Blooming Friendship.....:)

I don't know about you, but I think I enjoy "undecorating" as much as I enjoy decorating for Christmas. I always decorate during my Thanksgiving break, so everything is up for around 4 weeks to give me time to enjoy it. And....I do enjoy my Christmas decorations so very much. But, as soon as Christmas is over, I am ready to take it all down and pack it up for another year. The house always looks so bare after everything is taken down though, so I had to liven things up a bit. Last night, one of my best friends, my mother-in-law, and my brother-in-law came over for supper and I wanted something pretty...yet simple, on the table. My camelias have been blooming for a couple of weeks now, so I decided to pick a few of mine as well as mama's to adorn the table. These are from mama's bushes....I don't have any this color....they are almost red and oh so pretty. 

Just look at all the petals! 

These are from my bushes. I picked a couple off the ground that the rain had washed off the bush. I just love camelias....they're my favorite flower. I love that they bloom in the winter and liven up an otherwise brown and barren landscape.

Aren't they lovely?

These are sitting on my buffet.

One of the side tables in the living room got a bouquet too...:) How do you like my birds? I got them a few weeks ago for a dollar or two at my favorite consignment shop. They were already painted white. I love them on my thirfted tray that I repainted gold a few weeks ago.

I have been meaning to share this sweet little gift I received in the mail the day before Christmas Eve. Another sweet token from a precious blog friend....Tina from Cluttered Corkboard. If you haven't visited Tina, you need to do so. Not only is she a sweetheart, she is very crafty and creative as well. I get lots of awesome ideas from her blog! Anywho, she sent me a little surprise in the mail and I was just tickled to open it up!

Just look at this adorable little necklace! Even the paper it is attached to is just too cute with the black and white snowman image!

Have you ever seen such a tiny little bottle with a cork stopper? Just look at the adorable hand-painted snowman and the little snowflake and white bead are the perfect finishing touch! 

This note was on the back of the paper the necklace was attached to...:) I just love my adorable necklace and I wore it on Christmas Eve and Christmas day. Everyone thought it was just too cute! Thank you so much Tina for your kindness and generosity. You are a blessing....as are all of my blog friends. I never dreamed I would make so many friends when I began this endeavor almost a year ago. 

December 31, 2012 was my first post and I am excited to be celebrating my one year anniversary soon. In honor of that, I am trying to come up with a unique giveaway idea.....so stay tuned so you won't miss out...:) I hope to have it up this week!

Now, on a serious note, one of my best friends, Heather, (who is only 42 years old) was just diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer. I won't go into specifics, but I would greatly appreciate your thoughts and prayers for this precious lady if she crosses your mind. 

Thank you dear friends and until next time......