Baby It's Cold Outside!!!!! . . .

We are in the midst of some crazy weather here in New York!!  Two days ago,  the temperature was close to 50 degrees and today we are in single digits with windchill factors below zero.  Our schools were placed on a two hour delay for opening yesterday.  We got the call the night before.  It's a rare occasion that a delay is decided upon the night before.  Needless to say, my two sons that were effected by the delay were literally dancing around the living room that night.  Ahh, life's simple pleasures!!!  : )

A flower box around the pool.

Frost on my storm door!!!

I haven't had much of a chance to take photos lately other then from my back or front windows.  Between all of the whirlwind of activities during Christmas break, catching up on work during a very busy time of year in the card industry (American Greetings), taking care of damage control around the house that comes with having four kids, two dogs, two cats and after-Christmas clean up and plain old everyday life, I haven't had much "me" time lately.  I'm the kind of person who needs to spend time in solitude every so often just to recharge my batteries and it's been next to impossible for that to happen for the last month.  I'm not complaining because that's just how life is sometimes.  I'll bet every person reading this right now is saying to themselves, "Boy, is she preachin' to the choir!!!"  LOL!!!  I have a birthday coming up this weekend and I think I'm going to use the spa package my incredibly wonderful husband gifted to me on Christmas.  We said we weren't going to exchange gifts this year but he surprised me with a bunch of gift certificates.  I felt kinda bad when all he got from me was a pair of slippers!!!  : )

Megan all dressed up for her first ballet recital a couple of weeks ago.

Can you spot the squirrel??  I had no idea what it was on the end of the branch until I looked at it thru my camera lens!!

It's back to the grind today.  So much to be grateful for and looking forward to what the day has to bring. Tomorrow, my brother in law has to go in for more surgery on his leg.  I can't tell you how sad I am that he has to go thru this again.  But I'll deal with that tomorrow.  One day at a time.  : )


Many blessings for a beautiful Wednesday ~ Wendy

Last Glimpses . . .

Those precious weeks of fall foliage that I look forward to every year have come and gone and Thanksgiving is now just a fond memory as well.  Mother Nature is starting to ease us into the coming cold and dark days.

A foggy early morning sun thru the pine trees.

Frost on the roof of our backyard shed.

Ice on the pool.

Frost on our hydrangea.

What our hydrangea bushes looked like in August!!  They line our property on both sides and turn different shades of pink as the nights get colder.

A heart-shaped hydrangea.  : )

A squirrel's nest thru the trees.

Although the calendar says it's approximately three weeks until winter solstice arrives I'm bidding a fond farewell and, little by little, replacing fall with winter/Christmas touches around our little cottage.  I thought I'd share some last glimpses of autumnal (one of my favorite words!!) goodness before they're packed up until next year!!

I found this pretty little votive holder on Etsy in a shop called Paper Planet.  I have several for every season.  They're made with real leaves.  Check out her shop here .  She has some pretty things for winter also and they make great teachers' gifts!!

Another one from Paper Planet.  I decorate the windows in my dining room with them and I put the battery operated tealight candles in them so they're lit up at night. They look so pretty flickering at night!!

The centerpiece on my dining room table is made with hydrangea from my yard and placed in blue vintage mason jars.  Soon they'll be replaced with something more Christmasy but will definitely be back in January.  : )

This autumn leaf banner was another Etsy purchase from last year. 

My front door decorated for Thanksgiving.

Having a young daughter gives me an excuse to buy adorable things like this!!  She sits on the stairs in the living room.

You can never have too many candles.  Especially this time of the year!!

Megan made this for Thanksgiving this year.  Handmades by the littles are by far the best decor of all!!

This sign that sits on my kitchen counter top really helped me a lot when I was trying to coordinate Thanksgiving dinner this year after not having it at my house for the last couple of years!!  : )

More of Megan's artwork hanging in the kitchen.  And I just noticed my niece wrote on the calendar when she was here for Thanksgiving dinner!!  LOL!!

My kitchen witch that I purchased during a visit to Jones' Farm in Cornwall, NY this fall.  I've decided to keep it up all year 'round.  My mother had a kitchen witch hanging up when we were kids.  Do you remember those or was it just a New York kinda thing??  : )

We're going to attempt to (probably, depending on our schedule) cut our own Christmas tree this year.  It's something that I've always wanted to do but never have.  I'm hoping that our oldest son will join us because it's December and I haven't gotten a single good photo of him this year for our Christmas card.  He gets an attitude when he sees my camera pointing in his direction and, quite frankly, I don't want to deal with a twenty one year old with an attitude.  : )  Oh well . . .   I'll figure something out!!  : )


Many blessings for a beautiful day ~ Wendy