Won't you join me!!!

The snow storm that turned everything into a winter wonderland...

I've added what I like to call my whimsical touches here and there...

I patiently waited for the last piece to finish my mantel....

when the door bell rang I raced to the door in hopes that I would find a "special delivery" on my door step...

there it was...

my box of Ragball Snowballs!!!

Glitter balls of magic!!!

As most of you aware from reading my blog I have to be emotionally tied to everything.... more meaning the better...

as these Ragball Snowballs make me think of my children...

the excitement they have over the first snow fall...

the thrill they have playing in it..

how magical everything looks covered in snow...



because I cannot guarantee them snow on Christmas this is what I came up with...

their very own glittery snowball!

I have to tell you they remind me of something else...

the PBS show "Arthur"....

If you are familiar with the books and show...

do you remember the episode when DW saved her snowball in the freezer for the whole year and one day she went to the freezer to check on her snowball and it was gone...

I have seen that episode so many times......

I can't even begin to guess how many....

all my chickadees watched "Arthur" and my younger ones still do...
Childhood and Arthur go hand and hand!

They also love the "Arthur" books...

so in my melancholy mood of my children growing so fast i wanted to capture a piece of their childhood....

My mind is on time....

how fast it goes for some events

or how slow it can go for others...

In the wee morning hours with a very heavy fog layer covering the ground I stood right in this spot and bid goodbye to my husband...

my eyes felt tired from a very active weekend but my mind was awake...

any hopes of dashing back to bed were lost...

my mind was awake and swirling with thoughts of time.

These thoughts and a certain feeling of melancholy began to engulf me late afternoon yesterday...

much like how the fog has covered our country side this morning...

Yesterday was my daughters Christmas Program at school and while my husband and I were sitting there with our son on my husband's lap eating a Christmas cookie I took in the sights of my children....

as they took turns performing with their classmates...

I witnessed their eyes searching for us in the audience and the smile that lite up their face when the connection was made...

I took in how much older they look today than this time last year...

I glanced over to my son and my hubby and realized that time is going by so fast....

our son still fits on our laps and sucks his thumb.... and with cookie crumb covered fingers he asks for another and I couldn't say no.... my heart knew that this moment will be gone in a blink of an eye.... and handed him a cookie to be rewarded with a smile of pure delight that I didn't say no....

as we all shuffled home after the program in the pouring rain I turned on the Christmas tree lights to fill the room with a glow...

and as I was standing there looking at the tree my oldest daughter came up beside me...

we began to talk about her school years {she is in 8Th grade} and out of the blue she said,

"Do you realize that I will be the music teacher's age when my brother is in 8Th grade!"

Our school has a new music teacher

this is her first year teaching, she is 21....

I quickly did the math in my head and came up with the same age difference

for some reason it hit me like a ton of bricks...

my mind immediately turned on a video at fast forward speed and the image it left me with was

my oldest daughter conducting the Christmas program with my son on stage singing....

so with these kind of thoughts I'm wanting the magic of the Christmas spirit to fill our hearts, home more than ever... I've stopped counting the days left til Christmas.... I don't want to know...

I may not be able to control how fast time is going by but I can enjoy each and every moment I have now!!!

I will leave you with this quote that found me yesterday....

again out of the blue while dashing in a store for a coffee I picked up a book...

the first page I opened to said this,

"We are not living in eternity. We have only this moment sparkling like a star in our hand, melting like a snowflake."

Happy Monday!

Wishing you many sparkling moments in your day!

Slow and steady...

that's the pace I've been moving this week...

it's felt toe curling good!!!

Ask my son what we've been up to and he'll tell you, "hot cocoa and cookies"

And my response would be, yes that's all true but we've also been busy....

{just a relaxed kind of busy} decorating for Christmas too!



actually for Winter....



I want a winter feel throughout my home....

relaxed, lots of fresh greenery and tons of sparkle!!!







I'll snap a full view of my family room once I hang the last piece of the puzzle...

something to do with pine cones and ribbon are calling my name...

and then my family room will be ready for a cozy weekend with lots more hot cocoa and cookies!!!!

It's been quite a whirlwind the last few days, weeks, months.

I feel like I've been jumping through hoops.

Rolling from playing Lincoln Logs, to painting, to carpool... homework, the never ending house stuff and so on...

but somehow in all the jumping, playing, chore filled days there is a certain feeling of "it's right".

My biggest worry in giving my dream a chance was i wouldn't feel like it was the right fit for my family.

I'm learning that if I focus on the "right balance" I am able to juggle both of my passions....

balance will always be the key.

In this whole process I've made so many discoveries...

my husband said it best...

on Saturday night a winter storm was blowing in, rain mixed with snow...

he whisked me away for a dinner date, just the two of us to celebrate my little leap...

we went to dinner in a home that was built in 1817 and the homeowners raised 17 children there... it's now been restored and turned into an elegant restaurant...

as we place our dinner orders he toasted me....

to my wife who feeds on making people happy!

I looked at him and smiled

and I said, "I do"!!!

I felt such exhilaration from the 2 day sale...

I clapped, jumped for joy over the finds my friends found.

My heart melted when a friend called me to tell me how much she loved her desk she bought...

it fit her space perfectly.

It made every ounce of anxiety, fear of failure I felt over pulling this sale together completely worth it.

I have made goals for the new year...
what I need to work on for my next sale...
this dream is a work in progress.
I'm learning as I go and sharing it with you all.
It'll evolve as I do and I see my children growing as it does...
blending all my loves together makes this so much more than a vintage shop!

Today as I sip my very much needed Gingerbread latte my focus is on decorating for Christmas...

I'm just a little behind... but nothing a day filled with Christmas music... lattes... and a very excited 4 year old who loves to help wont fix!