Tuesday's Treasures!

Monday was a work day from start to finish!

I tackled the den and the laundry. Both were overwhelming.

Finished the laundry and half of the den.

I was so tired I was in bed shortly after 9:30!

Isn't it absolutely amazing how a good night's sleep can restore your strength and enthusiasm for whatever it is you're doing?

I hopped out of bed and made it up instead of lolling around this morning.

I was ready to go and get on with things!

27 days until Christmas!

26 now......

Louis Dean was telling me to slow down, take it easy, you're going to make yourself sick and other such sayings. You know what I told him?? 

"Me and my home is like you and your music. It's what I do."

That made perfect sense to him and he totally gets it now.

All this decorating and cleaning and constant tweaking is my passion. I do it because I love it and I would be miserable to NOT do it.

Yesterday I stayed home all day.......but today was our 'day out.'

The first place we went was to Lovely Nails on Beltline.

Our timing was perfect. We walked right in and sat right down.

That's Trang posing with Louis Dean. She is so cute and sweet. Louis Dean only wants a lady to do his pedicures. Once he said he'd changed his mind about getting one but that was only because they were going to let a guy do his.

It was a fun day and getting our feet taken care of was a great way to start off our Tuesday.

We shopped Texas Thrift Store and Goodwill next - both are on Beltline.

I bought a set of four Pfaltzgraff Winterberry Christmas glasses - which go with the set of goblets I bought last year. A brand new small make up bag for my upcoming trip to Galveston and a Vera Wang bag that I will use instead of my purse and billfold.

I think it will be perfect!

Plus I got this cook top - tunic length with tassel like trim around the hem.

Around 2:00 we stopped at Whataburger for a quick bit of lunch.

We laughed as we talked about the summer nights we used to sit up late on the driveway watering everything. We would get the notion to go to Whataburger and it would be 2:00 in the morning!

I don't think we did that even one this past summer!

From there we drove to Dallas to Dirt Cheap. I wanted to buy a tree for the sewing room but they were all out. We did buy a decorated lamp post light and I'll put that in the gazebo by Louis Dean's chair. It will make a perfect photo prop for when he sings Christmas songs out there for my Tea Party.

I stopped at Aldi and loaded up with lots of tea party things.

Then we came back to Irving to Walmart to get the rest.

Louis Dean is a funny guy about the Dollar stores and Aldi.

For some odd reason he thinks their stuff isn't as good as the regular stores.

But since it's my budget we're working with I get to shop where I want to and he stayed in the car and watched the birds on the parking lot while I was in Aldi. We both went in at Walmart - and filled up two shopping carts! Christmas groceries nearly all bought!

I'm down to the last two rooms in the house + the gazebo and time is running out!

 I said I was one Hallmark Christmas movie away from finishing the den.

And I was! 

Den done and a fire lit to celebrate!

Tomorrow is going to be a tough day - the sewing room!

You can barely even walk through to the French doors and I moved my laptop out to the secretary in the den last week! Louis Dean is going to take all his working debris out so I can sort, organize and put everything back before I clean and decorate. Thing is - I don't have a tree for that room.

We threw out some old ones and used parts of others.

However, I'm not using the big tree anywhere this year so I'm thinking Louis Dean can take the top two parts of and fashion a small tree of of those!

We will see. 

My goal is have the house entirely dressed for Christmas by midnight on Thursday night!

I glazed Santa and have had him in the oven with the light on for a few days now and he is bone dry!

I'm proud of the way he turned out.

There's a tiny bit of sparkle on the tree due to the glitter bows I had on the table while I was painting.

I'll wrap him up good and send him on his way to Donna's house Thursday.

Louis Dean is going to help me package him so he arrives intact.

It's quiet in here in the den as I write.

The fire has burned down and is making gentle sighing sounds much as I am. It's time to go to bed.

Louis Dean retired well over and hour ago.

He was sleepy and thought he'd better get in bed before he woke up good.

Christmas music is playing and everywhere I look from my place here in the den is all pretty and decorated. I'll pick up where I left off tomorrow.

Jutta arrived last night and loves her room and the view as well as the friendly people she's met at Krogers where she went to get some fresh food for the mini kitchen. She's staying at Casa Del Mar which is my favorite on the whole island.

She will have a few days to herself before Summer and I arrive.

She needs these days to breathe and be all to herself.

We all need that from time to time.

So goodnight to all - signing off here!