Our Holiday House Tour

Hello, dear friends.  This is the final round-up.  The halls have been decked and the gifts are wrapped.  Now, all we need are our girls and Adorable Jonathon to begin celebrating.  They are arriving on Sunday.

Welcome to our home.  

Chowdah and Chili will be your guides.

 Don't mind the dust or the wet dog smell.

It's part of our charm.

We'll begin in the kitchen.

Mom would tell you that she made this topiary, but that would be fake news.

This is why we need fact checkers in this house.

Mom's middle name is kalanchoe.

She likes them because they add color and live forever.

Also, you only have to water them once a week, which appeals to her lazy tendencies.

Bunnies are not just for Easter, anymore!

She didn't make this either.

Mom is also a nut for topiaries.

Random scary guy and more kalanchoes.

Mom's friend, Mary actually DID make this cute little topiary!

When Mom was five, she had no idea that she had preppy empty nesterhood in her future.

This is our Grandmom.  

She never had the pleasure of meeting us.  

Mom took this from Grandpa's place.

Don't tell Sista! 
Mom says it's only fair because she liked her best.

This is the dining room.

We're not allowed in here because Mom doesn't want muddy paw prints on her rug.

Hmmph... It's lucky that we're not sensitive.

This is a kalanchoe-free zone. 

Mom's friend, Mary, gave her those cute hurricanes too.
We need a friend like Mary!

Now we're going into another room where we are not allowed - the den.

The tree is fake cuz our Dad is a total neat freak and doesn't like pesty pine needles on the floors.

Mom told us that they only had a real tree once during their marriage.

That was the year Dad had to go on medication.

Kate the Great sent this ornament to Mom a hundred years ago.

Mom says that she wished that she looked this good.

We don't know who this is supposed to be.

Obviously, somebody who likes to get into trouble.

We can't forget this ornament!

If it weren't for TCU, we probably wouldn't be having a wedding this year!

Mom used a lot of dried hydrangeas on the tree and the mantle.

She told us to tell you that it looks better in real life than in photos.

She's right. 

This is the room that we are actually allowed to enter.

Mom put those wreaths up on our first Christmas in this house and never took them down.

We weren't supposed to tell you that.

That's it for now.

If you know Santa, please tell him that we're not perfect but we tried our best.

Also, tell Santa that we're sorry about the shredded toilet paper, knocked over food bins, scratched woodwork and floors, muddy paws, and dug-up yard.

And tell Santa one more thing.
We're sorry our Mom wets the floor sometimes.

xx,

 

Chowdah & Chili 

Thank you, Chowdah and Chili for such a colorful tour. 

Are you in the mood for a holiday pick-me-up?

It's right here.

I wish you a very Merry Christmas.
I'll see you next year!

Until next time...

Don't forget to tell Santa that we like treats and balls, too! 



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Sista's Holiday House Tour

Hello, dear friends.  I hope that you are closing in on the last of your holiday preparations so that you can take a few minutes to relax.  Pour your beverage of choice and while you're at it, grab me one.

My Sista's Holiday House Tour does not feature one holiday but two.  

Two for the price of one.   

You're welcome.

If you are new here, let me give you a little background.  My Sista lives in a beautiful antique home in Litchfield County, Connecticut.  In the past couple of years, the downstairs of the house has undergone an entire renovation.  I have written several posts about Sista's lovely home.  You can find them here, here, here, here, here, and here.

To begin, here are a few photos from Sista's Thanksgiving table.  

The plates are so pretty.  There's a funny story about those plates.  I need to get permission before I can share it with you.

If you haven't guessed by now, Sista loves to entertain.  Fortunately, her family feels the same way.  One son is a fabulous cook, one son is a bartender extraordinaire, and her hubby is the consummate host.

When I called Sista to begin the first stages of begging for more holiday pics, she was diligently working on this project.  I love the smell of spiced orange pomander balls. 

It's too bad that I am too lazy to make them.

Sista's dining room is large with beautiful built-ins original to the house and a large fireplace.

I think that I'm going to steal this hanging ornament idea next year.

I gave these salt and pepper shakers to Sista for Christmas one year.  I bought them from my favorite shop over at The Enchanted Home.

How cute are these plates!
Every Summer Sista says that she is going to have a huge yard sale.  I tell her that I will be first in line.

This year, Sista put up two trees - one in the living room and one in the den.

The tree receiving Wiley's undivided attention is the second one which is in the den.
Wiley looks like she's going to pounce any minute. 

I'm so lucky I have well-behaved dogs.

Can you spell h-a-m?

Thank you, dear Sista, for sharing your beautiful home with us.

Until next time...

George Clooney

George Clooney & Wiley

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