Treasure Box Wednesday: People Who Live in Cardboard Houses

Ah, two more rooms down, one-and-a-half to go! Christmas cheer has exploded here at Waterhouse.

Well, not quite. I mean, it starts out as Christmas grumbling because, honestly, who really wants to climb on ladders and unpack boxes after a nine- or ten-hour work day?... But then that gives way to Christmas Accomplishment. And then Accomplishment works its way into the Christmas Cheer.

It's a three-step-to-Cheer process.

So last night I got the chance to add my cardboard vintage-style village to the entryway. It's pretty much the same every year, but I love the tone it sets when you step in the door...

Warmth... nostalgia... welcome...

I exchanged the three transferware vases that regularly sit up on this ledge shelf for three more little cardboard houses, chosen to match the aquas and pinks in my entry...
We'll get back to this room shortly, but first... Remember the purple and silver dining room theme I've been working on for this year? This is the accompanying tree...
It looked pretty lame the first night I was working on it-- kind of like a sad, soggy pipecleaner collection with some sparkles on it. I had considered just taking it down and putting the lamp back that normally lives there.

But, then it seemed the more ornaments I slathered on, the better it started to look. I think that tree actually perked up!...
And now, it's preening in the mirror...
Okay, now back to the entryway... Long-time readers have probably seen this tree before-- the one that's traditionally filled with faux candy and as many ShinyBrites as it can handle...

Underneath, it gets a base of faux poinsettias, to add a little extra color...
This one, too, is reflected by a hallway mirror. I think it adds just a little extra sparkle...
ShinyBrites never cease to amaze me. They always remind me of something Dr. Seuss would have come up with...
And little elves look on, nestled in their ornament homes...
As he waves goodbye for today, so do I! If you missed Sunday's Christmas decorating post, you can catch that by clicking here.

And this Sunday, I should have the last of the decorating to show you-- unless I'm being overly ambitious in saying that. Ya never know.

Treasure Box Wednesday: Days Shiny and Brite

Any good treasure hunter knows, it's never too early or late in a season to pick up seasonal items-- particularly when they have a little age and interest to them. And this last week was a shiny taste of Christmas.

A visit to the Salvation Army Superstore rewarded me with a bag of vintage Shiny Brite ornaments-- those gleaming, uniquely shaped decorations of the 50s. I have a few that came from my parents' house. My dad recalls them from when he was a young'n...


In fact, the bell above is very similar to ones handed down to me. Of course, with the years also comes some unpleasant ornament casualties, and so I'm happy to find ones similar to the originals to supplement my collection. With a bag at just a little over $1, it's easy to splurge...


I love how some of them are shaped like whimsical toys, while others have shimmering starbursts at their heart, like these bulbs...


To further bring on the shiny, I discovered these two luster candlesticks. I'm not sure the age on these, but their style is very much like the pressed glass from the Depression era. I think I need to do a bit of research...

They certainly do work well, though, with all my Carnival glass!

Another find-- while not necessarily shiny-- did have a very sparkly price. At $0.79, I couldn't pass up these two pink sherbet dishes in my Hazel Atlas Moderntone Platonite pattern...


And before we close the lid on today's Treasure Box, I thought I'd show you shiny of a more natural sort. I'm definitely seeing the value of bringing my camera just everywhere with me. Because one breathtaking morning commute, the sky exploded in color...


It was so vibrant, so awestriking to me, I actually deviated from my route to work, went around the block, and parked, just so I could get a few of these shots out my car window...


It's hard not to believe you'll have a decent day at work when your world is filled with brilliant colors like these...


Wishing you beautiful, colorful days ahead. The kind that warm the heart, and bring a bit of optimism into your view.

• For those who missed Sunday's post, "Fit to Be Tied: Funny Knitting and Crochet", click here.

See you again soon!

Christmas Magic, Mania and Medicine Cabinet Mirrors

I've been a busy bee lately...

Or, for those allergic to them, I have been the highly-productive animal analogy of your choice.

I still have a ton to do, of course-- go grocery shopping, finish the laundry, dust the master bedroom, do some last-minute wrapping, mail my Christmas cards, tidy the kitchen, feed the llama.... whathaveyou. But I am completely in control. I am NOT freaking out.

