Christmas Tablescape 2011

This has been a fun year for all of us ...busy, but fun.

I've already started quite a list of things to do around here for next year and the number one thing on that list is to get better organized with my list.  My husband has started to sweat ...and grumble.

Today I would like to share a few photos I took of my dinning room.  I hope you enjoy!

I consider Christmas to be a time of rejoicying ...a time to celebrate and the one time of year that color is spread about our house everywhere you look.

I love sitting down to a meal where a beautiful table has been prepared.  It just makes the meal seem so much more festive ...special.  Do you feel that way?

The centerpiece will stay out thru Christmas.  If this was the only area I had to decorate in my home for the holidays ...I'd be happy.  I pass by this table several times throughout the day so it is always a fun place to decorate for any event.

Of course I'll add a bit more layering (with the dishes) for the actual Christmas dinner meal.  For the photos today though ...I wanted the colors to show as much as possible.

For my tablescape today, I brought out the crystal candlestick holders, white candles, white poinsettias, and added green apples to help spread the color green that I used to decorate with this year.

I had an opportunity to use several of my bottles for the flowers.

As always, keep peace in your heart.

Oh and ...if you are looking for holiday decorating inspiration...

go take a gander at Between Naps On The Porch for Tablescape Thursday

and

at French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday.

Joy to the world

We are having a white Christmas at our house this year ...this guy even put on a white shirt for the event.

Imagine my surprise though ...I had invited a Christmas Fairy.

Keep joy in your heart!

UPDATE:  Oh by the way ...the Christmas Fairy did appear here!

EURASIAN COLLARED DOVE

A black collared event was held...

here we are on this bright and sunny day in March

and the first one to show up is the

Eurasian Collared Dove.

The feeder had quite a spread consisting of mixed seeds...

and measuring in at 12 1/2 inches,

this Dove can really put away the food.

The Eurasian Collared dove invited his cousin,

the Mourning dove,

but so far he is a no-show.

Guess he won't be attending though

since he doesn't sport a black collar for the event.

Come join in on the fun and Tweet Around The World
at Jillsy Girl.



Hello Mister Cardinal

Every Day Is a Reason for Giving---
and Giving Is the Key to Living!

So let us give "ourselves" away
Not just today but every day. . .
And remember a kind and thoughtful deed
Or a hand outstretched in time of need
Is the rarest of gifts, for it is a part
Not of the purse but a loving heart---
And he who gives of himself will find
True joy of heart and peach of mind.

Sunsets and Rainbows

I was able to photograph this awesome sight at sunset one evening this past weekend when a rainbow was developing between the clouds.

What a treat!

God, Grant Us Hope and Faith and Love

Hope for a world grown cynically cold,

Hungry for power and greed for gold.

Faith to believe when within and without

there's a nameless fear in a world of doubt.

Love that is bigger than race or creed,

to cover the world and fulfill each need.

God, grant these gifts of faith, hope, and love---

three things this world has so little of.

For only these gifts from our Father above

can turn man's sins

from hatred to love!

~Helen Steiner Rice

Red-Bellied Woodpecker

Occasionally we are preveledged to hear and see the Red-bellied Woodpecker.

Today was the day.

Let me tell you, he was beautiful.

These gorgeous creatures have black and white striped backs, wings, and tail feathers making them a very striking and easily recognizable bird.

Besides the striking black and white barred wings,

the male Red-bellied Woodpecker also sports a brilliant red head and nape.

The female is fashioned with only a red nape.

The Red-bellied Woodpecker has a small reddish patch on its belly

and prefers woodlands and parks as their choice of habitat.
He graced us all here in the great state of Texas, March 2011.

:: Melanerpes carolinus 9 1/4" ::
National Geographics

Want to check out the other fabulous bird photos?
Fly on over to Jillsy Girl and view the beautiful photos and enter the Tweets Around The World.

I'd also like to invite you to go on over to My Romantic Home
for Show And Tell Friday to view things that will boggle your mind.

Magic

So brief a time we have to stay

along this dear, familiar way.

It seems to me we should be kind

to those whose lives touch yours and mine.

So many faults in life there are

we need not go to seek them far;

but time is short and you and I

might let the little faults go by.

Seek out what is true and fine

in those whose lives touch yours and mine.

I am inspired by

One of the things that never ceases to amaze me here at the lake...

are the incredible sunsets.

One thing you can count on...the end of the day

will always arrive with a sunset.

~o~

Each bright new day must always come to an end

and with it much beauty comes along the way.

We are allowed a brief viewing of some unbelieveable sites

as we experience each and every new day.

Take the time to soak in the beauty that presents itself to you

for it is truly a gift from heaven above.

~ Mavrik Lane Studio

Walk with me

So what are you doing...

on this fine new day?

~o~

Peter awoke early to find the ground covered in a blanket of freshly fallen snow.  The sun was up and it glistened like jewels on the ground below.  This made him smile for he had planned this day for months and it couldn't have been more beautiful...

read more >>>

Check out a Beach Cottage
for Good Life Wednesdays!

fleeting moments

~by Jewell Stone

winter's love

BOND AND FREE

Love has earth to which she clings

With hills and circling arms about -

Wall within wall to shut fear out.

But Thought has need of no such things,

For Thought has a pair of dauntless wings.

On snow and sand and turf, I see

Where Love has left a printed trace

With straining in the world's embrace.

And such is Love and glad to be.

But Thought has shaken his ankles free...

~ Robert Frost

Participating at My Romantic Home

SHOW AND TELL FRIDAY

Yummie

Sometimes the simplest of things can mean so very much.
Like when your grandson makes a custom-made cinnamon biscuit.

I mean who wouldn't think this was special?

