The annual front o' house paint and patch up job is 4 months away, please ignore lichen stains.
I have turned into a nibbling little house mouse clad in fleece, cashmere and thermals. Christmas is coming so it's time to tip toe into life saving snuggly hibernation, it was so cold in here the other night that I ate my dinner wearing fingerless Fagin mitts.
Hmm, I've already slipped a bit, Christmas is weeks away and I've already packed on a few pounds but I'm shelving thoughts of austere measures until coming face to face with January's grim limpid eyed stare.
I love my door wreath, it was almost worth the meltdown I had over it last week, it's a Buddhist Christmas wreath, it had three reincarnations in a single day.
The pine cones on my tree lift my spirits no end.
These three mercury glass balls are the only baubles I own, I carefully carried them back from Stockholm a few years ago as if they were rare griffin eggs. The tree will eventually be tarted up with white roses and fairy lights, the same as last year. I tend to stick to organic
decorations, I had a few years when the tree dangled with gingerbread biscuits/lebkuchen and before that it was cinnamon sticks and dried orange slices.
This is last years Nordman Fir.
I bought the folk houses in Vermont about 28 years ago.
I planted up mum's window boxes with these ardisia and filled her kindling basket with off cuts from our trees. I've tucked all sorts of aromatic bits and bobs in to the basket, everything from orange peel to apple wood and pine wood. Her fire smells like a smouldering orangerie.
That brown package? Thanks to 'Get Fresh' for the best, most thoughtful pre - Christmas present ever!
You white witch!
Now, imagine the 'rrrrrt' noise of a record being pulled off a turntable; below is not my house but my friend's, it has just been featured in an interiors magazine, it's the warmest cosiest house at any time of year.
Yes, my tablecloth above is the same fabric as her blinds, it's by Pierre Frey.
Guest room.
Are you nesting too just now?
Wishing all of you a cosy weekend.
The white roses were a wonderful idea. I don't think I've ever seen anyone do that before - very creative!
ReplyDeleteI am so in love with your Christmas tree. The white roses are perfect.
ReplyDeleteThat wreath is adorable!!!!
ReplyDeleteI am like you living in fleece and cosy sweats during the day.
ReplyDeleteSince we live in a 70 year old house,it never really gets warm.
I have to thank you again for the Hermes book you sent me,i enjoy it immensly!!!
I love your decoration!
Mine is 140 odds now, the cold is leeching in from every orifice!
DeleteYour decorations are perfect! You have such beautiful taste. And I live in fleece and thermals in the winter too - and it isn't even that cold here!
ReplyDeleteAuguri,Cheers...un Post da Applauso!
ReplyDeletehere it's cold too...is 17 gradi cold enough?...Ahahaha...Yes, a bit cold for a Sicilian Guy...I guess there's a lot of snow there in the North!
Happy Evening, una Bella Serata
Your tree is beautiful and so are your other decorations. I just love your front door wreath and stoop. How do you keep the roses fresh until Christmas? Are they dried? Our tree is always a hodgepodge. Your friend's house puts mine to shame, so does yours!
ReplyDeleteCate, that was last year's tree in the roses pic, the new tree is the Atlantic PIne, I haven't dressed it yet.
DeleteOh my gosh. My waistline is STILL recovering from Thanksgiving and I cannot seem to help the horrible hangover it's accrued. I can't bear to think of what I'll look like come Christmas. Urgh!
ReplyDeleteYour wreath is indeed beautiful and the white roses are stunning on the tree. No nesting for me, I am running around like a madwoman trying to finish food prep for upcoming Chanukkah celebrations, then there will be a short break before I fire up again for Christmas food prep. It's a crazy time, but I love it.
ReplyDeleteI envy your nesting! I've got Chanukkah prep to deal with and most of the gifts have yet to be purchased. There is also a lot of baking to get done this week for a holiday cookie exchange.
ReplyDeleteYour friend's home is gorgeous. The mantel is stunning and the master suite is beautiful and so big. Your wreath is just perfect and how lovely of you to take care of your mom's place. We have been dealing with rain storms and my husband has been too busy to get the lights hung. Our brand new neighbors are showing us up this year. Once they saw how much our street decorates for Halloween they stocked up for Christmas and put lights up right after Thanksgiving.
- As per WMM convo, want more of your "fairy" lights. She and I may start a little side import biz on that.
ReplyDelete- Clapping gloved hands at your greenery swathed pots (what patience) and your mum's aromatherapy kindling (must try that at Dad's come Xmas).
- Oh, that little box is keeping very good company in Scotland. Emma's wordy dishes are a fave but ridonc. 'spensive over here. (Promise you'll have champers, starting 12/12/12 right?)
