Christmas Happenings

Hello friends and welcome back. Can you believe it? I am actually posting again after just a week!

I'm trying to get back to it, even when there isn't much to blog about. For instance...this post. It's just a few random pictures from life over the past week or so. 

I took this photo for Instagram and thought it turned out really pretty. I am a new coffee drinker and am enjoying trying all kinds of creamers. I love this thrifted Pier One mug I've had for a few years now.

This is the view of my tree from the kitchen. I love how it can easily be seen from the living room, kitchen, and dining room. 

I also love the reflection of the tree in this mirror by my front door.

Over the weekend, my friend, Jeana, my sister, Nancy, and I went to a delightful show at a church in Gainesville. It was amazing....so much goes into this production. This was the display in the lobby. 

Here we are...me on the far left, Jeana in the middle, and Nancy on the right.

I only took a couple pictures because I was too busy enjoying the show to take pictures. This one shows snow falling from the ceiling.

And this one shows one of the live animals used in the production. During the third part of the show, the story of the birth and life of Jesus, when the three kings came in, one came on horse, one on a camel, and one with alpacas. It was awesome...I wish I had pictures to share!

I wanted to introduce you to my new grand dog....Babybel aka Bell. If you follow me on Instagram then you may have seen her already. Miranda and her boyfriend, Slade adopted her. She is absolutely precious!

I mean...look at that face! Isn't she precious in her new Christmas collar?

I wanted to share a picture that is very exciting to me! This load of lumber is the beginning of my soon to be new porch. It's going to be 10' x 32' and I can hardly wait to get started! Sadie was making a silly face in this picture...lol!

Joey and I went to Cracker Barrel for breakfast over the weekend and I had the stuffed French toast...oh my was it divine!

And while I'm on the subject of yummy stuff, I was thrilled to find a new peppermint ice cream this year. I love peppermint and look forward to the ice cream every Christmas. This one is the best I have had! I am about to have a bowl of it when I finish typing this post. I would share if I could!

Since my last post, a few things have happened around here. My mama had surgery on her rotator cuff and is doing very well. It is a slow recovery surgery as the shoulder only heals about 10% each month and the success rate is low, meaning it doesn't always help. We are praying that it will heal completely and she will not be in pain with it anymore.  My Aunt Loretta's (mama's sister) house caught on fire, but my uncle was able to get the fire out. Unfortunately, in the process, he slipped and fell and broke his hip. He had to have surgery and has two huge pins in place and is in a lot of pain. On a brighter note, I attended a fun Christmas party at my sister's house over the weekend. This week at school will be filled with lots of fun. Our Christmas program is Thursday night. The kiddos are always so cute singing  the songs we have been practicing. Sunday, the hubby, Miranda, Slade, and I are going to see Trans Siberian Orchestra in Tampa. I loved it so much last year and can hardly wait! I know Miranda is going to love it too!

I hope all is well with you. Hopefully I will be back soon!

Until next time.....

Christmas On Willie Mae Lane

Can you believe November is over and December is here? This year has flown by! 

Looks like my Sadie Lou is saying goodbye doesn't it. She is actually looking forlornly out at her pop (the hubby) and wishing she was outside with him. She is pop's girl.

And silly Rooster couldn't figure out why he couldn't get to this kitty on the TV. I was listening to music on Hallmark several days ago. They had this yule log programming on which was just music with cats and dogs wondering on and off screen. He was so confused by it and so cute trying to look behind the TV and smell it like it was real.

Last weekend I had fun decorating the house for Christmas. I kept it pretty simple again this year. I was proud of myself for going through all my Christmas stuff and getting rid of several items, including my artificial tree. I'll share what I did with you now.

In the kitchen, I used a variety of objects I had on hand. I didn't purchase anything except a real tree this year.

I think the shelves turned out super cute. 

The windowsill had a little decor added as well. 

I kept things very simple in the kitchen. I am really enjoying it. 

This is a living room vignette.

And another one. All I added was the plaid runner and the ornaments. I recently repainted my mirror from coral to copper and I love it!

The coffee table got a runner and a cute red lantern. I love the cute pillow I got for free at Target. They were $5 in the dollar spot but I had a coupon for $5 off $10 or more, so I bought a couple of things I needed and got the pillow for free!