Living Room re-do

Well the living room re-do is coming along although I'm not 100% finished with it.  The accent wall turned out just the way I was hoping...beautiful!  I'm going to resolve the window covering non-compatibility issues and tweak this thing and that before I sign off on the final photo, but nonetheless, here it is today.  I just couldn't wait to photograph the wall and show it off.  My husband did a fantabulous job, don't you think?

I'm participating in Show Off Your Cottage Monday

at The House In The Roses...please take a moment to view all the awesome beauty that I discovered there.  What an enchanted blog!

Jan @ Mavrik Lane



The word is LOVE

Oh how I do love anything to do with lettering...

even if only one word.

Go take a minute and see what I'm talking about

at the My Sweet Savannah blog HERE.

The word by the way is

LOVE.

Putzing around the house

I don't mean to whine...much, but I'm so ready for the cold weather to be gone...really gone.  I've been pretty much cooped up in my home for the past couple of weeks studying, so I haven't missed being outside too much.  I've decided that if I have to study, the winter is really the best time to get 'er done.

When I lived up the north, I was forced to go outside just to be able to get to work.  Now I am so very grateful that I am able to work right out of my home and don't have to get out of my warm jammies unless I absolutely want to do so.

Do hope you had an absolutely wonderful weekend...except for studying...I sure did enjoy a relax'n time putzing around the house.

Jan @ Mavrik Lane

I am in love

Yep, I think I'm in love with this. . .

mediterranean family room design by phoenix architect Carson Poetzl, Inc.

lovely room as my Family Room re-do inspirational room.

Using what you have

One of the things I had to learn {out of sheer necessity}, was how to creatively arrange the furnishings I already had after a move.  I always had to make my furniture fit because buying new stuff when you move around a lot, like we did while my husband was in the military, wasn't always a luxury I had.  For example, what to do with that hand-me-down, honker of a sofa that you were given when you first got married.  It worked great in your first apartment and you were extremely grateful to have it, but then you move.  This time you move into a rental property that doesn't come with the wall space needed to accommodate the sofa.  What to do?

So for starters and without further ado, I've set up a corner in my Living Room addressing a sofa and wall space that don't match.

About now some of you might be asking the question, then why rent the house that doesn't work for your furniture?  Anyone that lives on a tight budget or that has had to find a place to live in a hurry wouldn't even be asking that question.  Sometimes you have to make compromises either because the price is right or because it is what is available to you when you need a place to live {in a hurry}.

Getting back to the sofa issues. . .

It would be better to place a large chair and ottoman or two smaller chairs in this corner to give the area the much needed breathing space.  Otherwise, it looks like you forced a larger piece of furniture to fit in a smaller space {which is exactly what has been done here}.  The overall look is crowded and the furniture is now competing for space.  So consider using that sofa in another room of your home {if you want to keep it} and start drawing smaller pieces of furniture from other rooms in your home.

Above I replaced the sofa with two small, leather, swivel chairs that were being used in another room of my home.  Not only do the chairs add warmth to this area of the room, but they are the right scale {size} for the space.

Now onto the coffee table and the accessories. . .

When placing accessories on your coffee table, be sure to consider their size and shape and remember, less is best if you plan to make it functional.  I like to sit down and eat at my coffee table plus I don't like it to look cluttered.  The accessories in my first photo [way up above in this post], though they do complement each other in shape {round}, they seem a bit detached and boring to me.

Below you will see that I've added a copper tray with individual tea pots/mugs.  These accessories are very functional for me because I love to have my afternoon tea in this room.  And I love books, especially decorating books.  I like to have them handy for those times when I just want to drool and imagine 'what if'.  So books are pretyy much a staple on my coffee tables...always.

What would you place on this coffee table?

I will be sharing more tips on "Using What You Have" soon.  I do hope you will come back again.

Jan @ Mavrik Lane

Today I am participating in Show And Tell Fridays at

My Romantic Home.  Please be sure to stop by for a visit to see all the many great ideas that are in store for you there.  CLICK HERE to be transported now.

Soar

Today I am participating at Jillsy Girl for One Word Wednesday sharing my thoughts on the word Soar.

Sharing

You know it is really, really cold when...

you get up, leave your slippers behind, and return to this site.

This is my dear, sweet Annie.  She looks a bit worried.  Guess she thinks I'm gonna claim those slippers.

Tea time at my house

Burr it is cold and wet and windy outside today, but toasty and warm inside.

My guests, for Christmas, left yesterday and today I am left with what to do next.  So I decided to have some tea and...

...start reading the manual for MY NEW CAMERA!

Yep, that's right I bought myself a new camera a couple of days ago.

Why you ask?

Well, let's first pour you a cup of tea.  Now...

...it all started the week before Christmas when a very unfortunate case of timing started to ocurr.  First my computer then the device I used to transfer the pictures from my camera to my computer stopped dead, dead, I mean all dead.

So sad, but there is a happy ending you see.

With all those bad vibes going on I managed to get my computer issues resolved, but there still remained the issue of transferring my pictures.  What's a gal to do?

Well this one decided it was finally time to buy the camera she had been drooling over for more than a year.So I thought...how 'bout some warm tea to hunker down with camera and manual today.

I decided if I was going to have tea, I'd also play with the dishes and test the camera.  I want to try and come up with an idea for my New Year's Eve tablescape today, and also do some experimenting with taking a few photos.

I have an idea of how I want to decorate the table for our New Year's Eve dinner this year, but you'll have to to come back to actually see the photos.  I think we will have crab cakes and roasted asparagus for dinner.  I haven't yet decided on the soup or dessert, and the wine is my husband's job {as usual}.

What are your plans for New Year's Eve this year?

Jan @ Mavrik Lane