. I am floored by her generosity, which goes far beyond the call of duty. I faithfully send her thank-you notes and disreetly re-home her presents.

But they are nearly always so completely out of place that the excitement of getting a packet in the mail is almost totally balanced out by the sad realization that I will probably have to give it away.

This has been the case as far back as I can remember. When I was seven years old, my aunt sent me a Barbie doll for Christmas. And not just any Barbie doll, but a pink-tutu-clad ballerina Barbie with a dazzling frozen smile and tight pink plastic ballet shoes stuck on her impossibly-pointed feet.

The irony of this was not lost on me even then. For you see, I was the quintessential tomboy. I rough-housed with my brothers, played in the dirt, and never touched dolls. In fact, one year when my brothers got Tonka trucks and I got a dainty doll tea set, I cried until I was given a Tonka truck too. Pink ballerina Barbies, and the girls who played with them, were the objects of my scorn.

This Barbie would probably have been the dream of any other little girl my age. But I was so completely disappointed by it that it's the only present I remember from that Christmas.

I didn't throw that Barbie out. But I didn't know what to do with it either. I hid it away in a bottom drawer and it went with us when we moved the next year. In fact, my well-meaning grandmother even bought me more outfits for it the next Christmas, which I promptly lost. I think she was trying to turn me into a girl.

A couple of years later, that poor Barbie became the object of my agressions. I stripped all of her clothes off, cropped her long blond plastic hair down to the absurd plug lines in her scalp, and threw her back in the drawer. Eventually, she was thrown away in a cleaning binge.

But my dear aunt has continued her track record, for example one year sending a painted slate plaque with some kind of inspirational verse on it; another year sending a flag with a chicken on it and "God bless this home" designed to be flown outside a house (I don't have a house?). I abhor knickknacks and decorative items; am not domestic; and keep my possessions to an absolute minimum. Anyone who knows me well, knows that I can't abide clutter or kitsch.

One year, she actually veered away from the trend and sent me quite a pretty necklace, a small turquoise-and-silver charm strung on a delicate silver chain. Though it isn't normally the style of jewelry I wear, it's truly lovely and it's still sitting in my jewelry box.

So I continue to receive the presents, and send grateful thank-yous. Why? Because in this case, it really is the thought that counts. And while I wish the money to buy the gifts and the postage to send them wouldn't be wasted, there's no way I'd ever say so to her. In the meantime, there's always Goodwill. Or friends, who have the same taste she does. God bless my aunt.

So my dad is one of my all time favorite people.

I don't have many early photos of my dad at my house but I came across these so I am going to share...

It sounds trite to say he is patient and he is kind but those are two words that always come to mind when I think of my dad. He has never raised his voice and never yelled (except FOR his children as we were playing sports and then he REALLY yells!) And no matter what situation we got ourselves into as kids (or continually as adults), he would always approach it with such ease, usually adding a joke to calm us down. I could only hope to be half the parent this man is.

Let's ignore the fact that it looks like I just ate a bag of Sour Patch Kids...

Growing up, my dad was always at every sporting event, every dance recital, every art show...if it was important to us, he made a point to be there. He has always put family first and I respect that. No one cares more about family than this man! We will barely be through our Thanksgiving supper and he is already planning Christmas!

Let's ignore the fact that my mom looks like a Stepford Wife! lol
Love you mom, you look gorgeous, just Stepford-y.

Speaking of Christmas, no one loves Christmas more than this man! I think he starts listening to Christmas music in September to gear up for the holiday. Again, I think part of the draw is more time with family. He takes the entire event in-the smells, the sounds, the tastes...I love to see Christmas through his eyes. Growing up, he would "play Santa" by handing out the gifts and he would make it last all day like from 8 am until 5 pm hanging on to every second, not wanting to let go, taking in every memory and capturing it with a photograph or a video or even a tape recorder depending on what decade it was! Of course at the time my brother and I groaned about it but now I couldn't be more thankful.

Let's ignore the fact that I have 90's Brook Shield eyebrows and dyeable shoes on.
Oh, I could go on about the things I want you to ignore but this is not about me...

I included this photo because I know it was a proud moment for my dad, when I was on Homecoming Court in high school, as it was something that him and I could do together (especially at a time when teenagers don't want to spend time with their parents) but what he doesn't know is that it was a proud moment for me also as I was able to show him off.

