Scenes From A Snowy Day

Commack, Long Island is buried under 20 inches of snow! We re still digging out. The trains are not quite back on schedule but the main roads are flowing smoothly. Sunday morning into Monday morning the snow was falling. By Monday afternoon, Bill had dug out our car and checked to see what roads had been plowed. We made our way with the kids to a great hill for sledding. It was so much fun but either those hills got taller or I got a lil' slower climbing back up! It must be the hills!

I wish you all a Merry Christmas and may 2011 bring new beginnings and opportunities, peace and tranquility to all our lives and most of all an appreciation for what we already have around us!

Family and friends will be gathering at our house on Christmas Day! My preparations have begun. Just like you, I am wrapping and shopping for the last of the goodies needed and hoping I get it all done in time....I always do. My husband enjoys going out for last minute extras on Christmas Eve day. He likes the hustle and bustle in those hours before our holiday officially begins. He has always loved making his little stops.

May your Christmas be special and filled with happiness and hopefulness for the coming new year.

May Your Days Be Merry and Bright!

Decorated and Ready!

Each day I have been adding more and more decorations. I love my tree this year. It seems healthy and in good grip of its needles (I hope!). Our main tree is in our family room and the gingerbread tree is in our foyer. I enjoy collecting gingerbread items for it. I find so many in Lancaster!

I love looking out my big window at my birds and squirrels. I have it decorated with mittens and hats and stockings. That window stays decorated with those items all Winter. I just remove the Christmas tree from the center. I also keep out snowmen and sleds! After all, it is Winter!

My front porch and front door welcome all of you! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!

Santa's Lap

Our visit to Hicks Nursery in Old Westbury is something our whole family looks forward to. Santa is there; surprisingly the "same" Santa EVERY year so all the photos of Caitlin sitting on his lap shows her with the same Santa year after year! And he has a great sense of humor!

I could walk for hours in Hicks! They not only have a free walk through Christmas story with beautiful diaramas, but you can visit the reindeer. Beautiful displays of wreaths, plants and trees make it a winter wonderland!

We'll be back there in early March for their annual Flower Show which is spectacular!

Grab Your Hat, Grab Your Mittens!

It sure is cold here! Long Island is in a very chilly weather pattern with cold temperatures and cold winds! It feels like mid-January! I have to say the cold weather does bring out the "nesting" quality in me! My husband brought home a ton of firewood, and we are preparing for some nice cozy fires. We even light our outdoor fire pit all Winter because even in cold temperatures, Bill always has work to do outside our house so he lights the fire pit! It smells so good. My son loves building the fire with his Dad too. Last weekend, the kids roasted hot dogs and marshmallows over it. The cold weather is great. I like to embrace each season and what comes with it! As for Winter, you just gotta "bundle up!"

Time to gather up all those catalogs and see what has been circled in red~~Time to find those scraps of paper and read those wish lists~~Time to type our letter to Santa!

The Magic of Creativity

There was magic in our kitchen yesterday afternoon! We created our primitive bowl fillers and ornaments and the house was smelling so good from all the cinnamon! Caitlin enjoyed rolling out the dough so much. I think it was her favorite part~even more than the "cutting" of the shapes.

My son loved the "cutting". He made mittens, snowmen and my favorite stars! They look like primitive barn stars and, in cinnamon brown, they are the perfect prim bowl filler! Look how cute they are! I will bag them up and add them to my Christmas gifts for friends and family! I used all mini cutters. Some worked out and some were too difficult to distinguish the shapes! We also did some angels and bells.

I promised the kids we would do full size ornaments this week! We had so much fun. I think we just started a tradition! We are going to do plain salt dough and the cinnamon once again!

My family really enjoys the Christmas holiday, and we love to decorate like I'm sure all of you do! I was thrilled when my husband decided to take from our shed our many boxes of Heritage Village houses! He thought it would be a nice project to do with the kids. We hadn't set it up in its entirety since, dare I say it, 1992! We had collected so many beautiful ones but then as time went on, we had stopped buying them and would just put one or two out.

