First 2011 Holiday Tablescape

Whew!  There is nothing like a day off to get caught up on the Christmas decor.  I still have one more tree to go but I've finally put away all the fall decor and cleaned up the bulk of the mess from bringing out all the Christmas decor.

Since I don't have to go in today until 1:00pm, I had a little extra time this morning to put together a centerpiece and practice a little holiday setting too.  Wanna see?

 It's morning y'all, so your getting lot's of streaming sunlight in these photos.

Before we get into the dishes let me show you my centerpiece.

This was a basket I bought last year at a yard sale and spray painted white.

I filled it with a swag of greenery...

...and stuck in a few inexpensive picks that I already had.

I surrounded the inside of the basket with more of my leftover tulle ribbon to act as a filler.

Then topped it off with a bow that I had made last year for some wreaths I hung on my inside windows.  

Simple and cute!

Oh, and I found these adorable votive candle holders this year at Ross.  They were very inexpensive, only $3.99 for a two pack.  I bought two packs!

The beautiful Irish tray linen underneath was won in an online auction this summer from a fellow blogger at, My Place To Yours.  I love it!

Okay ladies, now let's talk dishes!

I am so excited to break out my newest holiday dishes I purchased last year!

The plaid salad plates are from Lenox and are part of the Holiday Gatherings collection.  I purchased them from Belks.  I have wanted these plates for some time and they had stopped carrying them but brought them back last year so I snapped them right up.  Wouldn't you?

I just love how they look with my Lenox Butlers Pantry Gourmet.  Honestly though, they would also look fantastic with any white, red, or green dishes for that matter!  Belks is carrying them again this year, I may have to seriously consider adding on a few more.

Then I decided to add my green checked napkins to keep it casual.

I'm sure most of you are very tired of seeing these bamboo flatware, but here I go again!  So sorry, but I really think they just work here so well, don't you?  Come on!

My pretty green goblets were from Walmart.  They are some of that great stuff from the Better Homes and Garden label.

Yes, I think this setting is really working for me.

I like how well this is also working with the rest of my Christmas decor in the kitchen.

Like my tree!  Yesterday, I found more elves I had bought last year and added them to the tree.

I also added "old" Mr. and Mrs. Claus in here too.

Look who I caught watching me through the glass doors.  Hey Misty girl!

I also hung a few of my oldest elves off the chandy...

...along with a few old ornaments as well.  These were some hand me down glass balls that I painstakingly hand glued each and every sequin on one year.  Don't you know one fell while I was attaching it yesterday and shattered.  I hate when that happens!  Urgghh!

Well, here's my first holiday setting of the season!  How do you like it?

Thanks so much for joining me today for

Tablescape Thursday.

I really appreciate the visit and hope you enjoyed what you saw.

I can't wait to see all your tablescapes and decor this year too!

Have a great day everyone!

Three Trees and Counting!

It's the most wonder..ful time, it's the most wonderful time..., the most wonderful time... of.... the year!

You could say I've been just a tad busy lately!  It's been one crazy season so far but I've managed to deck three trees already.  I've still got 2 more to go but thought I'd share the ones that I've finished.  I shared some of these photos with my facebook friends already because I was so excited Sunday.  So for those of you who have already seen this, sorry but this is as far as I've gotten still.

Tree No.1 - The Den

This is the first photo I took on Sunday, after I finished.

 I was trying to go a little more rustic on the tree in my den this year.

Here's the tree again this morning after readjusting my stars on top that had slipped down into the bow.

They are hand forged copper that I purchased from a craftsman in Charleston several years ago. I put the three of them together myself to use as a tree topper.  I finally found just the right ribbon to use this year too.  Not only is it houndstooth, but actually feels like wool as well.

Quite different from last years tree, huh?

Tree No.2 - The Dining Room 

Again, here is the tree on Sunday after first finishing it.

This is my white, gold and silver tree.

And my very old special angel who has been with me for so long!

Here it is this morning from a different angle.  Please overlook all the other fall junk still sitting around yall.   I am so pressed for time lately that my house is still a mess, but at least I have a few trees up!

I wanted to also show you a few snaps of this tree without the lights on.  

You can see a few of my Lenox ornaments in this photo.  I've collected them ever since my husband and I got married.  The intertwined rings in the bottom of this photo is my first Lenox ornament and they are dated too.  These ornaments are what inspired me to do a white tree that has evolved into a white, silver and gold tree.  

With the lights on it really sparkles!

Tree No.3 - The Kitchen

 I had the most fun with this tree.  I previously have only done a small tree in here but decided to go large this year.  I just bought a very inexpensive tree from Target.   Since I knew it would be covered with ornaments I wasn't nearly as concerned about the quality of the tree as I was the size.  

How do you like the crazy topper I made?  My husband said, it reminds him of a Dr. Suess tree.

Do you remember these guys?  I was so excited to get them out and put them on this little red ladder I found at a thrift store this summer.  The Mr. came in later and said, no, that is not going to work.  I was crushed and asked why?  He said because they are not thing 1 and thing 2.  LOL!

