Christmas is Near....

Are you trying to find all your favorite Christmas decorations like I am? And maybe finding some new  "old" decorations to fill in the holes? Me too! 

Again... Craigslist and thrift stores to the rescue!

I had an old sled I picked up "in my travels" years ago.

 I happen to find another one for cheap on Craigslist, and it wasn't  far from my house to pick it up.

I love decorating them. I had an old Christmas Bazaar sale wreath I got some 15 plus years ago, and after freshening it up a bit, it was hung on the the first sled.

 The "new" second sled was purchased for $20.00 from a man in his 60's, and is a German sled. He had it when he was a kid. 

 On the same weekend I got that sled, I bought an antique oak Icebox ( I will show later!) and asked the gal if she had any other things for sale...I am so glad I asked. 

She had a bucket of antique treasures, one of which was  old ice skates. Just what I wanted for the German sled! I bought the bucket and everything in it for $30.00, the skates alone were worth that!

My husband says he loves the over the top crazy decorating I have been doing, on my shoestring budget of course.

Since my father was in the typewriter industry, they are special to me and my family. He was with Royal, so we always prefer Royal, but this very old Corona was one that my mother had as one of her vintage finds. Perfect for Christmas decorating, I must say!

I picked up this early vintage  Royal typewriter at an Antique mall in Cashmere Washington ( home of Aplets and Cotlets) about 10 years ago, these old typewriters are getting more expensive now that others are collecting them. I think I paid $35.00 then. My daughter has several Royal's as well.

I took the doors off my old hutch, and just made it a Christmas display of it's own...

I repurposed an old wood window with a thrift store wreath for a wall in my dining room..

And an elf took up residence in my old wood dough bowl in my kitchen bay window...

So, these are just some bits and pieces of my decorating, as I get ready for our Christmas Eve family party next week.

A wee elf enjoying the view from the fireplace mantel.

My mantel has candles, old clocks, trees, owls, and my mom's jewel tree...I need to fill in the loose areas, where  beads and pins have fallen off over the years.

My tree is bursting with vintage and favorite decorations.

 I hope you and your families are warm and safe as we approach Christmas, and remember "The Reason for the Season"!

Jan


I also need to acknowledge my new assistant editor, Elenore...

Linking with:

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
Between Naps on The Porch
Debbies Newbie with a twist
Make It Pretty Monday
The Sunday Showcase
Common Ground
The Farmhouse Porch
Tweak It Tuesday 
Mod Mix Monday
Treasure Hunt Thursday 
Catch As Catch Can 
Feathered Nest Friday

Changes...

I may have mentioned previously that when I was working, my world had gotten into a rut, because all my time was either commuting to work, working and commuting home. I got up at 5AM and was lucky to get home by 5PM. After almost two hours of commuting per day, and a stressful job, well I did  not have the energy or desire to do anything. My home had fallen into the rut with me.

Now, my world is almost daily change, really...I am forever moving things, painting things, selling things, and buying things (thrift stores or Craigslist).

For example, I sold several items lately that took up to much room...such as this buffet...

We have several pieces of this Mission style furniture, but are ready to depart with much of it. This sold on CL pretty quickly.

I also had a large size Mission coffee table... and the Mission chair in the below picture, sold and gone both of them, to happy new owners.

My living room was ready for change, and since we will be having Christmas Eve at our house this year, I needed to be ready for it! Since my coffee table was gone, I brought in my recent garage sale rusted iron frame coffee table. I had painted and waxed the wood board top with ASCP. It has a smaller footprint, and I love the shabby look .

I also found two smaller size chairs for the living room, on Craigslist. She was asking $60 each which was a steal already, but she took $100.00 for the pair, and the fabric is great, she said they were in their never used living room. I will possibly sell the sofa after the holidays...it is a bit to long for this crazy layout of a living room (who else has six walls in a living room???).

The mirror on the mantel was a $20.00 CL find, it's beveled, so another great find I think. Now I am still on the lookout for one with a more ornate frame...like the one I foolishly sold earlier this year!

I have also listed my Hoosier/Kitchen Queen on Craigslist, and priced it to sell...we will see!  
Update: SOLD!

In it's place in my kitchen, I found an Amish made Pie Safe that is more appropriate for the storage I need.

Here in the Northwest you don't run across these like you do in other parts of the country, so when I found it on Craigslist I was ecstatic!

 Do you have a mental dream list of items you had always wanted? This was on my 40 year dream list, so I was happy to score it, and for a great price too.

So, as I say, life is full of changes, especially when Craigslist or a thrift store is so easily accessible!

What do you think of my current changes, as I prepare for Christmas, as this is just the beginning...stay tuned!

Jan


Linking up with:
Thrifty Things Friday
Vintage Inspiration Friday 
Catch As Catch Can 
Stuff And Nonsense Fridays Unfolded
Home Sweet Home
Simply Creations
Redoux 
Make it Pretty Monday