When Billy and Caitlin saw how many we had, they were amazed! Billy really enjoyed opening the boxes and admiring the detail on each building, bridge and figure. As we were unpacking them and piling them in my kitchen, I realized how much I missed them and was so happy that my very busy husband had thought of setting them up. When we get it done, I will post the pictures!

I am also going to do some Christmas bowl fillers and ornaments with the kids tomorrow (Friday) after school. From seeing and reading the blog "And Baby Makes Five", I admired the salt dough ornaments that were made! I remember doing that project as a little girl with my sister and Mom and thought it would very fun for Caitlin and Billy to do with me. I got the mini cutters for the bowl fillers and took out my various cookie cutters. I would like to do some gingerbread people for our gingerbread tree. Our main tree is in the family room but the last three years I have set up a gingerbread tree in our foyer and it only contains "gingerbread" ornaments. Its been fun collecting them each year. Billy and Caitlin can add to our tree with the salt dough gingerbread people, and we can make some lovely bowl fillers too! The recipe for the salt dough and step by step instructions are on that great blog along with many other recipes and fun things all for a home-made holiday!

Christmas Tags!

I had bought these beautiful Christmas tags at Costco a couple of years back. They have so much detail, and they look like scrapbook embellishments. After wrapping my presents, I had quite a few left over so I was thinking what to do with them. Then I thought of a Christmas tree that I had bought at Michael's Crafts. It has a flat back and you can decorate it however you like. I put all my little tags on and it looks so cute!

Count Your Blessings

Happy Thanksgiving! Our family has been looking forward to this day so much; not only because we love the holiday but because my niece has invited our whole family to celebrate at her home. It's her very first holiday as a newlywed! What an undertaking for a novice homemaker. I have no doubts we will have the best turkey dinner we ever did have! I admire her enthusiasm and marvel at her courage to take on such a major holiday as Thanksgiving. Oh, and have I mentioned she's doing the whole traditional dinner without help? Family members can only contribute a few appetizers or desserts! I made a couple last night, and Caitlin helped me make these yummy cupcakes that look as though they are ready to march on over to Michelle's and Brian's house right now! We'll be leaving after we watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade~~I truly believe if I miss seeing it (even once) I'll have bad luck the whole year! Then off we go to what is surely going to be a wonderful day with everyone I love.

Have a happy Thanksgiving and be grateful for all that you have. There are times when we don't feel very blessed but when you actually think of all that you have, your list is endless. Count those instead of sheep when you go to sleep tonight.

The Christmas boxes have all been removed from storage in our shed waiting to be opened! Not until Friday! I feel we must not let our turkeys and pilgrim decorations be forgotten. Friday will be the day our home changes seasons, so to speak! Our live tree will not go up until two weeks before Christmas but I do set up other artificial trees including my favorite gingerbread tree starting the day after Thanksgiving.

While straightening out a storage closet, I came across several boxes of special lights I love to use! I'm sure you have all used them yourselves in your prim crafts~~brown strand vine lights. I love these. I love how the brown blends in so well and all you get is a vibrant, clear light. I will be affixing these to some new crafts and decorations for sure!

I also wanted to show you my favorite Raggedy Anne! She sits on a bench in my foyer to greet everyone. She was my first and my favorite! She is amish made and I bought her at Country Road Flowers on Rte 772 in Intercourse, PA! She has the sweetest face!

When we visit Lancaster County, PA, one of my favorite stops is The Countryside Roadstand on Stumptown Road. It's a working amish farm with a lovely business that sells crafts, candles, homemade goods, fabulous wooden items and so much more. We enjoy stopping for the made on premises ice cream, lemonade and root beer while we shop. I have even bought one of their delicious chicken pot pies to have for dinner once we got home from our trip.

I have bought many items from them that I love but my favorite is this picture of amish girls quilting. It's even prettier in person. I had always seen pictures like these in different stores in amish country but they were always out of my budget~~until we discovered the Countryside Roadstand! They have tables and tables filled with different ones ranging in price from $15-$35! They are all handmade and pieced together. I found the perfect place to hang it three years ago, and I wouldn't think of moving it from its spot!

I have since bought one for my bathroom of a an amish girl hanging laundry on a clothes line. Again, where I placed it I wouldn't thinkof moving it!

