A Haven for Vee

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Early Gifts of Christmas

This beautiful Christmas card arrived yesterday. My first to arrive in the mail. It  is so pretty and matches "the decor" around here. 




It arrived along with this sweet Johnson Brothers "Merry Christmas" mug. Apparently, dear Kim of Happy at Home was reading before Thanksgiving and saw the Friendly Village plates and thought of me when she saw this mug. As you can tell, it is a perfect complement for the Friendly Village tea cups in back. Kim, I just love it and, as soon as John figures out that I have switched mugs, I'll be having my morning coffee from it every day! Kim had a fun little tango with a vacuum cleaner yesterday and managed to take a photo all at the same time. Check it out!


The print was one that my daughter gave me several years ago that I had not figured out quite what to do with.  I love it here and it does remind me of my own two kiddos years ago and of my grandsons playing outside in the snow.


It looks even better with Kim's card.


We are not displaying outside lights this year...anything to economize...yet, I wish that we were because they are so cheering. I must write my neighbor a note thanking her for the light display at her home. 


This is a terrible shot of the moon the night before it was full, but the sky is the story. It just looked so pretty to me...sort of like one giant star—a light display of another sort.


Still decorating or redecorating. Thought that John's nightside table needed a little Christmas cheer. That little great he is holding in the photo there is already five years old!

Would you believe the the tree in a trunk had to be taken all apart so that I could remove the bad lights. It was driving me nuts. A wire cutter and an hour and a half later and I had managed to deliver it of its prelit status. It now is very sensibly dressed in new strings of lights.
Any mishaps at your place? Stay safe and keep singing...




52 comments:

  1. So pretty, Vee! I love your holiday decor, that pretty, vintage look! I haven't received any cards as of yet, however, I haven't sent any cards, either!!

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  2. Snippets of your home, Vee, show that it is warm and inviting! The print from your daughter is displayed so beautifully! Thank you for sharing with us! Hugs to you!

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  3. Your home looks so pretty! I love the snowy print and that mug! What a sweet gift. I am still "thinking" about decorating. If I "think" about it long enough it will be past time and I will be able to stop thinking. *Sigh*, I really don't want that though. This week. For sure.

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  4. It's looking so pretty...and cozy...and inviting over there! I like that I can picture exactly where these photos are taken. :) Your snow is a nice touch for the over-all decor. Our rain...not so much! Getting my cards ready for the mailbox this morning. :)

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  5. Your home is so beautiful! I love the cup and the print and they fit right into your cozy home!

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  6. So pretty! I am also a big fan of ,"friendly village" what a nice gift!

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  7. I love it! The tree in the trunk looks so wonderful! I also really like that print your daughter gave you! It's in a great location! So special with the lights.

    I like the tree on John's nightstand and isn't it amazing how fast these kids grow?

    Merry, merry Christmas!

    Deanna

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  8. I love the way your home is coming together for the holidays. Have a great week.

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  9. Your post is Christmas warm! Love your new mug -- I think Johnson Bros can do no wrong (even if now made in China). Happy Happy and a Merry Merry!

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  10. How sweet of Kim to send you the mug. I was admiring the card, too! John's night stand tree is so cute.

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  11. Very nice of Kim to send you the mug which should hold lots of tea. I had to do some reworking of lights on our prelit silver tinsel tree last year so can sympathize with what you went through.
    Heading to the kitchen to bake shortbread and maybe have one or two with afternoon tea.

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  12. What a sweet gift from Kim...such a beautiful mug. Your decorations are so pretty and the print as the backdrop for your vignette is just lovely. I know what you mean about those lights that burn out AFTER all the decorations have been put on...one year I remember having to un-decorate all most the whole tree a couple of days after I put it up for that reason...it makes you want to....well...I won't say... but it sure is aggravating!

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  13. Love your vignettes and your new mug. I've always been drawn to Johnson Bros. dishes! No mishaps yet but I haven't started baking yet. :)

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  14. Lovely post and photos ! I do like that print . Thanks for sharing , Have a good day !

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  15. I hope you're missing all that snow and rain I'm hearing about. That's my worst Christmas decor fear--the lights going out on the Christmas tree. Yours looks lovely redone as do your other decorations. Love that wine glass filled with snow and a tree. :-)

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  16. The mug Kim sent you is so pretty as is the card. : )
    Ken wasn't crazy about the tree in a trunk so ours is just on the table again. Your tree looks beautiful!!! I love it in the trunk.
    We strung the tree with blue lights and then realized we had planned on the red so had to do it over.

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  17. That mug is beautiful, what a wonderful gift!