The clipboard got a new print for the season.

This table has a few Christmas books, some fresh cedar, and a tiny lantern.

My little area is cozy with my plaid blanket scarf draped over the back. Excuse the laptop cord.

The dining room chalkboard got a new saying. Beneath it is where my little coffee cart will be housed when we finish it. We're still waiting for the pipe to come in.

The top of the china cabinet is where my snow teacher and students reside.

The table houses a copper painted tray filled with my Christmas Carol book collection and bowl. Some balls and fresh cedar finish it off. This will change throughout the season.

I love this adorable little snow family tea light holder. I've had it for years. It was a gift from a Secret Santa at school 7 or 8 years ago.

The rest of my snowman collection is scattered around the bookcase.

I placed a few deer themed items on this rustic charger and sat it on the plant stand in the hall.

My nativity collection is on the buffet. I love this area.

I especially love this little one Miranda picked up for me in Bratislava, Slovakia before I visited her in Prague last year.

I used a set of copper wire twinkle lights from my bedroom around the picture. It is so pretty at night.

On Monday evening, Joey and I went to Home Depot and purchased a real tree. I love it!

I finally got it decorated Thursday. I had a busy week and was gone both Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, but Thursday I came home from school early because I wasn't feeling well and later that evening, I decided to decorate the tree. It turned out really pretty. I love all the memories hanging on the tree....things the kids made when they were little, ornaments I bought for them when they were growing up, ornaments from vacations and special events, some from the ornament exchanges I hosted, a few from my childhood, and so on. So many wonderful memories.

While we're on the subject of Christmas, check out the adorable Rudolph drawings my kinders completed with me earlier this week. SO stinkin' cute. Directed drawings are one of my favorite things to do with them. They are all similar but each one is unique. LOVE! They were so excited about the red glitter noses too!

And one last thing for today. Have you ever heard of Pentatonix? I discovered them a couple years ago and they are an amazing A cappella group. If you like A cappella and Christmas music, order their CD! Little Drummer Boy is my absolute favorite! I have listened to it several times already this year!

Here's the YouTube video...you have to listen. I promise it's worth the few minutes it takes. 

And speaking of music...guess who we are going to see again this year? Yep...Trans Siberian Orchestra. Miranda and Slade are going with us this year. I am so excited! This is hopefully going to be an annual tradition for Joey and I. And I know Miranda and Slade are going to love it as well! I can hardly wait! 

I am so happy you stopped by to visit. I am really trying to get back to posting and visiting more often. I am always so thrilled to hear for all of you and think about you often. If you have an Instagram, come follow me. Just click on the link on the right in the side bar. I would love to follow you and keep up with you there! 

Until next time.....

 

 

Prague.....Part 2

Hello friends! Thanks for stopping by today. I am sharing photos from my first full day in Prague and this post is picture heavy! I wanted to take pictures of everything I saw on this first day out and about. This is not all the pictures I took, but it has a good variety. I hope you have your walking shoes on because we will be putting in about 5 miles today! The first unusual thing I saw were these hanging umbrella people statues. They are so cool! See the woman in the background hanging from the orange umbrella.

I thought these huge mushroom statues were interesting. I realized on this first day that Prague is full of beautiful architecture, but it also has it's share of fun and quirky art around the city as well. And grafitti....lots of grafitti! Check out the roof of the car in the photo too!

This cafe was so pretty.

Just one of hundreds of statues I saw on buildings throughout the city.

We had brunch at Globe, an American owned restaurant.

It was so pretty inside and had some interesting artwork. LOL!

I had huevos rancheros....delicious!

Tummies full, we headed out to see some sights. I was in awe of the beautiful architecture everywhere we turned. I have never seen so many beautiful old buildings in one city.

So charming.

The Dancing House was on our list of must see's. This is a famous building that was initially named the Fred and Ginger Building but later named the Dancing House. It really stands out among the historic buildings that surround it.

We also had a beautiful view of the Vltava River from here.

There are hundreds of statues around the city. This was the first one I saw so of course, I had to take a picture.

I thought the "naked" trees were so pretty against the backdrop of beautiful architecture.

