A Beach House Chanuka and A Jar Lamp

Hello you guys -

Hope you are all enjoying the winter/holiday season.  I love winter, I love cold weather, I love the bare tree branches and the leafless boston ivy on the weathered fence in the backyard.  I love rain boots, and hoodies, umbrellas and big totes to carry it all in.

Mid December and we have warm weather - actually it's hot.  I shouldn't complain, it's great for my business at the Rose Bowl Flea Market, and it's great to go garage saleing every Saturday morning, but still I hope we get some cold days so we can break out the boots and jackets.

We had a great day at the Flea Market yesterday - meeting people, talking, selling my thrifty finds, talking about treasures and decorating and styling, and what other people have in their carts as they stop and roll and stop and roll.  Mostly we love showing our Chandeliers - MrBH says that I love a compliment as much as a sale, not quite - but almost!

I'm taking photos of Chandeliers today, some that already sold, but I gotta show you what a man passionate about creating Chandeliers can come up with.

For many reasons, we're doing a low key holiday this year - I made a donation to every request for Missions and Holiday Meals we got in the mail, I'm taking Gift Certs to the Dog Rescue places in my area, I give a dollar to every cause at every grocery checkout and I put money into the Salvation Army Santa everytime I pass him.  Always a few bucks to the homeless and hungry at the freeway ramp or wherever, it's small, but it's what I do.

I went gathering up in my own stuff, stash, and traveling shop to come up with a few things white, wintery, and sparkly.  No big gifts for the kids this year either - each got a hoodie, they already have every i-thing invented and I've asked them to donate this year too - so we've donated as a family and we all like that very much.

We had a small Chanuka dinner last Sunday, and even though we try to have dinner together every Sunday, I tried to special it up a bit.  We had our favorite Cranberry Chicken, potatoe pancakes, applesauce, lemon brocolli,  a bottle of wine and a Challah that we all pulled from.  Apple Betty for desert with vanilla ice cream.    My son Tony brought a new girlfriend and I was glad that Jen & Ryan could meet her, get to know her, and like her as much as we do.  We'll keep our fingers crossed...

Here's the Mantel in the Family Room - simple and to the point.

Here's the Mantel in the Front Room - first thing you see when you walk in the front door -

We lit the Menorah and set it on the kitchen table in the window.  I found this gihugeant old Menorah while out thrifting a while back - gave it a couple coats of white paint and I'm happy - she's cool.

MrBH made this little lamp the other day - I said I needed a little lamp in the kitchen, he took one of my old blue mason jars full of white shells and I got a new/old lamp.  Love it.

Be happy.  

I wish you all Peace and Love

Hooking up with Kelly's Korner 

Partying with Julia too!

Beach House Kitchen & PEACE on the Mantel

Hello from my Kitchen Sink -

I Won! I Am So Happy!

Thank you Roberta at Tresor Trouve

These Jeanne d'Arc Living Magazines arrived so fast and in perfect condition.  

They are incredible and I love them.  

Thank you again, so much!

Check out Roberta's fantastic blog, you'll be glad you did.

Boy has this been a different year and Thanksgiving was really different!  My newly married daughter went to Oregon where her inlaws live, and I missed her cooking right next to me, decorating the table with me, preparing and serving and being my right hand.  I know she was a big help to her mother in law and showed off her talents and made me proud, but I missed her so much and Ryan too.  

Everything else was perfect!

MrBH and son are on a 2-Day motorcycle run and I have the whole house all to myself 

all weekend.   I'm gonna blast the radio on the oldie station and do some gardening and painting -

But first, I've been puttering around inside, sweeping up, clearing off, getting rid of, and prepping for the winter - my favorite season.  Before I get into all the projects I've got lined up - I snapped a few photos in the kitchen and added a few pics at the bottom that I took yesterday -

My little 1940's Kitchen - all original cabinets, galley design - 

The cabinets were all built by the original owner and I swear his wife must have been my height - I changed all the knobs and pulls to old glass ones - 

Our view from the sink and from the kitchen table is the front - I love that.  

