not perfect, but better....

 Yesterday, my husband brought this dollhouse into our living room,

lifting the wing of a gate-leg table we'd recently moved in to set it on.

He spent a couple of hours repairing/re-doing parts of the

partly assembled piece I'd purchased via a facebook garage sale site
earlier this year.

 He's a patient person, this man of mine!

He's at it again this Christmas Day--at least until it's

time to drive the hour distance to spend the afternoon with my parents.

"Not perfect, but better," he pronounced as he stepped back to

view one of the improvements....

what I did and didn't resist

 It was hard to resist this milk glass bowl,

 needle-worked reindeer piece

 (especially at THIS price),

 these pink flamingos and their tropical friends,

 inspirational plaque,

and ever-useful note cards...
so I didn't (resist them).

Christmas items were 50% off and picked over

at my favorite thrift store

when I stopped in on the way to visit my mother yesterday.
I DID resist them.

(It's always interesting to see what's new at the Bargain Box!)

treasures of the snow

With ideas from my Pinterest Board,

I SHOULD be able to keep him occupied all winter!

It took a snowy afternoon to finally get this done.

It's been on my mind for quite awhile now.

There's not TOO much that I like about winter,

but an afternoon like this

produces some of the treasures of the snow for me.

how the ball bounces here

 The time frequently comes to move a few items

out of the house to make way for something else....

or NOTHING else.

 There are a few items I've listed recently

on some local facebook pages.

 Most of them were purchased at thrift stores...

 a few at garage sales.

 They were not necessarily bought for resale, 

 and I've had my share of pleasure from all of them.

 Both the desk and the small stand below

 were snatched up quickly after being posted.

 The rest remain.  Waiting for a new home.

 I think I shall place a large, round Christmas candle on the stand below.

Just seems right somehow...

 And how I wish I didn't already have 2 rather large mirrors

 hanging already in our living room!

I will be reining in my thrift store shopping

until I've sold a few of these items.

That's just how the ball bounces here!

from hither and yon

 

 I'm not sure what it is about the "stray" nativity pieces

this year....

 Apparently they caught my eye.

 So much so that I've not dug out my sets this year--

 choosing instead to decorate with those lonely wisemen and shepherds 

 I've gathered from hither and yon over the past 12 months....

counting sheep

 Coming across this white fence in our game closet

while searching for something else....

 I thought, "Why not?"

It fits just right around our tabletop tree

and contains my small collection of sheep.

EVERYTHING was purchased at a thrift store

except for the table which I think was a garage sale purchase...
~UPDATE~

 I added a few "stray" shepherds from incomplete nativity sets.

 ....and some additional sheep.

After I figure out a good way to cover the tree stand itself,
this little project will be done!

i'm sure you don't.....

...have any spots that look like this!

I think my favorite professional decorator is Abigail Ahern.

Her web site/blog contains some of the most detailed and practical decorating tips

I know of!  It helps that I happen to like her style.

I'm going to be applying the eight tips from THIS particular post

to try to create an interesting and attractive vignette.

(My attempt will be challenging, because it happens to sit next

 to my husband's recliner and must be functional as well as beautiful.)

I'll see what I can do and will try to post the results soon.

hunting goodwill

 Yesterday, my appointments took me in the vicinity of a Goodwill Store

in Defiance, OH.

Seldom do I shop Goodwill locally.  The prices are too high;

too much of the merchandise is new.

 But this particular store was a pleasurable exception

to my local experiences.

 As you can see, I did not leave the store empty-handed!

couch-less

 Yes, we are.  Couch-less.

 After selling our $20 garage-sale find (sectional couch),

 I spread out the chairs in our living room

 and am just FINE with the results!

 I'm all over the chart with lighting in these photos....

but it gives you an idea of how we're living!

All chairs except for the large leather Man Chair

were garage sale or thrift store finds. 

 Well, not this rocking chair.  It belonged to my grandparents.

I even called this backless, rustic chair into service!
Turned it around so the flat side was against the wall.
(There are multiple pillows to hold since we are couch-less.)

As you can tell,
I have a THING for chairs.

refuge coffee house

 I like coffee, old brick, and rich colors...

 I love my husband...

 I like coffee houses with unique ambiance...

 and the "little things" that say "Welcome"...

 I like interiors and paintings on the wall...

 and old, wooden furniture...

 I like leather...

 welcoming spaces...

 and tables and chairs...

 I'd probably like open mic nights (though I'm not sure)...

so is it any wonder that I found this coffee house on the town square

in Carlinville  IL a delightful place to pass an hour or so

while waiting to go to the evening's visitation

for my mother-in-law who died last Saturday?

The coffee was great.

The food choices were tempting.

The sight of our son when he arrived was like

the addition of cream to one's coffee (if you like cream).

Refuge.
A good name for THIS one!