A White Christmas

What a wonderful thing to wake up to on Christmas morning!  The first snowfall of the year, and it happened on Christmas Day!  I was so excited about us having snow that I woke up in the middle of the night, opened the bedroom curtains and shades, and just watched to snow fall; it was wonderful.  It's the first white Christmas that I can remember, although my parents tell me that we had one when I was very young.  I was as excited as a child for the snow!

It was a great day of good times with family.

Of course, we couldn't end the day without my little sister and I standing in front of the Christmas Tree for the annual picture.  We have pictures of the two of us together in front of the tree going back to the days when we were both tiny, and I'm sure that there will be many, many more to come in the future.

I hope that your Christmas was filled with laughter and joy!  Have a great weekend!

Glory to God in the Highest!

On this, the day of our Savior's birth, I wish you a very Merry Christmas.  May you and your family know true peace and happiness today.  If you are traveling in bad weather, I pray for travel mercies for you.

Where ever you may be, Rejoice!  For today is the day our Savior came into this world to save us all!

Luke 2: 1-14 NIV

The Birth of Jesus

    ¹In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. ²(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) ³And everyone went to his own town to register.
    ⁴So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. ⁵He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. ⁶While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

The Shepherds and the Angels

    ⁸And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. ¹¹Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ^[a] the Lord. ¹²This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
    ¹³Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
    ¹⁴"Glory to God in the highest,
      and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

Merry Christmas!

Silent Night, Holy Night

It's Christmas Eve, and the weather man is calling for snow today and tomorrow.  I can't remember the last time that we had a white Christmas.  I must have been very young, and I'm excited that we might actually get to have one this year!

Tonight we continue family tradition, heading to church for Christmas Eve Candlelight Communion at 6:00 which always ends with the congregation holding candles and singing Silent Night.  Then we're heading over to Grandma's house for dinner afterward.  We have done this all of my life.  Grandma's now 89 years old, and we provide the food instead of her, but we still meet at her house.

Hopefully all of you have finished your shopping so that you don't have to do any unnecessary rushing around today and you can enjoy the day and family.  Have a great one!

Homies

Pam's excellent mid-century blog, Retro Renovation, has been nominated for an Apartment Therapy "Homies" Award!  Voting goes through December 29.  Vote for Retro Renovation here!  You will have to register on the site, but it is well worth it!  Good luck Pam!

A Cul-de-sac Shack Christmas

So, what does the shack look like when it's decorated for Christmas, you may ask?  Well, you probably weren't asking - but I'm going to share anyway!  And the strange thing is, in these pictures that I'm sharing today you will get to see more of the shack than I have shared in all of my other posts combined.  However, since all I got decorated this year was the living room, that's all you'll get to see.  Keep your eye open, almost everything that I have shared in individual posts is somewhere in the room!

In the above photo, you get a good look at most of the living room.  You can see my antique ornaments on the little tree on the Majestic radio, the glitter flocked wreath candle holder on the coffee table, the blow mold Santa, and on the table in the back corner of the room, something I haven't shared.  My little vintage aluminum Christmas tree.  More on it in a bit.

 

A trip to the little "junk" shop this past Saturday netted a few treasures.  They had all Christmas items 1/2 off, so of course I had to check it out!  I snatched this angel and bells as well as the white and red satin ornaments that I put in the milk glass compote that I had marked to go in the garage sale next spring.  I may need to keep it around now and just store it with the Christmas stuff.

Here is an etched glass container (which I was also going to put in the garage sale) with more of the satin ornaments.  What ever happened to satin ornaments?  They were always so annoying with the way that they would snag and unravel, but they looked so cool with the way that the light would shine on them.

I found my poor little aluminum tree at a garage sale when I was in the either the fifth or sixth grade.  I remember that I paid $5 for it.  It has seen better years, and there are places where the aluminum wrapping on the branches is broken.  I still enjoy putting it out though.  This year I stuck a vintage Santa puppet on it for a topper.

Here's yet another view of the majority of the decorations.  I went through my collection this year and used mostly my vintage decorations and left the newer ones in storage.

The big day is fast approaching, and I still have gifts to wrap.  Hopefully I'll get that done today!

Rejuvenation Introduces New Lights, and a Giveaway!

I got an email from Rejuvenation yesterday that they were introducing a new series of lights to their Mid-Century Modern line!

This attractive new line of hourglass shaped aluminum ceiling and sconce fixtures will debut in February, 2010.

According to Rejuvenation's website:

"Prepare to Go Back to the Future

In the vast "cosmos" of mid-century modern lighting designs, the elegant hourglass profile remains one of the most iconic.

Our Galaxy, Asterix, Vektr, and Spektr are based on the Stockholm series manufactured by EJS lighting in 1959, a reference to the Scandinavian origins of so many fine MCM designs. Small perforations in their aluminum cones produce a delightful starlight effect when lit.

Fresh and futuristic when first introduced, our handcrafted aluminum fixtures are an elegant update for pre-war, postwar, mid-century modern, and contemporary houses. More than just "retro," the Hourglass family truly stands apart. With authentic space-age materials and sleek, streamlined profiles, they feel a bit like the past tense in fast forward."

The lights will be available in brushed or bronzetone aluminum, white, or black enamel.

Want a chance to win one of these beauties?  Just follow this link and sign up!  They allow one entry per person, and all entries must be submitted by January 26, 2010.  Be sure to read their full contest rules!  I've got my entry in already!  Good luck!

Cheery Napkin Holder

Do you ever come across something that just makes you smile?  Something that really isn't worth anything at all, but makes you feel good, so you know that it needs to be a part of your home?  That's the way that I felt when I found this nice bright yellow napkin holder in a box of other kitchen stuff from an auction here a while back.  The color is great, and the green design is attractive as well.

I searched on Etsy for these, and found several that were the same plastic style, but they all had printed flowers on them instead of the circular design.  I found them in yellow, orange, green, and brown.  Finding them in those colors, I believe that they probably date to the 1970s.

I think this little guy is going to have a new home on my dining table!

Happy Tuesday!