Welcome To My World!

I am so happy that you have stopped by for a visit!

It is here that I will try to share with you my creations, a bit of my home, my gardens and what inspires me.

Periodically, I will feature those dolls and creations that are available for purchase on my other blog:

EVI'S COUNTRY SNIPPETS SHOP ... click HERE

Thank you for visiting!
I hope you enjoy your stay here!


Friday, December 9, 2011

IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS........


These lovely little bells are ringing
in Christmas in our home.
The sound is delightful and makes me want 
to take a ride in a sleigh.
(In reality I dread the snow)
But it does look pretty!


Another sign that it is the season, is this sweet
little Advent calendar.
My niece and nephew sent it to us from Germany
with many other goodies.
What is so special to me, is that it is of my
hometown... well city ...Berlin.
Every day I have fun opening the little windows,
wondering what is behind each door,
and just as I did as a child, I delight in every
discovery.
I will show it to you again with all the windows open.


This year, like many of you, I am wearing
many hats......decorating...cleaning up the mess
after all the fun,
sewing , trying to finish dolls for my blog shop,
baking, shopping, packing packages,
entertaining, etc. etc.
To change things out a little and to give a little boost,
I decided to change my red accents to neutral light colors.
I got inspired by the Jeanne d'Arc Living magazine.
In some parts of the house red still rules.


Somehow a lot more glitter snuck in,
which I love.


My girl friend Debbie and I saw these
cute birdie mugs at Home Goods and
had to have them.
They are great for any hot drink,
but I love to drink hot chocolate
out of mine. The lids keep the drinks warm.


There are four different bird designs.
How cute!
They even had tea pots, creamers and sugar pots.
I reminded myself to be a good girl
and not over indulge.


And of course there had to be more birds.
My friends Paula and Laura also have
"bird-fever"
It must have been catching.
It's chronic and has been with all
of us for years.
We heard, there is no cure!




When I was growing up in Germany,
we put our shoes out in the evening of
December 5 TH,
and if we had been good, we would find
sweets in them the following morning.
If you had not behaved, Saint Nicholas
would put coal in the shoes.
I must say in all honesty that I once got coal.
I bit my brother in the fanny....
well, he was crawling in front of me...

These little treats went to my hubby
who is a sweetie and would never get coal.

Now, these cookies came all the way from Germany.
My niece backed them and carefully mailed
them to us.
My friend Debbie also got a package.
We compared notes the next day and
could not get over how wonderfully delicious they were.
We all had to put the brakes on,
 so we would treasure every bite
and not just devourer them.
Stephanie, thank you soooooo much.
We absolutely need the recipes, PLEASE!


Another wonderful treat was this little book
by James Kramer.
It is called  "Tis The Season"
It is charming.
 I know Jimmy from a  long time ago,
when we all did shows together.
Any of you, who know about him,
know how very talented he is.

Jimmy, I am copying the doves in the window!


Besides being a very talented decorator,
my friend Paula also knows how to knit.
This is one of her stockings.
Paula, I adore it.
(I am NOT a knitter.)


I think some of you have discovered
my passion for antique stockings.
Some even came home with me from
our last trip to Germany and Austria.

Every Christmas I find places for them.


This mirror once belonged to my friend Debbie.
And although I enjoy it all year,
I find the little angel on top is
especially appropriate for
the holidays.




At the end of the season I found
this wire urn for a mere $25.00 at Home Goods.
There was no way I was going to leave it there.
I immediately thought of a Christmas tree in there.
And I love it just as I thought I would.
I got to use my mercury silver ornaments
at the base of the tree.
Being that the tree is by the window,
all the glitter catches the light.
Lovely!




And now to my stocking...hmm...fetish.
When I was at Pottery Barn, I saw a pillow with stockings.
The wheels were turning in my head.....should I buy, or not.
I went home instead and made my own.
The pillow is linen with jute trim...
a mere $ 20.00,  of course from Home Goods.
It even has a feather pillow insert.
I swear, I should have stock in that company.
Then came the hunt for the stockings,
and the fun began.
Voila!
A little work, but alot less money.


