holidays 2011-2012

Happy New Year everyone and I hope you all had a wonderful holiday.  I was spoiled with 2 weeks away from work and spent it with family, friends, doing a little bit of travelling to small towns in southwestern Ontario, relaxing and eating.  Here are some of the highlights from my holiday.

Said goodbye to the two build projects I'm PM'ing...

in favour of open skies and open fields.

The holidays are so much more enjoyable with a little one around.

Relaxed with Lucy.

Did some antique shopping

Experimented with some festive nails

And enjoyed the first official snow fall. 

How were your holidays?

alice's first trip to see santa

Didn't exactly go as we planned.

Maybe next year.

more christmas

Have I mentioned how much I love the decor this time of year?

blue all over

After living with the accent wall for a week, I decided I loved the colour so much that I ended up painting the entire corner of the living room with this pale blue gray.  Although a cool colour, it surprisingly warmed up the space (it just works so well with the red) and I'm now ready for both winter and Christmas.

During the day....

at night....

tying into my gallery wall with all it's accents of blue...

with my navy lamp and my lovely view...

and with the last remnants of greenery in the space.

And Lucy says Hi!

it's beginning to look a lot like...

Yes, the Santa Clause parade has come around so it's time to whip out the decorations for my favourite time of year.  Here's just a quick glance, I've gone much more retro this year than last with some coloured lights on my DIY tree.

merry christmas

wishing everyone a happy holiday

Well this is it for me folks until after Christmas.  From Lucy and I - Have a Very Merry Christmas!

gingerbread & cocoa

Also spotted on Neu4bauer these cute little gingerbread houses, a perfectly sized compliment to a cup of cocoa or coffee.

an idyllic winter

I love snow as a lead up to Christmas.  I am one who dreams each year for a white Christmas and consider Christmas a failure without a layer of fluffy snow.   We've been lucky here in Toronto that we had light snow falling just about every day for a week, creating a beautiful landscape without the mess.  How perfect it's been walking Lucy in the snow, finishing up the Christmas shopping and staying in watching Christmas movies with the snow falling around us.  But I could not imagine a more idyllic winter than one spent in this village in Switzerland.  Oh my!  Spotted on Neu4bauer.

great diy christmas inspiration

From Dutch magazine Vtwonen.  Spotted on emmas designblogg.

Also spotted, DIY Christmas trees just like mine.  I actually really love the colour.

cute christmas vignette

Love this vignette from Orange Farmhouse that resides in their little girl's room.  That nativity scene has just been added to my list of Christmas decorations to find for next year.  Spotted on Bloesem.  [PS.  Did you see my Christmas tree on Bloesem on Tuesday? If not, check it out here]

favourite christmas movies | love actually

Love, love, love.  Great cast.  Great soundtrack. Hugh Grant as prime minister.  The dreamy architect Carl.  And the flashcards!  Broke my heart.  I simply love this movie.

hump day humour | bob & doug mckenzie

This one is going out to Maggie and Rob over at Okay, Now What?.  If you can't figure out why, check out their blog.  Bob and Doug McKenzie with the 12 Days of Christmas.

country christmas

Despite being a polar opposite to my mid-century modern aesthetic, my parents country home is probably my favourite place to be, especially at Christmas.  Here's a few shots of my mom's country Christmas.

One thing my mother and I have in common, we like to theme our trees.  Several years ago, my Christmas tree was only snowmen.  My mother has kept up the tradition with hers.

My sister Jen and I handpainted all the Old World Santas on the mantle [we were crafty kids].  My sister also painted the framed canvas in the centre.

Even the bathroom gets a few festive touches.