    You asked how I was busy and the answer is "all of the above". Both of my kids and my daughter-in-law have birthdays during the Holidays so I had to do some shopping to find bargain gifts. Then my daughter-in-law invited me to a mother daughter brunch with her mom (of course that was a definite yes). Just lots of stuff going on all of a sudden. It looks quieter now. At least I think so. ;)

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  18. Looking very cozy around there Vee. So wonderful to get a little gift in the mail, too. You didn't get outside lights, but you had the eyes to see the beautiful light the Lord provided in the sky. There's always wonderful compensations, I think.

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  19. It's all looking so purrdy over there dear! Love the mug and your tree in a trunk is brilliant!

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  20. Your Christmas is looking great, Vee! I am so far behind it is not funny. I de-wired a tree last year, too. What a pain in the patooty that was. And then the stupid tree just kind of "fell apart" before the season was over. I am looking for a new one after Christmas this year! Meantime, I will make do with a small one I have. xo Diana

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  21. The print from your daughter is beautiful and beautifully displayed. The lights, the cards, the branches all contribute to a wonderful vignette.
    I'm staying busy - still have some sewing of gifts to finish up and decorating to do here and there. But the tree went up last night so progress is being made.
    Hasn't blogger been weird?

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  22. As an aside - there's no word verification on YOUR blog!

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  23. I love your new mug...how perfect for you. And Kim is such a sweetheart and a special friend to me too. She's always thinking of ways to make others happy. I love your tree in the trunk and the sweet one beside the bed. We don't have outside lights this year either. I broke my favorite little plate this week. But if that's as bad as it gets...I'm doing great! lol Holiday hugs, Diane

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  24. Hi Vee, I somehow or blogger lost all my contacts for blogging. But I found you again. YAY!!!! Your home looks so festive and cheery. You are all ready I can see. I am trying with the help of my 2 havanesse puppies. They are really into decorating. mmmm no ornaments on the bottom of the tree this year. LOL! Wishing you a wonderful holiday. Sharon

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  25. Your vignette atop the cupboard is so pretty! I really like the print and all the sweet glass things, the branches and lights in the jug(?). Very pretty. How sweet to receive such a gorgeous mug! Does John ride that horse often? LOL Good thing your tree was just a small size to be stripped and re-lit. That would be very. frustrating. indeed. Yes, it would. No mishaps here. Nor'easter coming through so there might be some on the roads tomorrow. Heaven forbid! Murray says it's freezing rain out right now. I'd rather have snow. Hope you aren't getting this one but I think you are under the same 'umbrella'. :)

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  26. Oh, I just love seeing your Christmas decor! You have so many beautiful touches, many with special meaning. (Those are the best.) Your new Friendly Village mug from Kim is lovely.

    Don't get me started on "prelit" trees...

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  27. It looks so warm and inviting at your home, Vee! Sorry the tree gave you problems. It is so cute. I linked to this post in tomorrow's Hodgepodge because of your tree-in-a-trunk idea! Also, I'm going to track down that mug. What a Christmas beauty!

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  28. I enjoyed seeing your Christmas touches throughout your home. Your pretty new mug was a very thoughtful and sweet gift from Kim! And I was wondering...is the horse tied to the bed post? lol!

    I won't try to answer your question about mishaps. It would take too many pages to list them. And I'm only just half kidding!

    About the comments not publishing...your blog isn't the only one with which I've had problems. Several others are doing me that way, too. I try to remember to copy my comment so I can paste if it does happen, but I don't always think of it.

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  29. It takes FOREVER to remove those 'prelit' lights!!! I will never buy another prelit tree because they WILL go out!!! The new living room tree I have was a Thrift Store find. 7 1/2 feet and HALF of the 'prelit' lights had already been removed. The other half took Louis Dean HOURS!!!
    Love that beautiful print from your daughter!!

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  30. Lights. Don't get me started (again). Those dead ones are glaring at me. I love the glass/card/picture together. And the crocheted cloth they are standing on as well. Your house looks very warm and cosy, my friend. Outside lights - well, I don't have any. Except for a couple of window lights. My neighbours are all displaying blue and white flashing outside lights. Blue is not Christmassy. It is cold. What can I say...!

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  31. I always feel warm and cozy when you show pictures of your dwelling place. It's a delight to visit. I really like the trunk display, sorry you had to take it apart. Your teacup is beautiful, the picture your daughter gave you . . all lovely. I did have a mishap when I went to change out a picture on the wall, the nail fell out of the wall. Had to get a new one. Not much of a story there, but I LOVE the picture that took it's place. Now you're curious aren't you? ~ Abby

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  32. Lookin pretty festive over in your world,ma'am! Very nice! I love your thoughtful gifts (old and new.)