W.W.
P.S. Want your friend's cooker, TDF.
Get Fresh - I'm now up to 4 sets of fairy lights in here, I love them. And I loved that present, I so badly needed it!
DeleteAga's are in most of the houses round here, perfect for cooking, drying clothes and a great spot for lab's to cosy in front of.
Oh and Emma has a new Christmas set out at Fortnum's.
Even if we had a dwelling big enough think DH would revolt at an Aga since they remind him of his gran etc. drying racks of woolies etc. Maybe if came with bonus Welsh border collie? Off to F&M website to see if I can spot that EB (envy along with hampers etc. but in good Christmas-sy way.)
DeleteGet Fresh - collies love them! I really want a border collie but they need full time jobs and 200 walks a day - not sure I could do that. I think Fortnums is my favourite London shop.
DeleteI'm with GF dying over that cooker. When I eventually renovate my kitchen which is very difficult to contemplate at the moment I hope to install an AGA. I have to rip out the floors anyway and they'll have to be reinforced, eeesh I can't think of it!
DeleteI adore the way you decorate it's so elegant yet still entirely festive. Did you ever think of being a decorator? Your eye is perfect.
I'm living in Brora layers these days it's freezing here too!
Dani, I would love to have been one but I'd be hopeless at it!
DeleteTabitha it all looks wonderful, perfect for hunkering down in during the festive month. I am not nesting, I am getting reading to cast off my fleece and wellies and fly the coop.
ReplyDeleteX
Reading, no I am not going to Reading, I meant ready but I figure you guessed that.
ReplyDeleteRock out at Reading, is that the new name for the Reading Festival? I went there sometime in the early eighties but I don't remember anything about it so it must have been good!
DeleteBill has handed over his £200 fuel allowance and requested that we crank up the heat this year. I'm down to three layers instead of five so far, but expect to be in tears when the gas bill arrives. Love the white roses, just like last year. Your friend's house is stunning. We redecorated the front room this year (oh, and the hall, stairs and landing back in January) in time for Thanksgiving. Hope to share that when the Christmas tree is up. Meanwhile, I'm slaving away at my sewing machine...
ReplyDeleteI feel the same way about nesting right now. Love staying in and and we we went two parties last weekend and I couldn't wait to get home.
ReplyDeleteKudos to the entrance. It's so pretty and welcoming. You just know a cocktail around the corner.
Yesterday I was in line at the post office and this dapper gentleman behind me asked me about my dog. He then went on to tell me he also had a King Charles.
Then he said he was from Scotland and I told him that my friend lived there. He asked where and I said Edinburgh and next asked when I had been over last. Told him I've never met but she 's blogging friend. He looked puzzled but I got a giggle out it. xo
Marsha that is a hilarious comment on the modern world!
Deletetabs i have so much to say about this post. i'll try not to go on and on.
ReplyDeleteyour front door. omg. the pillars, the woodwork, the lichen? holy cow and then the wreath. i think i'd stand there all day and just stare.
now onto your mum's window box. are you a florist in waiting? how gorgeous!
and your friends home. i'm utterly speechless. really i am. that bedroom with the wallpaper. i died. but the whole house is just gorgeous. how do you bring yourself to leave? and they play records. perfection.
Your front door decorations very stylish and welcoming, one can nearly taste the mulled wine and gingerbread.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, here in the southern hemisphere, clothing layers reduced to minimum levels due to heatwave conditions.
This weekend, I might try nesting in an airconditioned cinema.
Tabs, your wreath is absolutely gorgeous! I would say that it was worth the meltdown. Just look how lovely it is hanging on your front door!
ReplyDeleteSadly no fleece, cashmere, or thermals for me this week, although I do love to nest at this time of year. We decorated our house for Christmas and put the tree up the day after Thanksgiving, so it makes it extra nice to just stay home and enjoy it all. I love the white roses on your tree...what a lovely idea! Ours is an assortment of ornaments the boys have collected over the years, as well as a few antiques that were passed down to me from my mother.
Your friend's house is stunning! I love the everything about it, especially the kitchen, and the wallpaper in the Guest room. I can see why the house has been featured in a magazine...well deserving!
I'm always nesting, it's one of my hobbies.
ReplyDeleteLove how you've decorated everything in neutrals.
Tis hot here so it's not really cosy.
love the wreaths and natural decorations xxx
also your friends house is PERFECTION I LOVE the sitting room and the bedroom curtains! divine.
ReplyDeleteTabitha what are those wonderful plants by the front steps? The ones in the pots. Quite fabulous.