While I was getting the pillow above, I also found these
pretty textured pillows made from off-white wool.
I was smitten....and lucky for me, I found two.
Don't know what it is with me,
I am always doing this Noah thing, always two by two.
I discovered that I like symmetry.


Well, I needed more pillows to go with these.
 I had some pillow covers that my friend Liz
made for me when she made my slip covers
many years ago.
They had not been used for years.
Sooo, I embroidered and stitched pine trees out of
old blanket remnants,
and embellished them with a variety of left-over
pompoms.


Ta da, and here is the result.
I am happy!

Soon I will show you more of our
Christmas home.

I hope you enjoyed the tour so far.
Have a heavenly Christmas season.

God bless,
Evi

P.S. For all the bloggers in foreign countries..
Home Goods is a great store, that sells
everything for the home at fabulous prices.

10 comments:

  1. Evi, you are so talented! I love seeing how you decorate for the seasons. The wire urn was a terrific find. It would have followed me home too. The pillows are dear. I've seen several versions now of bloggers who have copied the PB idea of a stocking pillow. Each one is different and so clever. Thanks for sharing the holiday magic at your beautiful home.
    Happy Holidays ~ Sarah

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  2. Dearest Evi,
    I love to see your beautiful home- and your so wonderful decorations.Your tree in the new urn,looks so sweet, and the pillows are all lovely, as is your collection of stockings-the pillow with them is so very cute,dear.
    How fantastic you know James Cramer- I have been in love with all he does,sinc I saw an artickle with him and Dean, in a Country living, many many years ago. I bought their beautiful :"Seven gates Farm" and have also just bought this little new book.
    He was the one to inspire me making dolls,after seing his wonderful santaes:)
    Dear Evi thankyou for this lovely visit to your gorgeous home- I´M SO happy to be able to "be with you" there.
    Hugs,Dorthe

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  3. Everything is so beautiful Evi.
    I adore the little shoes.
    Do have a wonderful Holiday season.
    Take care.
    Susan x

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  4. liebste evi,
    dein post ist bezaubernd. deine winter-weihnachtsdeko gefällt mir ausgezeichnet und der adventkalender ist SPITZE , wunderschön.
    (wir haben freunde in berlin).
    zur zeit bestle ich noch sehr viel und komme weniger zum bloggen. aber ich tu mein bestes.... ;-).
    ich wünsche dir von herzen alles liebe und ein schönes adventwochenende. bis bald und liebe grüsse
    margit

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  5. How beautiful, everything looks. I am just getting geared up to decorate. I am going very natural and simple this year. Simple to make less stress and enjoy time with family and friends. Take care my dear friend, Mary

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  6. Oooh! I love it!! and about the "bird-fever"...I've found that it gets more severe as the years go on.

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  7. Evi, your home looks lovely so far. I love your little birdie mugs with lids. Birdies are popular with my friends, too. Your pillows are wonderful!!I may have to start the tradition of the shoes out on Dec. 5th. Happy decorating,
    Annette
    ps I do miss the red.

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  8. Liebste Evi,
    wunderschön sieht es bei dir aus, du hast alles mit so viel Liebe zum Detail geschmückt, auf deine ganz besondere und unnachahmliche Weise!!! Einfach himmlisch, mit welch zarter Hand du verschiedene Bräuche zu einem ganz eigenen Stil verbunden hast!!!! Bei uns hat es gestern erstmals geschneit und wir werden nun gleich ein leckeres Adventsfrühstück genießen.......mein Mann holt schnell noch ofenwarme Laugenbrezen beim Bäcker (die gehören bei uns immer dazu;)! Eine herrliche Vorweihnachtszeit und einen wunderschönen 3. Advent,
    allerliebste Grüße, herzlichst Jade

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  9. I so enjoyed visiting with you today, everything looks so pretty!

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  10. Hi Evi,
    I simply do not understand how you manage to do all that you do! Your home looks amazing with your JDL theme...can't wait to see it in person! I thought of you and Paula both when I saw that PB pillow with the stockings...not surprised that you made your own! Take care of yourself now and enjoy the season...and save some of those cookies for me...er, I mean Rob!
    :) Love you!

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