Out To Lunch~

i wanted to let everyone know that i will be out of commission for a while. i took a nasty fall three weeks ago today and broke my arm. i'm hoping to be blogging again in a few weeks.

until then, big hugs to you all!

planet claire

The Dining Room~

Still sharing my Christmas decor, I'm moving on to the dining room. You won't find another dining set like this anywhere. It was handmade by a very old little man from Germany in 1963. Hubby's grandmother had it made to her specifications and while it is a bit odd in it's size, I love it because of it's history.







Here is the ceramic Christmas tree my mom made back in the 70's. It's hard to tell from the picture but it's actually about 3 ft. tall in height.



The top of the hutch is the perfect place for my Christmas village...



Just a touch of whimsy. It was getting too serious for me. ;)

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas...

...every where you go in the Planet Claire household! I must admit, I'm having a blast with it all.



No room is safe around here, especially the kitchen. It's my favorite place to hang out and I'd be silly not to make it jolly for the holidays, right?



Those that know me, know that in addition to being a romantic, I'm also extremely sentimental and a little schizophrenic. My house doesn't have one set style of decor. I like different things for different rooms. Everything in this room reflects sentimentality which is also scattered about the rest of the house, only in smaller and less kitschy ways. The stockings you see hanging on the wall were mine, Dear Hubby's from childhood. The top stocking was my sister's from my parent's home after she got married and took her original stocking with her.



Who, in their right mind wouldn't want a jadite Santa head plate?!?





Yes, that is a flat wine bottle you see there. The bottle was actually a champagne bottle from mine & Dear Hubby's 25th wedding anniversary. A friend of mine who is a wonderful artisan who works with glass melted it down for us to use as a fun cheese tray.



I can't imagine Christmas without Bing!





This Santa was also mine from childhood. My father owned a little grocery store when I was small. The Santa dolls were promotional items from Coca-Cola. My sister and I both have one.

Below is a better view of one of my favorite Christmas decorating pieces. This little metal "Christmas List" box. I picked it up at an antique shop, here in town. Cute.



More of my obsession. Bowls.



More bowls, and reindeer, and Santa. ;)



Love my Santa head cookie jar. I found this at Gooseberry Patch. They have such cute kitschy stuff.



And finally a note to Santa.



Dear Santa,
I've been a very good girl this year. If you could find it in your heart, I'd really love new ovens for Christmas. Yes, these have served me well but seriously, a girl sometimes likes to cook in an oven bigger than a postage stamp. Just ask Mrs. Claus. I'm sure she'd agree.

Thank You,
Planet Claire

Sweet Dreams & Silent Nights~

It's the holidays again!!! For the next several days I'll be blogging about Christmas decorating. I'll be sharing pics of my swell efforts so I hope you'll check back in and as always, leave me a comment. I love to hear from everyone so don't be shy!
Even though I have no flooring in the old boudoir at present, I couldn't let it stop me from decking the halls, the walls and any other flat surface. I love Christmas. The joy of family, friends and just that feeling of peacefulness I get at Christmastime is something I cherish every minute of.

This is my first year to include a Christmas tree in the bedroom. I love the way it turned out!

I totally lucked out last summer when I found 5 boxes of vintage Shiny Brite ornaments at a yard sale for a dime each! The vintage crocheted fans, snowflakes and balls were also a yard sale find for $1.00!!! And the little glass blown birds from Germany are, I think my favorite.

This print, from a Norman Rockwell calendar was a must have. What a cute couple dancing a Christmas jig! Another great eBay find that set me back $5. The frame came from discount chain and was under $9. Gotta love getting something so cute on the cheap!
Here's another print I found on eBay. This one came matted and framed but still cost less than $20. I'd bought it a couple years ago but never could find a good home for it in my house until I brought it into the bedroom. It now fits like a glove!



Had to get a shot of my girl in here. ;) Mrs. Beasley rocks, y'all! She wanted to be near Under The Tree so she could peek at all the fabulous toys from Christmases past.

Moving on to the dresser. Or as I like to call it, the conundrum. I puzzled as to what was holding me back and I'm still not quite sure. Especially since it's such a swell place for merchandising. I've finally made peace with it. You could say we've reached a truce. Don't you wonder about people who have grudge matches with inanimate objects? :D



My little cherub stays out year round. It actually plays music and was a gift from a friend when my Dad passed away. It's off scale but that's okay, I love it.




Inside the cloche is a clay snowman and reindeer my darling daughter made for me in 4th grade. I think she did a fabulous job! Don't you?



Mmmm, Shiny Brites!



Joy!!!

Bitten~

Okay, I admit it. I am a hopeless romantic. My darling daughter knows this, oh so well. It was at her insistence that I even gave this book a second thought. When the movie was released recently I'd promptly made a mental note to push it aside as another teen film that wouldn't dare peak my "sophisticated" tastes. Smirk.

That was before my sweet girl presented me with an early Christmas present. Unexpectedly, on Sunday, she bounded into the house with unusual enthusiasm. With such a satisfied grin on her face she proceded to present me with a copy of Twilight. I must admit, I was a tad apprehensive but since it was a gift, I knew I couldn't just cast it aside. How could I disappoint her???

That night, upon I climbing into bed I decided to read a couple pages, (still thinking I was humoring my 19 year old daughter). It didn't take long to realize this story spans the generations. I was ridiculously hooked! Now on chapter 14, my addiction is complete. What a nice, fun escape and a quick read!

I can't wait to finish now so I can move on to book 2, New Moon! ;)

Is anyone else out there reading this series? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Thanksgiving Is Almost Here!

I have so much to do this week in preparation of Thanksgiving. There is meal planning & grocery shopping to be done, a master bathroom to finish and a house to get spic n' span. Luckily, Dear Hubby was nice enough to help me move some furniture around to make room for our guests next Thursday. I think it turned out pretty swell.

So, as my Mama would say, "Y'all Come!"



















It's not often we see a lot of Thanksgiving decorating, so I thought I'd share mine!

Hope you liked it!

It's Fall Y'all!!!

Wow! It's been a long time since I actually had the time to sit down and write. Between work, family and the bathroom re-do, I haven't had even the teensiest moment to reflect on much of anything. Luckily, things are starting to get back to a low roar around the house so I thought I'd give blogging another try.

We are finally coming to the close of our master bathroom makeover! Whew! What a long, strange trip it has been. This weekend we'll be installing new taps for the sinks, moving a couple of the ceiling lights and taking care of any touch-ups along the way.

Here's a sneak peek at our progress thus far...







We still have a lot of clean up to do but things are shaping up nicely. I'm just crossing my fingers that we'll have it all done by Thanksgiving. Wish us luck!!!