Christmastime Fun in Snowy Vermont

I always wanted to visit Vermont during the holiday season and this year we finally made it happen. We've made a couple of trips to the Vermont Country Store, which although a major tourist destination, still manages to maintain its old time charm. But never at Christmas. We took a beautiful drive from our family's cabin in Upstate NY over the nearby Vermont border and the snowy trees were gorgeous. It was snowing on and off during our drive and felt like being in a real life snow globe.

We even passed by this lovely red and green building that I joked surely must have something to do with Santa Claus himself.

I mean, no one does Christmas quite like Vermont.

The Vermont Country Store was chock full of nostalgic Christmas items. It felt like stepping back in time and seeing all of my grandmother's holiday decor on display.

All of these items are available from their catalog and website but it is fun to see them in person.

Our youngest son is now officially the tallest. It's funny how life works like that and how I didn't pay so much attention to it until I saw it in his picture (the angle of the picture definitely accentuates it too). Having little boys is fun, but seeing them turn into men right before my eyes, each so different yet so alike too, has been the best part of being a mom.

I was so excited about my new pine tree sweater that I had to take a picture. I ordered it from Kiel James Patrick during the Black Friday sale and it was definitely a splurge but it felt so like me that Billy insisted that I order it as an early present from him. I'm so glad I listened! My mittens are handmade by Adirondack Mittens out of old wool sweaters. I met her at a craft show this summer but she also sells her products on Etsy.

I also spent a little time decorating the cabin for Christmas and I will share some pictures of that in my next post. I have been so focused on holiday decor that I have fallen behind in my present shopping and baking. How about you? Are you feeling well prepared? I am always in awe of those who have their holiday shopping done. Maybe next year I will be better about that...

Holiday Housewalk 2018

Hello and welcome to this year's Holiday Housewalk hosted once again by the talented Jennifer Rizzo. For me, Christmas is all about traditions and I love that this housewalk has become a part of my holiday blogging tradition. For as long as I have been reading blogs, Jennifer Rizzo has been hosting this amazing line-up of Christmas homes. I am honored to be included once again. You can start this year's tour by clicking on the button below. The tour continues all week so be sure you visit ALL of the homes for tons of holiday inspiration.

Happy Thanksgiving

It's hard to believe it is already Thanksgiving week. And yet the weather has been so winter-like, in some ways it feels more like Christmas around here. We got hit hard with a November snowstorm this past Thursday that paralyzed our area like I have never seen. We are normally used to dealing with storms here in the Northeast, but I think the early storm mixed with lots of ice and also the timing led to a nightmare commute for many of our family and friends. It took Billy over 4 hours to get to work and he was one of the lucky ones. It took some of his co-workers close to 7 hours to drive what normally takes less than an hour. I prefer November to look more like this shot of our kitchen.

Target Dollar Spot Advent Calendar

Hello friends! I have been busy decking our halls for the holidays. In fact, as I write this, we are awaiting our very first snowstorm of the season. So it's been quite easy to get into the Christmas spirit early this year. Before I begin sharing our decor this year, I wanted to share a super easy project I recently completed with items purchased at the Dollar Spot in Target.

Our Fall Bedroom

Hello and Happy Weekend! We are expecting lots of rain and wind from a nor'easter here in NJ this weekend which meant huge lines at the grocery store today. Billy's new job has him working alternate weekends and this is his weekend to work. Last weekend, we got to see the last of the foliage in the Adirondacks and Vermont for this year and I will share more of that in my next post. This weekend, my big plans include a bit lot of deep cleaning in our house (ugh!) - in preparation both for the upcoming holidays and also a couple of photo shoots with professional photographers that will be happening soon (yikes!).