NOT freaking out. NOT.

Okay, well, maybe a little.

BUT-- I say, as I turn my Optimism Setting back to "On"-- the guest room is prepped and momentarily pretty, so I thought you all might enjoy seeing some photos fresh off the Powershot.

It's been a fairy-merry season this year, as you can see...


My James Christensen fairy figures which inhabit the spare room are a bit confused as it turned from Spring to Winter overnight. (Well, that's Pittsburgh weather for you.) One moment there's flowers entwined everywhere, and the next minute you're up to your bum in icicles and tinsel.


I imagine the next time I go in there, they'll be wearing earmuffs and shawls. :)

The little shabby-chic-looking dresser drawer you see here was a Goodwill find. Normally throughout the year, I have it spilling over with silk wildflowers. But for the winter holidays, a few ornaments do the trick.


And here on the other side of the room, a bit of cheer was spread involving some vintage-look ornaments, a carnival glass bowl, and an old mirror that I think originally was part of a medicine cabinet. Can you believe the bowl, the dresser tray it's sitting on, and the medicine cabinet mirror were thrift store goodies? So was the glass Santa-shaped jar filled with strings of costume jewelry pearls you see on the far left.

And lastly, let's descend for a moment from the guest room to the diningroom. Below is one of the side tables there. It's truly remarkable how a few simple ornaments in a bowl and a bit of ribbon tossed lazily on fake greenery can suddenly make a place look decorated and festive.

So, tell me-- are YOU all freaking out about getting everything done for the holidays? Have any coping techniques you'd like to recommend?-- like starting a therapeutic yoga routine, hitting the cooking sherry, or just bagging it and going to Club Med?

Tea and sympathy provided. Otherwise, I'll see you next week!

Fright Before Christmas (or at Least a Healthy Panic)

Christmas is almost upon us, and your Hostess, like everybody else, is facing some specific goal-oriented challenges.

Which is marketing-spin-speak for, "Freaking Out."

I am freaking out because the greeting cards that I considered so very fun and festive and Victorian and "Me" in the store, now peer out of their shopping bag wondering why I never stop by, I never write. And I just know I will be writing them in such a hurry, my family and friends will take one look at my already-unfortunate-looking scrawl and wonder whether I've finally gone off my nut. Because, well, they knew it was coming, didn't they, when I started hoarding lamps, and joking that decorative cherubs should unionize. But they really hadn't expected the dementia to advance so RAPIDLY.

I am also freaking out because the Christmas gift I've been working on for a dear friend since late this summer was almost done when it decided to explode. And I mean EXPLODE. In an actual "unexpected bit-o'stuff-breaking-off" sort of way. I am not certain how it even happened. But never let it be said that The Thrift Shop Romantic hasn't experienced a healthy share of Good Intentions Gone Wrong.

I would go into more detail, so you can enjoy a nice, big cup of holiday schadenfreude at my expense (it goes well with cookies). But I am still deluded enough to believe that while this particular gift project is a wash and has been safely replaced, that my original concept was doable. So I must keep mum about my nefarious plans, since that same dear friend actually reads this blog sometimes. (Hi there, how's it goin'?)

Lastly, I am freaking out because my More-is-More decorating style for the holidays has meant I've spent an inordinate amount of time trimming everything in sight... doorways... window ledges... passing neighbors' cats...

...But now there is this mound of Christmas gifts still to be wrapped. And to my stupid, irrational fingers, wrapping is not decorating. DECORATING is fun and rewarding and happy. WRAPPING is clumsy and hard-to-estimate and somehow involves tape in my hair.

It will all be all right in the end, of course. It always is. And Scotch-taped hair, redrum handwriting and some lengthy wrap-sessions are small potatoes compared to, oh, pretty much every other thing that's going on in the world.

So this week I leave you with some photos of The Decorating Which is Not Wrapping, that's been going on at Waterhouse this season. Many of the Christmas ornaments you see here, and even the bowls they sit in, were off-season thrift store finds.

Wishing you a safe, happy holiday season where none of your gifts explode (unless they're supposed to-- like someone gives you hot air popcorn or somethin'...)

And I'll see you again bright and early in January 2007! As always, thanks so much for spending some of your time here.

--Jenn