Blessed Christmas

Forwarding a wish that was sent to me in a Christmas card.

May your home be warmed by the love of the Savior....
your hearts wrapped in His peace....
and your new year filled with His boundless joy.
Have a Blessed Christmas.

A Christmas Story In Chicago

I went to Chicago for a couple of days with my family to do some shopping and to see the musical "The Christmas Story." Chicago is my favorite city to hang out in, and I love walking down the magnificent mile. It has so much to offer.

   

    This is a 26 foot sculpture of Marilyn Monroe on Michigan Avenue. She has not been treated kindly since she was unveiled. She has been vandalized several times and there wasn't a time I walked by her that some guy wasn't having his picture taken under her skirt making some kind of crude gesture. If you walk behind the sculpture, you get a full view of her behind. So far this sculpture is rated as one of the world's worst public art displays.
Yeah....I'm not so sure about this one, Chicago.

On a more personal note, I experienced my first live musical, "A Christmas Story." It was funny, and my whole family enjoyed it. I highly recommend it.

 It was also my first time inside the Chicago Theatre. Wow!
The beauty starts outside, and once inside, it is so elegant. You can also see a lot of history hanging on the walls inside.

The architecture and light fixtures are breath taking, and in the minds of many people, it is the best "movie palace" ever built (1921). I noticed some people still get very dressed up to attend the theatre. It is a must see if you ever visit Chicago.

Oh Christmas Tree

My daughters have started a new tradition where they put up the Christmas tree while I cook Thanksgiving dinner. I'm not sure how this happened, and how they got out of helping me cook, but that's how it's been.

This is what our tree looked like on Thanksgiving Day.

I know, it looks like your 1970's Leave It To Beaver tree, but my girls do the best they can with what's in the ornament box. This tree consists of Hallmark ornaments that my beautiful mother gave me every single year since I was 18 years old, and a few ornaments that my kids made when they were smaller. They are all cute, and I love them, but after 22 years of the same old looking tree.....Sigh!

You see, every morning I sit and enjoy a cup of coffee in the living room. This past weekend, I was really studying our Christmas tree, and I just couldn't take it. The white garland had to go! I didn't want to make any huge changes because I didn't want to hurt my daughters' feelings, so I thought.....I'll just make a couple changes. I removed the while garland, added a few glass balls, some huge felted poinsettia flowers and a few Cardinals here and there (which you can't really see.)

It could probably use a few more lights and a few more poinsettias, but now I can bare to stare at it in the mornings.

 

This is a quilted tree skirt I made several years ago. 

Hope you are having a good weekend!

Jeweled Christmas Trees

 Here is a Christmas tree that was made by my Grandmother from old costume jewelry. As a child, I remember seeing this picture hanging in her house. She gave it to me when I was in my teens (I'm in my late 40's now.)  Back then, when she gave it to me, I didn't think much of it, and packed it away in my Hope Chest.

 Fast forward many, many, many years.....my Grandmother's tree had inspired my mom to make one. I remember my mom collecting just the right pieces for her tree, which she eventually made about 15 years ago. My mom lovingly hung her tree up every year. 

 Back then, I didn't think much of it.

Since then, I have come to appreciate the beauty in these special trees made by two women who were not crafty, but who were inspired enough to try their hand at making something. I'm so grateful that I didn't do something stupid like donate these to the goodwill. I have never seen anything like these, and I feel very proud to display these in my home.

My Grandmother and my Mother are no longer living, and I will make sure I explain the value of these pictures to my children. 

Oh, and I'm thinking I need to make one to add to the generation of the

Jeweled Christmas Trees.

A Trip To The Mall

I had a great time shopping at the mall today with my daughters. I mostly tagged along to watch them spend their money along with some of mine. I window shopped for myself and got gift ideas for a few people. It's hard not to shop for myself.

Did I read somewhere about a down economy? People not spending much money these days? Well, I didn't see none of that at the mall. Of course, the people I saw were probably the smart ones who saved all year in a Christmas account. Then come October, they received a huge check from the bank.

Anyway, I did buy these beautiful tree ornaments.

 This fairy will end up in my studio after Christmas to join her long lost friends. That's another post.

 Who can pass up a cheery snowman jumping rope?