Kitchen Table is an old cement garden table  - I see the glass needs to be pushed over to the left a smidge.  I'd like to change the covers on those chairs - it's white vinyl, but kids always told me the vinyl felt so cool on sunburn legs I just keep it on.  Pretty easy to wipe clean too.

This old stove came with the house - she can cook!

Driving Pacific Coast Highway - I couldn't resist...

Love this PEACE Christmas Window - the Peace signs are all silver balls and the Pyramids are all shells - everything else is white and amazing.

Check out this cool huge metal peace sign inside the store hanging over a bed, that's a pillow below it -

Bye for now -

L O V E

I am filled with gratitude today and everyday.

Today, I am calling people that I love just to tell them I love them.  

And from now on, I'm going to do that more often.

I'm also going to write more notes - they're such a pleasure to receive.

Thank you blog friends - I appreciate you more than you can imagine.  

How I Hide My Trash

Helllooo - Come on over, it's a beautiful day.  I'd love to tell you about the Rose Bowl Flea Market last Sunday, and show you the Chandeliers I'm beading - but this crazy Gate made my day!

That's my little old cottage - 

I turn into my driveway - that's the detached garage at the end - and even when the Aggies are blooming and the ivy is thriving, and the green is lush, all I see is the trash.  

I've seen some great ideas in magazines and other peoples homes - we just never did anything.  

The other day we were walking home from our favorite cafe taking a shortcut through the alley when we saw this leaning up against a pile of rubble.  

I was thinking I could use it IN the house somewhere - it is white, I could write something on it, just lean it somewhere - but this is where I really need it.  I just didn't realize how much I needed it.  

In front of the trash cans - a Trashy Gate.

So we put it on a wide concrete stepping stone, secured it to the fence. Done.

And now this is what I see when I come home.  Yes.

And for Free. 

I'm coming back with a post about this magazine rack -

and a post about a lucky find - this Pair of Beach House Arm Chairs -

See you -  Thanks for all the very kind comments about Jen's Wedding.  

Make it a great day - I'm joining Faded Charm's White Wednesday Party

Jen & Ryan's Wedding

Jen & Ryan's Beach Wedding -

The Chuppa is my Grandma's Tablecloth - we had bamboo poles in old french buckets, topped them with chandelier bobeches and an old glass doorknob. I beaded 5 long strands of white beads and crystals for each bobeche and old very long crystals from my other Grandmas Chandelier.   My brother performed the marriage ceremony - which was really special for all of us and so heartfelt - plus he was really funny and made the entire ceremony more memorable than you can imagine.

They did the mixing of the sand -

The Programs - we added a vintage button to each one...

Love this Cake - My neighbor owns the local bakery that is out of this world - I knew they would nail this cake and they did - I was beyond thrilled.  I found the vintage wood Sea Horse at a yard sale $1 - it has a plastic base and I'm pretty sure it was a canister lid - I added the rows of rhinestones.

Jen & Ryan with their Wedding Party - I've known these girls since they were little and I love them so much - that's my son Tony on the far left, and the guys are Ryan's best buddies and brother -

So Cool

But they just had to be real - 

Personalized Water Bottles on the beach -

Bride and Bridesmaids bouquets were Calla Lillys  - Jen's had some special little
momentos sewn onto the braided white satin wrap on hers- and the guys all had minis -

 Candle Holder with the date in vintage rhinestones -

I washed and ironed 150 vintage damask Napkins - added a ring of crystals to each - and boy did they get commented on...

We put Orchids in the glass containers and filled them with sand -

Lori & Tim Prepping while we were on the beach...

We had the entire yard fenced in and hung 44 sets of Ikea curtains on bamboo rods attached at the top - the breezes were perfect!

We had a swag of whitewashed driftwood to sign - it's hanging in Jen & Ryan's home now 

It was a perfect night - 

You can kind of see we had the whole yard fenced in and hung white sheers from Ikea all the way around the yard on bamboo rods - it was so great when the breezes would billow out the curtains -

The morning after...the kids all stayed at a Hotel and then they came home for a brunch with about 40 other friends and family -

Thanks for looking at one of the best days of my life -

Now back to the kitchen blog and a blog about the incredible chairs I got at The Little French Flea Market over the weekend...

Marsha