Christmas Traditions

My mom and I had many plans this Christmas, for a silver-themed dinner table with glass and silver pedestals and cake plates, a fresh home-made wreath hanging on the front door, and Pumpkin Mousse for Christmas dessert.  We had excitedly talked about some of these ideas and others since Thanksgiving.  

We had big plans.

Yet, when it came down to the final week before Christmas, it was like time was a jet and it blasted away before we could get everything done.  Between us all working at my parents' art galleries by day and Christmas tree and gift shopping by night, there were some things that simply didn't get done.  Christmas came like a rushing wind, filled with too little sleep, loads of gifts, new family members (my brother-in-law and mother-in-law), lot's of laughs, and great food.

It wasn't until the day after Christmas, that it dawned on me that there had been no silver themed dinner table, some gifts didn't get wrapped (or made) in time, the boughs for my home-made wreath sat at the front door in a metal bucket, and we hadn't made any kind of Christmas dessert, let alone Pumpkin Mousse.

 And you know what?  It was totally fine.  

I listened to a man recently talk about traditions and how they can be detrimental when kept simply for the keeping.  Traditions are good, in and of themselves, when they point us to what is good - God, truth, family, close relationships and connecting with others, generosity, time well spent, etc.  When traditions are simply done for the keeping, they create bondage and become meaningless.

So, this Christmas we all woke up late after wrapping gifts until 4:30am, started unwrapping gifts after 2pm, ate Christmas dinner spread throughout the house, some in the living room, some at the dinner table (un-decorated), and the Christmas tree never got all of it's ornaments put on.  Yet, I doubt any of these things will be remembered shortly, for what really stood out was the coming together of two families newly related through marriage, generosity and love through wonderful gifts, laughing till we cried, a cozy, warm house, and an atmosphere of peace and thankfulness.

This Christmas wasn't about traditions and that was just perfect.

Maybe next year mom and I will do some of the things we had planned . . . and maybe not.

I hope your Christmas Day was filled with meaningful memory-making moments.

God Bless you all.

~Callie

4 More Days!

4 MORE DAYS!!

 left for the

** DE-STASH SALE **

ALL ITEMS MARKED "SALE" TAKE AN EXTRA 40% OFF

at

my shop

Dovetail Vintage

AFTER THAT . . . the sale items are GONE.

Come see!  :)

Now till Christmas Day!

Drooling

Can I just say, "I love Pottery Barn!"?

Their style is so ME!

. . . and whoever takes their photographs and stages their rooms is just fabulous at their job. 

Each room has such a wonderful balance of lights and darks, and cozy, yet simple. 

Truly, I am in love. 

I have been drooling over and wanting this rug for months now.  It will be the perfect addition to the narrow hallway that leads from my living room into my kitchen.  Someday . . . someday.

Here are several other items that would easily fit into my life and style . . . :)

* gorgeous duvet cover

* the perfect lamp to lean over the edge of my vintage toffee brown velvet couch

* a very dreamy mirror

* oh white linens, how I love thee . . .

* I am going to make something like this!  
The local salvage lot will be a great place to find a great old piece of wood like this, and probably at a bit better price.  ($399 at potterybarn.com)


I'm home now with my family for Christmas, and in a way, it feels like I never left.  How wonderful it is to have a home away from home.

Blessings to you all in this week before Christmas.  May you enjoy this time, whether it be festivity after festivity, or many simple moments.  May you find the beauty in it all . . . and take a breath here and there to take it in.


~Callie


**(All photos courtesy of potterybarn.com)

My Holiday Decorating

I will be heading home for two whole weeks over Christmas, hopping a plane mid-December to spend the holidays with my parents, sister, and her new husband, and then returning the beginning of January.  Woo hoo!  Because I won't be in my cozy little apartment come Christmas, I opted out of getting a tree this year.  But, given that the whole house where I work was decorated for Christmas right after Thanksgiving, it got me wanting to do a little decorating of my own.  As usual, I wanted simple and cozy.  Here are a few pics of what I did . . .

This fabulous raw salvaged barn wood sofa table that I bought at my local Salvage Lot houses some of my own favored items as well as items in my shop awaiting their new home. I gave it just a touch of sparkle and a soft glow with a set of slow twinkling vintage Christmas lights.

Christmas gifts from my mom last year from one of my favorite shops in La Conner, Go Outside.

On my coffee table is the most lovely little wire and bead tree with a star hanging above, and wire and bead manger scene with its own star and a carved pearl dove attached to the upper left hand corner.  I found them at Christianson's Nursery just outside La Conner, WA last year.  I LOVE them and will keep them forever.  Their simplicity and little bit of whimsy is perfect.  They warm my heart. 

(Note: If you ever get to La Conner, WA, and you love plants and french antiques, you must stop into Christianson's Nursery.  They are amazing - you won't want to leave!)

Have a wonderful day!

~Callie

Destash Sale!!

GIVEAWAY WINNER:

Amy

Thank you to Amy from Chestnuthillvintageanddesign.blogspot.com for leaving a wonderful story of her favorite childhood Christmas tradition.  Read her comment left on the post titled "Giveaway!"  

I want to have my (future) kids have personal Christmas trees too!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Well, Christmas is getting closer by the day, and then the new year is just around the corner.  In the spirit of a new year approaching and a new season, I am destashing the shop to make room for new items!  

You know what this means - SALE!!

Head over to my shop, Dovetail Vintage and enjoy 40% off ALL SALE ITEMS, now 'till Christmas!

