Ringing in the New Year!

Just like that 2014 is about to move on...

Thank you so much for stopping by throughout the year. Thank you for saying hello or for just being a silent observer. 

 Thank you for letting me show off pictures of the girls, my latest crafting endeavors, decorating my dollhouses, our obsession with remodeling our A-Frame cottage, decorating for Halloween, or my quest for the perfect vintage item.

 It's so nice to "meet" so many wonderful people from all over the world that share my same interests. Thank you! I am truly inspired by all of you!

Wishing you all a crafty and thrifty 2015!

Post Christmas fun at the lake...

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas.

Santa definitely put us on the nice list.

Since Christmas, we have been relaxing at our A-frame cottage.  

Family time at the lake is the best Christmas gift EVER!!

It really doesn't get much better. 

XOXO

Wishing you a very merry Christmas!

We've been out of town the last few days visiting Chris's family.

We had a wonderful time and even had an opportunity to enjoy the beautiful light display at Hines Park and visit with Santa.

 I "think" all the gifts are wrapped, but I wouldn't be surprised to find one or more hidden away.

I still can't believe that tomorrow is Christmas. 

 It seemed to come so fast this year.

We pause to take time to thank the good Lord for all of our blessings this past year.

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas.  

Christmas hugs from the Kenward family!!
   

Getting ready to relax and celebrate Christmas!

Yippee!!

The work week is nearly done!!

 I still have gifts to wrap and a few more things to cross-off my to-do list, but I can see the end in sight.  

Chris's elementary schools held ugly Christmas sweater contests two days in a row.

Everything on this sweater minus the flashing lights, were purchased from estate sales.  Crazy fun!

Always tweaking, I keep finding a few more favorite vintage decorations to put out.

I'm especially loving my putz house mantle this year.  

We're looking forward to visiting with friends and family over these next few days.

In the midst of all this holiday chaos, be sure to find time to play!!

and CELEBRATE!

XOXO

  

Weekend finds...

Happy Monday.  Didn't the weekend just fly by?

Friday night, I promised Josie that she could have a sleepover which included making and decorating sugar cookies. 

 Lots of fun was had, but I'm continuing to find sprinkles and icing in all sorts of strange places.

 While running errands on Saturday, Chris and I popped into a new antique store near our home.

 Of course, a few things managed to find their way home with me.

I loved this St. Nicholas so much that I decided I needed to make another Christmas wreath.
 
Never one to pass up honeycombs (especially when they are marked 4 for $1) these also needed to be rescued.

It's my last week at work and my to-do list is a mile long.

Perhaps, Santa will find me some extra elves to get everything done this week.  Christmas hugs!!
   

Christmas around the house...

It's nearly the weekend! Yippee!! 

 The girls have lots of social plans so we won't be traveling to the A-frame this weekend. However, Chris is headed to the lake after work to meet the delivery of my new stove! Merry Christmas to me!  

Although we don't have any snow left outside at the moment, my sunroom mantle is all decked out with my snowman collection.  

Many of you might recognize the work of Elizabeth "Creative Breathing", Laurie "Magpie Ethel" and Viv "Viv's Whimsy". 

I still love this light that I found at the Salvation Army last year.   A fresh coat of glitter makes it sparkle again.

Have a great weekend.  

Make sure and take time to play!  

Christmas parades and outdoor ice skating adventures...

We had a busy weekend, starting with two different Christmas parades Friday night. Although I don't have any  photographic evidence, Emma's marching band played a few Christmas tunes at the Grandville parade, while Josie's dance/cheer team performed in the Greenville Christmas parade.

On Saturday, the girls and I headed to our A-frame cottage while Chris joined us later that evening.  When we arrived, we spotted a series of boats racing across the ice with special blades.  If you look closely you can see a group of people standing in the middle of the lake.  We actually watched them skating out to the center of the lake!
   The girls were eager to test out their ice skates so when Chris arrived, I had him drill into the ice to confirm that it really was deep enough.  Sure enough, the ice was nearly five inches thick in front of our cottage.

 Soon after, he was busy clearing off the ice and the girls were in ice skating heaven.

Although we've been dreaming of a more elaborate fireplace, it's not in our budget right now and so we found a small electric fireplace for the A-frame downstairs.  Isn't it cute?  The wooden wreath is an estate sale rescue.

Like everyone, I've been busy decorating our house for Christmas and I'll be sharing some of my favorite Christmas estate sale rescues later this week.  Christmas hugs!!