Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas...
Here I sit on Friday morning, still feeling quite full from yesterday's Thanksgiving feast! If you have been reading my blog very long you know that I love, love, love decorating for holidays and Christmas is my very favorite! This year I used all of my restraint and at least waited till the week of Thanksgiving to haul out the Christmas goodies. Here are some of my favorite vintage ornaments. Most of them have been gifts from my sweet mama. They looked so beautiful sitting in this basket together that I almost didn't want to take them out to put them on the tree! They are addicting, I think. I feel the need to go out and find some more! They are so charming and pretty! Even my dear husband and little guys love them. As you can see, I did finally put them on the tree. I adore my white tree! I think it really makes the ornaments stand out and it literally glows when the lights are on, especially at night. It looks magical! I used a vintage grandmother's garden quilt for a tree skirt. It was a gift from my sweet mama last year for Christmas. This is one of my favorites. Gorgeous shape, gorgeous colors and,of course, glitter!
See how sparse it looks? All those empty spots? I need more, more, more! Oh dear, I think I have officially become a vintage ornament addict!Here is another one of my favorites. Please excuse my camera reflected in the ornament. I haven't yet perfected my amateur photography skills!I love the cute little star shaped Santa. A darling snowman I won last year from the lovely and talented Dawn of The Feathered Nest.
And this adorable Mary Engelbreit ducky is baby Dylan's favorite.Alright, enough tree shots. On to my Merry Little Christmas corner. I just love it! Such a happy little spot!Pink, aqua, white, glitter and vintage!!! I could stare at this all day. I may need to rearrange my furniture so that I can do just that. It's a lot prettier than my big black t.v.!I found the little houses at Hobby Lobby the past couple of years. The were plain cardboard houses and I painted and glittered them. Now I really wish I had bought more!!!The collage I made a few years ago. It's made with a photo of my sweet mama when she was little. Her daddy built that wonderful little igloo for her and her brothers. What a good daddy!The cute vintage lamp I found at Goodwill for 2.99! I just had to add a shade. I can't believe I almost didn't buy it! Love this sweet pink cottage under the cloche, but I think it needs one more thing... maybe a tiny little snowman?
Under the table I tucked my aqua bench. When I found it was a very dark red, so I pulled out my robin's egg blue craft paint and made it pretty!
Silver sparkly picks, aqua beads, a crocheted lace linen and some pretty presents dress up the bench and add some holiday cheer!Now if only there were actually presents in these boxes... I'm sure they would be lovely vintage ones if there were.Thanks for joining me on this Merry Little Christmas tour!
I've still got to do a little more decorating in the rest of the house. I should probably get it done now while everyone else is still sleeping.

Today I'm linking up with Sugar Pink Boutique's Friday Fun link up party, Deck the Halls Friday with Tinsel and Company and Vintage Inspiration Friday with Debra at Common Ground. Also I wanted to let you know about the 12 Days of Holiday Giveaways over on the Where Women Create blog. Each day, from now through December 12th, the site will feature four artists who are giving away four fabulous prizes. Be sure to check it out here.
Michelle xoxo

Every Leaf Speaks Bliss to Me...
It is starting to cool down a little bit here in Texas and we even had a some rain, so it's finally feeling like Autumn is here. I decided to celebrate this lovely weather by decorating the entry of my little cottage for Fall.I'm loving the warm fall colors mixed with the aqua, turquoise and whites. I'm also loving the leaf picks with gold glitter I found at Michaels. I must get some more!A lovely quote by Emily Bronte on my huge chalkboard. (Still working on trying to write pretty and balanced on it!) "Every leaf speaks bliss to me, falling from the Autumn tree." This tin picture frame is definitely speaking bliss to me!
It was dark brown when I found it, so I used some robins egg blue spray paint and then sanded it to bring out the details.I hope you are enjoying nicer weather where you live, also. Happy Autumn!
I'm linking up with Debra of Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Friday , Show Off Your Cottage Monday at The House in the Roses, Fall Into Fall with DIY Design and Autumn Arrives Party at Savvy Seasons by Liz.
Michelle xoxo