My Furry Little Buddy!

Everyone may not like them, but I love squirrels and enjoy feeding and observing them. I have a little pail I keep by our rear door filled with peanuts just for my little friends. I also love feeding the birds and when I throw peanuts to the squirrels, I also feed my blue jay friends! Many times they will challenge a younger squirrel for the peanut and steal it for themselves! Feeding the birds is probably one of my top five favorite things to do!

Now that Halloween is over, I have relegated our painted and decorated pumpkins to one of the rear porches and keep my unpainted "naturals" on the front porch for Thanksgiving. Then I noticed one of my little friends helping himself! I couldn't help but smile and, of course, grab my camera! Enjoy the feast, my little buddy!

My family and I had spent a lovely day apple picking in upstate Warwick, NY recently, and since we all love applesauce I invited my Mom over to make some with us. Caitlin really enjoys being in the kitchen so we let her do the majority of the work! She did a great job.

First, we peeled about fifteen apples, then cored and sliced them. We then boiled them till they were soft and when they were cooled, we put them in Mom's special pot that when turned, pressed them into applesauce. Delicious!

Everyone who knows me and my family knows we love going to Lancaster County, PA. I've been going since I'm very little and since the 1980's have gone quite often. It's almost like a home away from home; I know streets, side roads and even several people recognize us from going. The serene farmlands are so beautiful and even though I do my fair share of shopping, I also just love riding around photographing farms and homes. We modeled our home after many, many homes we've seen and toured there. I feel like I have built myself a piece of PA right here on Long Island! This wonderful area has been so inspiring in everything I do from cooking to decorating and it's even become my "happy place" in my mind through these tough economic times. Believe me, daydreaming of amish buggys clip clopping on country roads past farms and shops is a big stress reliever to me.

Of course we always have our favorite spots and things to buy. One of my favorite things to get is wooden plates and bowls. I have ones displayed that are not for a particular season and others that are. I have large and small. They are all so nice and are inexpensive. I've never paid more than $15. On Halloween, my good friend, also a PA lover, gave me what has become my new favorite! A little black cat sitting on a fence looking at a full moon on a Fall night! It's so beautiful; I can't bare to put it away so it just may have to stay up all year. I found it a home on a shelf in one of my Amish cabinets. Thanks Mary!

Like Icing on a Cupcake!

Today is such a special day! We put the shutters on our house! I am so excited because it was just what the front needed. Originally, we had thought of doing burgundy but when Bill held up the black shutter against the clay siding, it all just came together! Our house project is nearing it's completion. Except for some work on the second floor, this massive undertaking will finally be finished.

I also got the last of the Halloween decorations packed away. See you next year all my witches, cats and bats! Welcome turkeys and pilgrims! Thanksgiving is such a lovely holiday. Sometimes I feel it gets lost between the Halloween decorating and the Christmas Black Friday shopping! We should really take the time to enjoy the day, the season and the people we have in our lives and be thankful for all of them.

As I am unpacking my Thanksgiving items, I am pleased to take out two of my favorites: Gurley Candles Boy & Girl Pilgrim. Love them! Wouldn't be Thanksgiving without them! They were the first set of Gurley candles I ever owned, and I treasure them.

Have a great afternoon!

We had a wonderful brunch with our friends yesterday. It really started off the day with fun! I was excited about my table and how I had set it so I posted a picture!

We had bought these adorable spider web doilies intending to use them in some of my windows as decorations; instead I put them under my plates as placemats, and they looked terrific! Many times I used doilies as a decoration. I buy valentine and shamrock doilies because they usually come in pretty large amounts for a small cost and you can easily fill a window for next to nothing.

I also wanted to post a picture of a beautiful painted parchment my cousin Jo gave me for our favorite season. I hung it on the french doors of my parlor. It looks so pretty.

Oh, and a carton that I had some supplies in marked "Halloween" was in the corner of my kitchen and as I was cleaning up last night after the very long day, Robin just happened to jump in. I thought it was fitting~~a black cat in a Halloween box!

