Christmas at our house

Well I have to confess that I wanted to participate in "Deck the Halls" with Over the Rainbow but this year I have not had much time to deck, so these are my last years decorations that I am sharing with you.
I started this blog to share my addiction to Jim Shore's work so it's only fitting that I start with my treasured Jim Shore Nativity. The first big piece that I ever bought and I purchased it in New Harmony, Indiana in April 2005.

Angel tree

Old pump organ that my dad refinished, with my Jim Shore Santa collection, which has expanded to the top of the organ now.

These are just different shelves on my entertainment center.

The Santa and Sleigh was my second big Jim Shore piece. My husband gave it to me for my birthday one year.

This is a picture of the entire entertainment center.

This is our game room. It is a themed "50's" room but as you can see Elvis is the focal point with accents of Marilyn, James Dean and other film stars of the era. We chose the decor together but my husband did the wallpaper, laid the tile and built the glass block bar

The large bubblegum machine is filled with silver and red Christmas ornaments.

This is our game room. It is a themed "50's" room but as you can see Elvis is the focal point with accents of Marilyn, James Dean and other film stars of the era. We chose the decor together but my husband did the wallpaper, laid the tile and built the glass block bar.

This is a close up of our puzzle wall. It features film stars of the 50's and is made entirely of puzzle put together by us and our friends.

This is the glass block bar and yes that is a singing Elvis head on top of the game in the corner.

This is the pool table. The Crocheted Christmas Tree was made by my husbands mom.

This is a full shot of the puzzle wall. There are 11-1,000 piece puzzles. The Casablanca puzzle in the middle was 3,000 pieces, and then there are several partial puzzles at the bottom of the wall.

I hope you enjoyed a brief glimpse of our Christmas decorations.

Merry Christmas Two Me!

This year, like every other year I tell myself that I am not going to get carried away with buying new pieces. This year, I bought 2 new pieces that go with "Santa's Toy Shop" I got "The Livery" and The Sweet Shop"
Click on the first picture to get a close up view of how beautiful these pieces are. They are so rich with detail and color they don't need anything else.
Life has been so busy the last few weeks that I haven't really taken any photos of my Holiday displays, mostly because I barely have them up. I do have most of my Jim Shore pieces out and will try to get some pictures up here sometime next week.
Until then, I hope you enjoy these.

Jim Shore Fall Collections

Jim Shore Fall pieces

It's been a while since I posted on my Jim Shore blog. It's still an addiction that is becoming quite a collection but I have been focused elsewhere.

I have been busy with my Creative Nanny and Gentle Transitions Blog. They are now connected to a wonderful blog about the Nanny Industry called Regarding Nannies. Even if you aren't a nanny, we always have great stories and interesting links so pop on over and visit and leave a comment so I will know you were there!

Jim Shore's Fall Pieces are my favorite of all the pieces that I own and I try to start the first of September so that I can enjoy them for a nice amount of time.

Last year I bought the Haunted House (One of my favorites)

Here are just a few pieces from my Fall Collection. I have about 10 more.

The first is The Haunted House, it also makes noise, the witch flies around and the windows light up. QVC has a special collection of 4 Diaramas. This pumpkin is the first and it also lights up.

My Halloween witches look great displayed by the Haunted House with silk fall leaves.

The Cornucopia Basket was also a QVC series that I got 2 years ago. The basket contains a pumpkin, a squash, and an ear of corn, done with beautiful detail as Jim Shore does so well.

Summer Musical Angel QVC exclusive

Well the Summer Musical angel arrived this week and she is of course beautiful. I have come to expect nothing but perfection from Jim Shore.

I wasn't really sure what she looked like and was trying to decide where I was going to smush her in on the organ (is smush a word?)

And then I opened her and she is holding a basket of shells. She is beautiful shades of blue and peach just like my guest bathroom which is .........you guessed it decorated with seashell decor.

So she looks beautiful in there.

For some reason the photos I took didn't do her justice but I will upload them for now and hope that tomorrow I can get better pics.

I try. I really do.

You know how people always "Stay out of trouble!" Well I try. I used to say ...I try but sometimes it comes to my doorstep. Now in 2009 I say, I try but sometimes it shows up in my email.
Last week jimshore.com sent out a 40% off coupon. Who can say no to that?
The sale was limited but of course I found something I really wanted since the first time I saw it. The nesting cat boxes.
When I was little, my mom had this beautiful, fragile nesting people box that I just loved to play with. Every once in a while she would let me play with it as long as I sat down on the floor and kept it there. It is a wonderful happy memory, so the nesting boxes from Jim Shore once again connect me to a childhood memory.
As I opened the boxes I am reminded of one of life's lessons. Life is not always what we planned for, it isn't always what we expected, but it's still life and it's our life and we play the hand we are dealt the best we can.
If you click on the photos you can see the wonderful detail close up and you might have to use your arrows to scroll down to see the unexpected mouse in the last box but this is what makes this piece so much fun and so special.