All of my newest candy ornaments and ribbon from last year went on this tree along with my old elves and a few other whimsical ornaments.

I think this is quite a magical tree!

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed my trees!

I hope to find some time for visiting many of you tonight.  See ya soon!

Have a great day everyone!  

Black Friday deals with Initial Outfitters

Hey Friends!  

I just wanted to send out a quick post for you about some excellent deals with Initial Outfitters.  I am still an independent sales consultant for Initial Outfitters though I have not been very actively selling lately due to working full time again.  One of the things I've said that I love the most about this company is that you are in control of your own business and sales.  This was very important for me from the beginning as I knew this would be a part time position for me.   Many of our consultants have successfully made this a full time career which has paid off well.  It's totally up to you!   But, I digress, here's what I really wanted to tell you...

There is a lot going on with Initial Outfitters and sales are doing great for the company!  They have just released several black Friday deals I wanted to pass along to any of you who may be interested.

With a $30.00 order you can now take advantage of as many of the above deals as you want.  They have now removed the limits as shown on this page.  So yes, that means you can now order unlimited amounts with your original purchase.  

Please note that prices do not include engraving or embroidery.  Engraving is only an additional $5.00 and embroidery is only $7.00 for either names or 3 initials.  Shipping is only $10.00 per order too.  So that means your entire order can be sent to you for only $10.00 no matter how many items you have!

You can place all orders online with me at

www.initialoutfitters.net/marykeels 

 or feel free to email me if you have any further questions.

(my email is listed on my "about me" page under my tabs)

Thanks so much!

Happy Shopping!

In Search of Holiday Ribbon

Hi Friends!  Guess what?  It's that time of year again, when we embark upon that all important quest to find just the right holiday ribbon.  Do you feel the same?

Every year I decide if I am going to reuse the same holiday ribbon from last year or search for a new look.  I'm not sure what it is about ribbons, but one things for sure.   We women take our ribbon shopping very seriously!   Several shopping trips with friends who were also looking for a new ribbon are some of my favorite seasonal shopping memories.  The buddy system is a great way to shop for ribbon.  It never fails even if I am shopping alone for ribbon that I will enjoy a conversation with someone in the ribbon isle.  It's that sharing of thoughts, opinions and ideas that makes buying ribbon such a joy for me.  It may also be why I like trying out new ribbons too.

These were my new ribbon selections from last year.  

I ended up only using these spools.  They were actually tulle, and so wonderful to work with!  I still have plenty of this left and will be using it again on a few of my trees but not on the large tree in my den this year.  I am going with a totally different look in the den this year.  

The only problem is I haven't yet found quite the right ribbon yet.  Yikes!  It's getting too close for comfort too, because I like to start my tree decorating right after Thanksgiving.  Also since I am so limited on time this year even being able to search the different stores for just the right ribbon has been a challenge.  So this morning, I pulled a few photos from Pinterest to share with you on searching for holiday ribbon.  Here's a few that I found that I absolutely love!

countryliving.com

Isn't this the cutest thing!  I love all these plaid ribbons in the jar.  That's almost a decorating statement in itself isn't it?

pinterest.com

I thought this was adorable.  I really love the small checked ribbon and the muslim ribbon too.

thehappymomblog.blogspot.com

Here is a great example of checked ribbon on a tree.  It's just gorgeous!

etsy.com

Speaking of gorgeous, how do you like this plaid ribbon?  I love the white and red with just a touch of green.  I think the big beautiful bow and ribbon totally makes this door swag, don't you?

tatteredandtimeless.com

I would love to make one of these ribbon trees one day.  I adore the colors used in this one!  I have to put this idea on the back burner though, thank goodness for pinterest.  I must stay focused on searching for ribbon for my Christmas tree and my mantle right now.

 potterybarn.com

 I saw this used quite a bit last year in blogland and absolutely fell in love with it.  I even came across some very inexpensive jute webbing at a thrift store last year and passed it by.  It am kicking myself about that now!

save-on-crafts.com

This is very interesting!  It almost looks like gauze to me.  LOL!  I like how natural it looks though.

I also like this look quite a bit too.  I've yet to see anything that even comes close to this in the stores this year though.  Have you?  

bhg.com

And last but not least, I also am really liking this look as well.  The only thing is, I'm not so sure I want to make my own burlap ribbons this year.  That could be very time consuming!

By the way, any idea exactly how many yards I need for a very full 8ft tree?  I don't think I've ever measured exactly.  I usually just look for the largest quantities I can get.

So, it's off to the stores I go!

Still searching and enjoying meeting all the other ribbon enthusiasts along the way.  I guess you have a little idea of the direction I'm headed this year.  I still haven't found quite the right one yet.  You know the one that says; YES!!! YES!!! YES!!!

What about you?  Are you in search of  a new ribbon this year?  What are you looking for?

I would love to hear from you. 

Thanks for visiting and I hope you have a very blessed Sunday!