Success!

 I'm sure I've mentioned before that I have TERRIBLE luck with plants. I shouldn't say luck really, usually I over-nurture them until they die! I picked up a few little cacti when we were at the World's Longest Yard Sale, then I cam home, read a book about succulents, and have tried to leave these guys alone for the most part. And not only are they still alive...

My cactus has a little flower! I am probably way happier about that than I should be, but it feels like a real accomplishment! I have a bunch of hens and chicks in a planter by the back door that I have completely ignored and they are thriving too! Maybe soon I'll get something leafy for the house. Dream big!

Kitty Appreciation

I feel like the kitties haven't gotten much love in a while. On the blog at least. 

 Scout has gotten much braver lately and hangs out with me more. She is still TINY. 

 I got a new lens and I'm not very good focusing/aiming it yet. Sometimes this is what I get.

 But sometimes it works! What a handsome boy!

Now if only I could get her to look at me!

The rest of Christmas

We actually didn't stay home all day on Christmas. We went to my parents house around noon, and then to my grandparents house around 3. A lot of both our families live really close to us, so holidays are always busy. 

 This is my favorite ornament on my grandparent's tree and I have to take a picture of it every year! My grandaddy was a Methodist preacher at one time, and that picture of him was his official portrait. Apparently one year a lady in the church cut that picture house, added the felt, and then glued it to a fly swatter and sold it in the church craft fair! I love that so much!! I should make those as gifts next year.

 This is Meg, our family dog. She is 12 years old! It is hard that every time I go home she seems so much older. My family is known for long lived dogs though. Our first dog Haley lived to 14 (she was a lab/german shepard mix) even though she broke her pelvis at 3 and limped the rest of her life. I love Meg, when I moved out I tried to take her with me, but my whole family is obsessed with her!

 And here is my brother's dog Amber. She is so smart and sweet. We opened presents there and we got a food processor and some cook books! Exactly what I wanted!

 At my grandparents house we did a dirty santa gift swap. Travis got this sweet hug light. My cousin Zack got the present Travis picked. It got stolen later though. A tortilla bowl maker is pretty hot property in a game of dirty Santa!

 My grandmother got this One Direction puzzle! She was thrilled as you can see. 

 Someone got this pack of fake mustaches and we couldn't resist taking a group picture with all the ladies. How cute is my grandmother, holding her mustache one so it doesn't fly away!

 I'll leave you with this amazing old polaroid of my mother meeting Santa! I LOVE it! I wish the polaroid wasn't so damaged, I would love to blow it up and hang it up each year at Christmas! I probably will anyway.

A Quiet Christmas Morning

 This was the first Christmas morning since the year I got strep throat (which was in middle school) that we didn't go to my grandparent's house first thing and open all our presents there. I was feeling a little melancholy about it, even though that is what happens when you get older and family moves away. Yesterday Travis and I had a quiet Christmas morning at home together. We slept in until about 9, then came out to the living room to open our gifts.

 I was picking out a record to play and Travis said to choose wisely since it would be the record we listened to every year for the rest of our lives. Haha, I hope I picked well! This one is special to me because my grandmother bought me this album on tape when I was little. We listened to Herb Alpert later, and then Nat King Cole.

 Putting together stockings is one of my favorite things to do! I made that one for Travis years ago when we were dating. Do you see the Sriracha air freshener by Phyllis? I got it here, along with some Sriracha lip balm! Travis LOVES that stuff.

 It was a little challenging finding more healthy options for stockings this year. Here is what Travis got me. I'm obsessed with those go go squeez apple sauce things! I love love that he got me Jane Austen band-aids. I hope there are some Mr. Darcy ones in there.

 Still loving their pajamas! 

 I had promised myself I wouldn't  buy any more wrapping paper until I used up a few rolls, but I couldn't resist this dog paper! I bought the dog labels at Walgreens of all places a few years ago and am just now running out.

 I really love him. 

 You have to get the present mess shot. Classic.

 Look! He got me a peanut pup to match my snack hound! The funniest part is I totally told him there was one on ebay (I hadn't ever seen one listed since I've been looking) and saw him look it up, but was still totally surprised when I unwrapped it!! Ah! And in the original box!

 I got him a new hoodie, and a vintage army bucket. Among other things.

 My sweet girl.

 Travis really spoiled me. I love lil Bub! The pastel portraits are by Chuck Hodi, I got Dr. Frank-n-Furter, Divine, and Pee Wee. What a trio! The book by Alex Gross, it is full of paintings over old cabinet cards! And the other prints are from Danny Brito. I have a ton of his work around my house, I really love it. My ultimate gift would be a portrait of us by him!

 And he got me that chenille bed spread that I saw in Goodlettsville! I am so excited about it! I can't wait to sleep under it in the summer! It is in REALLY good condition. I have been wanting one for a while, but hadn't seen one (in person) that I loved enough to buy.

 The cat's gift was me leaving this box out for them. I couldn't get a good picture of Murray's face because he wouldn't stop rubbing his face on the box! He is in love.

 So ladylike Phyllis.

Our Christmas breakfast. We had rosemary bagettes, some raspberries, scrambled eggs and tempeh bacon. It was really delicious. The bacon is by Turtle Island Foods, and it's this one for any vegetarian readers who are interested! It is perfect on a sandwich!