Happy Halloween Weekend! The weather here is cool and crisp; just right for trick or treating. I'm planning a Halloween brunch on Sunday with some friends and then the rest of the day Bill and I will take Billy and Caitlin trick or treating. Can't wait!

I'm also going to sneak some time for myself to enjoy a cup of coffee and some country decorating magazines~~my favorite is Country Sampler. How 'bout you? I get so many great ideas from them. I have amassed a huge collection from past years and have been a subscriber for many, many years. I am so happy I saved all my issues of Country Collectibles,
Country Almanac, and others because I never get tired of them!

A friend of mine for many, many years shares my love for traditional Halloween. She decorates her home meticulously for the special day and has become renowned in her neighborhood for her special touches.

I wanted to share one of my favorites from her house. Her creativity is so inspiring. She took this wonderful witch, brightened her with the purple bow and in front of her long gown she added the big candy bowl with feet. It looks like it all goes together and it looks great!! She has her in her vintage dining room at the entrance and it's an amazing sight in person.

Hope you like it too!

Yesterday, on a rare day that Bill was not working, we went to one of our favorite places. St James is a lovely old town only fifteen minutes from our house that we visit quite often. We went to visit a historic mansion called Deepwells that hosts a haunted house every year. What I love about it is that it is not a scary haunted house with its patrons chasing you with weapons but instead a traditional home decorated to look as though it has been sitting for years with ghostly inhabitants. It's very fun. What's even better is that the admission is free; you leave a donation that goes towards the upkeep of this beautiful dwelling. NY State has cut so many funds that used to go to the preservation of these special structures so Deepwells Mansion has several events throughout the year to raise money. This is one of them. Completely run by volunteers. Thank you so much, volunteers!

After that, we walked directly behind to our favorite place in St James; the St James General Store. It was built in 1857 and has been open for business ever since. When you step inside, it's like stepping back in time with its old flooring and showcases and candy. They sell lovely little gifts and Long Island souvenirs , plus, on the second floor, there is a great book section and a Christmas decoration area. Such a wonderful place. My kids love to sit on the rockers on the porch and think about what it was like to live on Long Island in 1857!

Hurray! It's Halloween Party Day! Guests will begin arriving at 1pm so please join us!

The day is crisp and sunny (well, it will be once the sun rises) and already my party anxiety is setting in. Where is the bag of balloons I bought? I hope my food isn't dry! Will the kids get bored? Every year the same worries and yet every year everyone seems to have fun. Oh, and tomorrow I start thinking about next year's party!

Here are the witch's hat party bags. I made them for adults this year since the kids will be receiving goody bags among other party favors. Something for us, right?

Can't wait to see my family, old friends, new friends and VERY special relatives who have traveled from far away to be here.

Have a great day!

The beautiful weeks of Fall seem to fly by. There is hardly enough time to do all the things that you'd like to before Winter approaches. There are so many fairs, pumpkin patches and garage sales to visit I always feel like I run out of time. I am thankful we got to visit our favorite pumpkin farm, and we picked the apples and our Halloween party is next Saturday but I wish October was six weeks long!

Besides making the crafts for our party, I did also make a new wreath for my front door. It would probably look better if I changed my wreath hanger (it has a bird's nest) but I really like it and hate to take it down! I also hung one of my favorite retro signs. I love traditional Halloween when we were spooked by ghosts and witches and not by murderers with chain saws.

Have a great Sunday. I'll be putting the finishing touches on my menu and shopping list for the Halloween party and raking some leaves!

My decorating for Fall/Halloween is done and now I can devote myself to making favors for our upcoming Halloween party. I have hosted a kids party for over 18 years and it's probably one of my favorite things I do. I am working on witch's hat candy bags, which will be a party favor for the adults. I have several relatives coming from near and far as well as neighbors and friends and everyone brings their kids so it's nice to have a a few favors for the kids but also one for the adults as well!

I will post a photo of my candy bags when they are finished. If you are interested in making them, check Martha Stewart's website under party favors. This was a party favor she did several years back. It's not hard but it does take just the right amount of tweaking to get the hat assembled right! I try to save a template of it every year. In my opinion, Martha Stewart's Halloween crafts have been the most fun. I have made her Halloween "crackers" (tubes filled tricks and treats), paper and plastic candy holders and more.