    Yes, had a couple of big snafus. Missing my beloved and most precious Christmas item I own - the nativity my sweet Mom gave me her last Christmas on earth - over 20 years now, and it is MISSING!

    We had to re-do our prelit lights this year. By "wee" I mean my husband and niece.

    And we were missing our somewhat expensive outdoor tree lights timer - and had to replace. Ugh. And this was a RECORD BREAKING glass ornament breaking year - 4 so far, haha. But that's it. But there's still time to burn cookies and whatnot, haha. All in all things are awesome, though! : - )

    Hope you are well and enjoying Advent and all the promise that comes with it - joy to you and family always, Vee. Big hugs.

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  33. It all looks so beautiful. I love your moon picture, I took some very similar recently, I loved the halo effect. Unfortunately, the photos were spoiled by telegraph wires LOL

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  34. ooo's and ahhhhh's...thanks for the smiles on such a cold and dreary day...calling for tons of snow. Blessings

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  35. I soooo enjoyed seeing your touches of Christmas...sooo pretty! I refuse to get into my thoughts on pre-lit trees and "lights" in general. Soo frustrating. Such a beautiful mug...what a perfect gift! Enjoy your day Vee!

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  36. What a pretty card. I really, really, love your tree in a trunk...

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  37. Yes, those lights would have driven me crazy as well!! Your home looks so magical and perfect for the holidays. So nice to get special snail mail cards, and you are right, it finished off your vingette perfectly!

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  38. The mug is perfect with Friendly Village china. My mother has those dishes and they are a fun set and pretty, too. Love what you did with John's night table. The picture is beautiful and perfect for your holiday/winter display. . .the Christmas card makes it a Christmas scene. We did have a mishap. Our little outdoor snowman fell apart so we bought another. The first morning we noticed that only the bottom third was still standing. Yesterday I went out with florists wire and pliers to put it back together. It's still standing this morning.

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  39. What a darling mug, Vee! And I bet whatever you drink from it tastes even sweeter :)

    Your home is so lovely and the print with the snowman and kids on it is quite charming. And the branches with the icicles looks stunning!

    Happy Wednesday to you!

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  40. I'm loving your cozy Christmas home, Vee, and your sweet gifted Friendly Village mug. That will bring cheer to you all season long.

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  41. The print from your daughter is a beauty and I love how you have accessorized around it. The decorated tree limbs look as if they popped right out of the picture.
    So happy to see the mug and card looking right at home in your cozy haven.
    I do admire your patience in taking the wire cutters to your burned out lights. We had several strands out (again) on the snowman tree and Brett just left them on there and wired around them. Definitely not the ideal solution, but I can't even imagine how long it would have taken to do the job properly. Out of 8 strands of outdoor lights, 3 were working. Grrr....

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  42. Vee, your mugs are so sweet and I love what you did with your Christmas tree "trunk". Gorgeous!

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  43. Beautiful little mug and card...sweet gift.
    I love that painting...and it looks great where you have it.
    My tree had to have new lights this year, too. They just drive me insane. And, I spent 3 hours fixing lights, decorating it and when I finished, I realized I'd forgotten the wide pretty ribbon I used last year. Gonna just put it on and let it cover some of the ornaments...not about to take it all down.....

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  44. That is a very pretty mug that Kim sent to you, Vee! I also love the print that your daughter gave to you.

    I miss going out to the stores to go Christmas shopping and browsing but I found shopping online this year saved me oodles of time and I did not make me get tempted to spend more than I intended. My tree is finally finished and my card are written--now on to baking some cookies and enjoying a few holiday outings :)

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  45. The lights on my small tree went caput too! I'm not eager to undecorate that tree to replace them. Maybe next year? ;(

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  46. What a pretty mug, Vee! I can't even imagine redoing the lights on our tree. I have them all wired to the tree (artificial) so we put it away with the lights on each year. Thankfully, I bought commercial grade lights - whatever than means :)

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  47. Vee, it is always so nice to stop at your blog to see what is happening in your home. I love love love that print on the cabinet. It is the perfect spot! I do hope you have no other issues more than relighting your tree!

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  48. Your decorations are so pretty. I love looking at people's decorations. Each is so different. I would never have thought of cutting off the lights on a pre-lit tree. The middle section of ours doesn't work and my husband wanted to get rid of it. But now I'm going to save us the expense and try this.

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  49. Your holiday decorations are very classy! I love them.

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  50. So so pretty at your house this year!

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  51. Vee
    I have catching up on all of your resent post.
    Your home looks so charming decked out for Christmas, even the bedroom!
    I glad to read all seems well with you and yours.
    God Bless-Kimberly

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