 And of course we had a green smoothie too, since I knew it was going to be a pretty indulgent day. If you are someone who struggles getting in your green (like me) you can get two cups of kale in a smoothie if you have a banana in there. You can't even taste the kale! It is pretty great. I ended up eating a lot of stuff that I have been avoiding for the last month and it made my stomach hurt. Especially the cheese in the grits. Blarg!

I'll leave you with one last pug in pajamas pic! Do you like the empty leg in the back? She kept slipping that side off. I hope you had a great Christmas!

Christmas Eve!

Happy Christmas Eve! Here is my other post on my Christmas decorations. Now that they are up I'm so glad I took the time. I love sitting in the living room with the lights on. I'm working tonight, which is kind of a bummer, but Travis and I are having a little Christmas morning, just us tomorrow, then going to my grandparents house for lunch. We're hoping to see Les Miserables later in the afternoon! I hope everyone has a good day, if you celebrate. 

 Here is our mantle. I can't resist cute stockings! The two on the left are the pugs, the two on the right were made by Travis and I for each other a few years ago.

 I wasn't sure what to do with the mercury picks this year, so I put them in my cute chippy lady head. The sequined tree this next to here is a matchbox someone decorated!

 I was determined to find some Santa mugs this year and I did pretty good! I love celluloid deer too.

 I love that little gnome! She is so sweet. She is on top of some vintage balls in a sewing table drawer that belonged to Travis' great grandmother.

 My gnomes! It turns out I found 8 this year, plus a Santa in a similar style. 

 Our deer with some mercury beads. 

 A little built in shelf next to the mantle. The bottom shelf is the Harry Potter Shrine. 

 I love that deer's jaunty pose. 

 A little tableau next to the tv. Check me out in the reflection. Oops! We bought the little piano on our honeymoon in New York. The black dog in the picture is my first dog, Haley. Such a perfect girl.

 One top of the record table. 

 And of course my pom pom tree! I am still blown away by it, even though i've had it for two years. I love the mercury balls at the end of each branch. The red and aqua balls belonged to Travis' grandmother! We have her aluminum tree too, I just didn't have room for it this year.

 This tree was a lucky estate sale find. I still can't believe it was left on the third day!

 Priscilla checking out our gifts! I bet any of you reading this who have pugs have that same gift bag! I always wrap a present for Travis in it, so I can save it for next year. The gold thing in the foreground is my color wheel.

And last but not least, Phyllis. Travis had to come pick her up because she was very irritated that I wasn't paying attention to her while taking pictures. Those two aren't spoiled at ALL.

A little Christmas...

 It almost didn't happen, but I finally got out some of my Christmas stuff 3 days before Christmas. I only did one room, and I only got out about a quarter of my stuff. Here are some pictures! (Four years here and I'm still not good at getting pictures in my house. I think I need to rig some lights or something.)

 Scampi gazing at my candle lights. I love seeing those in my windows when I get home from work.

 The green tree. I have a lot of special ornaments, and a lot of cute vintage ones, so I need a green tree to put them on. I just don't think aluminum trees look good with anything by vintage ornaments. My grandparents gave me an ornament every year since I was born, and Travis' mom did the same for him, so we have a lot of special ornaments. My aunt made the knit tree pillow in the chair.
This isn't Christmas, but I think we're getting built in book shelves against that wall in the back, so I'll be able to say goodbye to those mismatched bookcases soon! Yay!

 The spun head Santa with the holly-ish body is one of my favorite finds from this year!

 The little gnome on the mushroom is another favorite. The bird on the wreath was a gift from my mom the year we were married. It also inspired the ornaments I made last year.

 I was so happy to finally use the tree skirt I got on ebay earlier this year. It looks so beautiful under the tree. All the different sequins sparkle in the lights. You can see more pictures of it here. It is one of my favorite possessions!

 The advent calender is another special decoration of mine. We had one very similar to it that my aunt made for my parents over 25 years ago. I asked her to make me one as a wedding gift and I'm so happy she did! You turn over one of the numbers every day.

 Some blowmold Santa's with Merlin the squirrel. 

 That cabinet holds Travis' vintage first aid collection! He LOVES medical stuff, and first aid kits. He is a really good sport about most of the house being decorated with my stuff, and this is his one little collection. I put the doll in there though. Haha.

 He especially loves Red Cross stuff. He is trained to be a Red Cross Volunteer. 

 There is my ceramic tree in action! With some old plastic deer, a cute Santa mug, and Phyllis' picture with Santa from the first year we had here. You can't tell here but her little face looks so concerned. Oh, and I guess I should have moved Priscilla's eye drops oops!

 Here is my little collection of vintage corsages. I really love them. I got the macrame ish tree from Travis' grandma Betty. I think I just need a few more corsages to complete the display!

 The pink one is my favorite. I love the little spun Santa too!

 Here is the Kitschmas wreath I made last year. It isn't the best one you'll see out there on the internet, but I'm pretty happy with it for a first try! I want to make another one next year if I can collect some more really old ornaments at a good price.

And last, for now, our Santa cookie jar. Travis' grandma has the same one and he loves it. We saw one at a vintage store for about 15 bucks and decided not to buy it. Not an hour later we walked into a local thrift to see the same one for 1.99! It was meant to be!