Let's ignore the fact that this isn't my best side..

I LOVE this photo of my dad!
We were tearing up the dance floor at my cousin's wedding. My dad has such a youthful spirit. Our family always jokes that he has an actual age and a mental age. He will play with my nephews as if he is one of them. When my brother was in college at UGA, he would wear khakis and a tie to the football games and hang out at the fraternity house (also his fraternity) like he was one of the guys. He is blissfully unaware that he doesn't belong which is ironically part of his charm.

If you know my dad, you know that he is a funny man. He cracks everyone up, especially himself which is one of my favorite things about him. He has a silent giggle where he puts his hand over his mouth when something is funny but you aren't really suppose to laugh...like if someone falls or says something inappropriate or does something embarrassing...kinda like a kid does...I love it, it makes me smile.

There is so much more I could say about my dad but I want to end on that note...the silent giggle.

Happy Father's Day, Dad...not sure you will ever see this because you don't have a "Blogging Machine" (his words) at home but I love you very much.

Eclectic Interior Design Group is a full-service design firm based in Charleston, South Carolina working on both residential and commercial spaces. Please email sidney@eclectic-idg.com for additional information.

Eclectic is a retail shop/design studio located in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina selling an array of vintage pieces, repurposed items, new products and locally made art with a fresh Modern meets Coastal aesthetic.

Admittedly (see, I got it now!), I am not the biggest fan of the holidays. I mean of course I love Christmas and all the parties and spending time with family-laughing, sharing fond memories, partaking in some spirits, eating good food, watching my nephews ruthlessly tear open gift after gift-but it is also super stressful! I mean this is the busiest time of year for my business then you add decorating clients homes for Christmas (which I love because I rarely get to do my own!) and then there is shopping for presents and traveling and making everyone happy and blah, blah, blah. But I am really trying this year. Really! I hope to be more like this...

Thanks for letting me vent :)

Now I am going to talk about some of the things I really dig as far as Christmas decorating goes. I was at a friend's house the other night and she had those lights on her tree that alternate between clear lights and colored lights. How have I never heard about these before? Brilliant. Totally solves one of life's many debates. [For the record, I am pro clear.] I am also loving anything natural and earthy-driftwood, paper whites, birch, seashells, garland, burlap, moss, boxwood...oh my.

Love.

Not the biggest fan of things that scream Christmas.

Unless you are going to an ugly Christmas sweater party.
Who came up with this idea? I want to be your best friend. If you are a guy, I might want to be more than friends.

And red is my least favorite color (except when it comes to the GA Bulldogs) so I tend to go for the creams, golds, silvers, greens and even, perhaps, a Tiffany blue. Typically, I love when you can incorporate holiday decor into your normal, everyday decor. Like this...

The brilliance that is Suzanne Kasler. You go Atlanta.

Here are some other images that inspire me...

Let's face it, pretty much everything she does kicks ass.

Ditto for Ruthie. Love the atypical color scheme!

Eddie Ross you are a rock star.
This makes me want to take back my red comment.

~Images: 1-2) Google ? 3) via MFaMB 4) ? 5) via Toby Fairley's blog 6 and 7) Cottage Living 8) eddieross.com

And I just can't hide it.

Who is excited for Christmas vacation? This girl. I am exhausted and burnt out and ready for a new year! This year has had more downs than ups and I am ready to bid it adieu. And I am excited that I get to spend some QT with my family and excited to see some ol' friends too. And I am excited to meet up with Ryan Reynolds in Atlanta now that he got rid of Scar Jo we can finally be together! Plus I get to do a little shopping along the way. [Shopping for my new online shop that will debut in January!] In fact, I have lots of exciting things in the works for Eclectic in the new year...soooo I am taking some time "off" to git 'er done and recharge my batteries. Until then...

"I love smiling, smiling's my favorite." -Buddy The Elf

"Merry Christmas! Shitter's full!"-Cousin Eddie

"I want to live again!"-George Bailey

"Oooh fuuudge!" -Ralphie

"At one time, most of my friends could hear the bell. But as years passed, it fell silent for all of them. Even Sarah found, one Christmas, that she could no longer hear it’s sweet sound. Though I have grown old, the bell still rings for me. As it does for all who truly believe."

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
See ya in 2011!