ReplyDeleteYour tree of organic origin sounds beautiful - and elegant. Impressed to see the Champagne in saucers - a girl after my own heart.
And as for nesting, doesn't matter the weather, I am, like Faux Fuchsia, always nesting. Summer or winter. Home is a sanctuary, a place for retreat but also a place for laughter, family and friends, so it's much more fun to keep changing it around. xx
Glamour drops - they're called skimmia
ReplyDeleteYour front entrance is beautiful and I love lichen stains. Great wreath, love the mercury glass ornaments and the touch of New England with your folk art houses. Your friend's home is really gorgeous as well. I was nesting until I was yanked this morning from my home and am now in Florida visiting my MIL. Not cozy at all, and I wish I were back home in my flannel and Uggs decorating and such. I do notice a definite connection between nesting and weight gain however. My jeans are soooooo tight.
ReplyDeleteTabitha your decorations are perfection.
ReplyDeleteElegant lived in home. Charming idea of roses and twinkle lights.
ReplyDeleteYour front door looks fabulous, I've been scouring my yard to find anything worthy of twisting into a wreath but I'm coming up dry. And your friend's house is so cozy and friendly...that stove, that stairway, that hearth, that guest room!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful post, Tabitha. Your decor is so elegant; love the wreath which is def worth the time and effort, plus the red potted plants. The folk art pieces from Vermont are a delight! As for your friend's house, it is my idea of Perfection. Still drooling, which is entirely unbecoming in this torrid heat!
ReplyDeleteTabs - love your buddhist wreath! I am going to do my tree this weekend - you wait till you see it - you will be horrified - it will be an excessive exercise in too much. I think I must have all of your baubles, too! Do you think that they came here instead??? Isn't that GF just the bomb?????
ReplyDeleteWMM- Well I wish mum hadn't thrown out all of the family decorations, mine would be a lot busier then.
DeleteLove the idea of a 'fragrant fire' must try at my parents' house in winter! The wreaths are beautiful too. L xx
ReplyDeleteYou have a dream home.
ReplyDeleteI'm wearing cashmere, too, and looking for more. I want to order a sweater but I'm thinking it may be expensive to have sitting on the porch while I'm out. It's the downside of mail order. But maybe it is insured. Anyway cashmere makes all the difference.
Sheree
Tabitha I love the spectacular job you've done with your entrance and your mom's window boxes. I cannot see any trace of lichen and think the architectural details of your home are very beautiful.
ReplyDeleteSeriously love your friend's home decor, it's no wonder that a magazine wanted to share it with their readers.
Our fuel delivery yesterday cost $800 Canadian...I think it's time to get storm windows! The gale force winds have been making the drapes move inside our bungalow!
Stay warm and cozy.
I so loved you Christmas tree last year it is pure perfection, maybe I will do a smaller version of it for the bedroom? All your decorations are lovely, I haven;t done anything yet, I am always the last minute and promising myself next year I will start earlier.
ReplyDeleteI am also in love with your friend's house it is dreamy. I want to redo my bedroom, I was trying to accomodate my husband and it is very neutral and simple but I want those pink cornices and purple lampshades, and why did I ever agree to install a fan instead of the crystal chandelier???
Your wreath is beautiful, as are the festive decorations for your mother! I am attempting to make a wreath this year, first time in my life. I hope it turns out well.
ReplyDeleteYour friend's house is stunning, no wonder it was featured in a magazine. The master bedroom looks like the perfect oasis of calm.
I love your front door arrangement. I walked outside yesterday to find that both of my miniature melaleuca plants in their jaunty blue glazed pots had died, seemingly overnight. I have a barren wasteland while you have a Christmas wonderland.
ReplyDeleteDid you make your wreath? It's lovely! Somehow I imagine you having a moat, rather than a front door step, but I'll recover.
ReplyDeleteLovely, all of it.
ReplyDeleteAs a fellow Scot, I am nesting and wearing thermals under everything. My house is freezing despite the heating being set to what should be a toasty 24 degrees. Your decorations are beautiful, truly inspiring. Your friends house is so chic.
ReplyDeleteAnon: My thermals are hopeless, I think M & S have sold me a dodgy set, I'm still freezing.
DeleteYour tree looks beautiful, I love the simplicity of it actually! I have not put up a single decoration this year so far, not sure what's going on with me, but I've just not done it. I may put up a few things soon. Love your door too :) Your friends place is so pretty and charming. I think next year I shall decorate more, but this year I am just tuckered out!! The cold has not been my friend, I am wearing thermals under a pair of jeans today as it's just too cold to even look at a dress, haha! I would be frozen to the sidewalks in no time!! Keep warm doll xx
ReplyDeleteTabitha, your home looks so lovely! I love your entrance way...classic and chic.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy the holidays!
