Merry Christmas!

Wishing you joy and peace this Christmas morning!

Santa's Coming!

Twas the Night Before Christmas...

There is much excitement at our friends' home today...

Can't wait to visit these three tomorrow morning! 

May all the Blessings of Christmas be yours!

Peace on Earth

Goodwill to All

Who's Hiding In That Pickle Jar?

My collection of vintage baby shoes is sprinkled about the house

 and I stash the rest in this huge pickle jar.

 After seeing Manon's post featuring the cutest little red shoes...

I decided I needed this tiny red pair for a Christmas display...

 ...so I dumped the jar out on the table.

Wait!

 Do you see what I see?

Look at this charming little fellow nestled in that old shoe!

Where did he come from?

hmmm....I have no idea....

OK, so I told a tall tale....(tail?)

:)

My girlfriend Paula gave me this cute little Christmas mouse in the old Victorian shoe when I visited last week.

Thank you Paula!

He is a Cathy Pendleton original creation.

Too cute!

Just one more sleep till Santa comes!

Merry Christmas friends!

:)

The Christmas Shop at Maynard Greenhouse

Step into Carole's Christmas shop at Maynard Greenhouse

 and you will be delighted with her visual displays,

 her choice of beautiful gifts, ribbons, ornaments, jewelry,

 decorative accessories, antiques and paper goods.

The selection of ribbons alone made my heart beat fast!

 There was an abundance of silver and glitter...

...crowns and French inspired gifts and accessories.

 There were also many touches of nature...

...birds and nests were a decided theme.

I had not seen Carole in a long time and she and Paula and I 

were chatting away a mile a minute. 

It was fortunate that there was a short lull in business

 and we had a chance to catch up.

 George, Carole's husband is such a good sport...

...he was busy with folks buying their Christmas trees.

Maynard Greenhouse is truly in an idyllic setting and Carole and George work so hard to make it look this beautiful!

I'll be quiet now and let you indulge in this visual feast!!

For a closer look at all the details you can click on the picture and then zoom in!

Carole had a special Christmas gift for me and of course, it was wrapped beautifully and tied with gorgeous blue ribbon.

A beautiful and very personal collaged banner...

Such a sweet friend!

I hope you are enjoying coming along with me

 on my day of visiting and Christmas shopping.

I took 300 pictures and it is so hard to decide which ones to post!

Over the next few days I will take you to the other charming Connecticut towns and shops we visited.

I think you will love it!

Silver and Red

It is hard to believe that December is half over!

...and now comes the really fun part...

This old postcard is a bit rough...

 but I love the image of Santa in his car and thought you would too!

Perhaps you can fix him up in Photoshop?

I would if I could...but I can't...

...so I won't!

:(

Breathe deep!

It doesn't have to be perfect...

Faith, Hope and Love

Remembering the reason for the season!

:)

Wishing You Warm Christmas Greetings

An old pair of little girl's red wool gloves...

complete with tiny moth holes and charming signs of wear...

Did she carry her books home from school 

wearing these red wool gloves?

 Did she throw snowballs at her younger brother?

I remember how delighted I was when I found these

 in a booth at Brimfield about ten years ago.

It doesn't take much! :) 

Vintage show shoes and some old pointed wood skis

 in a battered old pack basket...

The snowshoes and pack basket came from the Adirondacks...

...the lovely wooden skis were a Christmas gift

 from my girlfriend Paula. 

Pretty red and white bow with twig of cotton seed pods....

(saved from Evi's present to me last year)

I am looking forward to next weekend when I will spend some much needed time with these two fun girls.

While in Connecticut, we will visit two other girlfriends and get to see their shops all decorated for Christmas...

Carole from Maynard Greenhouse and Deanna from Gather.

And finally...

... here are two more vintage Christmas postcards

just for You !

Wishing all good things for the week ahead!

:)

Last chance to enter the

American Picker

 DVD Season 1 Give Away.

Click HERE for a chance!

With Fondest XMAS Greetings!

Just a few images of the Christmas goings on around here...

With fondest Christmas greetings to all my friends!

:)

If you did not get a chance to enter the American Pickers DVD giveaway...you have until Monday to leave a comment HERE!