Notice the pink and green spires in the photo below.

Here's another one on this building. Prague is nicknamed the City of  the Thousand Spires. It's easy to see why. They are everywhere.

Another lovely view of the Vltava River. Isn't this playground so pretty?

More gorgeous architecture!

And more.....

Some buildings have beautiful mosaics on them as well as carvings and statues.

Here's a closer view ofd the mosaic.

I loved this building with the blue green trim.

Look at the beautiful carvings and statues on this one!

Here's some more quirky for you!

All of these beautiful buildings run parallel to the river. Walking along the river, you get the building views to the right and this view to the left.

Here I am with Miranda. Such a gorgeous backdrop!

There is nothing ugly about this city. Such perfect details everywhere.

Right after Miranda moved to Prague, she found this gingerbread shop while out exploring one day. I wanted to visit it on my trip, so we did. It was adorable all decorated for Christmas. 

Here's one of the workers making gingerbread.

Gingerbread everywhere! Such a cute shop. I did not buy anything but it smelled heavenly! I love the look of gingerbread but am not a big fan of the taste. 

After we left the gingerbread shop, we headed across the Charles Bridge. The bridge was very crowded with tourists, street performers, and people selling things. It is a beautiful bridge that is decorated with 30 statues and statuaries. Construction of this bridge began in 1357 under the rule of King Charles the IV and was finished in the beginning of the 15th century...so it's just a few years old! This is the Gothic style tower on the Old Town side of the bridge where we entered. 

Here is just one of the street performers I saw. They are all over the city!

Here's one of the statues and I even managed to get myself in the picture. See my shadow in the center?

Another statue.

And another...

This is the other end of the bridge where we walked around the most charming streets.

Look at this beautiful building....light blue with gold gilt and flanked on either side with equally beautiful pink and yellow buildings!

More street performers.....

More charming streets.

How pretty is this? They really decorate for the season!

We visited the Lennon Wall.

And then, in need of a break, we went to this little coffee shop to sit and rest for a bit and have a snack. I love all the coffee grinders they used to decorate the place. 

Almost every restaurant we went to had restroom facilities downstairs. I've never climbed as many stairs as I did during this week. There is a lot of uphill and downhill as well! You have to pay to use public restrooms in Prague so we waited until we were in a restaurant to go. 

Miranda and I decided to have an ice cream. She had caramel which had a delicious crunchy praline topping and I had strawberry. So delicious! The ice cream was a little different than our ice cream here in America. It had little pockets of ice throughout. It wasn't as sweet as ours either....in fact, none of the desserts there were as sweet as ours. I really liked them though!

We got our second wind and decided to walk back across the bridge and head to Old Town Square to the Christmas Markets. This was in one small section on the way. So pretty!

We passed the Astronomical Clock on the way. It was beginning to get dark out so this photo isn't the best. This clock is so beautiful! It is over 600 years old! It was first instaled in 1410 whoch makes it the third oldest astronomical clock in the world and the oldest one still operating.

And, finally, we made it to the square! Check out this amazing tree! You can read more about how the tree is selected each year here. I like the fact that they always choose a tree that is destined to be cut down anyway for various reasons each year. Every half hour or hour, the tree lights up in sections to music. It is magical! Those ornaments that look like little houses are each about 3-4 feet high. This tree is massive!

Here's Miranda and myself standing beside it. The bottom branches are around head high on us.

It starts getting dark around 4 PM. This picture was taken at 4:50 PM. I love the deep blue color of the sky here. It was breathtaking over the Christmas Market lights and red roofs. I will be sharing more on the Christmas Markets soon. This post is too long already!

So, I will end it by sharing my supper meal with you.....chicken schnitzel with potato pancakes and steamed veggies. Yum!

Are you as tired as I was after a long day out and about? I'll try to post some Christmas Market photos soon and then continue with my trip day by day. I hope you all had a restful weekend. The hubby and I made a lot of headway on our guest bathroom. I look forward to sharing it soon. I managed to get several things accomplished around the house this weekend so I feel good starting this new week. I have plans for several upcoming posts and look forward to sharing with you all. Have a great week! 

Until next time.....