Merry CHRISTmas!

Merry, Merry, Merry Christmas!

May your day be blessed with family, friends, health and hope!

Cathy

A Christmas Porch...

Hi friends - I'm sure everyone is having loads of fun decorating for Christmas - hope it is turning out just as you had planned.  I wanted to share some pictures of my "previous" Christmas porch - this was two years ago at our old home.  These pictures are just to remind you not to forget your "outside" room.  We enjoyed our screened in porch a great deal - even when it was a bit chilly outside.  Needless to say - it was pretty much the main entrance of our home - so that is why I always tried a bit harder to keep it decorated.  Now, I'll have to say - my style has changed a lot in the last two years - I have a much more "simple" look now than before - but I still loved it - and it was a great way to say "Welcome to our home".

 

Here we go...

lots of aqua, red and silver...

 

..."icey" snowflakes from the Dollar Tree...

 

...a lil' tree in a box decorated with fresh greens and some "left over" ornaments...

 

...another tree tucked in a rustic sleigh...

 

...watering cans all lined up - each of these a gift from my sweet papaw...

 

 

 ...burlap tied over the benches made from an old bed - handcrafted by my other precious grandfather...  Be sure to nestle in fresh greens along with some pretty ribbon...

 

...my window basket filled with greens, ornaments, ribbon and a homemade "winter" banner...

 

...those Christmas pillows were made by my grannie Cleo many years ago - I can never seem to part with them...

 

 ...Don't forget to use old soil from your plantings this year as a base to hold fresh greenery, ribbon and pinecones...

Have fun decorating your porch - remember - it's the first and sometimes only impression someone will get of your home.  Make sure it always says "Welcome friends".

 

Merry Christmas!

We have BARN LIGHTS...

I have been MOST excited about getting our new barn lights put up on the house.  And yesterday I came home to a nice surprise.  All in all - we have 12 of these around the house - and I LOVE THEM - and it's a good thing I tell ya ;-)  I'm gonna have to love them for a loooooong time.

The porch has three pendant lights - and one gooseneck light by the front door - (please pardon our unpainted porch posts.)

 This one is to the left of the front door - which I painted WHITE by the way.  Can you believe it - after all that color searching - I just went with a classic white for my farmhouse door.

 Most of the lights are gooseneck - but the front porch did get these special pendants - a lil' industrial and a LOT "farmhousey" - y'all like my new word - but you follow me, don't ya?

Hope you like them as much as I do.  Of course they come from that wonderful company -

 Barn Light Electric

Have a happy day!

My Christmas Porch...

Well, I survived the Christmas Home Tour yesterday - actually - I had a great time. We had many many people and it was all for a great cause. So I was tickled to be asked to be a part of it. Now, I thought I'd show you a few pics of our home this week. And I'll tell ya like I always do - nothing fancy here - just HOME. And as you all know - this Christmas will be extra special because this will be our last one here 'till we move across the way. So I want to treasure this season for many reasons.

To start you out - these are some pics of our back porch - which is really the main entry to our home (especially since I have a Christmas tree right smack in front of the FRONT door-hehe).

I usually do more rustic/natural back here BUT this year I was inspired by some color. I had these blue and red toile place mats and napkins I had never used and also a wooden box in red and blue gifted to me by my friend Audrey. So that is where it all began.

All the silver balls were leftovers from years past and I thought they added a lil' "bling" if you will to the outside.

Those pretty clear snowflakes - .50 cents from the Dollar Tree (on clearance last year) - they look just like ice. Love them - thank you Mamaw Cleo.

My blue box with red polka dot ribbon - thanks Audrey - was the perfect container for one of my lil' Charlie Brown trees.

My "Basket window box" which is one of my favorite things - got dressed up with some garland, magnolias, snowflakes, balls and a "winter" garland I made. Stole that idea from my friend, Cindy, over at Cottage Instincts - thank you.

Best part about it - it can stay up till February - let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

My Christmas tree pillows my sweet mamaw made for me years ago - not a great match but I love 'em still. You can see we had a lil' skiff of snow today - LOOOOOOVE it!

Here is another tree I placed in a wicker sleigh I have. Pretty much decorated the same - ribbons, balls and some great white wire open balls I had for sale at the store. I have used them everywhere - I really like them alot. I'm gonna use them after Christmas as well.

My pretty fresh Frasier Fur wreath in the back corner as well as my white pine garland draped all around the outside of the porch came from my favorite local feed store, Central Farmers Supply - which is another post all together - and I'll tell ya that great news another day.

Love my watering cans...

Cute lil' wreath I picked up at Big Lots...

My window box filled with ornamental cabbages and kale we grew, sticks, magnolia, some nandina stems and berries and some silver balls.

And last but not least, my pots outside the back door - just dressed up a little bit.

Hope you enjoyed a peek inside the back door - I'll take you inside a lil' later. Hope you have a great start to your week!

Merry CHRISTmas!

Cathy

Back Door Guests are Best...soooo...

...won't you come in for a visit.

Well, this is my lil' country back porch. Now, it needs some more "fallness" but that is not gonna happen 'till after today because it is gonna be 98 degrees - uuugggghhhh. But here a few pictures to share with you of what we've done so far - remember - it is a simple country home - nothing fancy - jus' home.

Love my old orange plaid material - picked it up last year for .25 at the mission store.

My lil' boy (who just turned 8 last week - hard to believe) has been in awe of Indian corn this year. He has picked the kernels off many ears and put them into this jar. It tickled him when I said "let's use it to decorate the back porch". I love the subtle layers from the different ears.

Oh yes, and my "pumpkin in the pot". I just love to put pumpkins in containers for some reason.

My lil' corner cupboard...

I snatched this birdcage up at Peddlers - I love it - it is so big and perfect for a big pumpkin...

...my "basket" window box - I kept my ferns and just stuck some dried hydrangeas and some kind of orange reeds in there along with a big black wooden star...

...you can see the shop and one of the greenhouses in the background - I really do have a short "drive" to work - hehe

My "window" greenhouse filled with seasonal goodies...

...From the outside looking in...oops - I see my yellow broom...

Love my red window box filled with mums, ornamental cabbage, kale and ivy...

...on the table...

...a couple of painted topiaries on the outside closet - it holds lots of "farm clothes" - ya know, coveralls, muck boots, etc...

Right by the back door...

...hope you enjoyed your visit....

And actually - this porch and our home is gonna be up for "adoption" soon. We are changing things up a bit here - I'll keep ya posted. Don't worry - it is a good thing!

Have a beautiful "fall" day!

Cathy

"Prettying" up the Porch...

O.k. I know - "prettying" is not a word - but you know what I mean. Well today I decided I've got to do something to liven this place up. It's still cold - the wind is blustery and it was cloudy for most of the day. But the sun peeked through just about 5:00 and I was ready for some color. Sooooo, a while back I was inspired by my friend, Angie (OH SUCH A VERY TALENTED LADY) over at The Happy Homebody, to make a fun lil' something for my porch. Now, this is my own version - but she got me to thinkin' - and sometimes that is dangerous - hehe.

Started out with a door I got for .99 - yes - a 99 cent cabinet door...

I used some spray paint, spray adhesive, outdoor fabric, a few nails, a wooden letter, a piece of scrap wood and some acrylic paint...

And this is what I did - Our monogram and house number in polka dots, of course...

Right beside our front door - WELCOME Sunshine - jus' enough to cast a shadow...

Next up - something new for the door - and polka dot pillows made from a 1.00 vinyl table cloth from a good ole' yard sale!

Let's all get to "prettying up our porch"!

Happy Wednesday!

Cathy