Christmas in The Dining Room and Kitchen

Wow! It's ten days until Christmas! Almost nine actually, I am posting this late. :) It has been gray and very cloudy here, not very good picture taking weather. How I wish we would get some pretty snow! I am dreaming of a white Christmas. Here are some pictures of my dining room and kitchen, I am not thrilled with the lighting, how I wish the sun would have come out, it was a very dark day.











I did get some of the presents wrapped for the tree this past weekend. My children are getting so excited for Santa to come next week. They have chocolate advent calenders they open every day to count down to Christmas.

Are you ready for Christmas? I am mostly, but need to get things mailed out this week. If the sun will come out, I will snap some pictures of the bedroom and bath, the ones I took were way too dark. I'll be back soon with more Christmas, and a yummy recipe for Peppermint punch!

Kimberlee

Christmas Decor in the Great Room

Wow is Christmas coming up quickly! I realized I better post my pics while it was still Christmas time! :) Here are some pictures of our Great room. I realized I still have a couple things left to do, like hang one sign and add some garland to the entry way of the dining room. My kids are also ready to see some gifts under the tree, so I guess I better get to wrapping this weekend! Pie safe with Arnett's Santa







Old flea market tool box



This is my first Christmas with my new blanket chest/dough box. I am happy with how the display turned out for Christmas with it.






Antique dry sink
My new corner cupboard, I got this past spring. It stores all the children's books, it is a cozy reading spot for them.

First Christmas with my dough box/coffee table! It really adds some coziness to the room. I'm thrilled with it!




That is it for now, I will be back soon with some pics of the dining room, kitchen, and bedroom. I hope everyone is having a happy Christmas season! Merry Christmas! Kimberlee

It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year! ~ Christmas Sneak Peeks!~

I have to agree with one of my favorite Christmas songs, it is the most wonderful, magical, time of the year! We have been working hard transforming our home from Fall to Christmas. We were so lucky to have beautiful, sunny weather to get our outdoors done this past weekend. Now that it is up, I am ready for some cold weather and snow. :) I still have some touches to finish in the bathrooms and kid's rooms, but here is a little sneak peek of The Patriot Homeplace dressed for Christmas.


Here are my snowmen from Arnett's Country Store. I try to collect one Arnett's piece a year. I just love them! The tall snow girl to the right is the newest member. My kids named her Annie.

Thank you for all the kind comments on my new bedroom, in my previous post. It was fun having a new room to decorate for Christmas this year. I will be back soon with more Christmas pictures and things to share. Have a blessed day, and Merry Christmas!

Kimberlee

My Bedroom Makeover Reveal

Well, here it is, my new bedroom! My husband and I have been married 12 years, and have never really had a well put together bedroom. It has always seemed to have to come last in my decorating. Every time I would want to work on it, something else would come up. This past summer, I decided I was tired having the whole house decorated except for the master bedroom. It took me a long time to decide what kind of bedding I wanted, but slowly, piece by piece, it came together, and I am happy with how it turned out. We still need a real bed, but that will have to wait a little longer. I have the bed picked out, it is a black pencil post, rope bed, and I love it! It will take some saving to get it, but I will have it some day! :)



The table is my grandmother's, I hope to have it in a formal living area some day when we have a larger home. For now I really like how it looks in my bedroom. The portraits and lamp are my sister's. She is moving and changing her decor style, so I will be buying some of her items from her. The large print and sconces above my bed, my husband gave for me for Christmas a couple years ago, they use to be in my dining room. I love them.

The chandelier we bought for very cheap from home Depot a couple years ago, we spray painted it black, and I found the berry rings in a box out in the garage. They use to have rusty stars on them, but I clipped them off.

The rug was another perfect fit to the room from my sister.


It took me a very long time to decide on the bedding. I love the colonial coverlets, and I found a king size one I liked, but I just did not see it being a every day use for us. It felt too rough and thin. So I decided on a accent blanket and pillows of the colonial fabrics I liked, and found a toile bed set that is very functional for us to use every day, it is very soft and fluffy and I need a touch of that in my bedroom. As much as I love the simple colonial look, I love my pillows and comfort! So I had to follow my heart on that one. :) And since we don't have a real bed or headboard yet, I think the pillows distract from it.

The tavern check curtains, were a very lucky find on ebay, I was so happy to find them, since that pattern is being discontinued.

I bought the pumpkin hooked rug from a shop in Lebanon, IL last fall, and the whale tail shelf is another wonderful item from my sister.





