Holiday Decor....come on in!

 Welcome to my Florida home!

I'll just lead you through the house and we'll find a few holiday touches here and there.

You'll need your sunglasses INSIDE if the brightness bothers you. 

Hard to get good photos with the curtains open but we don't want it to be dark inside either!

Living Room

And yes, I've played the piano some lately. I'm out of practice! lol

The bookcases....

more bookcases....

the kitchen....

and the lanai.

We'll finish with the baker's rack in the lanai.

I didn't do as much this year. We need time to hike!

I almost forgot Wendy and Sophie!

And my favorite photo....

the jewelry tree in my bedroom.

I'm going to take a couple of weeks off to enjoy more time outdoors. The weather is fabulous at this time of year. So I'm wishing you all Happy Holidays! 

Enjoy this special time and let's all be thankful for our blessings. 

See you on the Florida Trails!

I'm joining Angie for Mosaic Monday HERE . 

Playing with Dolls

 I play with dolls....now I've said it! Are you happy now?

Well, it makes me happy and life is too short to spend it all doing chores! I've been keeping my house tidy these past few months. I can't stand to stay inside so much and have clutter.

And I didn't want to do as much this year with holiday decorations. (I looked back at this post and this may seem like WAY too much clutter to some people! lol But everything is in place and that's what I need...pretty things all in place!)

So I decided to make a little holiday tea party on the doll's bed. I didn't even change everyone's clothes! 

I did put a cute little reindeer onesie on this little doll.

These are all dolls from around 1960 and dolls just like the ones I had at the time. I bought them from a sweet lady on Etsy. I don't know how she could sell her childhood dolls but I'm happy to have them.

And my girlfriend Pat has made wooden 'paper dolls' for me over the years.

So I got out Santa...

and Mrs. Claus!

And the dolls changed their outfits. (really they did)

Have you taken time to do something just for the fun of it this week? 

I'm thankful to have some toys to play with and good health and so many other things! My gratitude list is LONG!

I’m joining Thankful Thursdays and

I like Thursdays HERE too!

Decorating with dollies! Anything Goes?

 My dollies think that 2020 brings decorating challenges! They are forced to 'make do' with what they have! So let's see what they've done this week!

Opal was all dressed in her Christmas dress (from last year) but couldn't find the Christmas balls or twinkle lights so she decorated the tree with seashells! And instead of elves, the snowmen came inside to help with the decorating!

Zeta went outside to build a snowman and decided to have a tea party in the snow!

Oh and she wore her Pajamas instead of a snowsuit.

 Surely she did not wear PJs all day long...my oh my! 

And Noel went to the kitchen to bake sugar cookies...in her GOWN! 

But then she realized she didn't have all the ingredients to make them so she ordered a Pizza to be delivered!

And then there are the elves (or pixies as I called them as a girl) that were no help at all! 

A few have even 'fallen off the shelf'!

Hope your decorating is going better than ours! All dollies are wearing clothes that I made them last year and we're still waiting for the pizza delivery truck! 

 ☃ Happy Monday!!! ☃

I'm joining Angie for Mosaic Monday HERE . 

I'm linking with All Seasons at the Jesh Studio,

AND my Monday post HERE.

Welcome! Come on IN!

Growing up in the South, when we visited a neighbor or friend, we always opened the door and said 'YOOHOO'! I don't ever remember knocking or ringing a door bell. If it was at a relatives' house, I just opened the door and said their name....with a question mark on the end! So open the door, say Diane, are you there? And come on in! Or a simple 'Yoohoo' will get you in!

We're coming in the front door but the first thing we'll do is go close the drapes in the back. We leave them open most of the time but they let in too much Florida sunshine for our photos. We've put some sheers up to help with glare but we pull them back most of the time too. We love our sunshine and this big window looks out into the courtyard where the bird feeders are and our beloved birds!

A couple of you wanted to see my 2 red sofas but I know most of you have seen them over the years.

You'll notice I put red throws on the back of this sofa to keep the sun from fading the fabric. 

So for those that have seen the living room many times before, you can go on into the lanai and have a glass of Iced Tea. I'll meet you there in a bit! 

(art by local Florida artists)

And we'll look back at what you'll see at the entrance.

Make yourself at home!

We have 2 big dark brown leather recliners for comfort and a big screen TV for movie watching.

And you know I'm a firm believer of surrounding yourself with things you love.

So there are a few dolls here and there and children's books.

OLD books that I cherish.

And large bookcases filled with favorite books and some pottery we've collected over the years.

(and beautiful hand made baskets on top of the bookcases)

I change the throw pillow covers out pretty often.

We designated a library area at one end of our living room and that's where our piano is (my husband and I both play) and a table that can be used to play games or cards....or to read a book! I try to keep it simple so that it can be used and not just for show.

Wendy said she's enjoyed having you stop by. It's been pretty quiet here this summer! 

I'm thankful for a nice place to live and favorite things to enjoy

....and for friends that stop by to visit!

I’m joining Thankful Thursdays and

I like Thursdays HERE too!

'Playing' at home!

Staying at home? I'm pretty much a home body anyway so I don't mind being at home a little more (as long as I can get out on the trails and hike some too).

I spent a little time in my boxes of Spring decorations and added a few things here and there.

And redressed Noel in a pretty pink dress.

It's hard to feel lighthearted at this time but I'm staying busy and praying for everyone.

Hubby gave me the cutest card for our anniversary this month. I hope you can see it well enough to read it! (the card on the bottom in the center is the one I gave him)

I appreciate my fellow bloggers that are sharing 'stay at home' ideas. What are you doing to stay busy? My husband does volunteer work for our community from home so he has been super busy. Thanks to everyone who's helping to make a difference during this difficult time. Thanks hubby! 😘

I'm joining Angie for Mosaic Monday HERE .