A Traditional Christmas

It's Saturday, I have a cold, and for the first time in my almost 13 years of marriage my house was not decorated for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving.  I'm cutting myself a little slack though. With the recent loss of my mother in law I think I'm feeling just a wee bit less festive than normal.  The stuffy nose and cough don't help either.  I LOVE Christmas. I love the way our home feels. I love the traditions of trimming the tree, the music, the baking, the gift wrapping (yes, I love wrapping gifts!) but I'm behind this year. I haven't bought a single thing, our dining room is still in an upheaval because the hutch is disassembled in the garage and awaiting its final coat of paint on Monday, while all the hutch contents lay sprawled out over the table.  We always get our tree the first Saturday in December, so I'm giving myself until then to get everything else up.
In the meantime, how about a little more Christmas loveliness from past magazines?

This is another favorite that has been in my files for 9 years.  It's from Traditional Home, which lately I haven't been digging quite as much as I used to.  This home, on the other hand, is everything I like in a home.

Traditional but a little bit country.

Buffalo checks, blue & white transferware, books, antiques



Cozy, comfortable & collected.

I'm feeling the Christmas spirit kicking in, but first I need a good nap, a cup of tea, some Tylenol and maybe a little blog hopping...(although I think all of you are out shopping and decorating because I'm not seeing many new posts.  Hmmm...)