Meet Chef Gingerbread!

It's about time I started baking cookies, and I need a little help.

Meet my assistant ~ Chef Gingerbread.  

I have been talking about baking cookies, but something always

seems to distract me.  If I don't get started soon, Christmas will be

long gone.

So .... to help motivate myself, I have set up a Christmas cookie baking

station.  Sometimes I just need visuals ;-)

If you still have baking to do, or if you have not started yet, I hope 

this will give y'all a nudge!

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley

Have a Merry Mini Christmas

There is no hope for me ~ I am a confessed miniaholic.  I don't 

really care to be cured.  I am happy to live with this burden ;-)

If there is an empty bookshelf hanging around ~ there is a 

reason to decorate with minis.  

This early American shelf was once stained in a dark wood tone.

It was charming, but of course I grabbed a can of spray paint and

the rest is history.  It's turned into a mini townhouse of sorts,

an Upstairs Downstairs of the mini world.

Here it is all decorated for Christmas.  Stockings, a wreath and

a Christmas tree.  Cookies are in the oven.

Mmm Mmm good!

There is a mini Bentley, of course.  A house is not a home without a 

sweet dog.

There is a cozy spot for an afternoon tea party too.

I will warn you though ~ the longer you stay, the greater the chance that you

will become a miniaholic too!  However, it's Christmas, so lets indulge ourselves.

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley

Master Bedroom Coziness at Christmas

We love being at home for Christmas, and I try to make every room

in our home as happy and welcoming as possible.  Because there already

is quite a bit of red and green incorporated in the design, it's really

easy to pump it up for the holidays.

Christmas is tucked into every little spot.

Just adding a Christmas tree candle and covering a book in tartan 

brings us right into this joyful season.

We are blessed with a very large bedroom that has an ample sitting 

area.  It makes for a cozy and private space for wrapping packages

while watching a Christmas movie, or two or three!

And it also is a wonderful spot to just rest and relax from all the

business of the Christmas season.  Thank you so much for stopping by!

Metamorphosis Monday

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley

Puppy Love for Christmas

I love all dogs, but terriers and retrievers are very special to me.

Terriers ~ like our Bentley, are feisty, fun, tenacious, and loving.

There is never a dull moment with a terrier in the house.

Retrievers, I had a Golden, are forever happy and playful and

loving.  They love everyone, even the family cat!

So, in honor of my love for dogs, I put together a Puppy Love

Christmas Centerpiece.

Oh how I miss my sweet little Bonnie Heather.  The first dog who 

stole my heart.

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley

Christmas in the Woods Tablescape

I am a tree hugger and love a woodland setting, so I created

one on our breakfast room table.

The pinecones are from our property up in the mountains of Idaho.

I purchased these rustic scene tags up in Idaho too.

It may be in the 70's down here in South Texas, but in our

breakfast room it is a cozy and wintry woodland setting.

Tablescape Thursday

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley

My Christmas Welsh Dresser

If someone told me that I could only keep one piece of furniture from

my house, I would choose my beloved Welsh dresser.  I have told you

about how I bought this piece at a garage sale in Houston before I

was married.  It's followed me from Houston to Middleburg, VA, to

Idaho and now back to Texas.  I love it dearly, and I especially love

it at Christmas.  

It's simple and sweet nature just seems to lend itself to cozy little

Christmas treasures tucked in among it's usual display of blue and

white transferware.  The pops of red feel right at home here.

The vintage garland (also from my pre wedding days) and some red and

white gingham bows add a bit of farmhouse style Christmas.

So there you have it, my beloved Welsh dresser, celebrating the

Christmas spirit during the best time of the year!

Oh, and our Christmas tree was delivered yesterday.  In the past, I have

decorated two trees, one huge one in the living room, and one in the

family room.  I just have not had the energy to decorate both this

year, so I chose to put one in the family room only.  We live in this room,

so it will be good to see it every day.

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley

Pink and Shabby Christmas

I spend a lot of time in my shabby little studio, so at Christmas time I

like to add decorations there too.  It's a bit of a challenge to decorate in

pink because it's not as well liked for the season.  I scrounge for bits

of pink decor whenever I am out shopping for the season.  

In the above vignette, I took an antique German bowl and filled 

it with sparkly Christmas twinkle trim.  Then I added a new but vintage

looking Santa, a white tree and some tiny ornaments to set off the scene.

This little display is sitting on the window seat.  

An antique bowl from my great grandmother is the base for a display

of vintage pink ornaments.  These are some of my very favorite ornaments

from my childhood.   The gingham. pitcher is filled with sparkly snow balls.

A small chest of drawers is where I display one of those plain brown

cardboard houses you can find at Hobby Lobby.  I painted it and added

shutters, etc, a few years ago.  To bring it into the Christmas season,

I added cotton batting for snow and the vintage looking Christmas trees

I started collecting.  

Here is another one of those trees next to a little miniature scene.

With Christmas tunes playing in the background and little holiday

vignettes all around, my studio is a very festive place to be.

Metamorphosis Monday

Our Christmas tree is being delivered this afternoon.  I decided to

decorate just one tree this year instead of the two live trees I have

decorated in the past.  I'm so anxious for it to arrive!

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley

We Need a Cozy Christmas Now!

Welcome!  I am glad you are here.  I'm sharing some of the cozy

Christmas nooks and crannies around my home, my dollhouse and

on the back porch.  Please make yourself feel at home because we

love it when friends come to call.

Let's start in the kitchen and work our way around to the dollhouse.

Here's a cozy spot to read a magazine.

If you can tweak your nose, and shrink yourself down, you are welcome

to spend the night in the dollhouse. 

It's quite cold out today, so you may not want to spend too much time on

the back porch, but here is what's happening on the potting sink counter.

I hope our Cardinals come back home soon. We miss them.

We are back in the kitchen again and it's getting late.  Thank you so

much for taking time out of this busy Christmas season to stop by.

  I so appreciate your visit. 

Today is the last day of the Cozy at Christmas Holiday Blog Tour.

I want to thank Katie for organizing this for us and for you too.

Let's give her some much deserved kudos!

Art and Sand

At Home With Jemma

Monica Wants It

The Dedicated House

Ash Tree Cottage

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley