~~From my Christmas Cottage to Yours ~ Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas!~~

It's a beautiful, warm, sunshiny Christmas Day here in Texas ~~ Wishing everyone a VERY, MERRY, HAPPY, & PEACEFUL CHRISTMAS DAY wherever you are!

Warm Christmas Hugs! xoxoxo
Kathy

~~Congratulations Ryan & Eric!~~

Ryan Patrick is 25 & graduated from the University of North Texas in Denton on Dec. 15!


Eric Tyler is 23 & graduated from the University of Texas in Austin on Dec. 8!

This is a very special moment for me! As I mentioned in my last post, both of my boys graduated from college last week! I am a SUPER PROUD Mama! Such a great & wonderful accomplishment for two awesome guys who I still call my little boys ~~ but there they are, all grown up now & college graduates as of this week! I look at those Santa pictures that I just posted & it's unbelievable how those little boys have become grown men that have made me so proud! They both looked so handsome on their special nights in their caps & gowns. Wow! They are two very unique & very special guys who I know will do wonderful things in their futures! Congratulations Ryan & Eric! I love you both so much!

~~Merry, Merry Christmas, Santa Claus!~~

Christmas Eve is one week from tonight, right this minute! At this moment, a week from tonight, every child will be trying to fall asleep with thoughts of Santa & his Reindeer flying through the sky on his way to every rooftop! I had a MAGICAL MOMENT Saturday morning in the mall - a place I never go except at Christmas time. And there I sat, on a bench only 10 feet from Santa Claus, mesmerized by every child that sat upon his lap. My children visited Santa every single Christmas while they were growing up, up to 14 pictures - guess I was lucky I could still talk them into to it at that age! I treasure those memories & pictures so much. So Saturday morning, in the mall, watching Santa, was a very emotional moment! Ryan & Eric are all grown up, now 25 & 23, & they both just graduated from college last week ~~that will be my special post for tomorrow! Here are a few more pictures of our holiday home & those Santa pictures that I treasure the most. The Rabbit & Santa Celluloid ornaments were from my mom's tree when she was a little girl!

~~Feeling the Christmas Glow!!~~

I am enjoying the Christmas Season SO much this year & am really Feeling the Glow! Some years are so busy & can be stressful, but this year I am just sitting back & enjoying it in a slow, peaceful kind of way. Not too much to do, not too much to buy & loving the simple things. I've been busy making the ornaments for my family's tradition which we have done for many years instead of buying gifts for each other. My tree is covered with so many unique & beautiful handmade items because of this wonderful tradition. This Christmas for me is all about love, much happiness, thankfulness, peace, & remembering what Christmas is all about ~~ I'm loving it! Here is my Christmas Cottage in it's own little laid-back, slow-moving, stress-free, serene happy glow ~~ Happiest of Holidays!

White Roses, Lights, & Candle Glow~


LOTS of Candle Glow~

"Isabelle" in Glowing White Lights & Roses~

"Feather Bird Tree" in the Hallway ~


Old Fashioned "Bubble Light" Tree in the Mudroom~~my Mom made the Snowman years ago!

Norfolk Pine - this beauty came from a garage sale 8 years ago for 50 cents - it was 6 inches tall!

HAPPIEST OF HOLIDAYS to all!

~~Camping with Dinosaurs~~

We just went on a little camping trip & had a wonderful time camping in Dinosaur Valley ~~ walking where the dinosaurs walked. This beautiful state park has actual dinosaur footprints & how lucky we were that it was still 80 degrees so we could cross the river where most of the prints are under water. They have wonderful marked trails where we took nice long hikes & beautiful wooded campsites where we spent alot of time just sitting & soaking it all in. We made early morning campfire coffee & there's nothing better than breakfast on a camp stove......bacon smells SO good outside! And of course Cabo & Cookie loved it too & their tiny little legs kept up every step of the way on our hikes. It was hard to come home! But we did get back for a wonderful Thanksgiving with family & after our 80 degree days we had snow & sleet Saturday morning! Texas finally turned cold!

Tonight we will be putting up our tree in between watching Dancing with the Stars Finale! I hope everyone had a wonderful & happy Thanksgiving! I can't believe it's time to decorate for Christmas! My family gift tradition with my parents, brothers, & sister is only homemade, handmade things so I'm busy trying to come up with ideas !! I actually took a bag full of fabric, ribbon, pins, beads, & styrofoam balls on our camping trip thinking I would come back with lots of treasures made........has anyone ever covered a styrofoam ball with fabric?? I'm having a terrible time figuring this out so please send suggestions if you know how!!

Have a lovely day!

~~Simple & Quiet Halloween Night~~

I hope everyone had a fun & happy HALLOWEEN! Ours was VERY laid back & quiet with no little ones anymore to take trick or treating & none to trick or treat our house. Well we did have 3 come by together - 2 little ones & a big one who started up a chain saw on the front porch when I got to the door! I was happy to see it didn't have a blade but it scared me to death! I always buy a little bag of candy "just in case" so I was happy to give out 3. It still felt like Halloween with our 50 cent garage sale orange lights, one pumpkin, & two mums.....our only splurge for this holiday ~ I did make popcorn balls earlier in the month but they didn't last long!

We spent most of the evening outside starting a new wildflower bed for next spring & then lit the fire pit & sat mesmerized - it's always hard to get up & walk away from a warm outdoor fire.....so nice & warm & soothing.....kind of just melts your to your chair. The coyotes were howling which made the night seem "spooky" so we considered that our "halloween"!

And here it is November 1st already ~ Wow - just 3 weeks from now we will be having turkey & getting ready for the holidays! Even though I miss summer I have to admit I'm excited about getting the casa cozy for Christmas! ~~ HAPPY NOVEMBER! ~~