And, have a great day!

~Callie

Giveaway happening all week!

DON'T MISS OUT!

Go HERE to read my giveaway post

or

scroll down two posts.

Can't wait to hear what you all have to say!

Blessings, Callie

Sneak Peek

Hello!

Here is a sneak peek at some of the items coming to the shop tomorrow and Tuesday.  Hope you enjoy!

Other items will be coming too.  Stop by Dovetail Vintage  to see these items and others starting tomorrow . . . and do a little holiday shopping too!

~Callie


Oh, and check out the giveaway on yesterday's post! Fun, fun, fun.  

Giveaway!

My Very First Giveaway!

I have decided to do a giveaway . . . . well, because it's fun, and who doesn't like something free?  But, as my economics teacher always said, "There's no such thing as a free lunch." And well, he's right.  :-)

To receive this "lunch" or giveaway, I want to know about your most meaningful Christmas tradition.

In the comment section below, tell me what Christmas tradition you and your family take part in each year that means the most to you.  The winner will be chosen December 10th and will then receive this tiny blossom teacup and saucer from my shop, Dovetail Vintage.

(teacup 2" tall, saucer 4" in diameter)

I can't wait to hear about your traditions!

Happy Holidays all!

~Callie

Speed Treasuries

Okay, so again, I am under the wire to finish my 8 treasuries a month for the month of November for an Etsy team I am in.  The months just fly by and I find them 3/4 of the way gone and sometimes, all 8 treasuries to do.  This month, it was 6 treasuries left with 3 days to go.  So, here it is the last day of November, and I still have one more to make after work. . . I'm flying!

I thought I'd share a few of the last that I completed because I like them, and because I went to the Apple store last week and learned a few new tricks, one being how to take a screen shot of my treasuries (or anything on the screen) to be able to share them more easily.  Woo hoo!  I told the lady she was "the bomb" when she taught me how to do this.

So, take a peek below.  Here are 3 Christmas gift guide treasuries, each a little different. You might even find, you want to go shopping for some of the friends and family on your gift list!  Click on a treasury's title to go directly to that treasury and be able to explore the shops included.

A Very Country Christmas Gift Guide

A Very Vintage Christmas

A Very Retro Christmas Gift Guide

Happy Holiday shopping!

~Callie

Happy Thanksgiving to you!

I hope everyone had a wonderful day with family and friends, or even as a quiet day by yourself.  Regardless of who you were with, I hope you all got some time today to think about what you are thankful for.  My family took several moments after dinner to share with each other our top 3 things we are thankful for, and it was such a great time for truth and reality to come to the surface.  Life is busy, and it can be so easy to run from one thing to the next without taking stock of the life we are living.  I cherish times like today when time is taken to stop and reflect and be thankful.  How incredibly blessed I am, and how immensely thankful I am to God for my life - my job, my employers, my business, my new home and state I'm living in, my loving and supportive family, a few very close friends, warmth, safety, freedom, more than enough food . . . the list could go on.  With so much pain and suffering in this world, lately, I have been often aware of how much I have to be thankful for, even on the days where my own life feels like more than I can handle, or incredibly hard and stretching.

So, with a spirit of thanks, I will go to bed tonight, probably listing in my head the many, many things, big and very small that I have to be thankful for.  We all have things we can be thankful for, and sometimes taking the time to reflect on those things and pick them out one by one, opens the door to realize many more wonderful blessings in our lives to be very thankful for.  A wonderful chain reaction happens.

May you all be incredibly blessed today and in the coming weeks as you continue on in the holiday season.

~Callie
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. . . . And for those who want some BLACK FRIDAY love, 

enjoy 25% off your entire order at my shop dovetailvintage.etsy.com 

all day FRIDAY!  

Just enter coupon code: 25OFF at checkout.

BLACK FRIDAY SALE!

25% OFF

Dovetail Vintage

Mounds of Leaves

A couple of weeks or so ago, I posted pictures of the beautifully blooming leaves that erupted in glorious color here in Coeur d'Alene.  Well, now everything is covered in 3-4 inches of snow, but check out these pictures I got the day before the snow fell.

Like I mentioned before, this is the first time I have lived in a place where the majority of the trees are deciduous and lose their leaves . . . ALL over the place!  I was floored by the massive piles of leaves that fell, burrying lawns, sidewalks, and streets.  I started to wonder where all of these leaves were going to go.  I found out this week.

This is what I saw as I made my way through my neighborhood midday. Another surprise. Take a look . . .

It's hard to tell, but this is a long row of many separate piles of leaves.

That were eventually pushed into massive piles like these in the middle of an intersection, with a small corner for cars to drive around.  Dump trucks eventually carted the leaves away.

Can you imagine playing in a pile like this?!

Well, as I said, the leaves are gone and just in time, because the snow has come and I have long icicles hanging from the eve outside my bedroom window.  At least they snow plow well in Idaho. :-)

I have been enjoying cups of tea and cocoa, and being continuously thankful that I am warm and dry. In fact, I'm off to make a cup of tea now before bed.  Until, next time . . .

~Callie

Boy, am I loving Pottery Barn's holiday look this year.  Find inspiration from these photos as you prepare for your own holidays . . .

Then, shop the look at Dovetail Vintage. . .

Enjoy your preparation!  Make a purchase after seeing this post and enter coupon code: 10OFF for 10% off your entire order.  

Blessings, Callie