It's beginning to look a lot like . . . Hogwarts?

As you can imagine, all the mice in Cobblestone Circle are busy with their Christmas preparations.  As am I. 

Every year seems to bring a combination of tradition and newness to my decorating.  Some of the newness is by choice, or I simply don't remember where I placed certain items in previous years ~ but some is forced.  Although the concept empty-nest is firmly rooted in my and Mr. Cobblestone's brains, downsizing has not yet hit our psyche.  Due to some rather large new furniture purchases, I find that some of my Christmas collection has had to find new locations.  This takes me waaaaaaaaay longer than you'd think it should.

Aside:  It was Mr. Cobblestone who pointed out years ago that it is indeed Christmas 'Collection' that I possess ~ much like a museum in that you don't showcase it all at once, but rather choose which items to display in any given year.  Yes, I'm a Christmas junkie on some level.  *gasp*

Anyway, the first change this year was in our dining room.  We used to have two light fixtures above the table, but changed to one large one this year ~ and added the architectural detailing on the ceiling.  I had only just begun to create my Hogwarts effect (for lack of  a better term) last year and here already I had to come up with a new plan.  But fear not ~ armed with my invisible sewing thread, and a few well placed pins, I managed to hang all my crystal snowflakes and golden ornaments from the ceiling once again.  The effect is really stunning when we dine in the evenings with the candles lit.  I'm toying with the idea of getting some of those battery operated votives and hanging them as well ~ you know, kinda like the floating candles in Hogwarts dining hall.  The falling snow is definitley out of the question.  Hmmm . . . .

Today I will decorate the large tree in the living room, which once again will be a change for me.  We no longer have room for the largest tree from the Christmas Tree Farm (I told ya ~ junkie) so I will definitely have to do some editing of what actually makes it onto the tree this year. 

I hope each of you are enjoying your holiday preparations ~ and that you and yours have a peaceful and joyous season!

I was only trying to finish my Christmas shopping . . honest!

So there I was in the mall, doing my best to find the perfect gifts for those on my Christmas list when I spotted this:

The store thought it was a ring holder, but you and I know

it is really a mouse sized fainting couch!

Now how could I pass that up? 

And maybe just one more mouse accessory followed me home . . .

Just perfect for another

potbelly mouse in his cheese head!

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Dressing the part

It's been so long since I've posted here.  It seems Mr. Cobblestone and I have had very little time at home lately as we've been criss-crossing the country, mostly visiting with the little pebbles.  They really aren't so little anymore and it does the heart good to see them out in the world creating their lives.  We are indeed proud.

I wanted to share with you an experience we had during one of these trips.  For years now we have approached air travel with a rather unconventional slant.  As opposed to the masses who arrive at the airport in apparently their comfiest sweatshirts, well broken in sneakers and elastic-waisted polyester pants, we choose instead to outfit ourselves in business casual or better.  (Wouldn't Stacy and Clinton be proud!)  It has been our experience that doing so results in much more pleasant interactions with everyone from airport wait staff, TSA, flight attendants, etc.  Although the adage is to not judge a book by its cover, I do believe it is simple human nature to do so.

Case in point ~ as I was recombobulating myself after passing through airport security, I found I was missing one of my earrings.  Keep in mind that this was during one of those high traffic days before Thanksgiving ~ yep, that day.  I hesitated to go back to look for it, but reasoned that I could perhaps quietly peek around without causing too much trouble.  To my surprise, the TSA guy not only helped me look through ALL the empty bins at the end of his security line, but he also asked his colleagues if they had seen a lost earring.  We eventually found it in their office.  And it is worth noting that he was actually friendly and smiling during the entire exchange.  Just sayin' . . . .

 

It was a good start to a wonderful trip.  We spent Thanksgiving morning on 6th Ave in NYC across from Bryant Park ~ and that's where I saw HIM!

I hope each of you are enjoying your own holiday preparations.  Don't forget to join my mailing list to receive your 40% off coupon!  These will be going out on Tuesday Dec 6th and will be good for everything on the SHOP Page of my website!