The red nightstand was a consigment store purchase, it was $35.00, and already painted the perfect red, we just added the black touches to it. I picked up the black iron candle holder on a visit to see my sister in NE. I had no idea where it was going to go when I bought it, it worked perfect on the nightstand. The pumpkin came home with me from the shop I work at this fall, I love the touches of green on it. The crock was a cheap purchase, but I did splurge on the florals from my friend Dave, at The Weathered Chair antique and florals shop. I really think it's worth it to have good quality florals. My sister was kind enough to bring one of her own stencils and stencil my room for me. I am not very good with a paint brush, like she is! :)



This dresser is my husband's from when he was a teen! It is very old, the back of it says it is from a 1940 Chicago Spiegel Catalog. We painted it black, but I still want to sand, distress, and add some aging stain to it.

All the items on the dresser are things I have had for years. It is fun to move things from room to room.




Yes, I got carried away with the pillows, but Samantha thinks it's such a cozy spot for a nap!


Thanks for taking a peek at my new bedroom, I am excited to add some Christmas touches to it this week. I will be back soon with some Christmas sneak peeks

Country Sampler Shoot and Bedroom Sneak Peek

Last Wednesday, Nov.11, Veteran's Day, Country Sampler Magazine came to do a Fall shoot at my home. It was a beautiful, clear, sunny, fall day. We could not have had better weather! Bill Matthews, Gloria Gale, and a assistant, (I feel so bad, I can't remember his name!) arrived at eight to get started. They shot the dining room first. Gloria loved my table setting and told me I had done her job for her, because everything was already styled. That really meant a lot to me to hear her say that. It was fascinating watching Bill and his assistant with all the equiptment and techniques they use. Gloria and I visited, and set things up for the next shot, while they were shooting. I was not expecting to have so much fun, but I really did. It was such a pleasure and honor, getting to meet, and spend the day with them. They are such kind, humble, and talented people. I did not get to take many pictures, but I did remember to snap one! Thank you Country Sampler, Bill and Gloria, for coming to my home, it really was a dream come true!



And here is a sneak peek of my master bedroom I have been working on all summer!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here! I work at a primitive shop in historic Lebanon, IL. While I was getting ready for my Country Sampler shoot, the owners were getting the shop ready for Christmas. While I was sad to have to miss out on the decorating festivities, it was fun to open Friday morning and walk into a shop beautifully dressed for Christmas! I brought all my favorite Christmas music to play in the shop, everyone who came in was caught up in the Christmas cheer! A snowman made it's way home with me, I will post pictures of her and my Christmas decor soon. Here are a couple shots of the store, Simple Country Treasures in Lebanon, IL. I will be back soon with my bedroom reveal, and some Christmas sneak peeks! Have a great day!

Autumn at Big Cedar Lodge, Halloween, and Exciting News!

Hello! I did not mean my big hello almost a year ago to be a big goodbye! :) This has been a busy year, but I have a lot to share and some exciting news! I will start with our trip we took to Big Cedar Lodge a couple weeks ago with my mother, my sister, our children, and grandmother. For anyone who does not know what Big Cedar Lodge is, it is a resort owned by Bass Pro Shops, that is located just outside Branson, MO., nestled in the Ozark mountains on Table Rock Lake. It is a very beautiful place, we always have such a relaxing and fun time at Big Cedar Lodge. My children never want to go home when we are there. It really is a special place and I am glad they will have some fond childhood memories from there. Yes, there are a lot of pictures, but I just could not leave any out. :) Autumn is a beautiful season in the Ozark mountains!

I LOVED this display, the horses were made out of cornhusks and straw, so neat!

Samantha enjoying her Truman House cinnamon roll, YUMMY!

The Lincoln Log table at the Registration building

Samantha



Here are some pictures of our rooms at Big Cedar Lodge
And now for Halloween! We really had a fun Halloween this year, my sister was here visiting with her children. And after all the rain we have had this month, the weather cleared up and was perfect, crisp, clear, and with a bright moon! We started our day trick or treating on the old main street in the town we live in. Here are my Bionicle boy Patriot, and fairy witch Samantha.

Later that day we met with our next door neighbors at sunset to load up for the big night. Our neighbors have a Bobcat they drive the kids around the neighborhood in on Halloween. It really is fun for them. We are so blessed to have such wonderful neighbors.

And now for the exciting news!! I found out a couple weeks ago, that Country Sampler Magazine

will be coming to our home to do a Fall photo shoot! I am very excited, since this is really a dream come true! I am also very excited to be doing a fall shoot, since it is one of my most favorite times of the year. They will be coming next week, so I am sure I will be busy cleaning and fluffing things for the next week, and having a few freak out moments in between. :)

Please say a prayer for my family. He,he,he.

AND another very exciting thing is that my sister, Janae, from Cozy Coops Corner, is in the current Christmas issue of Country Sampler Magazine! If you have not seen her beautiful home or the magazine yet, stop by her blog for a peek.

I hope everyone had a Happy Halloween, I will be back next week with some pictures of the photo shoot, and a sneek peek of my new bedroom!

God Bless,

Kimberlee