My Jim Shore Chinese Checker board arrived today!

Jim Shore came out with some great new pieces that are card boxes, Chinese Checkers, a gorgeous cuckoo clock, and a beautiful chess set.
I love the clock, the card box is practical because we play Rummy with the kids all the time, and the Chinese Checkers are a piece of art that looks beautiful too. You don't always get to buy something related to your obsession that is also practical which is why I love these new items.
I used to play Chinese Checkers with my Grandma. We called her Mom Schmitz. When I would go to her house to spend the night I would sit on the front porch swing with her and we would eat grapes and watch the cars go by. Sometimes in the afternoon, we would get cleaned up, put on fresh clothes and walk downtown, and if I was good, we might go to the dimestore. In the evening we would sometimes play Chinese Checkers. When I think of Mom Schmitz, I think of Chinese Checkers and grapes. She passed away when she was 64. I was only 10. When you are 10 and think about being 64, it seems really old. Now that I am 55...I realize how young she really was.
The Chinese Checker board is a beautiful piece from Jim Shore. I like it because you can put it on a table or you can hang it on a wall. It is much bigger than I thought it would be and I am so excited to finally have it.
The picture is my board on the wall. The other picture is my mom,(who is beautiful inside and out) with her mom. Mom Schmitz

Easter Decorations

I have several Jim Shore Easter Baskets. I have been collecting them for about 5 years. I have tried really hard not to buy something besides the Spring Angel but I just keep getting discount codes in my email box and I may not be able to resist.
I found this adorable bunny in the Florist at Schnucks (the local grocery store) and had to have him. The pictures don't do him justice. This is my Dining Room Cabinet with my rabbit and Jim Shore Easter Baskets. Be sure to click on the photo so you can see the close up.
The other photo is my Entryway. I found this little bunny at Tuesday Morning with a broken ear. I love both of them, and my favorite 10 year old helped me with the decorations.

Jim Shore New Spring Angel

Well last week Jim Shore was on QVC and he just came out with a beautiful line of Seasonal musical angels. Do I have the Seasonal angels? Well yes I do! But did I decide I needed the musical Seasonal Angels? Well yes I did! Two years ago I signed up for the seasonal baskets. They were a QVC exclusive and they were completely adorable. The first one was the Sleigh Bells Ring which was released to all retailers this year. The others were a Spring Basket with Flower Balls, A watermelon Basket with Fruit and my favorite was the Corncucopia basket with vegetables. So I wanted to get it on this QVC offer.
As usual, Jim Shore does not disappoint.
She arrived last Monday and she is absolutely beautiful. I love the details of her skirt with the blue birds.
I have a very dear friend whose late mother loved blue birds, and since I have adopted her as my daughter, blue birds always remind me of her mothers spirit that lives on in the miracle of her son, who was born on her mom's birthday.
Here is the Spring Angel
and here is my collection of my Angels on the pump organ.If you look at the angels, the pink angel on top in the middle is a Longaberger exclusive called the Angel of Hope. If you missed out on her, contact a Longaberger rep near you, or drop me a note and I can connect you with you one.

New Jim Shore

Jim Shore came out with some great new pieces that are card boxes, Chinese Checkers, a gorgeous cuckoo clock, and a beautiful chess set.
I love the clock, the card box is practical because we play Rummy with the kids all the time, and the Chinese Checkers are a piece of art that looks beautiful too. You don't always get to buy something related to your obsession that is also practical which is why I love these new items.
I used to play Chinese Checkers with my Grandma. We called her Mom Schmitz. When I would go to her house to spend the night I would sit on the front porch swing with her and we would eat grapes and watch the cars go by. Sometimes in the afternoon, we would get cleaned up, put on fresh clothes and walk downtown, and if I was good, we might go to the dimestore. In the evening we would sometimes play Chinese Checkers. When I think of Mom Schmitz, I think of Chinese Checkers and grapes. She passed away when she was 64. I was only 10. When you are 10 and think about being 64, it seems really old. Now that I am 55...I realize how young she really was.
After writing this I decided that I will buy the Chinese Checker board. It will be a wonderful memory of a part of my childhood. It won't arrive until the end of March but I will post a picture when it arrives.