I also have to get my menu planning underway. I serve snacks and finger foods so I have to finalize everything. The party is Saturday afternoon, October 23rd. I am running out of time! Thank goodness having a black cat (above, pictured is Robin) is good inspiration!

Apples picked from the trees of Masker Apple Orchards and pumpkins purchased from our favorite farm in upstate Warwick, NY. What a beautful day! We got lots of Red Delicious, Macs, and Empire apples and the kids had a great time picking them! It sure does pay to get there early because when we were leaving, the line to enter was miles long! The early bird gets the worm!~~ or in this case, the apples!

We then went to our favorite farm, also in Warwick. It's a big dairy farm that is no longer in operation. Owned by the Manno Family, they now sell pumpkins, gourds, indian corn, squash and specialty pumpkins hand-painted by their talented art teacher son. Every year for almost fifteen years we have visited this farm for our pumpkins and seeing the Mannos is just as special.

What I love most about this farm is that it is the same every year. There are no "bells and whistles" or added "special attractions" to make you visit. It's pumpkins, some wooden cutouts that the kids can pose behind for pictures, pretty displays and lots of chickens running around!Plain and simple! I love the fact that in these times, they are a constant! I know next year our favorite pumpkin spot will be the same! Mr. Manno said he'll keep operating until the day he dies because his farm is where he wants to be forever!

There are several murals on the farm painted by their son. He did a beautiful one several years back on the side of the main barn depicting the soldiers rasing the American Flag dedicated to 9-11. He told me yesterday that he is planning a new one for next year's anniversary of 9-11.

Today I have to get in high gear and finish my Fall/Halloween decorating and crafting. Every year for twenty years I have hosted a Halloween party and it's coming up the week before Halloween. I always invite close friends and family and the kids dress in costumes. Halloween is special to me. Traditional decorations fill my house; not gory or bloody types. The colors of orange and black are what Halloween is about!

SO, I have been working on some lollipops--both ghost and spider, and getting ready to do my witch hat candy bags which seems to be everyone's favorite. This is a great Martha Stewart craft from a few years back and I make them every year. I have tried to include at least one new "favor" to the party every year but so far my new addition won't be a different favor but a really special cupcake. I will include that picture when I make them for the party!

My love for Halloween takes me back to when I was very little and I enjoyed dressing as a witch every year except for a few years when I dressed as a clown. My Mom never bought me costumes; instead we used an old black skirt of hers, a black tutleneck and a witch's hat. Her skirt was floor length on me so it made it seem as though it were a long gown! Simple, but it worked. On the odd year that I was a clown, that was a pair of striped flannel pajamas that my Mom sewed pom poms on. Plus she would make me up to look like a clown! Being a witch was my favorite though and when I think back to how many years that one paper witch's hat lasted I am amazed! I loved when I was all done trick or treating walking home with my sister in the early dusk, shuffling through the leaves , chilly, hungry and excited to dump out my candy bag. Special times!

Anyway, I haven't been home alot lately between errands and school volunteering so today I must dedicate myself to getting everything ready. So on goes the pot of coffee (can't work without it) and away I go! I'll let you know how it turns out!

As a new season begins, so does a new adventure for me~~blogging! I have been inspired by my cousin Johanna and the countless blogs I have read and enjoyed. All (except for cousin Jo) are friends I have never met but have invited me into their homes and lives to share in simple pleasures. I would like to do the same, and I hope I will inspire others as well.

I have been married for twenty-two years to my Bill, and we have two children. We live in a home on Long Island that my husband built board by board and nail by nail, and we cherish it. We also share our home with five cats. Whereas Bill is the carpenter/decorator, I am the decorator/keeper of the premises! I love my home and enjoy making it warm and welcoming to all who inhabit it and those who visit.

I'm a stay home Mom, active Daisy Troop leader and school volunteer. I also enjoy cooking, traveling, reading, crafting and gardening. My decorating style is country and I LOVE all things Amish. I adrmire their values, their crafts, cooking and carpentry and have incorporated those features into our lives as well.

I hope you will join me on this journey of blogging and I hope we all have fun!

Margaret