Our Favorite Things: The Warmth & Beauty of Christmas

Living Room: The place where we gather to open birthday and Christmas gifts and a place where we can sit quietly and think, our living room is a heart of our home. The mantle reflects the changing seasons and occasions.

Living Room Mantle - a Heart of Our Home

No matter how blustery it gets outdoors, it's warm inside a home that is decorated for Christmas. Bless all who live, visit, and gather here. 

Our Christmas tree holds a treasury of sentimental ornaments.  My favorites include an elegant collection of Lenox ornaments, a fun grouping of pewter and wooden Disney ornaments ... each with a memory of gift-giver or occasion attached. 

Symbolic of our three son-shines, many ornaments are grouped in threes: 3 Pottery Barn snowflakes, 3 silver stars, 3 snowmen, 3 Lenox crystal birds, 3 crystal angels, 3 white doves, 3 jovial red Santas ...  and assorted ones the boys made in preschool. When the children have their own homes one day, each will have an ornament to take for his tree to match those of his brothers.

 Each ornament is unique and treasured.  Over the years, though, Lenox and Pottery Barn ornaments have become some of my very favorites. Pottery Barn's mercury glass collections of ornaments add shimmer and sparkle to any tree.

~ Linda


   

Decorating: At Home Still-Life

"Surround yourself with the beautiful" my mother has always told me.  Of course, what is beautiful for one might not be so lovely to look at for another.  An interior decorating and antiques enthusiast, my mother whimsically and ethereally accents her home with a variety of sculptural cherubs: cherubs as lamps, as bookends, wooden cherubs in flight atop doorways, a pedestal cherub holding a large shell above her head ... used as soap holders in the bathroom.

Statuary of little boys appeals most to me, as I have three wonderful sons (my "son-shines"); two are teenagers (excuse the cliche, but Wow, time flies!), one a vivacious and joyful preschooler.


34 degrees today in brisk December, but - every time I pass by it in my center foyer - this grouping of garden statuary and vibrant silk flowers cheerfully reminds me of the warm, bright spring days that are soon to be ours again.  The bronze boy holds a turtle; the beige boy, a butterfly. The garden outdoors is inside our winter home . 


Given to my husband and I last Christmas from our siblings, my favorite is the largest statue. I call it "the three brothers." The littlest one (at left) represents our delicious three year old.


Beautiful statuary and silks can be found at nurseries (LI's Martin Viette is a treasure trove in this regard) and at Michael's craft stores (keep your eyes peeled for their 50% off coupons). Warm up winter by bringing in spring - silk florals and garden statuary can add spirit-lifting accents to your home.

~ Linda

Linda's Favorite Things - 2 & 3 tier servers

Filled with clementines (one of my boys' favorites!), this 2-tier wire server is so simple, I wonder why it is so pleasing to the eye for me? On Christmas Eve, I will fill it with sweet, colorful mini Forelle pears (in season October through March) and mini "Lady apples" as a centerpiece for the dessert table. At a breakfast buffet, it makes an adorable holder for muffins.

I have seen similar wire servers at Pier 1 imports and Pottery Barn. Another very appealing aspect of their beauty is their practicality: affordable, lightweight, non-chipping, and virtually unbreakable.

Particularly elegant with its scroll design and triple-serving feature (wish I had this one), I love this one pictured at top left. It has an easy carry handle that makes serving and clean up easier.