Birthday Bliss...
It was my birthday this past weekend and my dear, sweet mama sent me a delightful package full of vintage goodness!!!
The box was brimming with treasures! Inside I found these gorgeous vintage earrings.So pretty!! I will have to use these in some projects!Look at these gorgeous vintage linens!I adore the colors in this runner and hot-pad!
There was also a darling vintage baby book. Inside it is filled with sweet entries, a lock of baby's hair and even an elementary school report card. Mama also sent me my very own ruffled tights I wore as a baby!
A sweet vintage saucer with blossoming trees. Mama said she bought it because it reminds her of Anne of Green Gables. If you watched the movie, you know how gorgeous the scenery was on Prince Edward Island where they filmed it. I need to watch that movie again soon! It was my favorite book series and they did such an amazing job sticking to the book when they created the movie.She tucked in some fun craft supplies, too! Vintage crochet lace, seam binding, rick rack, buttons and Martha glitter.On my birthday I visited all my favorite local antique malls. I didn't find much, but had lots of fun looking. Treasure hunting is definitely one of my favorite pastimes. I love to find something wonderful, but I think at least half the fun is the hunt! I did find this cute "find" flashcard and a vintage ledger book at an antique mall. I also found the lovely blue transferware plate at the Goodwill for just $1! To top off the day I ate way too much of my favorite dessert, white cake with buttercream frosting! And my sweet husband and boys sang happy birthday to me in the sweetest way, gathering around me and hugging me. Does it get any better? I don't think so. I am so blessed with my sweet family!!!
Michelle xoxo

Happy Fall!
Hello, dear friends! I didn't intend to be absent so long, but sometimes I just get out of the blogging groove. I thought I would share some of the Fall decorating I've been doing around my little cottage. My newest finds inspired me to do my hutch in black and white.
I found a cute little black suitcase, crochet doily, flashcards, cream pitcher, an adorable alarm clock and the fabulously huge letter R! I also found this cute musical flash card and the black satin bow tie.
On top of my t.v. cabinet I used white, cream, red, brown and oranges. Not my usual pastels and neutrals, but they are so cozy and warm for fall.I love the scents of the fall candles and the velvet leaf and berry picks add such richness! I used some old books for lifts, brown tansferware, vintage clock faces, and of course I had to spell out Autumn with my scrabble letters! I so love decorating for seasons and holidays! Oh, who am I kidding? I love decorating for any, every and NO reason at all! Next up I'm going to try to do some spooky Halloween decor. But not too spooky, I don't want to scare my little guys! Now I'm off to enjoy blogs and spend too much time on my favorite pastime, Pinterest!!! So inspiring and so very addicting!
Michelle xoxo

Hello dolls!
Just wanted to share some of my newest finds with you! I've been loving vintage toy phones for years and finally found a super cute one for a price I couldn't refuse. I love this shade of blue!
As you can see I had a bit of fun making a vignette with it. A rhinestone button added to it makes it ever more adorable. I just can't resist adding some sparkle to most things.Love these sweet old buttons I found in my favorite colors. The just don't make buttons as cute as this anymore.This large runner with hand crocheted lace edge was a fabulous find and a steal of a deal! The vintage flash cards are irresistible, too. I especially love the one with the music note.Hope you are keeping cool during this heat wave. I'm in Texas so it's always a heat wave here. Thank goodness for air conditioning!!!
Michelle xoxo

Seaside StyleHappy Summer, girls! One of my favorite decorating styles is seaside style. I love blues, white, aquas, seashells and starfish, mermaids and sandcastles!
This is the entry to my cottage. What better way to be greeted in the summer than with whimsical sea inspired items and a cheerful blue and white color scheme. I just found this wonderful large chalkboard last weekend at a favorite antique mall. I love the frame and love how big it is. Lots of room to write longer quotes like this one. It's a favorite quote of mine from author Lucy Maude Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables series. "Look at that sea, girls~ all silver and shadow and vision of things not seen. We couldn't enjoy it's loveliness more if we had millions of dollars and ropes of diamonds." (Seems I need to work on the skill of writing in a pretty and balanced way on my chalkboard! I'll just pretend my messy writing looks "casual".)
My pretty Simply Shabby Chic lampshade from Target~ love it!
Love my blue striped pillow, too!
Hope you girls are enjoying this summer. I so wish I was at the beach right now. I have not been for many years and that needs to change~! How wonderful would it be to live close to the shore and visit often! I dream of that. For now, I'll just have to enjoy my sea inspired decor.
I'm joining Kathleen of Faded Charm today for White Wednesday.
Michelle xoxo