Besides your boots, may i have the Life and the Looks as well?
ReplyDeleteYour friend's house is divine!! It's not one of those picture perfect houses that look like a show home and comes across as "cold" but it's so cosy and livable. Tabitha, you've put me to shame. I love the Christmas decorations in your house. Okay, I need to put up the Christmas tree today and go get a wreath.
ReplyDeleteI love your rose tree, so simple and classic!
ReplyDeleteYour friend's house is lovely too.
I love the decking of your halls! Lovely idea for the tree!! Your friend's house is sublime too!!
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh I love all of this...and why yes I am nesting. Very lovely festive and welcoming front porch! I love your friends home...the kitchen and that beautiful guest room. Off to do a little more nesting around here now that I've been inspired!
ReplyDeletexo
annie
Miss B&P
ReplyDeleteJudging by your photos, you must have been all of about two when you bought your Vermont folk houses, what, twenty-eight years ago...
Very pretty decorations, T.!
ReplyDeleteLOVE your friend's kitchen!
you have such beautiful taste, your decorations are perfect and tasteful. very pretty!
ReplyDeletexx from germany, doro
Love everything I'm seeing here T! Your front entry is so gorgeous and inviting and I love that you decorate your tree organically. Simple and beautiful. Your friend's home is gorgeous. I love a cozy home.
ReplyDeleteAgree with all the love.....those Vermont houses are too cute, your wreath and tree are such clever ideas and your friend's house, well,,,,wow! Any ideas where she found the clock? I could see that working on my wall, too.
ReplyDeleteMerci beaucoup!
Happy Christmas, too!
The clock? Aargh, yes it will come to me, let me go look.
DeleteAnon _ here you go -http://www.newgateclocks.com
DeleteI have changed my mind about wanting to live in Dani's shed, can I come live with you instead? Your friend's house is nice too. If it only wasn't so cold where you are ...
ReplyDeleteTiff, I want to live in Dani's shed too, we can take turns then.
ReplyDeleteYup I'm nesting. Love your Christmas décor and I just want to move right into your friend's house. Her kitchen is my fave!!! xo
ReplyDeleteLovely wreath ! A horrible glittery wreath has been placed,on the front door of the block of flats where I live, and interestingly not by the person I thought.
ReplyDeleteOf course, when my neighbour asked my opinion of her wreath I said lovely.
I watched na episode of New Tricks set in Glasgow and I thought of you, although I know you are an Edinburgh (ite, sider, ian?)person. I'm going to have to visit one of my ancestral homes one of these days.
I can't say the "snuggle factor" is drawing me in; I'm reading about how dismally cold it is. After last year's sojurn in early November, (when it wasn't anywhere near as cold as it is with you now), I realise that my blood is too thin for Scotland in winter, (which is as my brother says, one of the two seasons that grace the country - "June & Winter". And even then, it can be cold in June)!
ReplyDeleteNo, rather I'm happy to swim in the bright sunshine, and to sip (or even slurp) a cocktail on the balcony in the evenings, catching the welcome cool breeze.
Keep calm and throw another log on.
What a lovely front door and your friends' house is so cosy and Christmassy and snuggly, how lovely. I'm on a bah humbug no decorating this year as we're off to the beach in New Zealand, but my kids went down in the garage and got some old lights and stuff I didn't know we had and draped it round the garden. Some of the lights seem to strobe so I'm sure its only a matter of time before the neighbours complain!
ReplyDeleteWish I could crawl into those photos! I also have some red-and-white Pierre Frey--my desk blotter, letter tray, and pen holder . . .
ReplyDeleteYour wreaths and skimmia look lovely Tabitha. I scalped four skimmia shrubs in the garden for wreaths and got a right telling off! I'm pinching the Ardisia windowbox idea which I intend to underplant with Senecio. Merry merry!
ReplyDeleteTabs,
ReplyDeleteLove your porch and door. SO cheery and fresh. Your friend's home is cozy looking as it is pretty and I love that. The kitchen is my favorite... I am getting cozy here too and I hate leaving the fire right now.
Enjoy!
xx
Kim
Your house is looking beautiful for Christmas, and your friend's house is simply divine as well xx
ReplyDeleteAnna (My Design Ethos)
Such a pretty wreath and the roses are gorgeous. I like your organic decorations and the fairy lights are always my favorite. I'm also liking the bubbly that's about to open :) We trim our tree with sparkling wine every year.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful home and lovely kitchen!